My Ever-Changing Freddy!

Well it's been a while since I posted on here, so I figured why not come back with a BANG!

Tonight's post is going to be about Freddy. Won't be much typing, the pictures will tell the story!

We were given Freddy at the end of July, 2011. I saw him at the pet store, the first Mustard Gas I had ever seen. My fiance was recovering from surgery on his legs, so he was bed ridden for a few days. I ended up coming home and not taking Freddy with me. When my best friend showed up a few days later, I told her about Freddy. She insisted I get out of the house and take a drive with her. We ended up back at the pet store and she asked me to show him to her. Sure enough, there he was stuck at the bottom of his tank. She bought him for me that day, to cheer me up because I was home taking care of my sick fiance and two toddlers. I am so happy she did as Freddy was and is an amazing addition to our home!

In January I noticed the yellow from his top fin started to merge down onto his body, but being a Mustard Gas... I never have it much thought. I just laughed because he looked like he had a little saddle :)

But in Feb, I noticed a small patch of what looked to be a white growth on Freddy's gills. I quickly asked Sakura on the forum if she could identify what was going on. We came down to two possibilities... columnaris or another bacteria growth. The next day I decided to put Freddy in a 2g tank by himself for treatment, but once I put the light over him... I noticed he had patches all over his head now. In a panic, I got the flashlight to take a closer look and that's when I noticed... his scales were changing color!! At that point, I started watching this unfold before my eyes. So here, we are.... Freddy :)

When Freddy came home, July 2011

The day I saw the spots on his gills. February 5th 2012

And then... over the top of his head and more on his sides... Mid February 2012

And it wasn't stopping! End of February 2012

And finally today, March 13th 2012

A fully yellow Freddy! 

A fellow poster on Bettafish.com posted a link to another website on Freddy's topic and I found it quite interesting. They call this the Jumping Gene. Marbles have it, but sometimes normal pattern Bettas have it as well. Basically it's a gene that is able to move through the chromosomes of a Betta, attaching itself to whichever chromosome it pleases. It could attach itself to the chromosome that controls colors, leaving the fish to turn peach colored. It could also attach itself to a chromosome that turns the Betta from patches to a solid color. This Jumping Gene can also only be temporary, always jumping to a new chromosome. This would explain why Marbles are always changing colors and patterns. Anyways, check it out! I really do think this is what is happening to Freddy. We'll have to see if he starts changing back to a Mustard Gas, won't we? hehe

Betty Splendens - The Ever-Changing Marble

Not Betta Related...

But I had too... I love Dogster!!

Tanks

Since I see so much talk about tank sizes lately, I figured I would post what my boys and gals currently live in for today's post. I feel comfortable with the tanks I use, considering I started out with 1g and 1.5g for all my boys.

First we have Ben, Spidey and Hughie in their divided 10g tank:

Next, we have Twitch and Freddy in their divided 5g tank. Both boys plus Nixon will share a 10g once I buy a hood for my 15g:

And Nixon, who's always had a 1.5g tank, now he has a 2.65g:

And the girls have a 15g. 6 girls, 3 Apple Snails and some Hyrbid Shrimp:

And Gadget's 1.5g:

Monkey's 1.5g:

And Jack's 1.5g:

Of course there's still Kris' little 0.5g L hospital tank... but I'll take photos when he's in his own little 1.5g :) Hope to have these boys in divided tanks and Jack and Kris into new homes. Poor Kris still isn't swimming :(

And also, while I'm here.... Meet the new boy who is staying with a member on my Betta forum until it's safe to ship :)

We are in need of a name!

What a sad little lump...

Poor Kris is still floating :( Every few days he's has a good day and is able to swim, but by nightfall... he's back to floating. I sure was calling it when I said he was another "Hughie" as I went 17 days treating Hughie before he finally kicked the Swim Bladder Disease. I am very happy I took Kris home.

Unsure if we're going to find them new homes, or keep them here. Time will tell. I have a hard time letting go of pets that I put so much hard work into! And well, Jack is still hanging around so I'm getting so used to him being my kitchen buddy. I joked and told my fiance today that Jack is blonde, I should have named him Ken! Either way, both fish are some beautiful.

Tonight I decided to build a Betta hammock for Kris so he has something to rest on. His IAL leaves have sunk.  Mind you, I used zip ties to keep it together, and twist ties to attach it to the side of the tank.

Here's Kris' :)

And for fun, here's my very large Apple Snail and my medium sized Apple Snail in the sorority tank. There's another baby Apple Snail in there too :)

I'm a Sucker...

Yes I said it, SUCKER. I may as well have it tattooed on my forehead. It would certainly save these fish the hassle of trying to figure me out when I walk into the pet stores! I don't know if it's a need to save everything I can, or a bleeding heart that wants every Betta to have what mine do, or the fact that I have 11 empty tanks and enough food to feed an army of Bettas for 10 years. There has to be a reason why I cannot, for the life of me, stop bringing home another sad little case that needs help.

Meet the two newest additions to our home. Upon watching them being scooped into their little bags, I laughed as I thought of "Thing 1 and Thing 2". Surely they would need better names than that. After struggling with the inner voice, come to think of it... arguing with the inner voice, I decided I could not leave them there. Could I make them better and find them suitable homes? I mean, I do this with other small animals and sometimes the random homeless cat or dog... I can do it with a Betta right? How about two?

Both boys are/were suffering with Swim Bladder Disease. Very common in pet store fish, as they as usually fed freeze dried blood worms. These freeze dried worms are great as snacks, but should never be fed as a main staple in a Bettas diet. It's preferred they get a variety of foods, pellet and live/frozen. But most pet stores choose to feed them these freeze dried worms, and most Bettas end up with Swim Bladder Disease. The first boy, whom we named Jack (as in Jack Frost) had a mild case. He was able to swim, but only at the top of the tank. He would be easier to treat. The second boy, named Kris (Kris Kringle) has a more severe case which has left him stuck at the top of his tank, and rolling belly up. Both fish risk starving to death, and total and utter exhaustion.

After 3 hours in Epsom Salts (1tsp per gallon of dechlorinated water changed 100% daily) Jack was swimming freely. After 3 days for Kris, he's was able to swim today, but has resorted back to floating after I gave him a single pellet. Looks like he will be on frozen foods only for a while. I suspect he'll make a 100% recovery as well.

So, that's my good deed this holiday season, taking these two boys in and  making them better. I do hope to find them homes locally, but I do expect the best for them. Should the best not be available with another home, we'll gladly keep them. In our home we celebrate Christmas... and with that...

Merry Christmas Jack and Kris.

Jack

A little update!

So I figured while I have an extra few minutes while the kids are eating supper, I would post a short update!

A wonderful couple I met this week showed up at my home with a wonderful gift. 

Monkey.

Monkey is amazing. Poor little dude could not swim when he first came here, a little Swim Bladder issue. With some clean water, warm temps, Indian Almond Leaf and frozen food... he's come around! I have a video to post as well as some photos of my newest addition. This makes 8 boys and 6 girls in Pitluvs' home. In my next post, I'll tell you a little about each one and the ones we have lost.

So, here's Monkey!

And a video:

Oh! I forgot! I made this the other day for fun, figured I would share ;)