Alex Homewood

Fishkeeping obsessed. This blog is not limited to fishkeeping. Ask me about anything!

[bufomancer]

hey! i had a question- bettas prefer softer water and lower ph, right? how do i manually lower it? i live in the city and our water is super hard and has high ph, and i rly have nowhere to keep jugs of spring water, lol. any tips?

I have the same problem- my pH is roughly 8.2-8.4! I use a lot of botanicals to lower the pH and soften the water. Mostly indian almond leaves, but also other leaves too. I use the Tannin Aquatics “Releaf” Pack

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

ALSO: if you're really worried seachem sells a product called ph balance that'll take you to a neutral ph and others to lower/raise it. I've never personally used them although I have known people who have. I wouldn't personally go there if it's not integral to the health of your animals, but like, it's an option.

[bufomancer]

Do I have to feed my betta kanaplex or can it just go in the tank?

As far as I know, either, but read the bottle and do what it instructs.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

If whatever you're trying to treat is internal, than it's much much more effective to feed. If it's on the skin, or directly accessible to the water, than put it directly in the tank. Putting it in the water is still going to work in most cases if it's internal, but if the situation is urgent, it's worth feeding. You can make your own medicated fish flakes pretty easily, there are lots of recipes online (Seachem also, if I'm not mistaken sells a product specifically for binding medicated food together.)

[hella-free-space]

Found this neat infographic :D

With bettafix/melafix: I’ve heard both that it helps and that it hurts…I don’t have a personal opinion on it because I don’t know how it’s supposed to help or hinder…I’ve heard that it coats the labrynth organ and you can easily overdose the meds and kill your fish. But I’ve also heard that as long as you use less than the dose prescribed on the bottle, it can be beneficial.

I DO know that it’s basically tea tree oil, so if you ever use it, err on the side of caution.

I wonder if the intended effect is to make the fish rest more? Kind of like taking niquil for a cold…it doesn’t cure the cold, but it makes you sleepy so you rest more and your body can concentrate it’s energy on fighting that cold…

With Epsom salt: Unscented, pure stuff…or aquarium salt in case you’re worried you may use the Epsom salt incorrectly♡

With ANY sick betta: The cleanest warm water you can give them will do wonders! Especially for things like fin melt/fin rot :)

(Feel free to add onto this info)

[fourteen--steps]

I might quibble with some of the antibiotic choices too?

Maracyn I (Erythromycin), ampicillin, and tetracycline treat mainly gram positive bacteria, while most aquarium infections tend to be gram negative. They also can be quite harsh on your filter bacteria and just generally tend to have fewer targeted uses with more ill effects when it comes to fish. Not to say they can’t be helpful in the right circumstance, but there are so many better choices to keep on hand. (Except ampicillin which is like, all but useless for aquatics, don’t waste your money) 

Maracyn II is good for low pH, soft water environments, which many betta tanks are, but be aware than if you have harder water this medication will LOSE ALL EFFECT. Minocycline is absorbed by calcium (one of the main components in hard water) and rendered completely useless. If you have moderate-high pH, Triple Sulfa is a similar broad spectrum choice that works well in those water conditions

I’d also add Metronidazole to your medicine cabinet which treats internal bacterial and parasitic infections very well when used in a medicated food

[bufomancer]

I’d also like to add that aquarium salt and epsom salts are not the same and have different effects. Epsom salt will reduce swelling, aquarium salt does not. Aquarium salt is more of an anti septic to help prevent fin rot (though it does not treat the actual infection. it may help very mild fin rot but it is best to err on the side of caution and just use an anti bacterial)

Also add Seachem Entice or Garlic Juice to your medicine cabinet! It’s helpful for getting a fish that is refusing food to eat.

Additionally: a Multivitamin is also a good idea!

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Also:

Fungus cure is only effective if it's the original jungle one, tetra also has one that's a weak version of the original and was created when tetra bought jungle, always check ingredient lists.

I've been taking a break from the hobby so maybe I've just forgotten, but I don't remember any specific well known 'super ich cure.' Ich can be treated with heat and aq salt (@elemental-kiss Is right about it not being an antibiotic, to be clear) in most cases and in severe cases general anti-parasite meds work just fine (I personally use seachem paraguard but do a little research on what specific medications treat ich and get a cocktail of one or more of those.)

Also don't use bettafix/melafix, regardless of whether or not it's actually deadly (I used to use it and my fish were fine, but that means basically nothing because I only used it on one or two fish) the stuff is weak as hell you're better off with something that'll actually treat the problem. Don't freak out about medicating your fish when they need it, if they're in a good habitat they won't get sick often enough for it to cause a problem, and most medications are pretty gentle on fish anyway, (it's true that some aren't, but those are ussually the 'only-use-in-case-of-issues-serious-enough-that-longterm-effect-is-of-secondary-importance-to-making-sure-the-fish-actually-lives' type.)

[sablemae98]

EMERGENCY

Fishblr!!!!!

My betta, Leo, has been lethargic and not eating since I put him in the divided with Vesuvius. Vesu has also been ill, but not to the same extent. I tried adding an aerator to add oxygen, but that hasn’t helped. He hasn’t lost color from stress. It’s a double divided 15. 72°F or 21 ish C. He’s breathing hard and laying on the sand in the bottom of the tank

I don’t really know any fish blogs by name but I can try tagging @jayce-space I think?? And @bettablogging??

My test is coming in the next five minutes or so.

[jayce-space]

A few questions. How large is the tank? Is it filtered? It doesn’t seem to be heated and that alone can make a big difference! You said double divided, so there are 3 males? What do you feed? What are water changes like?

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Do you have a heater? You said it’s 72 degrees, that’s pretty low for a betta, low temperature causes lethargy and increases disease vulnerability. Also have you tested the water? Bad water quality can cause all the symptoms you’ve described.

[sablemae98]

I just put the heater back on to go to 76, and I tested the water (Ammonia .5, Nitrite .25) and did an immediate water change. I’m waiting on new readings now.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Ok, how often do you change your water/how often do you test it? It might just be from the elevated ammonia and lower temperature.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

How do your tests normally come back?

[sablemae98]

Ammonia and Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10. PH is normally 6.7, but after Leo passed I did a test for it and it showed 7.8. My guess is that that’s what happened, with a combination of the other factors. I still have no clue what could have caused the fluctuation. I had driftwood in the tank, so if anything the ph should have gone down. Unfortunately I’m away from the tank for the next few days, and our house sitter says Vesuvius isn’t doing too well. I guess we’ll see.

To make matters worse, the filter burned out the day after we left. Essentially, this is a disaster.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Have you raised the temperature and if so has that had any effect? Also do you know how old he is?

[alittlepot]

PLEASE REBLOG THIS. SIOUX NATIVES ARE BEING ATTACKED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

Since the media is fucking garabge and isn’t reporting on this I will. Earlier today the Sioux tribe (the natives protesting the pipeline in north dakota) were literally attacked by the government. They blocked off any live stream being recorded online, and have been confiscating phones and erasing videos. They being the police and whoever is responsible for cutting off the live streams. Today they dropped tear gas from planes on PEACEFUL protesters that were collectivly PRAYING together in an attempt to protect their WATER. A basic human right. They put chemicals in the water (from what I read on twitter), they’ve arrested over 21 people, and have been surrounding the protesters (who are unarmed) with weapons, not allowing anyone to come or leave the protesting site, and the media is being COMPLETELY silent about this. This is happening to men, woman, and children. Please if you are going to reblog anything please allow it to be this.This is outrageous and needs to stop. It is up to us to stand up and say something since the media and government are trying to silence the people. We need to speak for those who can’t!!! The natives have suffered long enough, and this needs to end!!!!

[sablemae98]

EMERGENCY

Fishblr!!!!!

My betta, Leo, has been lethargic and not eating since I put him in the divided with Vesuvius. Vesu has also been ill, but not to the same extent. I tried adding an aerator to add oxygen, but that hasn’t helped. He hasn’t lost color from stress. It’s a double divided 15. 72°F or 21 ish C. He’s breathing hard and laying on the sand in the bottom of the tank

I don’t really know any fish blogs by name but I can try tagging @jayce-space I think?? And @bettablogging??

My test is coming in the next five minutes or so.

[jayce-space]

A few questions. How large is the tank? Is it filtered? It doesn’t seem to be heated and that alone can make a big difference! You said double divided, so there are 3 males? What do you feed? What are water changes like?

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Do you have a heater? You said it’s 72 degrees, that’s pretty low for a betta, low temperature causes lethargy and increases disease vulnerability. Also have you tested the water? Bad water quality can cause all the symptoms you’ve described.

[sablemae98]

I just put the heater back on to go to 76, and I tested the water (Ammonia .5, Nitrite .25) and did an immediate water change. I’m waiting on new readings now.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Ok, how often do you change your water/how often do you test it? It might just be from the elevated ammonia and lower temperature.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

How do your tests normally come back?

[sablemae98]

EMERGENCY

Fishblr!!!!!

My betta, Leo, has been lethargic and not eating since I put him in the divided with Vesuvius. Vesu has also been ill, but not to the same extent. I tried adding an aerator to add oxygen, but that hasn’t helped. He hasn’t lost color from stress. It’s a double divided 15. 72°F or 21 ish C. He’s breathing hard and laying on the sand in the bottom of the tank

I don’t really know any fish blogs by name but I can try tagging @jayce-space I think?? And @bettablogging??

My test is coming in the next five minutes or so.

[jayce-space]

A few questions. How large is the tank? Is it filtered? It doesn’t seem to be heated and that alone can make a big difference! You said double divided, so there are 3 males? What do you feed? What are water changes like?

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Do you have a heater? You said it’s 72 degrees, that’s pretty low for a betta, low temperature causes lethargy and increases disease vulnerability. Also have you tested the water? Bad water quality can cause all the symptoms you’ve described.

[sablemae98]

I just put the heater back on to go to 76, and I tested the water (Ammonia .5, Nitrite .25) and did an immediate water change. I’m waiting on new readings now.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Ok, how often do you change your water/how often do you test it? It might just be from the elevated ammonia and lower temperature.

[sablemae98]

EMERGENCY

Fishblr!!!!!

My betta, Leo, has been lethargic and not eating since I put him in the divided with Vesuvius. Vesu has also been ill, but not to the same extent. I tried adding an aerator to add oxygen, but that hasn’t helped. He hasn’t lost color from stress. It’s a double divided 15. 72°F or 21 ish C. He’s breathing hard and laying on the sand in the bottom of the tank

I don’t really know any fish blogs by name but I can try tagging @jayce-space I think?? And @bettablogging??

My test is coming in the next five minutes or so.

[jayce-space]

A few questions. How large is the tank? Is it filtered? It doesn’t seem to be heated and that alone can make a big difference! You said double divided, so there are 3 males? What do you feed? What are water changes like?

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Do you have a heater? You said it's 72 degrees, that's pretty low for a betta, low temperature causes lethargy and increases disease vulnerability. Also have you tested the water? Bad water quality can cause all the symptoms you've described.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

Hey! long time no see. I'm back, executive function is a bitch. But I have actual like, posts, coming up and stuff

[daynapapaya-deactivated20181023]

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

I don’t care if Hillary Clinton is corrupt. I don’t care if she lies, if she cheats, if she eats bowls of newborn chipmunks for breakfast.

She is literally the only thing standing in the way of a fascist dictator becoming President of the United States with a Republican majority congress that guarantees he can do anything he wants and nothing will be able to stop him.

I was and still am a Bernie supporter, and I hate a lot of things about Clinton, but none of that matters anymore. If Trump is elected, people are going to die. Women are going to die when Roe v Wade is overturned and Planned Parenthood is defunded. LGBTQ people are going to die when conversion therapy is further legalized and more bathroom bills are passed. POC are going to die as Trump rounds up Mexican immigrants, gives more power to the police, and fuels the fires of Islamaphobia. Poor people are going to die as Obamacare gets overturned and further cuts are made to welfare programs. And that’s just in this country. That’s not even taking account the all-too-likely outcomes of Trump starting new wars in the Middle East and having control of nuclear bombs that he’s said he ‘would not rule out’ using.

This is no longer even about ‘the lesser of two evils’. This is not ‘scare tactics’. This is literally life and death. Don’t fuck around and tell me you’re voting third-party or not voting at all, because you don’t have that luxury. 

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

I am delighted that this post has gotten as many notes as it has, but as Election Day grows closer I would like to flush it out with some additional information and facts, particularly for those people who are still considering voting third party and those who still consider Clinton “just as bad” as Trump.

Why you shouldn’t vote for Jill Stein

Why you shouldn’t vote for Gary Johnson

Why you shouldn’t vote third party AT ALL: x, x, x, x (hint, it’s because the electoral college presently makes it impossible for third party to win)

Worried about Clinton’s scandals? John Oliver breaks it down.

Comparison of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders’ views. They voted the same 93% of the time. 

A comprehensive review of Donald Trump’s corruption

Donald Trump is being sued for raping a 13 year old girl in 1994, and there is merit to the case.

Oxford Economics predicts that Trump’s policies would remove $1 trillion from the US economy, while the Peterson Institute projects that a Trump presidency could cost nearly 5 million US jobs.

Donald Trump repeatedly asked why the US couldn’t use nuclear weapons

Donald Trump’s cruel streak

37 of the most offensive things Trump ever said

Donald Trump unveils plan to make abortion illegal again

Feds investigating Trump advisor’s meeting with Russian officials seeking to influence U.S. election (Trump called Putin a better leader than Obama.)

Trump’s campaign paid his businesses $8.2 million

Trump flies in a plane with gold-plated bathroom fixtures and pays for it with tax dollars

Trump’s financial plan would increase the debt by $5.3 trillion above current levels, Clinton’s by $200 billion 

Trump wants to eliminate food safety regulations

Trump was sued by the Justice Department for housing discrimination against black people

Trump has reaped at least $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York

Trump’s slimy, shameless approach to philanthropy

Concerned that Hillary Clinton defended a child rapist? She tried to get out of it, but she had no choice. 

The official Republican platform includes banning abortion, overturning marriage equality, no background checks for purchasing guns, declaring coal “clean energy”, religion used as a guide for legislation, a border wall, and pornography declared a “public menace”.

Politifact says that Hillary has made ‘false’ statements 11% of the time and ‘pants on fire’ statements 2%, compared to Trump’s 37% and 17%.

Bernie supporter? Bernie says that now is not the time for a protest vote. Bernie tells you why you should vote for Hillary Clinton. Bernie says that Trump must not become president.

Please do not waste your vote. You can complain about Hillary Clinton as much as you want, but complain about her while you vote for her.

[vantasticmess]

Look, I used to be republican (yeah yeah I know) and Donald scares me. A lot.

Please don’t take even the smallest risk this guy will be put in charge of THE WORLD’S BIGGEST STORE OF NUKES.

[capricornluna-deactivated201810]

this blog hates donald trump

[simeoneswims]

About betta's wild vs pet traits

This is a bit of a ramble. So I’ve been thinking for a while about justifying pet betta’s behaviours with their wild counterparts, especifically about keeping female bettas together, and something seems off to me.

First of all, as I understand, originally pet bettas were indeed bred to fight, so the most aggressive individuals were chosen to mate. These traits are passed on to both males and females, not only males. Wild betta are not the same animal as Splendens, morphology aside, especially in their behaviours.

When you see female betta in the wild on documentaries and such, they’re more peaceful and give the impression that females would want to have company also in aquariums. But, but most of the times wild bettas are kept in PAIRS because Momma and Papa Wild Betta won’t kill each other after sex like Splendens do. And we’re also ignoring seasonal behaviours, like fish who seek each other only when it’s time to mate, and then will separate. We can’t do that in our tanks, they’re not big enough.

Soriorities are a complicated subject. I get that they can work because they reportedly do, but I’ve also read accounts where everything was peaceful for some time and suddenly the females started to attach each other. But when I read people saying “But wild female bettas live together in the wild” it seems to me as a really invalid argument.

If anyone has more info on the subject, I’d love to know!

[bufomancer]

i remember studies were conducted once on female domestic bettas and if they preferred being alone, with one male, with one female, or with three females once. and then another on if they preferred similar colors or different colors to them. if i can find the links i’ll message then to you!

[becausegravity]

Don’t keep fish in bowls!

DON’T KEEP FISH IN BOWLS! 

A tank is a fish’s immune system. If the water is high in poisonous ammonia, or too murky with waste, they will get sick and die. Just imagine the filter of your tank as your fish’s bloodstream. Any gunk that gets in there is dangerous to their health. If it has nothing to pump it, no oxygen will get in and the fish may gasp at the top of their tank for air. They aren’t asking for food or saying hello, they are suffocating. If it has nothing to filter it, the tank will just get grosser and grosser and your fish will get sicker and sicker. Frequent water changes do not ignore the fact that your fish is slowly dying in toxic water and getting revived each day. 

Goldfish are pond fish. I hate to break this to you, but they reason they are so hardy and cheap is because pond life is hard. Goldfish live for over twenty years and grow to over a foot long. If your goldfish “lived a whole year” it doesn’t mean they can do well in bowls. It means you killed an infant fish. 

Why then do stores sell bowls? Misinformation. Turtles used to be kept in small plastic dishes and fed only leftovers in the 1970s. They lived about a year, and died horrible stunted deaths. 

Read more on the horrible fate of these turtles here;  https://thepethistorian.com/2014/09/08/those-unfortunate-little-green-turtles/

Just because a pet store, movies, tv shows, and adults say something is right doesn’t mean it is. Biology does not lie. The ammonia tests I run every day on my goldish’s tank do not lie. The lifespan of goldfish kept in proper conditions do not lie. 

Betta fish are another unfortunate victim, especially because they can actually survive long periods of time in bowls. Often, you see the argument that bettas live in puddles in the wild toted as why they LOVE bowls. Well, bettas sometimes end up beating droughts by living in puddles. Their preferred habitat is large streams. Their low waste output means they also take a long time to contaminate their water. This is convenient- it means they don’t need massive tanks and canister filters. It does not mean they don’t need a filter. Rivers and ponds naturally filter themselves with the water cycle, but bowls don’t do this. Glass bowls and tanks can’t magically aerate water and filter out waste the way rivers can. Bettas need filters. 

If you are already a fish owner who can’t afford a better setup, consider finding a new home for your fish. If you can, save up for a 10 gallon setup- a 10 gallon tank and filter are about $20 each. If you are a goldfish owner without space, look around for neighbors with ponds. DO NOT throw them in wild rivers or lakes. Goldfish are highly invasive, you are better off slowly killing your poor pet than destroying a whole colony of native fish. 

We need to do better. We need to stop chasing down luxury pets before we know how to care for them. We need to research pets, and not take for granted what we have seen and heard in the past. We need to do better as pet owners, because we hold a life in our hands. Even if it is a teeny tiny aquatic life, it deserves to be happy and healthy. 

[thespicebettas]

moo goes the cow bark goes the dog meow goes the cat FUCK goes the aquarist who just spilled water all over the floor

[thespicebettas]

honestly if you ever need a fishblr user master post I think nearly every active user has reblogged this post

[the-cimmerians]

US Politics Post

you know how i bug you to register to vote and then vote and it’s really super-annoying? well the republican party platform is rolling out and it includes a 100% ban on abortions and revocation of same-sex marriage and no background check for guns and oh yes also conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people so yeah me bugging you is not going to change sorry not sorry please register to vote and then vote?

[istytehcrawk-deactivated2019120]

Other “highlights”, per the New York Times:

military women barred from combat

coal considered “clean” energy

pornography declared public menace

religion (read: Christianity) must be used as guide for legislation

teaching the bible in public schools

building a wall along the Mexican border like Trump wants

[the-cimmerians]

Reblogging for the NYT article link, and also this one from OccupyDemocrats. Your vote matters so much.

[lettersfromtitan]

Please vote and please don’t be complacent. So very not good polling numbers for Clinton came out this morning, and in general I think polling is going to consistently undercount support for Trump (hi, I look at data regarding the election as part of my day job, I am not just talking out of my ass). Vote. Even if you think your state is “safe.” And please learn about your local down-ticket races, because that’s where the policy that affects your daily life happens.

[littlemisskissmyass]

If this passes, it will set our country back DECADES. Reblog so everyone can see and then vote in November.

[dogmatix]

I thought this was a hoax or a joke, because even the Republican Party couldn’t be that daft, regressive, and hateful.

It’s not a joke. It’s not a hoax.

VOTE.

I don’t care if you don’t like Hillary. I don’t much like her either. But the alternative is WORSE.

[castironjackelope]

This election is about way more than the presidency. We CANNOT let republicans have the legislature.

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

Even if you think Hillary is untrustworthy, you HAVE to keep this in mind.

[fishkeepingalex-blog]

I'm clearing my inbox tonight, all asks are being either answered or deleted. If I don't end up answering yours feel free to resend it. I just have a few that've been sitting there for months because I haven't had the spoons to answer.