Views: 2819 Introducing, Roy!
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It's been a while since I made a blog post, and I thought this would be a fun thing to share with you guys.
I'd been interested in aquariums and researching them for a while. One day I stopped by a local fish store just to check it out since I thought it'd be neat. The fish store was awesome! One thing that made me really happy is they had a few bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish) that they actually kept in community tanks with other fish instead of those ****py little cups like you usually see them in. My boyfriend was with me and we spotted a beautiful purple betta in one of the tanks (which by the way is my boyfriend's favorite color). We both fell in love with him and I decided to get a small tank.
2 days and a bunch of car trips later I've gotten my tank set up and bring my new betta (Roy) home from the store along with a couple of plants. I got a 6 gallon cylindrical tank. Unfortunately, this was not the best purchase because apparently the filter that came with the tank kit pulls water from the bottom and spits it back out the top, creating quite the current. Bettas really don't like strong currents. I've fixed this by taping a small plastic cup to the filter output, which directs the water towards the back of the tank and it seems to be working quite well. Roy seemed very happy and to be enjoying the tank the first day I brought him home.
I woke up the next day and checked on Roy. He wasn't moving at all and anchored in a bit of plant at the top of the tank. I was so afraid he was already dead, but then he moved to breathe. He did not look good at all, and was moving only to breathe from the surface. I figured out after a while that he had fin rot, which annoyed me considering the people I bought him from could've probably notified me, and I bought it from a specialty store to avoid having an unhealthy fish. Either way, I went out and got a small tank to treat him in.
A couple of weeks later he's finally back in the big tank and seems happy and healthy. It always cheers me up to watch him swimming about. :) I've learned a lot from this experience and I made so many mistakes in picking the tank and cycling the water I'm just glad I didn't kill him! Even with all the research I did I still wasn't prepared. Aquariums are so complicated! If I keep getting this much enjoyment out of it I may get a bigger tank later. I love animals and always want more in my house! :D
I'd been interested in aquariums and researching them for a while. One day I stopped by a local fish store just to check it out since I thought it'd be neat. The fish store was awesome! One thing that made me really happy is they had a few bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish) that they actually kept in community tanks with other fish instead of those ****py little cups like you usually see them in. My boyfriend was with me and we spotted a beautiful purple betta in one of the tanks (which by the way is my boyfriend's favorite color). We both fell in love with him and I decided to get a small tank.
2 days and a bunch of car trips later I've gotten my tank set up and bring my new betta (Roy) home from the store along with a couple of plants. I got a 6 gallon cylindrical tank. Unfortunately, this was not the best purchase because apparently the filter that came with the tank kit pulls water from the bottom and spits it back out the top, creating quite the current. Bettas really don't like strong currents. I've fixed this by taping a small plastic cup to the filter output, which directs the water towards the back of the tank and it seems to be working quite well. Roy seemed very happy and to be enjoying the tank the first day I brought him home.I woke up the next day and checked on Roy. He wasn't moving at all and anchored in a bit of plant at the top of the tank. I was so afraid he was already dead, but then he moved to breathe. He did not look good at all, and was moving only to breathe from the surface. I figured out after a while that he had fin rot, which annoyed me considering the people I bought him from could've probably notified me, and I bought it from a specialty store to avoid having an unhealthy fish. Either way, I went out and got a small tank to treat him in.
A couple of weeks later he's finally back in the big tank and seems happy and healthy. It always cheers me up to watch him swimming about. :) I've learned a lot from this experience and I made so many mistakes in picking the tank and cycling the water I'm just glad I didn't kill him! Even with all the research I did I still wasn't prepared. Aquariums are so complicated! If I keep getting this much enjoyment out of it I may get a bigger tank later. I love animals and always want more in my house! :D
I looked into reptiles quite a bit too. They seemed like they could actually be more work because everywhere I looked suggested to clean their habitats completely once per week with a 3% bleach mix. Then they said you shouldn't dump the water you used to clean it anywhere in your house which would be an issue once I get an apartment.
They also say not to hold them / let them walk around your house to avoid salmonella, which would be very hard to resist for me, hehe.
I know you can probably get away with not doing all these things but I usually try to do things by the book.
dunno who told you that, but its pretty much ******** lol:D
I have a healthy bearded dragon for 7 years now.
The only thing that's really hard to judge about them is if they are actually sick, you usually don't see until it's too late, I used to have two, one sadly passed away. When she did I instantly made a checkup for ma buddy and eventually he became healthy again.
Also have leopard geckos for 3 years now, only thing I can advise about those is don't buy ones that aren't "fat" as in have a fattail. They will get bullied if they are in a terrarium with a healthy/strong one.
http://www.geckopage.de/Bilder/Eublepharis/Cheesy/CheesyVorEinschlaeferung2gross.jpg - not that gud
http://0.tqn.com/d/exoticpets/1/0/J/L/1/leopardgecko.jpg - gud
they store nutritions in there so ya...
regarding letting them walk around, NP with a bearded dragon, some people even to it while having cats outside - I don't, I get him out ocassionally.
Leopardgeckos are Nightactive, but not as "attracted" to you and are usually way shyer.
If you want a beginner reptile get a bearded dragon :)
I quite love fish myself, my Uncle had a huge tank with all kinds of cool fish in it, I miss looking into that and just watching the fish. It was like an adventure every day.
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Where angels fear to tread
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They also say not to hold them / let them walk around your house to avoid salmonella, which would be very hard to resist for me, hehe.
I know you can probably get away with not doing all these things but I usually try to do things by the book.
Geckos and iguanas are more to my low maintenance speed. :p
Also, told ya he'd get better! :P