nekosensei | Entries tagged with fish

Busy day today. And I couldn't have picked a better day to do outside work. It's gorgeous outside!

* Irish cheddar cheese acquired!

* This afternoon, I cleaned some of the first floor windows both inside and out. The ones that got done the best were the living room ones as they were easier to reach. The dining room and kitchen ones got the insides washed, but not much of the outsides because I couldn't reach them as well and I was terrified to going too high up on the ladder. I have a tendency to klutz out and fall off.

* I also washed my car, which was *covered* in salt. While I was working, I got buzzed by a yellow jacket. Yep...it must be spring if ~~those little fuckers~~ those guys are back. I'm probably going to have a hard time with them again this year. Next time I get dive bombed, I'm going to have to watch and see where they disappear to. Then, I can go out and ~~nuke the shit out of their nest~~ spray the nest with wasp killer after sunset.

* Yay! My car is clean!

* Last summer and fall, we had trouble with our rosebush. We had a fungus that left little black spots on the leaves attack it. We had this same problem the year before. The culprit is most likely the wet summers we've been having lately. Last year,

forestdruid told us to remove all the old leaves and clear away any fallen leaves from around the base of the rosebush. Between that and spraying, that should help keep the rosebush from getting reinfected. Well, today I removed all the old leaves and raked around the base. I couldn't reach some of the leaves at the center of the rosebush. I used a shovel and a stick to poke at them and get out what I could. I still got a couple of nasty scratches from my efforts even with gardening gloves on. Later this spring, I'm going to spray more fungicide. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can get rid of it for good this time.

* And while I'm on the topic of pests, our pine trees have some kind of borer in back. I think this year

doomsey and I are going to call an arborist to have a look at them and some of our other trees. We're due for that soon.

* Trulawn came by again. They said that we have snow mold on part of the lawn, which requires raking. Too tired to do it today. And it's also not a good idea because they put granules down this afternoon. Maybe sometime next week if the weather is decent.

* I wore a better brace on my ankle, so it's not hurting as badly as yesterday. The only problem is that this one is cutting into my heel. *sigh*

* Oh...I also cleaned my fish tank earlier. The algae is taking over! Maybe I need to invest in another snail to replace the old one that died...

Current Mood: beat

* One of the snails in my fish tank died yesterday. Poor little guy. Also, my fish isn't looking too hot. I wonder what's going on in that tank. Maybe something is making them all sick? The other snail seems to be doing fine though.

* So, Amazon and MacMillan got into a tiff, and Amazon decided to pull all MacMillan books. Man...if I were an author affected by this, I would be pissed. Then again, that's probably why Amazon did it, to get the authors to put pressure on MacMillan.

* The city council of my town is debating opening city council sessions with prayer. Time for another strongly worded letter. I'm thinking something along the lines of we didn't elect you to pray in office and do that on your own time. Also, my block as been trying to get sidewalks for years because cars often take the corner too fast and come barreling down our street. One of my neighbor's kids narrowly avoided being hit last summer. Once again, we petitioned the city for sidewalks, and once again, they turned it down saying that they have no money. I guess we'll have better luck praying for 'em...

* Important: A personal friend of mine is about to lose her health insurance if she can't make her COBRA payment. She goes by

ordinary on LJ and gookygox on Twitter. This would be disastrous because, several years ago, she developed a lung condition-- growths on the lining of her lungs-- that is so rare that even the Mayo Clinic couldn't figure out what was going on. She has to have nerve blocks done on a regular basis in order to be able to function. (I took her to the hospital to have one of these nerve blocks done last January). She is taking donations right now in the hopes that she will be able to raise enough money to cover the cost of her COBRA. You can donate here. If you don't have any money to donate, re-posting this in your journals to boost the signal would also be helpful.

Current Mood: hopeful

( Click here for pictures )

Current Mood: content

Hey,

bkwrrm_tx and

ftemery, I sent out the things I knit for you. The lady at the post office told me that you should be getting them in three to five business days. Can you let me know when you get them so that I can post a picture of them to my picture-a-day thing or whatever?

Last night, I mentioned that I thought the male snail was dead. He didn't move all night and I was sure that he had croaked. Well, I got up this morning and noticed that he was zipping around the tank again. He's currently sucking the algae off of the thing that puts air bubbles in the tank. (What's that called again, by the way?) Now I'm thinking that last night he passed out from *cough cough* over-exhaustion *cough*. Anyhow, I still have two adult snails and two baby snails in my fish tank. Anybody in the Chicago area want a baby snail for their fish tank?

Current Mood: content

A week ago on Monday, I bought trapdoor snails for my aquarium thinking that they will help me control the algae growing on the glass and gravel. I've never had good luck with snails, so I bought two thinking that, if one died, at least I'd have the other one. I also made sure that I picked out the two most active snails in the display. It looks like my luck has turned because now I have four snails: two adults and two babies.

Scratch that. I think one of my adult snails, the male, might have died. I saw him upside-down in the middle of the tank. I moved him so that he was right side up, and after watching him for a few minutes, I noticed that he wasn't moving. He's usually pretty active. I guess I'll know for sure tomorrow morning.

Cause of death? Too much sex. Lucky bastard.

Current Mood: amused

Today, I went to the doctor's office for an echocardiogram. My doctor ordered it to see if there is a physical cause for my heart palpitations. I'm seeing her next Monday for a follow-up appointment. I'm thinking that they might be psychological because I noticed that taking an increased dosage of Wellbutrin has helped. I also feel happier and less anxious. On the other hand, I have had them go away and then come back again when I least expect them. I guess, only time will tell. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just psychological and that taking the extra Wellbutrin is going to lick it.

Finally, The Master is much more aggressive than my old betta. Today, I cleaned his tank, and part of that involves using a gravel vacuum. He kept staring down the gravel vacuum and trying to attack it. So...I now have a betta and a cat that like to tilt at ~~windmills~~...er...vacuums.

Current Mood: content

The Master got his first victim. The Chinese algae eater bit the dust sometime yesterday, and he got the royal tidy bowl send off last night. The Master spent a lot of time chasing the algae eater around the tank. When I expressed concern about this,

doomsey said that it wouldn't be a problem because the algae eater was much faster than the betta. It turns out that he was wrong.

doomsey wants to get another one, but I think it's a bad idea for both fish. For one, the second algae eater will get picked on. Secondly, the stress caused by constant fighting is also bad for the The Master. Bettas that are put in adjacent tanks so they can make threatening gestures at each other often have shorter life-spans.

I'm considering getting a snail or two to replace him. I'm thinking that they'll be less likely to attract the betta's attention. Does anybody on my friends list out there have any experience raising bettas and snails in the same tank?

Current Mood: content

Shiny!

Current Mood: amused

After talking with

doomsey, I decided to get a betta since they're less work than dwarf frogs and not as fragile. I went to the pet store to get some supplies for the cats, and while I was there I picked out a betta. It's a sleek-looking red one.

doomsey said that he liked the colors of the first betta I got. It was purplish-pink, but I like this one. He stands out.

So...now it's time time pick out a name. I want to name them after a bad guy because bettas like to fight. The choices are Sylar from Heroes or The Master from Doctor Who. I'm kind of leading towards The Master because he was kind of...what's the word I'm looking for...flamboyant. And being red and having large fins, this betta is definitely flamboyant. Giggly, evil villains are also the best.

I'm trying to get

doomsey to take a picture of him for me, but he hasn't done it.

[Poll #1209961]

[Edit: By the way, it looks like I could use a good "The Master" icon. Can anybody out there make an animated version of the frown he does in "The Sound of Drums"...right before he gases the room? I can see myself using that one on a regular basis. If you do, I'll be forever in your debt].

Current Mood: amused

Now that sashimi has passed on to happier hunting grounds, I'm thinking about finding another aquatic animal to replace him. What should I put in my five gallon fish tank? I'm stuck between another betta, which

doomsey would prefer, or two African dwarf frogs. I already have a Chinese algae eater in the tank, and I'm a little bit concerned that a younger betta would give him a hard time. So...time for a poll. What do you think?

[Poll #1196571]

Also, for those of you who are more experienced in raising fish, feel free to leave your two cents in the comment section. I would appreciate the advice.

Current Mood: content

It's official. Sashimi took a dirt nap overnight and this morning I gave him the royal tidy bowl send off. I think that tomorrow I'll go to the pet store and pick up another betta. Hopefully, it will live as long and as heartily as Sashimi did.

Current Mood: awake

I think I'm going to rename my betta from sashimi to Captain Jack. Every time we think he's dead or dying, he comes back to life.

I looked up the lifespan of your typical betta, and I found out they usually live three years. The absolute maximum lifespan is five. I've had sashimi for about two and a half years, but I didn't get him from a pet store. I got him from another family through freecycle. So...in other words, he was already used when I got him. I'm guessing that he's anywhere from three to three and a half years old. Not bad for a betta.

Current Mood: amused

Several days ago, I dreamt that

doomsey and I were adopting a pair of parakeets. When I woke up, my first thought was that would go *really* well. The cats would just love them. In fact, the poor birds would probably die from fright from the cats poking their paws through the bars in an attempt to get at them. I don't think fish really care about being stared at, as long as the cats decide not to dip in a paw and go fishing. A good cover takes care of that problem, by the way. On the other hand, I'm not going to torment some poor birds to death. I also understand that parakeets make lots of noise and will sometimes throw crap outside of their cage. Uh...huh...pass. I also had a family member's parrot take a shit on me once when I was over at their house visiting their new baby. I was not amused.

Today, I opened up my email and discovered that someone on freecycle needed to find a new home for their parakeets. I jokingly asked

doomsey if he wanted some parakeets, and he said no.

In unrelated news, I just realized this weekend that I've had my betta two years now. I got him from a fellow freecycler so he's got to be older than two. Does anybody have any idea how long bettas live? I think...by this point...he has pretty much outlived the two fancy goldfish I used to have...despite my best efforts to kill him off. I'm really good at killing off plants, but for some reason, my fish tend to hang around...

You know...I never really did give my betta a name since he's "just a fish." If anybody out there wants to come up with name suggestions, feel free.

Current Mood: amused

doomsey and I went out to dinner at Mitoodle with

judygs,

bmtstandard,

emygination,

jharter41, and her kids. Afterwards, we invited them back to our house where the kids pet the cat and, in general, ran around (our house is shaped like a square and it's ideal for running in circles).

arwenmonster was a bit skeptical and, at one point, hissed and ran away from the kids, but

cosettemonster was pretty good with them when supervised. She looked scared, but she never hissed or batted at them. Actually, we she had had enough, she batted at me and not the kids. Heh heh. The kids were also intrigued by the betta tank we had in our living room.

The kids wanted me to go downstairs with them, so I followed them down there, and then I had this idea. I took out the microphones for the Karaoke machine, set it up, and planned to just have the kids shout into the microphone for awhile. And they did have a lot of fun with it! I went upstairs and told the rest of the family that the kids were playing with the Karoake machine, we all ended up downstairs singing along with the kids. Among other songs, we sang "Bananna Boat" and "It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To." The latter was an appropriate song for R. J., who is over a year old, saw what we were doing, grabbed the mike, and started hooting into the microphone. It was adoreable! Of course, much fun was had by all. Oh...and R. was having so much fun that she said that she didn't want to go home...

Current Mood: amused

Today, I went to the pet store and bought a tank for my betta. It's a two and a half gallon fish tank with an under gravel filtration system. I have a feeling that I'm going to be cleaning the gravel a lot. At any rate, I also got my male betta a female friend. The fish tank came with a divider, but it doesn't really look like they're fighting. Okay...sometimes the female chases the male around a bit. Seriously, you'd think that it would be the other way around since male bettas are supposed to be aggressive. I guess my male betta has turned into a "hen pecked" husband or something. I haven't really seen anyone take a bite out of the other yet so that must be good. If they look like they're seriously fighting, than I'll think about putting the divider back up.

doomsey was a little miffed that I spent money on a new set up for my betta and that I relocated it to the living room where I could, you know, actually see it once in a while, but I think he's pretty much gotten over it now. It looks nice where it is and the set up is kind of pretty. One of these days I'm going to have to get pictures.

Oh...and the cats aren't really all that interested in it because no one has gone fishing yet. I had a fish tank for a long time when I was in the old place, and I think they eventually lost interest in both that and the small betta tank.

[Edit: So...I'm thinking that maybe I should get a snail or two for my fishtank. I'd imagine they'd help keep it clean. What do you think?]