Updates And New Tank! (Edit: And Betta!)

[Haych]

stunning!

 

[flip]

he is gorgeous! where did you get that wood in your tank? i love that!

 

[Morphkid03]

Beautiful fish and beautiful tank. Although I really like planted tanks, I also like tanks with just some rocks and wood like yours. Simple and natural. Good luck with the fish

Thank you. It actually is planted, there's some (small for now) elodea in the back and ludwigia repens.

stunning!

Thanks!

he is gorgeous! where did you get that wood in your tank? i love that!

I actually picked it up at Petsmart... I think it was $8.99? Thanks for the compliments. :3

 

[loraxchick]

he is VERY handsome. excellent choice. lovely finnage as well.
he seems to have settled in nicely. and the tank looks great (as urs always do).
cheers

 

[Morphkid03]

he is VERY handsome. excellent choice. lovely finnage as well.
he seems to have settled in nicely. and the tank looks great (as urs always do).
cheers

Thanks :3

I've noticed he sometimes gets these really gorgeous pure white lines on his gills when he flares. They're amazing.
He's really come out of his shell in the last few days and is getting used to the pellet food. He's about 2 inches long... do you think he will get bigger/how old do you think he is?

 

[loraxchick]

Thanks :3

I've noticed he sometimes gets these really gorgeous pure white lines on his gills when he flares. They're amazing.
He's really come out of his shell in the last few days and is getting used to the pellet food. He's about 2 inches long... do you think he will get bigger/how old do you think he is?
[/quote]

lots of fully mature bettas get vertical lighter scaling on their gill plates. that particular fish being so light, i bet they look white my red guy has rusty colored stripes.. you new guy really is a very nice color. different than most chain-store fish.
if hes already 2 inches id assume hes somewhere between 9-12+ months (i say this based on raising bettas from less than an inch from breeders-so i know their birthdate, and how long it took them to become :fully grown). i can say with reasonable certainty your guy is fully grown. his fins may fill out even more, but his body is likely done growing. it is difficult to age a fish simply based on appearance (you can know with more certainty by looking at scales under the microscope and otoliths (ie fish "ear bones"<---but with these you have to kill the fish...scales you just pull one off and look..not that you will likely do this, but it is possible..did loads of this in college and beyond).
keep the updates coming. fun stuff
good luck with the rest of your finals (if ur not done already).
cheers

 

[Morphkid03]

Thanks :3

I've noticed he sometimes gets these really gorgeous pure white lines on his gills when he flares. They're amazing.
He's really come out of his shell in the last few days and is getting used to the pellet food. He's about 2 inches long... do you think he will get bigger/how old do you think he is?

lots of fully mature bettas get vertical lighter scaling on their gill plates. that particular fish being so light, i bet they look white my red guy has rusty colored stripes.. you new guy really is a very nice color. different than most chain-store fish.
if hes already 2 inches id assume hes somewhere between 9-12+ months (i say this based on raising bettas from less than an inch from breeders-so i know their birthdate, and how long it took them to become :fully grown). i can say with reasonable certainty your guy is fully grown. his fins may fill out even more, but his body is likely done growing. it is difficult to age a fish simply based on appearance (you can know with more certainty by looking at scales under the microscope and otoliths (ie fish "ear bones"<---but with these you have to kill the fish...scales you just pull one off and look..not that you will likely do this, but it is possible..did loads of this in college and beyond).
keep the updates coming. fun stuff
good luck with the rest of your finals (if ur not done already).
cheers

Thanks, yeah his color is very stunning. I need to get a fresh filter insert into the tank so the charcoal can get the tannins out of the water... Then you'll *really* be able to see how pretty he is. Tea-colored water does not a good color reference make.
When I said 2 inches I meant from head to end of tail, just wanted to clarify. Can't wait to keep updating :3

 

[loraxchick]

[/quote]
When I said 2 inches I meant from head to end of tail, just wanted to clarify. Can't wait to keep updating :3
[/quote]
i see. prob about 4-6 months old depending on the temp and food he was raised with.
cheers

 

[Morphkid03]

When I said 2 inches I meant from head to end of tail, just wanted to clarify. Can't wait to keep updating :3
i see. prob about 4-6 months old depending on the temp and food he was raised with.
cheers

Awesome. Thanks so much.
Gonna go pick up a new filter pad today and hopefully the tannins clear up by the weekend so I can get some less-tinted shots.

 

[loraxchick]

just buy a box of carbon and put some in some pantyhose in the filter/where there is good flow in the tank..a much cheaper alternative to cartriges which are small and whose properties are used up very fast due to their small size (ie little carbon)also, that piece of wood may leak tannins for a few weeks if not soaked well before you got it and you may go through quite a bit of cartriges if that's the case.
just a thought-on a college budget
cheers

 

[Morphkid03]

just buy a box of carbon and put some in some pantyhose in the filter/where there is good flow in the tank..a much cheaper alternative to cartriges which are small and whose properties are used up very fast due to their small size (ie little carbon)also, that piece of wood may leak tannins for a few weeks if not soaked well before you got it and you may go through quite a bit of cartriges if that's the case.
just a thought-on a college budget
cheers

Oh yes, I know. I boiled the wood for a while before I put it in but it's still leaking... Also the filter pack in there is an old one from Oliver's tank that I put in to establish a bacterial colony, but it's starting to fall apart so I really need to replace it anyway. But yeah I'll def. pick up some loose charcoal when my paycheck comes through.

 

[Morphkid03]

Went to the store and replaced the bulb in the 10gal (it was literally 7 years old and was super dim), replaced my filter cartridge, and got loose activated charcoal which I made a little bag with small holes in it and placed inside my filter. Hopefully that helps the tannin situation!

More pictures when I have more time... finals...ugh.

 

[loraxchick]

 

[Morphkid03]

Went to my favorite LFS yesterday and picked up 4 more catfish- a red laser, bronze, (what i believe is a) fairy, and skunk.
Was short on money (paycheck was small this week) so couldn't pick up any plants but I'll go back later and pick some out, or I'll just order online.
In other news- I'm getting snowed in, haha. MD is expecting 1-2 feet of snow.
Pictures will be up later.

 

[loraxchick]

Went to my favorite LFS yesterday and picked up 4 more catfish- a red laser, bronze, (what i believe is a) fairy, and skunk.
Was short on money (paycheck was small this week) so couldn't pick up any plants but I'll go back later and pick some out, or I'll just order online.
In other news- I'm getting snowed in, haha. MD is expecting 1-2 feet of snow.
Pictures will be up later.

we got nothing in that storm. the coast gtr hit HARD though. friends in eastern long island got over 2 feet im jealous. im a snow bunny and cant get enough of the stuff!
cheers