Bettas &c.

[greenstorm]

http://watershed3.tripod.com/maintenance.html

Bettas are cool.

Now, I've learnt that you can't keep guppies and (male, at least) bettas together, because the bettas will go after the bright shiny things. It looks like I'm back to bettas in jars again, for now.

There are five-gallon pickling jars with lids at the commercial drive hardware store, so that looks like it would fulfill the need for lids (air above the water must be moist and humid when the bettas breathe it or they can get diseases). I'm not sure how to keep everything warm enough, but a space heater in the room isn't a horrible idea since those are good temps for me too (24-27 celsius). The jars can be planted.

I've been looking around for females as well as males, and found a bunch. The promising ones thus far are at the Pet Den, where there's a pretty one, and Rain Forest Pet Spectrum, where there's a tank full of 'clown tailed' betta females (see: crown tail).

I have not yet been to the place in Surry, where the woman who runs the betta society has an aquarium, but my guess is that's a good place to look before I buy.

Recommended plants include java fern and java moss.

They eat mosquito larvae, so I'll probably be leaving cups outside until I see movement as treats. If anyone knows a store that sells *live worms* of the kind one feeds to fish, that'd be cool. I know they used to exist, but I can't find them anymore.

Water changes in a bowl should happen once every day or two, so I'll have lots of good plant water.

I wonder what the rats will think of the fish?

The girls are pretty much full-grown now, and they've settled down a little. I can take them to bed with me when I wake up at 6am and after an hour or two I can sleep again! Then I have an hour or two to nap. New sleeping in method, this, and it works.

All the rats really like to eat paperback books. I need shelves in my room badly. :/

We're harvesting tomatoes. :) One a day about, at this point. I give it two weeks before we're overwhelmed, or maybe four.

New scheduling experiment on the poly front. I can't tell you about it on livejournal, you won't take me seriously. Ask in person.

And... that's it for now, off to do laundry. The next two days will be hellish for work schedule.

Comments

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know. 'Just be sure...' *chomp*

It's mostly that I would feel bad looking at a betta alone in a glass bowl with nothing else. Also, if I wish to breed, the young do need a filter as their labyrinth (the airbreathing thing) doesn't develop for a couple of weeks.

So I'll spiff up the bowls. :) Mmmm... pretty rocks.

[zargon.livejournal.com]

Bloodworms. Betas love bloodworms! They are frozen but that seems to be okay. I'm curious to ask about this new schedule. Remind me to ask when we're next over picking plums! :)

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Bah, frozen! I like watching them squirm!

There are very few plums left, you and _greenwitch_ had better come over and battle for them this weekend or you'll miss out.

OTOH, tomatoes have started. Approx. four black plums harvested today (they're a little bigger than the yellow plums at my place, for comparison) and one of the generic supermarket-looking ones, but a runt of that kind. At least two more will be ready tomorrow. The warmer it is the more we'll get.

Do you know anyone who cans tomatoes?

If I can find webspace (_locke offered me some once?) then I will post pictures of All My Stuff. Rats, tomatoes, bald head (not yet achieved, tomorrow is the date) and fish. Things are finally settled down enough to begin doing so.

[zargon.livejournal.com]

Ah. Well, if you wave them around in the water they *kinda* look like they are squirming.

Koppermoon and I might be by after archery today and get some more plums. Got about 7 jars of jam from the batch I got on Monday! :) Do I need a taller ladder?

Koppermoon might be able to can the tomatoes. You'll have to ask her.

I might be able to offer you webspace but because it's Shaw, you'd only be able to update it from my machine (stupid IP checkers) so I don't think that's too helpful. Bummer that.

[saxifrage00.livejournal.com]

Shaw allows servers? I'm thinking of switching to them since Telus has blocked everything inbound to dynamic IPs. What kind of "IP checker" is it, and what limits does it enforce?

Shaw

[zargon.livejournal.com]

I dunno about servers, I've just got the "standard" service which includes 70M of space and I'm not using quite all of it yet. I didn't realize that Telus was blocking inbound traffic. That's bad news for someone I know who *IS* running a server on a Telus account <http://www.buzzwhirlclick.com>.

The "IP checker" has to do with FTPing stuff up to my sites. Apparently it can only be done from the machine that their modem is actually connected to. I can't FTP from another machine basically. Nor can anyone else. It really sucks to be honest.

Re: Shaw

[saxifrage00.livejournal.com]

Oh, I get it. I keep forgetting that ISP still give out free webspace with their service.

http://www.buzzwhirlclick.com seems to be fine, so I'm guessing that they've got a proper 'server' package and have a static IP. Telus is only blocking on dynamic IPs because those are the most vulnerable to inbound virus attacks.

Re: Shaw

[zargon.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Free webspace is cool. Having access to all the cool ASP and other stuff would be cooler.

Well, BWC is run on a linux box but he had to get rid of the static IP because it was $80/month and Telus' service sucks. So he's got to a dynamic IP with a service that takes care of remapping it for about $25/year.

Pout :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

But...but...I haven't canned any plums yet!!! - people need to share! Maybe I could drop by after work on Thursday? Will anyone be home around five?. Also, I've canned tomatoes before - no biggie, and you can do them in just a water bath rather than a pressure canner if you add lemon juice to each jar first (guarantees the acidity is high enough to fight any bacterial growth). By-the-bye, have you got your scheduling set up for this weekend yet? Lemme know :)

Re: Pout :(

[zargon.livejournal.com]

We scored another sizable bag yesterday. There's still plenty up there, but you are going to need someone tall and thin to climb up the tree and either pick 'em or shake 'em loose.

Re: Pout :(

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Ah, cool. It looked so bare when I peeked up the tree...

Re: Pout :(

[zargon.livejournal.com]

Yup. There's still some. It's going to take a bit of doing to get them all, but they should be picked soon. Many are getting a little over-ripe.

"Pretty bags of mostly alcohol!"

Pout :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

But...but...I haven't canned any plums yet!!! - people need to share! Maybe I could drop by after work on Thursday? Will anyone be home around five?. Also, I've canned tomatoes before - no biggie, and you can do them in just a water bath rather than a pressure canner if you add lemon juice to each jar first (guarantees the acidity is high enough to fight any bacterial growth). By-the-bye, have you got your scheduling set up for this weekend yet? Lemme know :)

Re: Pout :(

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

You've got Saturday from about noon onwards until as late as we want, and possibly an hour or two Sunday morning. As much thrifting, canning, and berry picking as we can do in that time is great.

The plums are just all almost overripe, and falling off. You're welcome to come by and pick them at any time, though I won't be here.

Re: Pout :(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

Thas coo! How did you want to arrange pick-up and such for the aft/evening? Shall we retire to your kitchen or mine (if it's a hot day, I suggest we clean and freeze the berries rather than heating up the kitchen and making a mess - the jam doesn't taste any different), and if we score while thrifting, we'll need to drop it at your place anyway.....

Re: Pout :(

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

I'll be at my place Saturday morning.

My place is really cool all the time, so even if we wanted to cook a batch of jam at midday it wouldn't heat it up too badly. I haven't been to your place though, yet...

I will call you Friday night, or you will call me?

Educational

[pieman.livejournal.com]

I now know way more than I ever thought I would know about any fish.

Or Rats....you sleep with them??

Or plants...why don't you sleep with them too? ;)

But I will *never* see you in person and I am curious about your schedule. It seems that even when poly is going really well, there is always some stress and constant changes in any sort of scheduling conversations.

Re: Educational

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

Nonsexual sleep. :)

You should get a fish.

Plants tend to react negatively to being slept with, and they're not cuddly.

I will tell about the schedule when it's not right before work, then.

*runs out the door*

Re: Educational

[pieman.livejournal.com]

Still...Sleeping with rats. I am not surprised that one could...I just never thought of it. And it was an odd thought.

Especially when I start to get an image of the "Rodents Of Unusual Size" and think that they would not be pleasant to sleep with.

Now...plants and sleeping. As much as I must bow to your much greater love and knowledge of plants, I must disagree on the sleeping. I have had some of my best sleeps around, on, in, and under plants. Sleeping anywhere around a tree is a wonderful thing. Sleeping on a bed of ferns - divine, and they don't even seem to mind, bouncing back afterwards. I have even slept at the feet of a bunch of rose bushes, I smelled so good after that...