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| Pinkgirl's new home |
| 11.25.03 (4:07 pm) [edit] |
I've set up a little 2.5 gallon for Pinkgirl as a hospice. She's busy exploring and poking her nose anywhere it can be poked. I've got mostly silk plants in there with some rocks and a heater to keep her toasty in the cold. She's right next to my computer so we can watch each other while I'm here. I've added a pinch of epsom salts to help with the swelling.
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| betta hospice |
| 11.24.03 (5:51 pm) [edit] |
For the past two weeks I have been treating Pinkgirl for an unknown ailment who's principal symptom is dropsy. At first, I though it might be an internal parasitical infection, but the proscribed course of medicated food (Pepso Food) made no difference. Two days after that her dropsy became much worse and I started her on a med that mixes and antibiotic with an anti-parasitic (Paragon II). She still swam and ate with ethusiasm but refused food such as pellets that have any "crunch" to them (Her mouth has turned dark-- it may be bruised). She still pounces on bloodworms, daphnia etc.
After 2 days of treatment on the new regimen, her bloating reduced significantly, but not completely. Her scales began to discolor. I then moved her to a combination of two antibiotics (Spectrogram) and feeding food soaked in antibiotics. Still swimming and eating soft foods. Wriggle dances. Happy fish motions (within the restrictions put on her by her size). She should be pale and listless. Not eating or interacting at all. Staying at the bottom of the tank. Seven days into the latest treatment her scales started lifting slightly (pinecone effect). She's still doing happy fish things.
I don't know what else to do for her. I've never seen a fish with such advanced dropsy alive at all let alone eating and wriggling. These medicines were the biggest guns I have.
So I'm going to set up a betta hospice for Pinkgirl. I have a 2.5 gallon tank with an itty bitty heater and some plants. The tank is disinfecting now. I'll put her on my desk where I can keep an eye on her. Eventualy the drospy will kill her. In the meantime, I'll try to keep her as comfortable as possible.
:cry:
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| creeping diy project |
| 11.23.03 (12:27 pm) [edit] |
Help, I can't stop!
It started simply enough. Over the heat of the summer, the layers and layers of paint on the trim around my front door began to crack and peel off. So, I think, fine, I'll repaint. But I'll need to prime because some bare wood is showing and I'll need to sand before that to smooth everything over.
But before that I had to chip away all the chippy pieces. Lots of layers of paint. Pretty soon I'm looking at the inside of the door frame at the painted wood where the door rests when its closed. If I don't paint it, it'll be a different (ugly) color. More sanding ensues.
Then I start to see the whate-painted metal frame both around the screen door and between the trim and the aluminum siding which is filthy and scratched and splattered with other colors of paint. I think it'd look very nice with a fresh coat of white paint. 'Course I'll have to clean it and sand it. Oh, and prime it. Then paint.
You see how this is going. I'm outta hand. I'm beginning to eye the door insulation as needing replacing. If I'm not careful, I might end up repainting the whole house! (Oh please! Let winter weather intervene!) Is there a DIY 12-step program?
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| pea joy |
| 11.22.03 (5:47 pm) [edit] |
Bettas are pretty confirmed carnivores, but they do have a vegetable weakness: peas. They love peas. They dive on them and snatch them and carry them around in their mouths. The juvies play Grab the Pea and Pea Keepaway with each other. Naturally, I took pictures.
Peas are actually really good for them. Constant diets of dry food like flakes and pellets can cause constipation in a betta. No, really. The pea helps relieve that (also a day or two of fasting doesn't hurt).
If you want to try this at home, an adult betta only needs about a quarter of a pea (or even less). And you have to cook the pea. And it shouldn't be canned because of the salt used in the canning.
I keep a bag of peas in the freezer. I pull out however many I need (after banging the bag on the counter to loosen them up), cover them with water in a cup and nuke it for about a minute. If you're just doing one pea, it takes ten seconds. Wait for it to cool and then pull the skin off. Give a piece of the inside part to the betta. The rule of thumb is that their stomach is about as big as one of their eyes.
Now, your guy may not go for it at first (especially if he's never known anything but flakes); if he doesn't, you need to turkeybaster the pea remains out of the tank or it'll foul the water. Fast him for a day and try again. He'll thank you for it.
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| smack! |
| 11.22.03 (1:38 pm) [edit] |
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| testing avatar |
| 11.21.03 (4:13 pm) [edit] |
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maybe I'll keep this, I don't know. What good does it do?
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| Boxes boxes everywhere |
| 11.20.03 (1:28 pm) [edit] |
:shock: OK, liking the smilies.
I'm slowly moving things over here. The fry are officially fish now. More soon.
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I'm reading:
Aquamaniacs
Picture of the Moment
Betta Links
Betty Splendens
BC Betta
Bettas R Us
Biloxi Bettas
Classic Bettas
Jeff Hiller
Phil Lafferty
Majestic Bettas
Sailor Johnny
Jim Sonnier
Aquarticles
Dr. Tim's Library
Hypertextbook: Mendelian Genetics Chapter Directory
DIY CO2 Systems for Freshwater-Planted Aquaria
Member of
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