Find a Benny, pick it up...
Look what followed me home today! (My website's not loading images for some reason so I'm using the new LJ gallery feature. Hope it works.)
Meet Benny!
It started out as Penny but after I got "her" home and in a tank with the light on, I saw definite tubercules on both gill covers and the front ray of one pectoral fin! It's a boy! LOL! So much for Sammy's "bride!" :p The ironic thing is, Sammy's probably a female, but I've just been using male pronouns with him since I got him so it's too hard to change now. Fortunately I spotted the tubercles soon enough that I was able to make the mental shift to thinking of Penny as Benny. o_0
He's about 4 1/2 inches counting tail. Gold on top with a white belly.
He's got some redness around his "armpits" but I think some good, clean water and a dash of Melafix should clear that up. Otherwise he seems very healthy. And wow, is he active! Zooms around a lot, and very friendly!
Now, as for how he came to be here... I needed filter sponges anyway, so Mom and I decided we'd just go look at the two lfs to see what they had. Fish store #1 had four fantails between 3" and 5". One was mainly black with bronze splotches--too dark. Another was all white except for a red blotch behind one gill cover--reminded me too much of Jackie, and wasn't very active or friendly. That left two gold and white ones. Benny, and another that was a little bigger but had a sort of sad, pointy face and a pimple thing on his lower lip. There were also two orandas in the same tank, one all white and another a redcap. The redcap was sooooo friendly (or hungry ;) ) it attacked my finger through the glass every time I put it up there! LOL! But Benny was right there beside the redcap most of the time, following me back and forth and telling me all about himself.
I was impressed and excited to have found some nice big fantails, but I did check out the other store before making a final decision. That was the store where I got all my other goldies, but right now the only fantails they had were TINY! (a.k.a. a light snack for Sammy!) XD They had some nice ryukins, but I'm just not ready to get attached to another ryukin, after all the problems I've had with Addy. :\ They also had a celestial, which you almost never see in my city, a swarm of baby redcaps, some comets leftover from pond season, two medium-sized pearlscales (which freak out my mom!) and several larger orandas. Some nice fish, but not what I was looking for. So it was back to the first store, where I got my bettas a few months ago.
I looked over the fantails one more time, and Benny was it. When the employee went to fill up a plastic bag from the tank most of the other fish freaked out and zoomed all over, but Benny just sort of backed into a corner for a second and then warily came over to check it out. Brave lil' guy! Not panicked at all. He even tried to bottom feed in the bag on the way home! LOL!
It was of course very tempting to put him right in with Sammy, but I've heard too many horror stories to skip quarantine. So I quickly set up the old 10-gallon, and after fighting and cursing at my air pump I got it up and running with a filter and bubble stone. I put in the little "stone" bridge that I had gotten for Mellie but which she was too big to use. Benny's been under there several times! :)
It's mainly bare bottom since it's so temporary, but I tossed in some shiny marbles and a couple fake plants--including one from Sammy's tank. Benny's been playing in the bubbles. ;) He's very active and already poking around looking for food. Full of personality and energy, this one. :)
Sammy hasn't realized that he can see his new friend through the side of his tank, but I hope he will soon. The two tanks are only a foot or so apart.
[Question I asked my pals on the goldfish board:]
If Benny seems healthy after 7-10 days would it be okay to have him move in with Sammy? I asked the employee at the fish store how long he'd been there, and she said that batch had been in the tank for 3-4 weeks and had been healthy the whole time. I don't want to risk getting Sammy sick but I don't want him to be lonely any longer than necessary, either.
Here's hoping Benny's healthy and likes it here!
Meet Benny!
It started out as Penny but after I got "her" home and in a tank with the light on, I saw definite tubercules on both gill covers and the front ray of one pectoral fin! It's a boy! LOL! So much for Sammy's "bride!" :p The ironic thing is, Sammy's probably a female, but I've just been using male pronouns with him since I got him so it's too hard to change now. Fortunately I spotted the tubercles soon enough that I was able to make the mental shift to thinking of Penny as Benny. o_0
He's about 4 1/2 inches counting tail. Gold on top with a white belly.
He's got some redness around his "armpits" but I think some good, clean water and a dash of Melafix should clear that up. Otherwise he seems very healthy. And wow, is he active! Zooms around a lot, and very friendly!
Now, as for how he came to be here... I needed filter sponges anyway, so Mom and I decided we'd just go look at the two lfs to see what they had. Fish store #1 had four fantails between 3" and 5". One was mainly black with bronze splotches--too dark. Another was all white except for a red blotch behind one gill cover--reminded me too much of Jackie, and wasn't very active or friendly. That left two gold and white ones. Benny, and another that was a little bigger but had a sort of sad, pointy face and a pimple thing on his lower lip. There were also two orandas in the same tank, one all white and another a redcap. The redcap was sooooo friendly (or hungry ;) ) it attacked my finger through the glass every time I put it up there! LOL! But Benny was right there beside the redcap most of the time, following me back and forth and telling me all about himself.
I was impressed and excited to have found some nice big fantails, but I did check out the other store before making a final decision. That was the store where I got all my other goldies, but right now the only fantails they had were TINY! (a.k.a. a light snack for Sammy!) XD They had some nice ryukins, but I'm just not ready to get attached to another ryukin, after all the problems I've had with Addy. :\ They also had a celestial, which you almost never see in my city, a swarm of baby redcaps, some comets leftover from pond season, two medium-sized pearlscales (which freak out my mom!) and several larger orandas. Some nice fish, but not what I was looking for. So it was back to the first store, where I got my bettas a few months ago.
I looked over the fantails one more time, and Benny was it. When the employee went to fill up a plastic bag from the tank most of the other fish freaked out and zoomed all over, but Benny just sort of backed into a corner for a second and then warily came over to check it out. Brave lil' guy! Not panicked at all. He even tried to bottom feed in the bag on the way home! LOL!
It was of course very tempting to put him right in with Sammy, but I've heard too many horror stories to skip quarantine. So I quickly set up the old 10-gallon, and after fighting and cursing at my air pump I got it up and running with a filter and bubble stone. I put in the little "stone" bridge that I had gotten for Mellie but which she was too big to use. Benny's been under there several times! :)
It's mainly bare bottom since it's so temporary, but I tossed in some shiny marbles and a couple fake plants--including one from Sammy's tank. Benny's been playing in the bubbles. ;) He's very active and already poking around looking for food. Full of personality and energy, this one. :)
Sammy hasn't realized that he can see his new friend through the side of his tank, but I hope he will soon. The two tanks are only a foot or so apart.
[Question I asked my pals on the goldfish board:]
If Benny seems healthy after 7-10 days would it be okay to have him move in with Sammy? I asked the employee at the fish store how long he'd been there, and she said that batch had been in the tank for 3-4 weeks and had been healthy the whole time. I don't want to risk getting Sammy sick but I don't want him to be lonely any longer than necessary, either.
Here's hoping Benny's healthy and likes it here!