Bettas, Foxes, and Owls, oh my!

[kiramaru7]

Last week my betta Fishie went to that great pond in the sky. I had him a long time & he basically died of old age. I kinda knew it was coming as he had slowed down and hid most of the time and barely ate. I gave him a "burial at sea" and did a 50% water change on his tank since Snailie was still zooming around his tank. While that was going on, I had been slowly gathering what I needed to start another tank as I wanted another betta. So I got another sponge filter on Amazon, a bag of gravel & a "moon rock" (little ceramic cave) from Walmart along with air tubing, silk plants from Petco & another tank from Petco. They're small 2 1/2 gallon tanks & cuz they don't make tops for them, I had gone to AC Moore before they closed & bought plastic canvas which I cut to size & which makes a good, cheap tank cover. I do get evaporation issues, but when it gets to about a 1/4 inch from the top, I do a quick 2, 3 cup water change, using a turkey baster I got from the supermarket. (The dollar store only stocks them during Thanksgiving. XD) So all's good. I also picked up a thermometer strip & some moss balls from Petco. The moss balls I shared between my 3 tanks (I also have a 10 gallon full of self replicating Guppies. XD) They help with keeping the tank clean, by breaking down ammonia & nitrites (or nitrates?) Anyway, when I saw a few videos on Youtube about "glo-bettas" I had to get one.

They're controversial, since they're genetically modified by injecting jellyfish cells into the fish embryos (I think. XD The process is trademarked & patented) so they will glow from bio luminescence. I think they're cool, since they're genetic chimeras. Anyways, as luck would have it, I was wanting a female betta, not to breed, but just to have it as a pet, & glo-betta females are rather cheap. It used to be female veiltails were slightly cheaper than males, which are really cheap at about $4 a fish, compared to fancier males which can start at $10 & go up, depending on what you want. So I combined my wants & got a cute lil female glo-betta, I named Daisy. She's kinda highlighter yellow that's been greened down a bit (she's called neon green), with faint greening in her pectoral & dorsal fins. Her tail & caudal fins are faintly red. She's fat & sassy & has settled into Fishie's old tank rather nicely. I put her in there since the gravel is light beige & all the plants are dark green, except for a dark purple flowery one. She looks good against the dark background & while she doesn't glow like she would under a black/blue light, she does glow from the right angle.

When I went to get her tank from Petco, I looked over the bettas they had. There were a lot of "dead" ones of various colors, but I was looking for something light colored as I was looking for someone to put in Fishie's tank. I saw a gorgeous White Orchid male, but $20, or was it $25 was a lot to spend on a fish. Fishie was only $13 (now up to $15). Then I saw him, a pretty, purple-ish red, "old school," veiltail. He was sleek & lively, & perfect. I got him & named him Valentino as he reminded me of a Valentine. He spent a few days in Fishie's old tank, before being moved to the new tank with the brighter colored plants (I guess to go along with the glo-fish craze.) I meantime cycled his new tank by swapping filters & letting it sit for a few days.

Anyways, I was supposed to go to the Family Pet Expo, but Dad said not too with all the corona virus going around, so we went to Petco & he got me Daisy & a snail for Valentino's tank. It would have been her tank, but looking at her & how bright everything was, I thought she's get lost in it, so Valentino got it instead. They're both set up the same, with the only difference being, the gravel in one tank was the left over natural rocks from my guppy tank & the other has an orangey brown gravel I got from Walmart. (It was the closest they had to a natural looking substrate.) Also to make up for not going to the Family Pet Expo, Dad took me to the golf course where the foxes live. We got to see them & he took pix & one ran past me to close, I could have taken its pix with my phone, had I been expecting it. XD

On Sunday, we got up early & went out on the Island to this fancy area with million dollar homes on the beach where a male snowy owl was. OMG! He was just hanging on some junk in someone's million dollar yard, just chilling. :D He was too cute for words & with the warm weather this week, he'll probably head back up north sooner than later. It won't be long before the eagles & ospreys start nesting. I hope the owls in the one park come back this year & nest there again. :D Baby owls are just too cute! :D (I'm also hoping we can make a side trip to the carousel there so I can get a quick ride in. *LOVES carousels*)

Comments

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I had no idea they were selling trans-genic fish. That's neat.

I am sorry to hear about Fishie's passing but sounds like he had a nice long life.

I love owls. It's not often you get to see them so cool

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Yeah! They're called glo-fish & think for the most part they're various tetras. They've been around for awhile. The glo-bettas are new.

Thanks. I like to think so. :D

Me too! My great grandfather's last name comes from a Polish word meaning owl. :D I think baby owls are adorable! :D Nope! It's really nice seeing nature that you never thought you'd see, except on TV.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

that's funny to me. Share a pic of the new ones if you can!

That's cool about the surname.

There was one owl in FL that was the bane of my existence though, a screech owl. I didn't realize they're TINY. Apparently all lungs too

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Yeah? XD I have pix on my phone, I'm just not sure how to get them off there. XD

Thanks! :D

Yeah? XD I'm seen one in a nature demo as well as one up in a tree. They look like Furbies. XD *LAUGHS* Yup! :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I use the cord to move it from phone to laptop

That's about right for those owls

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Aaah... I need to try that!

*nods*

[prismatika27.livejournal.com]

I’m sorry about Fishie. :(

Daisy and Valentino sound amazing and gorgeous! I have a weird fascination with moss balls. I don’t know why, but I think those things are really neat.

I’m so jealous you got to see the foxes again AND a snowy owl! That’s so cool! There’s a wetland preserve not far from me where bald eagles nest every year and raise their babies. There’s even a live web cam so people can check in on them!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Thanks. He had a long & I like to think a good life.

Thanks! I have to figure out how to get them off my phone so that I can add them to my post. I LOVE them too! I still have the tiny fish bowl I got when I was little along with a betta & I kept 2 of them in there, until I had a tank to put them in. When the plants on the counter die off, I'll get more moss balls & put them in there. :D I'll look & see if I can find a "betta bowl" set-up with an air pump & underground filter & set the bowl up again with moss balls in it. :D

Awe... *HUGGLES* Thanks! It was a hit or miss thing too & I just got lucky. When we got to the foxes we didn't see any in the usual spot & had to walk around to see them. The owl was just dumb luck. We could have gone there & not seen it at all. XD

That's sooo COOL! :D We also have a wetland preserve and only ospreys nest there. There is a hotel near water as well as a pond in the hotel's grounds, where a pair of eagles nested last year. They're really up high & hard to see unless they're out flying around & hunting. In order to really see them, we have to head down to Maryland. That's awesome about the webcam!! :D

[prismatika27.livejournal.com]

You’re welcome! I’m sure he had an amazing life!

You’re welcome! I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes moss balls. There’s just something about them that I can’t help but love. Oh, neat! More moss balls! XD

*huggles* You’re welcome!Those pictures are amazing! The owl is just chilling out like there’s nothing going on at all. So relaxed! And the fox is so majestic! I’m glad you were able to see them!

We live right along a goose migration route and we hear them loud and clear twice a year. Some came through this morning and were so loud the dogs looked around. Then I’ve seen hawks just hanging out on the power lines and riding the air currents. I’ve never checked out the web cam, but I’ll have to try to remember if they come back this year.

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

I hope so! XD

Me too!They really cool! And they made me feel like an anime character when they were on their own. I remember watching this one anime where the main characters traveled around Japan by train & bought some as souvenirs. XD So I kinda do want to get some. :D

*huggles* Thanks! I'm glad you liked them! :D He's just too cute for words! I wish I could walk up to him & huggle him! XD And the foxes, I'd have fun playing with them like they were puppies! One of my f-listers said they should have kits soon, & I think I know where the den is, so I hope we can see them! :D Peeps were feeding them dog biscuits & I hope they don't turn them into nuisance animals. ^^;

Cool! I live near a school that's strangely not part of our district, although I've seen district trucks there... XD Anyways, they have a HUGE field, where lil kids play soccer on Sundays & bigger kids play baseball during the spring/summer, where TONS of geese gather. So you'll often see and hear them going overhead, so I know how LOUD they are! I guess the neighborhood dogs are used to them as they don't bark or anything when the geese go by. Cool!! Every so often we get a howk that visits our bird feeder... for birds! XD Last time it almost hit a young tree & the power lines behind it. XD Nature is wonderful, ne? :D You should!! If you do see something, send me the link! I'd LOVE to see it! :D

[prismatika27.livejournal.com]

XD

I don’t see them often, but I always have to check them out when I do. I can’t explain why I think they’re so neat, but it’s okay. Not everything needs to be explained!

*huggles* You’re welcome! They’re such gorgeous shots! I would love the cuddle all of them, so you aren’t alone. XD Oh, I hope you manage to catch a glimpse of the kits! And I really hope they don’t end up becoming nuisance animals.

They geese usually don’t bother the dogs, but they were so loud this morning they couldn’t seem to ignore them. What a silly hawk! It just wants to be like all of the other birds! Nature really is amazing! If I find the cam and when they’re nesting, I’ll make sure to send a link!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

:D

Exactly! They keep them by the bettas & since I'm always checking those out, I look at the moss balls too. XD

*huggles* Thanks! Dad takes some awesome pix! I think if I could have my own zoo of cute things to cuddle & pet, I would! XD Thanks! Maybe at the end of the month, we'll see them. :D I think the ones we've seen are a pair & their previous kits, who are all grown up. Yeah! Although, once the country club opens up & peeps start playing golf, I don't think you'll have idiots trying to feed them.

They must have been low flying & a ton of them! Then again, a couple of them can make a ton of noise too! XD Yeah. We think it was a juvie, so not too smart yet when it comes to feeding itself. XD It sooo is!! :D Thanks! :D

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

silvrethorn used to have betta fish for a while. She and her mother started having them after purchasing some at an art show (yeah, that was my reaction too, but they were awfully cool). Silvrethorn wound up with four or five males at a given time for a while with tanks that attached to each other. They'd sometimes see each other and flare prettily.

Oh, I hope you can share some more pictures of your excursions with your Dad!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Cool! Yeah, that would be the last place I'd expect to see bettas too! XD Trust me, if I had the room, I'd probably have that many too. XD They're really pretty to watch! Valentino will flare at his reflection as well as the current from the filter, but Fishie never did. I even held up a mirror to his tank & nothing. I guess he was just a gentle soul.

I do have fox pix I should add as well as owls. *must check my email again* I'll add my faves to this post. :D

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Someone came up with the brilliant idea of adding rocks, water, a betta, and a plant that can just grow with pretty much water to a lovely, clear vase. So S & M each both a vase (I did not, I had much much farther to drive to get home). That started the collection. The bettas eventually came out of the vases and into other containers and then S started collecting them. Her prettiest was an opalescent male she named after an opal mine in Australia.

Ooo~!

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a magnificant fluffy fox! <3 And the owl looks all too pleased with itself. :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Nice. Cute fox and love the owl

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The foxes were so cute & tricky! :D And that owl was simply adorable!! :D

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Foxes are always tricky and that owl IS adorable

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah! It made finding them the first time we went there really hard. XD We'd often see them in the distance & couldn't get close enough to take pix. Last time I was there, one ran towards us, until it realized where it was going, before stopping & heading back from whence it came. Or they'd hide in the valley of berm & pop up at the last minute & scare us. XD

That owl makes me want to pick it up and cuddle it. XD

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I believe it. they should be having kits soon.

ha, he looks very impressed with himself

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Aw, sorry to hear you lost your old fishie - it sounds llke you gave him a good long life. But your new little lady, Daisy sounds so cute - I'd love to see a picture of her. Mr D and I have some goldfish in our pond. They're 7 years old; when we first got them they were the size of my little finger - now they're about 8 inches long. They're so cute, and we love sitting out with them in the summer!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I had him for a couple of years & bettas only live about 3-5 years. He definitely slowed down at the end. Poor thing. Thanks! She is a cutie! :D I have to get them off my phone.

Cool! Gold fish live a long time & they grow to about 12 inches. They must LOVE your pond! :D I always wanted a koi pond. :D They're very relaxing to watch, eh? :D I sometimes sit in the kitchen & watch my bettas, when I'm not sitting in the living room watching my guppy tank. XD I love my fishies. :D

[ranuel.livejournal.com]

Awwww, RIP Fishie.

Those are some fantastic pictures. That owl looks very pleased with itself.

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I now have 2 new bettas, a boy & a girl each in their own lil tank.

Thanks! Dad took them. He's a really good photographer! :D