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You could just keep an eye on them for now. Unless they show some obvious signs of being ill or stressed I wouldn't start taking measures just yet.

Hey, finally got some pictures of Zorro that show what his true colors look like !! Thought I'd share...

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What a beautiful looking fish Emg! He looks very manly lol. It's so nice to get to see pics of your tanks, they're always so cool. Hopefully when we get settled Sugar will get a nice sized tank. Keep the pics coming Emg!

Lol...yes, very manly indeed..he is a handsome fish !

I have him in a new tank...well, rather a redone old tank..lol. I redid the 5 gallon divided tank. Took out all the smooth stones and flourite substrate...they look nasty when all the usual gunk settles down on them, didn't like it at all so I bought some Echo-Complete substrate..which is black colored and looks very much like garden variety topsoil..very nice. I put a layer of spagnum peat moss underneath the substrate and added some live plants. It looks a bit sparse right now, but the plants are throwing off some new shoots and really liking this new "dirt". I wish I had a piece of real driftwood to put in there, but the fake real looking piece I have will have to do for now. I also changed the background from a plain black to the other side which has some nice plants and driftwood scene on it. Looks much better with the substrate being black and all, it needed some other coloring...at least till the plants fill in.

I also did up the 2 gallon hex I had my old short fin in. I put 2 of those walmart lily bulbs in that tank and they have sprouted nicely and looking really good. I tell ya...I like this Echo-Complete stuff !! (so apparently do the plants..lol) It's expensive though....bout 30$ for a 20lb bag.....I've been using up the bag I bought for the 20L I have been wanting to set up...oh well..guess that's even farther on the back burner now..lol.

I'm hoping for some input from the experts here... This is probably very simple, but I just wanted to be clear. We are moving not very far away (about a 20 minute ride by car) next week. My question is what would be the best way to transport poor Sugar II? He is in a little .5 gallon tank so should I take out about 1/3 or half the water, or should I put him in something else? Thanks for any advice.

I'm very confused... Spikeking has been eating just fine, and I've been doing nothing but staring at him for an hour or maybe more, (it's late and I'm bored) and I just noticed/it just happened i dunno, that Spike has a fairly swollen stomach.
He isn't doing anything that isn't normal for him, he's swimming around quite a bit, staring at me, just being normal and not acting sick at all. He doesn't look in pain or anything, just his stomach is swollen. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Was he just a pig and ate too much and it will go away?? He hasn't lost colour or anything...
The swollen part isn't very big, it's just in between his gills and his anal fin. None of his fins are clamped, I can't figure this out!

Hello FW,
He should be fine to just take some of the water out of his tank and let him sit in your lap on the trip. Think about how you get them home from the store in one of those little cups. If you have one handy you could also put him in that and sit him in a cup holder in the car if you have one.

Mashi,
Could he just have eaten too much ? I sometimes see bettas with big bellies and if it's not an ailment it's generally from too much good food...lol...If you fast him for a few days or even maybe as long as a week..if you can bring yourself to do that..lol...he should slim down some if that's all it is. Right now I have a female bursting with eggs that she can't seem to get rid of. The diagnosis for that is to not feed her until she slims down. The females will reabsorb the eggs that they don't release, using them as food...as long as she doesn't get fed. If he's bloated from constipation, not feeding him will also help that situation. If it's something like dropsy..there isn't much you can do for him..hope it's not.
Anyway, long story short...fast him for a week or at least 3-4 days and see how he does.

Thanks Emg. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. The idea of putting a cup in a cup holder is kind of cute. Thanks for that. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm back. I disappeared for a bit, because I was helping my dad get his new house ready, and they don't have internet! <img src="/images/graemlins/computer.gif" alt="" /> Anyway... I frequently stay away for weekends, or just a day or so, and I had been getting my mom to feed my fish whenever I wasn't there. So, last weekend, I was at my dad's and I lost a cory. My mom didn't notice, because the cory who passed didn't really swim around a whole lot. Then one of my first cories somehow got in between a plant and some of the river rocks I had for gravel, and either suffocated himself or couldn't get back out... again, my mom didn't notice because the cories hide from sudden movement and so on... so I'm still not home, and the ammonia is rising from my two cories... long story short, I come home and find myself with 3 dead cories and Spike staring at me.

My 20 gallon was finally ready, so I quickly moved Spikeking into his new home, and he liked it. But I think the constipation, stress from moving and the rise in ammonia got to him, and I lost him too. So I didn't have a very happy Easter. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
When I woke up Easter morning I noticed he was swimming very weird and couldn't make it to the top, so I put him in a bowl and floated it in the tank for him, so he didn't have to go far... he didn't live in the bowl for very long. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
So now, I'm just cycling my tank and trying to decide whether to get some neon tetras to start the tank or to start it with a new betta...
<img src="/images/graemlins/wall.gif" alt="" />
I'm not happy with myself, but I'm not going to give up... although I feel like a terrible evil person for not being home to notice. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
So there is my little rant. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
On a somewhat happier note, I have found a really nice ornament, and quite like how the aquarium looks.
My dad said I could have a 10 gallon aquarium for my room in his new house, so when they are done moving in and I have the aquarium, I'm going to transfer my current big ornament into that tank and buy the eroding castle on a cliff I liked so much <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I hope everyone else has been doing good, and their fish too. <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" />


What are some fish you guys have in community tanks with bettas?
Just to give myself some ideas.

[color:"purple"]if you're going to keep a betta in a community tank, be sure the fish are not fin-nippers!! [/color]

My Sweetie went to the big fish bowl in the sky. She got really swollen, and had a big white area under her gills, in front of her anal fins. I think she might have been egg bound. I tried to help her, but she started looking like a pinecone and I knew it was hopeless. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Poor baby. She fought to the end though, and I didn't put her down because she was fighting to live. But yesterday morning, my husband looked and said, your fish is dead.

Nan