bettas & things.

an online journal documenting the adventures of a novice fishkeeper and all of her fishy business.

[ablogforbettas]

the end.

i was going to write a long blurb justifying my reasons for leaving the community/this hobby, but i’ve decided against it. people change, interests change, hobbies change. that’s all that’s happened here, and there’s nothing wrong with it. thanks to everyone that’s kept up with this journal since its start in 2013. thanks for all the compliments, all the answers to my questions, all the encouragement, everything. and while i probably won’t be updating this blog anymore, trust that i’ll always have an aquarium up and running in my home.  thanks again for a wonderful three years, and good luck with all  of your fishy adventures. ♥

- Rae/ablogforbettas

[ablogforbettas]

my favorite scapes: Indie’s simple 2.5G, Chia’s 2.5G, small walstad bowl (w/pond snails), 2G ramshorn cube, 7G malawa shrimp cube, Kai’s 5G jungle.

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*timidly swims across dashboard*

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forever my favorite post.

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from humble beginnings; September 2011 to February 2013.

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throwback.

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my bettas of past and present: Bandit, Indie, Mowgli, Chia, Kai and Rin.

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fishy goals for 2016.

i generally don’t do the whole new year’s resolutions things (though i did do the same thing on my guinea pig blog), but i feel like i was kind of stagnant in my fish hobby last year. while i have lost some interest in fishkeeping, there’s still a lot more that i want to do before i officially call it quits. here’s what i want to accomplish done between now and December 31, 2016.

1. Branch back out from bettas. I know my username is ablogforBETTAS, but I think part of the reason I’m starting to get bored is because I’m not really exploring the hobby anymore. My personality doesn’t allow for me to settle on one thing for much longer than two years, and I’ve been keeping strictly bettas for going on five years. I’ve always been wary because bettas are one of the easiest species of fish to keep and allow me tons of wiggle room as far as finances (no live food) and life-scheduling go. I’d like to try my hand at keeping fish that are  slightly more demanding. Not sure what that is just yet, but i’ll cross that road when i get to it. 2. Get rid of some equipment. I have so much junk ya’ll, omg. I need to throw out the plastic plants that I’ve had since my first fish, Bandit, lived in a 1G bowl. And I have like three desk lamps I’m not ever going to use again (except just kidding, i’m using one as a light for terrestrial plants so maybe don’t throw all of those out). I’ve also got some old medicines that expired. Basically, just do a spring cleaning of stuff I’m not using. This include all equipment bought for 2.5 gallon tanks, because I personally vowed not to keep living creatures in anything that small. Shit gets outta hand too quick in them for me to keep up with. 3. Continue to explore live plants. Because, honestly, plants are my favorite part of the hobby. Generally speaking, I keep low and sometimes mid-tech plants. I would like explore CO2 this year cause I would love to get a lush carpet of dwarf hairgrass at some point in life.  4. Expiriment with frozen, and eventually, live food. I think it’d be smart of me to do this first while I have betta fish who don’t necessarily depend on these things before I get a fish who won’t accept anything else. It’d be good practice for me and would create a more balanced diet for my current fish.

5. Update this blog a little more regularly. If you’ve been following me for a minute, you know I’m baaaaaad about posting and disappearing for weeks/months at a time. Because my tanks are more or less self-sustaining at this point, there’s not really ever anything happening/changing. I don’t wanna be one of those people that takes the same picture of their tank over and over again so most of the time I just don’t post at all. So I don’t know if this is actually feasible, but I’ll make an honest effort to do it since this is a journal and it’s hard to look back on how you’ve grown when you haven’t written anything. :p

I’m not sure how soon I’ll get to start doing these things. I know I just said I wanted to branch out from bettas, but before I made these resolutions, I had already put it out into the universe that I wanted a third betta and I still very much do. I just haven’t yet gotten the resolve to start the process of setting up a new tank. I also wanted to wait until the 10G was mature enough to more or less take care of itself before I setup a fourth tank. But yes, hopefully, I’ll get around to everything on this list. I don’t think anything is too unrealistic. I know for certain, though, that the first one won’t happen while I live in my current apartment b/c I don’t have space for anything bigger than a 10G and that’s already been claimed by the aforementioned third betta. The rest I can certainly work on now. Hoping year five of my fish-keeping journey goes smoothly! ♥

[ablogforbettas]

i thrifted this book today during a buy one, get two free sale!

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found this creature on a frogbit lilypad this morning. it’s been almost three months since the dragonfly larvae incident. i’m not sure where they’re coming from now, but i hope this is one of the last.

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real time update: the 10G is very overgrown....

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hi i just wanted to say that i love ur aesthetic and that i hope u have a nice week!

1.  i didn’t know i had aesthetic so that makes me feel good about myself/my blog.2. thanks for the well wishes! this has been a rough week and i could really use a change of pace. i’m hoping next week is better too. c:

[ablogforbettas]

you and your fish are lovely! they also have v beautiful homes. your aquariums are goals for me. any advice on fishkeeping? 💚

you’re lovely! ♥the biggest piece of advice i have is to research everything.

it’s imperative that you research every detail when it comes to fish. research the fish you want and the water params it needs; research the tankmates/plants you want to make sure they’re compatible; research the food you’ll need to buy (pellets? frozen? live??); research the equipment you want; research the gravel and decor to make sure they’re soft enough for your fish/viable for plant life. if you want a really successful tank, you *have* to research every aspect of it. it sounds like a lot, but you would do the same thing for a cat or dog, right? also, be patient. admittedly, this is something i’m still working on. but nothing good in a fish tank happens overnight. if your fish got sick, he’s gonna need some time to get better. plants now growing? they will - give it time. algae suddenly everywhere? be diligent about removal/treating the source and give it a week or two. the good thing about a properly researched/set-up tank is that it usually bounces back when trouble strikes.sorry if this response sounds cliché, but it’s also what i’ve learned on my own in the past four years of fish-keeping through trial and error. just tryna keep you from making some of the same mistakes. hope it helps! xo

[ablogforbettas]

is it bad to change your bettas name after realizing that sugar is in fact not a girl?

there’s nothing to feel bad about, anon. but why change it at all? names don’t have genders, y’know! ;o

[ablogforbettas]

Rin tries really hard to be tough but he just ends up being adorable.

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november 14, 2015

today’s mission was to find driftwood for the 10G. i thought it would be cheaper to try and source some locally rather than have it shipped to my door. i got four nice-sized pieces for about 45 dollars so i guess i’m happy about that. i just really wanted the wood that i got to be something other than regular malaysian driftwood. the 10G’s scape is kind of boring honestly and needs that extra something that manzanita and spiderwood bring to an aquarium. but unfortunately, people around here aren’t that into planted tanks or aquascaping. i’m learning from my visits to my LFS that people in this area are either very saltwater or very basic freshwater. there is no in between. for those in the area (North Carolina), i went to The Fish Room in Raleigh and Aquarium Outfitters in Wake Forest. i got two pieces of driftwood from both places, but of the two, The Fish Room had better options. Aquarium Outfitters was *slightly* cheaper though. got kind of irritated at Aquarium Outfitters though because every time i go there, they treat me like i don’t know what i’m doing. i’m 98% sure that it’s because i’m a girl (+POC, but i digress), but i’ve been in there enough times that they should know that i have a clue. maybe i should just keep pictures of my tanks on my phone so that the next time they tell me “manzanita wood can’t go in your aquarium!” i can just flash them this picture and say “oh really?” ;o also, while I was at The Fish Room, i saw a dwarf puffer and holy shit, i didn’t know they were so small! i fell in love and had i an appropriately sized tank up and running, i would’ve brought one home. but, should i decide to get that second 7G cube, i’m definitely getting a dwarf puffer. they’re sooo cute, and i think i’m experienced enough to take care of one now. definitely gonna do more research before i make that decision, though. so now i’m home and about to start soaking the new driftwood. i also have to repot some plants. i have these two pothos plants that just aren’t doing well in soil, so i think i’m going to try planting them in the filters of the 5 and 10G and see what happens. hope they perk up!

[ablogforbettas]

and here we have a Kai swimming in his natural habitat.

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Hi! I just thought I'd let you know that seeing your tanks inspired me to switch from fake to real plants in my betta's tank. Seeing him explore his new home and weave in and out of the plants for the first time almost brought tears to my eyes. Thank you! Keep doing what you're doing!

i hope you don’t mind me publishing this, but i’ve been getting an influx of messages like these and each time they just warm my heart. i’m such a small, insignificant part of the internet, but the fact that i’ve inspired you + a handful of others makes me feel...i don’t know...less insignificant, if only marginally so.i don’t know. it just makes me feel really good that i, a super mundane girl who spends her free time posting about her fish tanks (of all things!) inspired someone. like...whoa. me? me??? no way!so thank you so much for this super sweet message! i hope that i continue to inspire you to the point that you too have more plants than you do space in your tank(s). please do post pictures of your lil’ guy in his upgraded home. i would love to see him! ♥

[ablogforbettas]

current state of the 5G. it’s less yellow in real life.