Ask ScalesTailsWingsandThings

Hi there! I just got a new fish friend, a female betta. She's very active and inquisitive, and appears to be in good health. I've had her for 3 days now, and am taking great pains not to overfeed, which is hard because she's so adorable, and she's taking food from my finger already, and I'm just besotted, okay? :)

After looking at your betta body condition post, I started wondering whether my fish is a tiny bit on the skinny side.She's got a bit of a sunken in area on her right side, and I feel like her body tapers a bit too quickly past her head.

Would you have a look at the photos and share your thoughts please?

More pictures: whatthegeck.tumblr.com/post/634079014577946624/fish-spam

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Believe me, we’ve ALL been there. No one is born knowing everything and even the most well-intentioned people can make fatal errors.

Ok so you're right to be cautious. Heaters can/do malfunction. Through no fault of your own, they can kill your fish.

The best heaters (with the lowest failure rate) are adjustable ones. Not those pre-set ones. Look for a brands that have a little knob at the top for adjusting the temperature.

It's also important that they are fully submersible. The ones that hang on the side of the tank are cheaper.

And honestly, you usually get what you pay for with heaters. The cheaper brands TYPICALLY have the worst quality.

This blog is still inactive BUT ok definitely get your betta someplace else!!! I have to say if this is true your partner has some MAJOR issues and you need to make sure to keep yourself safe emotionally and physically, anon.

I don’t know much about your situation but actively and intentionally harming your PET is SERIOUSLY disturbing behavior. NOT OK.

Try asking friends or family first but if that fails, you can try to rehome your betta yourself. Post things about him online (facebook, tumblr, etc.) and see if there are any takers.

If that fails you can try calling your local fish stores and ask if they will take him on donation. Many small stores will do this, but chain stores often don’t.

Chinese water dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) can be pretty easily stressed, so a good environment is especially critical for them. Always, always get a captive bred animal.

You’ll need

20 gallon long enclosure (with mesh lid)

24″ Flurorescent UVB bulb+fixture (5.0/6% depending on how your brand rates their UVB output) Really should be a long tube, not a CFL.

75-100watt heat bulb+fixture

Digital thermometer or temp gun(analog ones are highly inaccurate)

Digital hygrometer

Paper towels, reptile carpet, or cyrpress mulch for substrate. Paper towels/reptile carpet are best for initial set ups so you can monitor feces easier

LOTS of fake plants. I mean lots. Think so many that you pretty much can’t see the little guy in there without looking really hard.

Either real or fake wood/branches to climb on. They are arboreal and definitely use these.

A large water area. They have their name for a reason. They should have a large and deep enough water bowl so that they can fit in it fully.

A spray bottle

Calcium powder

Calcium+D3 powder

The basking area should be about 90-95F. The rest of the cage can be 75-80F. Humidity should be about 80% throughout the day. 

Babies should be eating every day, as juvies they’re eating all protein. This should be in the form of gut-loaded and calcium dusted feeder insects. Try to rotate between at least two. Crickets, locusts, mealworms, roaches, and phoenix worms are all good. Also remember that adults are omnivores and should be getting veggies like kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens, etc.

Feed them as much as they’ll eat in a sitting, babies should be able to eat as much as they want!

Handling should be kept at 0 for a week until the animal has acclimated to the new enclosure. Then it should still be kept fairly minimum, only about 10 minutes a day. But regular handling is good to keep the animal socialized, which can be important for vet visits and other necessary but potentially stressful situations.

And remember, these guys get pretty big (2-3 feet long) and need a 6 foot enclosure as adults MINIMUM! They are not easy to house as they grow and are expensive to set up honestly.

Copypasta from an old post of mine

“The bloating, which looks like the fish swallowed a marble, is caused by failure to osmoregulate. Osmoregulation is what all fish do to survive in water. They allow water to pass through their cells. Several organs facilitate this, including the heart, gills, kidneys, liver, and intestines. Is one of these organs were to fail, the body retains fluid.

From previous necropsies, we know that the fluid contains granulomas, which are the bodies way of responding to infection. It is thought that it’s caused by mycobacterium, a particularly hardy type of bacteria as well as flagellates. It is resistant because of it’s cell wall, which is not gram negative or gram positive. Assuming it IS caused by mycobacterium, the most effective medications would be mycin family antibiotics.“

Pretty much, it’s fluid retention that looks like the betta swallowed a marble and it’s pretty much always fatal.

The care of captive chameleons has come a long way, especially since they’ve been bred in captivity. But depending on the species, I’d consider them intermediate to advanced animals for sure!! It’s not impossibly to start out with one but... you really need to do your research and get your animal from a responsible, captive bred source.

There are lots of species, so I can’t really give out too much general info other than you’re probably going to want a large mesh enclosure with TONS (and I mean tons) of fake plants (did I mention plants? PLANTS). Temperature and humidity vary depending on the species.

IMO Veilds are the easiest to care for but get quite large.