[lvandert]

Well why not? I love to write/type. I'll break this down into two sections; fishies and human life. You can choose one or both, or none What ever you care to read about.

Fish life: Patrick has fin rot, I have him in my hospital tank. He's decided he likes the tank though and built his first bubble nest in three months. Big Red has yet to recover from the bad babysitter, I don't know if she will. But she's still swimming ans eating so all good there. Popcorn has come right into our little fish family and looks so vibrant in her tank. Velvet is stuffing her face with unfertilized eggs so I'm currently fasting her on other foods. Walter is booping around his tank, happy as could be. He loves to watch people to do the dishes. and Smitty, well he's Smitty. A color change every other day and bubble nests across the tank... I'm hoping to give Smitty and Popcorn a go in a week or so.

Human life: Well fudge where do I begin. Well, I'm a 21 year old sophomore in college 600 miles away from my parents and living with my boyfriend. I don't get along with my folks to well so moving away was nice. I have a part time job on campus with the snack shack. Needless to say I dont have much time but what little I do have I devote to my animals. I currently am failing 3 out of 4 classes but I wouldn't be if I hadn't been evicted a day before the semester started. I used to live across the street from campus but the school bought the house out from under our landlord and forced us to move for their new dorm building. I spent the first month of school looking for somewhere to live and moving, which really affected my classes. The three I'm failing build on themselves and get harder throughout the semester, the one I'm passing is a speech class (easy as heck). But through all of this a few things stay stable in my life (which I'm really grateful for) my pets (bird, snake, fishes), my job (even if it is crappy minimum wage), and the love of my life Joey. If it wasn't for him I'd be having mental break downs every other week. But hey, that's life right?

 

[lvandert]

Fish life: well some more of Patrick's fins on his tail have disappeared. I think he would be considered a feather tail? His fins feather out at the ends, anyways most of his feathering is gone on the top half of his tail. But I just started treatment so I'll give him a few days before I decide if he's getting better. Big Red looks a little worse for wear today but once again she's still eating and swimming. Walter is just being Walter, desperate for attention. Velvet looks a little skinnier today, looks like the fasting is working. And now the interesting stuff, my breeding pair I put Popcorn in the floating breeder in the spawning tank and added IAL to the tank. Smitty went crazy for a moment or two but now he's furiously building a bubble nest. Popcorn has done nothing but the little "s" wiggle in her little breeder. they look like that cute teenage couple. I've also started to notice spots on Smitty's tail, I guess he's more wild than I thought. I really hope they come in strong, and pass onto the young. I love spotted bettas! Their so cute to watch flirt with one another through the breeder. I probably wont release them until Friday or the weekend. Unless she starts releasing eggs early...

Human life: I gave a presentation today about the basics of breeding bettas. I shook like a leaf in front of the class, my voice even wavered a few times. I hate public speaking. I almost met with the Dean of students but she was busy so I have a new appointment tomorrow at 3. I have a chem 2 test at 7pm tonight, here's hoping I pass it. I guess I got lucky and get a few nights off work, which is good because I need to clean the house. I may also be getting sick. I've been super tired recently, my throat hurts bad enough to take pain killers and last night I got the worst migraine headache I've had in a long time. I actually fell asleep with an ice pack on my head.

 

[Termato]

I hope patrick gets better!

 

[Bombalurina]

American university sounds pretty hard - you guys have compulsory subjects like science etc for a few years, right?
I like the Australian/UK system - by the time we get to uni they just want us to concentrate on the area of life we've chosen. Thank goodness, because I wouldnt want to still be doing science and maths...I chose a law degree for a reason!

I hope Patrick recovers and that things look up for you!

 

[lvandert]

Well if you go on the universities schedule (and kill yourself) your done with those the first two years and the start specializing. On top of things I go to Tech school, which in they like their math and science. Every degree, regardless of major, is required to pass calculus 1 here my degree requires calculus 1, 2, 3 and differential equations (super sucky). And I guess because I do want to kill myself I want a math minor. In honesty I only need to take 4 extra classes to qualify but I'd like to get my real degree under way first.

 

[lvandert]

Whoops forgot yesterday's...

Fishies: Popcorn and Smitty couldn't wait one extra day to spawn. She was releasing eggs into the floating breeder so I let them at it. They were pretty much done within an hour. I did an egg count and holy crow! I have roughly 450 eggs (give or take ten). I am doing an artificial hatch so Smitty is in a separate tank and I have the eggs cupped for control and sight. Patrick's tail doesn't seem to be getting worse so I'm guess I've stopped the fin rot. I caught it really early so barely any of his tail is missing. Big Red is getting worse now. Her color is fading and she's started to loose a few scales. I'm still trying to treat her but alas I think there is nothing. Velvet is doing good, her tail is completely healed along with any other rips in her fins. And Walter is Walter.

Human life: Well I met with the dean of students and I was told I could drop the class I'm most likely to not move on from and have no ill effects. I wont loose financial aid, I wont go on academic probation and I wont have to start paying any loans even though I'm going to drop below the full time mark.

 

[lvandert]

And because I missed yesterday I now have to make up with two today.

Fishies: I'm past the 24 hour mark on the eggs and I seem to be checking them every half hour to see if any have started hatching. Big Red is starting to look really bad. She's developed fin rot on top of everything else. I've been treating her the best I can but nothing is working. I ordered clove oil off of the internet but it probably wont get here until late next week, and by then she could be gone. Popcorn stares at the spawning tank (she's next to it) like she's expecting something, also her fins have all healed up. Smitty spends his days laying on the bottom of his tank with stress bars but once again he's depressed. He would've went into the tank Popcorn is in but I didn't want to make him more depressed by not being able to see the babies. Velvet has made a full recovery and is busy being a food hog.

Human things: I bashed my knee so bad I actually popped the knee cap out of the socket. I got it back in right away but now my knee hurts. I ALMOST bought a crown tail today. I really wanted to get him. He was all white with see through fins. Even in his state I could see little streaks of color. I really want to go back and get him but I know my BF wont be to happy about that. Maybe I can get away with it because he made me bash my knee today...guilt trip him into it. That is if he's not gone...I failed my Physics test, horribly and I had to drop my calc 2 class so I could focus on other classes. Ah crap, I just checked my fishies and my little gold fish died. You know what I just realized? Today kinda sucks

 

[Tobythefish]

If you really need the clove oil, you can get it at boyds. We got it there for $5.25. It's an 1/8 fl. oz., but you only need a few drops if you use vodka too. Here is the method we will use if we have to euthanize a fish.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm

 

[lvandert]

oh I got a 4oz bottle on its way. The bf let me use the rest of his amazon gift card. In the end I only paid 3 dollars and some odd cents

 

[lvandert]

So here's today's post.

Fish: Still no fry. I think Smitty is infertile :-( Oh well he shall live a happy life. Maybe I'll give him another try in a few months. After talking with my BF he let me get a 10 gallon, which I've split 3 way to house some boys. At the moment I have Smitty and Walter in there. I'm hoping to get a light/hood for it soon. I think I saw some at wally world. Popcorn and Velvet have made full recoveries. Patrick's fins have started to stitch themselves back together, and once he starts to look pretty good I'm going to put him in the last spot in the 10 gal. Big Red looks pretty bad today but she's still managing to look chipper. I bought frozen mosquito larva and have been feeding those to my fishies today as a good treat and vitamin load. I think I may do that once a week. So also to cheer me up my bf said I could get another male or two. Naturally I ended up with two. I got a CT that is basically colorless, aside from a few grey patches. But I'm thinking he's a marble or grizzle because he does have some dark scales on his side. Unfortunately I didn't notice until I got home that he had a fungal infection starting on the tips of his fins :-( But I am treating it with IAL, aquarium salt and stress coat. I just wish he wasn't so skittish. My other guy is either a PK or HMPK (depending on the spread) dragon scale. I got him 50% off because he to has a fungal infection and like I told the manager "I have no problem buying the fish, I just have a problem buying the fish for 10 dollars if its going to die" lol It's not even that bad of an infection. It has a bit of his dorsal fin, the ends of his tail and the whole bottom of his anal fin. But none of it is on his body, yet. He's really energetic and friendly for a sick fella. I have yet to officially name either of them but I'm open to suggestions. Oh their also really young guys, both are under two inches at the moment. Here's the link to their form http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=97368

Human: Well my knee is starting to feel better. After a night of the heating pad and ice pack I would at least hope so. But I've developed a contusion of sorts on my arm. I don't even remember hitting my arm hard enough to leave a lump. I gots to work tonight but thats ok, go to makes the money. I'm very close to having enough money for my next tattoo. I'll have enough after my next pay check in two weeks for sure. I'm getting super excited about that. Also came up with a really creative way to keep my dividers straight and flush against the tank. After cutting the mesh canvas to fit within and 1/8th of an inch I cut a slit in straws and thread them on the edges. I works so well! Spike has taken a liking to my new dragon scale boy and is currently snoozing next to his tank.

 

[lvandert]

Hello world! ITS FRIDAY!!

Fish: I'm going to get a heater and light/hood today for the divided 10 gallon. Seeing how Patrick's fins are definitely on the mend I'm going to put him with the other boys in the 10. I'm also thinking of heading to the mall to check out their pet store. They suck in the way of keeping fish but they do have a lot of tank decorations and I'd love to get each boys in my 10 a little something to mess with. I'm also going to bring a bunch or quarters and see if I can't get me any of those plastic balls from the candy/toy machines. I want to make each fish a toy of some sort. I have officially named my new boys. The dragon scale is Discount, Diss for short, and the CT boy is Zeus. And speaking of they're starting to look a bit better. I noticed some iridescence on Zeus' side when I put him in the sun to take a few pics. Big Red has given up eating today, looks like she' starting to go. I'll post pics up later once I get everything set up. The spawning tank is currently empty so I'm going to give it a thorough cleaning before putting my next pair in.

Human: I got paid yesterday! YAYS! I now have enough to get my tattoo but I still want to wait for next payday to make sure I have enough to last me the next couple weeks after. We have the night off work and are going to celebrate by going to our favorite trucker stop for diner. We might catch a movie if we can get a hold of the friend thats been wanting us to go.

 

[lvandert]

Lets try this again, my internet crashed the first time.

Fish: I got a hood and heater for my 10 gallon. Smitty and Patrick currently are loving the new tank. Patrick has made a pretty decent bubble nest for an old guy Maybe he's saying he wants a chance to breed. I might let him even though I do think he is to old. Old guys need lovins too Smitty hasn't blown a bubble nest but he's a young'un that gets all worked up over his neighbor. I found a quarter toy machine that had those clear plastic balls. They had bright and colorful plastic monkeys in them. I got three and rinsed them really really good with super hot water, and put one in Smitty's tank. He loves chasing it around his tank trying to get that blue thing inside.
Walter (who was in the 10 gal) got moved into the 5 gal with Velvet floating in my breeder cage. I'm going to give them a whirl with spawning again. They are the pair that gave me the one fry I've ever had... I'm stuffing their faces with mosquito larva and once Velvet gets chunky with eggs I'll let her out. Although Walter has made that a bit difficult by attaching his bubble nest to the floating breeder.
Popcorn is trying to eat everything in her tank. She acts like I fast her every day. lol
Big Red looks like a pine cone from the top so I'm thinking she may have dropsy now. Poor girl, not matter what I do nothing seems to help. I hope that the clove oil gets here quick.
And Now for the new boys: Dizzy and Black Beard ( Slight name change ) are doing great! They're almost completely healed. so close to having no fuzzies, so close! I'd give them another 3 days, max, before their 100% Black Beard is even being more friendly. He at least comes up to the glass when your around. Both boys have blown bubble nests, and Dizzy is being a dunce I put a mirror up to his cage the other day to take a few shots of him flaring and he started doing the wiggle! Apparently he looks good! lol

Human: Well the kitchen sink has decided to leak a bit, and we cant seem to fix it so we got to call the landlord. Which also means we have to clean the place up a bit, its kinda trashed. We've been so busy lately we have't had much time to clean, or ambition. Also it smells like something died outside. Like it smells bad, rotten nastiness... Kinda makes having the windows open on an 80 degree day hard... Although I don't see anything dead outside. Oh well...

The pics below are of the crew and their tanks this morning
1-The new 10 gal 2-The 5 gal spawning tank 3-Patrick and his bubble nest 4-Black Beard 5-Dizzy staring at a bubble he made

 

[lvandert]

Ok so this has been a LONG day.

Fish: Ok so I woke up to find Big Red in horrible condition, and I just couldn't take it any more. I had to put her down. I put her in a paper towel and she didn't even flop around she almost looked completely relaxed and happy to have it finally be over. I had to squish her because my clove oil isn't here yet, it was hard but I had to do it. She was in bad bad shape. So she's swimming in the big bowl in the sky kicking other fishies butts. My light went out on Popcorn, had to go get a new bulb. Scored at petco- got 2 for 20 cents! yay clearance stuff! While there I also got the 10 gallon stronger lights. The ones I had were super dull... And I picked up black river rocks (also on clearance) for the 10 gal. It looks so good now! I'll post a pic at the bottom. Also Patrick has seemed to develop a "Hitler" stash off to the lipstick page I go. Walter has moved his bubble nest to the surrounding plants so I can remove the breeder cage now. Velvet is starting to get chunky with some eggs, and Walter is still doing his little wiggle lol! Dizzy and Black Beard are doing great! The fungus is sooooo close! There are just tiny spots left on their tails. I'm so excited! Black beard is starting to darken up. His black is getting blacker and the white on his body is starting to get an iridescence sheen too. His tail is still grey but there are hints of color under there!

human: Well like I said it's been a long day. Woke up at 8:30 and jumped right into physic hmwk. Got done in time for a quick lunch before work at 11:30. I worked my butt off, the credit card machine went down (which was lovely) and then just when I thought I was going to get off with time to start and finish chemistry hmwk I had to go help the prep lady. grr. So I finally got off around 3 and I got home with enough time to sit and eat 1 of 2 bowls of soup before I had to run the bf to work. Then when I got home I had just enough time to sit and eat the other bowl of soup and then I had to be back at work. I had to cover for someone tonight. And then I finally got off around 6:30. I still have to do my chem hmwk but it should be fairly easy, hopefully

 

[lvandert]

Well another day down
Fish: Walter and Velvet spawned. I got a BUNCH of eggs so I'm hoping these are fertilized, although they were last time I did this pair so I feel a bit better. Water changes all around today. Everyone got a some volume of new water, littlest tanks of course got the most water change. Post spawn I can see the pair took their bites at each other but overall not bad. Everyone else is doing good. The new boys have just super tiny spots of fungus left. Soooo close!!

Human: I had to give the bird a bath today. She gotten into something greasy and her eye looked like it was bugging her. So after making a bird look like a drenched rat we sat in front of the heater drying off with a towel. She almost fell asleep in my hands, almost. She's currently snoozing on top of our digital box (gives off heat). We just finished dinner, Chinese. mmmmm. Also met DTailskatr at dun bro's and ended up with us at petsmart... We're lucky we only left with a few plastic plants and a bird toy. Yesterday was Spike's 12th birthday so I bought her a new mirror toy for her cage. She loves it. Classes were classes and I don't work tonight. Which is good because I'm beat tired. But I guess I'm to blame if I make my bf fat I know completely random but he sat here debating weather or not he wanted to get a squirt from the fridge, I told him to go get one and drink it. Thats what we bought them for...his response was "your horrible for my self control. If I was on a diet you'd make me fat" lol but I'm ok with that, I'll love him anyways. Time to get ready for bed and hopefully get a good nights sleep.

 

[DTailskatr]

We were so lucky! Lol

 

[lvandert]

So I didn't post yesterday for many reasons

Fish: I had 5 fry hatch, but only one looks to still be alive. The rest of the eggs are still eggs. Patrick has either tore his tail up something fierce or he's got fin rot again. Walter is doing good along with Velvet. Their back to their little piggy selves. Dizzy and Black Beard seem to have made a full recovery. And Popcorn is just popcorn.

Human: Well lets see. First I spilled acid on myself in chem lab at 9 am. I had to go to the bathroom, strip and clean myself up (the striping part I didn't care about), and then I had to get a new pair of pants. I now live off campus (well I always did but right across the street was close enough) and my bf was giving platelets at the time and couldn't leave the blood bank. So I had to wake a friend up to come get my key and then go to my house and grab a pair of pants. Luckily in the time it took her to wake up I finished my experiment and got everything cleaned up. So in the end I just went home. Once there I checked my eggs once an hour, only to wake up and kinds become discouraged. Oh and Joey (bf) couldn't come to bed last night, he forgot about a hmwk assignment and had to stay up doing it. So yeah my day is going to be crappy. I was hoping to wake up to at least a few wriggling bodies in that cup. And I have to work at 3. Not to pleased about that

 

[lvandert]

Fish: My one fry is still kickin it in his little cup. lol Let's see how long I can keep him alive. If he makes it to the next spawn I may just add him in as if he was one of the other's. Black Beard seems to be wining the poll so He's conditioning with Popcorn. I hope I get a double tail CT, that would be so flippin cool! Patrick's tail is back on the mend, along with Walter's. Patrick has made two different bubble nests. He's just a really happy boy I guess. Dizzy got moved into Black Beard's tank. Velvet is doing good. Little piggy.

Human: Today is just going great compared to yesterday. I get my tattoo Tuesday. While I'm in class Joey is going to go out and get Easter dinner. We're either going to have ham of cornish game hens, which ever he finds first. It's rather nice outside and we can open the windows without screwing with the temp in the house too much. I don't work today so thats nice, and tomorrow Easter break starts. No classes or nothing until wed.

 

[lvandert]

wow I missed two days...

Fish: I still have one fry. He's kinda cute to watch hunt microworms on the side of his cup. I'm going to give the breeding betta's a break until this little guy either grows up or dies. So far he looks healthy, no bent spine no discoloration, swims fine and a big fat belly He's a piggy. I moved everyone back into their normal homes, except Dizzy got moved into the 5 gal. There is more room for him to go nuts in, he is a HMPK. Everyone is doing great! Walter's fins are growing back, Velvet looks like nothing happened, and everyone's cool

Human: Happy Easter everyone! I know its tomorrow but I'll probably be busy cooking dinner all day. mmmm I've brined two cornish game hens and now have them sitting in a pot with fresh onion, garlic and a bit of chicken stock. They'll go into the crock pot tomorrow morning. I love cooking! I also got to whip up some stuffing, mashed potatoes (probably have chives and garlic). It's the bf's turn to play Easter bunny so he has things stashed all over the house in places I'm not supposed to look. It's a good thing I'm not a snooper otherwise I'd already know whats going into my basket. Got some of the house cleaned today but mostly nursed a hangover and worked on a short story. I've completed one and started like 3 others, it's time I finish one of them.

 

[lvandert]

I missed a couple days, my bad.

Fish: Everyone is all happy. Patrick's tail is on the mend, again. Walter's tail is healing great! Black Beard got thrown into the bachelors pad (divided 10 gal) and now he blows a bubble nest. grrr. Dizzy is in the 5 gal but I think I'm going to move him into the grow out tank for a bit. Lots of space to swim! I still have one little fry. He's made it through the first week. I hope he survives. Everyone is going to get a good water change today. I did one a couple days ago but its time.

Human: Well lets see I've been working working working, oh and throw school on top of that It's busy in my little world. I got part of my tattoo done. I developed a twitch though so she had to stop. I feel bad, it wasn't even related to pain I just twitched. grrr. Easter was good, Joey played Easter bunny and brought me all sorts of goodies. Well I got to study I have a test at 7 AM tomorrow so I got to go

 

[lvandert]

Good morning!

Fish: Dizzy loves being in the grow-out tank. It's a 20 tall half filled fake plants, java moss, moss ball, amazon swords (in little gravel cups), caves, a snail and tons of room to swim. It's fun to sit and watch him swim around and check every little thing out. The little guy is doing good! I'm starting to see a tail fin grow in, so cute! I think Smitty either got some fin rot or is biting/ripping his tail. I threw a IAL in there to help heal it up. Everyone else is all hunky dory.

Human: ug! I had a chem test at 7AM this morning. Was not a pleasant time. I'm hoping I passed. I got my new shipment of IAL, along with my clove oil. I got the day off of classes and I only have work tonight. We're going to head out shopping soonish and get a bunch of fun things.