Ooookay? Part 2

So I got up this morning and found my poor fish like you see in the pictures. It looks like she has either been eating at herself or has turned into a fish zombie..... The small horn thing is gone and it looks like it was ripped off, leaving a big open wound. If there was a vet just for fish, would he say it would be best to just put her out of her misery? I have never been an expert with fish as much as I am for furry pets, since fish are harder to understand. Daisy seems less grumpy this morning, maybe her stomach hurt since yesterday she found where I hid yogurt treats and stole from the bag!! Now Peanut is grumpy.......She runs on her wheel during the day, not at night, so I think her schedule got messed up. The chicken prints......I am thinking they are from a crow since it was at the end of the driveway around the trash. In the winter there are lots of animals around the house anyway, so I am not too worried. Jasmine is they only one who may die. If she does, I think I should reconsider and maybe try a goldfish or something. I think a GloFish tank would be cool....maybe for my birthday.....In December.......!!!

Still, if she dies, I will be very sad. She was a nice fish! So you will have to keep hoping she will get better. We will go to the pet store and find some meds for her if she is looking worse tomorrow. I will keep you posted!

Sea Monkeys

Remember in the post I wrote awhile ago about fish feeding? I am a little ashamed to admit it now, but, sea monkeys are brine shrimp! You know, those packaged kits that have eggs you grow and feed? What do you mean, huh? Oh, I had better start from the beginning.......  After I got a sea-monkey kit, my sister Emerson and I set to work putting water in it and putting in the water purifier. You have to wait a little while for the tablet to disintegrate before you pour the eggs inside. Sea-monkeys are basically a sort of shrimp that have been cross-bred to create a larger, longer-living pet. Original brine shrimp, which you may remember that were sold in kits when you were a kid, only live a few months, but these brine shrimp last two years if you feed them the food provided. I remember reading in an article about brine shrimp for snacks for fish, and I wrote about it in the blog a week or two ago. Now I feel different about feeding these little guys to a fish, especially if I raise them myself. In each packet of eggs there comes three 1 and a half-inch sized sea monkeys, five medium sized ones, and eight/nine small ones.

A Little About Sea-Monkeys

The amazing things about these pets is that, yes, they are alive. The egg doesn't hatch until fully submerged in water. They need a little oxygen, so you have to stir the container gently once a day to create bubbles that they use to breathe. The eggs are about as small as the period at the end of this sentence, but they grow overnight. They look kind of like a fish, but they are clear with black eyes. Some look like miniature hammerhead sharks, while others look like tiny x-ray fish. When the shrimp hatch and are big enough to see, I will most certainly take some pictures of them.

Fun Facts:

• Sea-monkeys, or brine shrimp, don't look a lot like the shrimp you'll find on your dinner plate. They are clearer looking, and are pretty cute!
• Sea-monkeys are great pets for people who don't have a lot of time to play with a pet. Lonely sea-monkeys enjoy "Crystal Balls". The balls are plastic floating balls that your monkeys will love to play and monkey around with. (That's where they got their name!) 

Moms love these pets, and kids do too! How come, you ask? These low-maintenance pets are a great learning experience, and they remind people of the ant farms you can order--but these pets swim!

Betta-Fish Feeding 101

I know I haven't been talking about my fish lately, so I'd better put him in the spotlight today! When I had written my second post a while back, I realized that I hadn't talked a lot about betta-fish feeding and nutrition, but don't worry. I will educate you about that topic today!

A main diet for your betta(s) varies in size and color. The best recommended food for your betta is BettaMin. It is featured in the picture below.

Bettas all have different tastes. Some prefer a certain flavor or color of food.

Other bettas don't like flakes that slowly fall to the ground. My past betta, Starburst, loved a kind of food called Floating Fish Pellets rather than the other brand. 

Once you have chosen the food, you can now go on and pick some treats, if you like. There are many different treats. Most of them are much bigger than normal food, and they float in the water. One I came across was shaped like a log, and was called Floating Log Nibblers. The fish didn't chow down on it all at once, but they could swim up to it whenever they wished and nibble on it.

Treats don't have to be store-bought to be yummy! Bloodworms and brine shrimp are a nice little snack from time to time. Two bloodworms or one brine shrimp once a week is a good amount for your little betta fish.

Jaws enjoys feeding time!

A small mount of food is just enough.

This food has bits of shrimp in it and has a bright orange color that attracts fish.

Not quite....

Critter lovers, I am back with more Critter craziness. Of all days, today had to be the day we each got a pet fish. That's not a bad thing,but the problem is this: Are fish really critters?? The answer is no, but I know I just have to mention this news.  If you have bettas(pronounced bait-ah), I found some habitat and feeding info to share.



Bettas, also called Siamese Fighting fish (because when together they will fight)
are native to Thailand and other parts of South East Asia. They can be kept at normal room temperatures even though they are actually tropical fish and it can be illegial in some states along the ocean.  Only male fish develop long, colorful fins that make the fish so popular. The best bet for a home is a medium sized bowl, as tanks make the fish too scared in a wide, open space.

Provide a decoration or two, and never use rocks that are the same size as the fish. This could trap your fish, so only use naturally settling sand or small pebbles.

When you buy your betta, you will usually recieve it in a plastic bag tied securly with a rubber band. At home, fill the bowl with luke warm bottled water(or water purified with fish purifier tablets) and wait 20 minutes to make it room temperature, then place the still-tied bag into your bowl. Wait another twenty minutes, then you can put the fish in the bowl. Safely transfer the water into the bowl, then slide your fish inside(be sure to have the pebbles and your decor already in). 


Don't feed your fish until the next day-and be sure to ask the pet store clerk what kind and amount of food the fish eat.



Check in again soon to read more "critter-ific " posts and keep your fish happy!