SunnShadow

I haven't posted anything new about my boys for a while, so here it is:
Draco is doing much better. His fin rot seems to have ended, and he is slowly growing his tail back. I do see small areas of white here and there, but some of the color is growing back too.
Myst is his usual friendly but elusive boy. He is really enjoying the driftwood I added to the tank. He has four new buddies: cory cats named Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe. I moved the three Otos in with Floyd because the two loaches kept messing with them. Not in a mean way, but if the otos were hanging out on the driftwood, Lurch would glide over and lay on top of them. They seemed to be getting a little stressed.
Floyd is a very happy boy right now. He really seemed happy to have the otos in with him, and he has a brand new colorful cave to play in. As soon as I put it in, he went swimming in and out of it.

I also added a few ghost shrimp to the tanks Floyd and Draco are in. Floyd pretty much ignores them, but Draco was very territorial at first. He flared at them and stole their food, just to spit it back out. Now he seems ok with them, though.
Sorry, no new pics yet. I'll try early Saturday morning, as the one I really want to get is of Myst sleeping in his bed of floating plants, surrounded by his glorious bubble nest.

Things are good here, surrounded by my adorable betta Boys!

Sara

Gunnie

Excellent!

Butterfly

Glad things are going so well with you and the boys
Carol

poefox

I'm glad to hear you're through that bad patch. May your days ahead be blissful. I hope you get to enjoy simply having your fish and enjoying their idiosyncrasies.

chickadee

Oh, Sara, I am so happy for you. You had such choppy waters there for a while and now all seems to be calm and peaceful at last. I love hearing about Bettas who are at last happy and healthy and love the lives they have. I, too, can hardly wait to see the little Myst in his bubblenest. I will bet that is a lovely sight and one you will never forget. A bubblenest is such a neat thing and then when they sleep with one it is so darling. I am so glad that Draco is getting his fins back and that the color is showing up again. and Floyd, happy with his cave and Otos. They all sound like a happy little betta family.

Like I said, good for you and them!!!!

Rose

SunnShadow

Ok, I know I am just asking for a lot of baby Mystery snails now. Sunnie looked like he/she was growing too big to be comfortable in Draco's tank, so I moved her to the 20 gallon. (I now have three M. Snails in there.) And just so Draco wouldn't get lonely, I moved Elana into his tank.
How big are Mystery snails supposed to get? Or do I have "Apple Snails"? Both Sunnie and Schultz are getting HUGE! They have more than doubled their size since I bought them.
Are ther any smaller snails I can get? I love these guys, but wow........

Sara

Butterfly

http://www.applesnail.net/ They can get quite large. Are mystery snails a type of Apple snail?
Carol

chickadee

Ivory is now the size of a small type ping-pong or golf ball and Angel is not far behind. I have a tribe of little ones coming on as I had them in the q tank together but it is amazing I could have NOT had them if I had just gotten rid of the eggs. They are not like most snails and laying eggs all over the place. They were all above the water and in one spot. I decided to go ahead and keep them as the LFS will take them and I thought it may be fun to see them grow a bit, but I shall take them to the store before they are ready to reproduce.

Rose

SunnShadow

Sadly, Nod the Oto passed away. He was the last of the two I bought at my local LFS, and I had doubts about them from the start. They never seemed as active as my original two. Wynkin and Blynkin don't seem upset as they still have each other, but I am saddened by the loss. Would it be best to go to a different LFS and get one more Oto, or should I leave well enough alone?

Sara

SunnShadow

Arrrgh! I thought Draco's fin-rot was gone, but now I'm not so sure. It looks like his tail is more tattered tonight than it was a few days ago. Or could it just be growing back unevenly? Should I restart the Melafix, or try something else? He doesn't act sick, but is still flaring occasionally at his reflection and eating very well.
If I lose this little guy, I may very well give up on getting any more Bettas ever.......... I've already lost two (Fred and Dante) in the past year. I can't take anymore loss.

Sara

chickadee

I am so sorry about Nod. My first three Otos were named Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod (they too are gone now and I am wondering if those names are jinxed - shall send my best thoughts and wishes to Wynkin, and Blynkin. No I would not add any more. It seems to me that adding some later they never really enter into the grouping the same way. the two you have are just going to be close and if you want more then get another grouping as they will probably not be close to just one little guy moving in.

Yes Put Mr. Draco back on the Melafix. There is one school of thought that says to treat them until the regrowth is done. That is supposed to prevent relapses. Just change the water every 7 days and just keep on treating until he is back to as normal as he is going to be. Sometimes this can take a month or more. Omorrokh I beleve was the one who got me doing this as she had a bunch of problems with new fish getting fin rot. Melafix is not a strong medication that will build up in your fish. It is a herbal remedy that just helps with healing and discourages infections.

Rose