betta talk
I feel like a bad mommy. :(
I thought Hendrix was miraculously getting better, and then this morning I come back and both my male bettas look like crap. Hendrix looks especially awful -- his tummy's still puffy, his gills are red, and there are small holes appearing in his fins -- but Sharkbait's tail also looks really bad. The long, extended "crown" tips are irregularly blunted and short.
I've been watching this for a little while -- fin rot is uber-common in long-finned fish and I've been wondering if they need softer decorations -- but I wonder if I did something wrong when I changed the water yesterday that exacerbated this. I got a stress coat, which didn't seem to do anything, and I did use the de-chlorinator betta-safe stuff... *frowns* I think I need a seive of some sort so I can clean their water better.
They say that bacteria on the bottom is what causes fin rot, and bettas like to chill so they sit there a lot. I don't have nasty gravel -- I got them those flat marbles instead -- but regardless I haven't been sure how to clean them other than by shaking them in my hands under a very hot faucet. Mayhap I need a seive. And dashes of aquarium salt to discourage disease. Cheap remedies, but I'd feel so much better if it made them more comfortable...
*sigh* Ah well, it's not going to do any good if I sit here and feel guilty and sad as I watch Sharkbait swim around with his tail-fin looking funny and Hendrix sulking around. Even Ghosti could look better... mawr.
Despite having gone shopping for myself yesterday, I think I'm going to spend more money today taking care of my babies.
Some people think I'm crazy for investing so much time and money in what is probably one of the lowest-maintenance pets in existence, but I firmly believe in keeping my pets as happy as possible, else what's the point in keeping them here. Even the Goobers (my mice) get healthy treats and fun toys, and they are ungrateful wretches.
I love my poor bettas... I just wish they were hardier little guys.
I thought Hendrix was miraculously getting better, and then this morning I come back and both my male bettas look like crap. Hendrix looks especially awful -- his tummy's still puffy, his gills are red, and there are small holes appearing in his fins -- but Sharkbait's tail also looks really bad. The long, extended "crown" tips are irregularly blunted and short.
I've been watching this for a little while -- fin rot is uber-common in long-finned fish and I've been wondering if they need softer decorations -- but I wonder if I did something wrong when I changed the water yesterday that exacerbated this. I got a stress coat, which didn't seem to do anything, and I did use the de-chlorinator betta-safe stuff... *frowns* I think I need a seive of some sort so I can clean their water better.
They say that bacteria on the bottom is what causes fin rot, and bettas like to chill so they sit there a lot. I don't have nasty gravel -- I got them those flat marbles instead -- but regardless I haven't been sure how to clean them other than by shaking them in my hands under a very hot faucet. Mayhap I need a seive. And dashes of aquarium salt to discourage disease. Cheap remedies, but I'd feel so much better if it made them more comfortable...
*sigh* Ah well, it's not going to do any good if I sit here and feel guilty and sad as I watch Sharkbait swim around with his tail-fin looking funny and Hendrix sulking around. Even Ghosti could look better... mawr.
Despite having gone shopping for myself yesterday, I think I'm going to spend more money today taking care of my babies.
Some people think I'm crazy for investing so much time and money in what is probably one of the lowest-maintenance pets in existence, but I firmly believe in keeping my pets as happy as possible, else what's the point in keeping them here. Even the Goobers (my mice) get healthy treats and fun toys, and they are ungrateful wretches.
I love my poor bettas... I just wish they were hardier little guys.