I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY IT'S FRIDAY TOMORROW! I only have four hours of work, one class, then it's off to go get some new food to help with my betta's constipation problems (poor guy is just beginning to be able to swim straight and have some luck moving to the bottom of the tank - darn you fish flakes), and then I have a counselor's appointment on Monday, more nude studies on Monday (which I am finding really fun - it's open, honest, and educational! ), a test for Bio on Monday, and then a health check-up on Tuesday and then it's vacation time!! Hooray! I am so ready for this break - hell, with all of my procrastination, it seems like I've been ready for this break for the past month. >_O I am JUST getting my assignments done on time. *sighs*

But yeah - guys, bettas are a lot more fragile in constitution than you may think. They can deal with a lot, but you still have to take care of them and they can get sick just like any other fish. Be nice to your bettas!

(I'm speaking from experience here, as I didn't make sure that my tank was completely cycled (it's meaning that I didn't let the Nitrogen cycle complete itself - as ammonia from waste and food accumulates, bacteria grow that converts ammonia to nitrite, which then elicits growth of bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate, which is still dangerous in really high amounts, but it is CONSIDERABLY less harmful for the fish than ammonia or nitrite. Also, if you have live plants, they can take in the nitrate for growth - it's a long process), and the ammonia levels spiked as the cycle was just beginning. The problem was... my fish didn't fare too well with it. His gills became irritated by it and he was having trouble breathing. He has also been stopping erratically - he will be swimming and then just...stop in place, fins not moving at all, just breathing very slightly, for a number of seconds, and then just be off again. It's very worrying. It didn't help that the food I was giving him has been making him have trouble staying upright and swimming due to bloating which puts pressure on his swim bladder, leaving it less effective to control motion. I made a 75% water change today, thereby missing work, but it was worth it rather than having my fish gasp his way to a slow grave. It was rather an emergency - the ammonia level was .50 where it should be at 0, and now after some extra conditioner to detoxify the ammonia, things are back to normal parameters. Now I just have to decide if I want the tank cycled, which can take a month to three months to complete and would leave me with just needing a 25% water change each week, or not cycle it and change the water near completely twice a week. Yeah, I'd rather have it cycled. I have the idea that if I take Desmoda out of the tank I can cycle it safely, so I might just do that.

It doesn't help that I've gotten sort of confused on what I should do with water changes which left me to leave his tank unchanged a day or two more than I was expecting. >>'

But yeah - he seems to be doing a lot better in the new water.

I should cut this short because I've got work to do, but I just felt like expressing what's been going on. Cheers!