# A happy ending



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I win, I win, I win!!!! Hahahaha :lol:.

I don't know how many of you remember my betta abuse in the animal management classroom thread, but guess who I brought home? I don't know what changed her mind (maybe it was my blank staring at the wall every day in her class) but my teacher approached me today and asked if I would bring Professor Lupin (the betta) home for Christmas vacation. So, I said yes. Then, she told me that if I wanted to buy him a more suitable home I could just bring in the reciept and she would pay me back after vacation :shock:. So, I'm trying to bring him back to health over vacation and then when he goes back he will be cared for correctly finally :-D. The poor little guy looks pretty beat up now, but he has shown some promising signs. After I acclimated him to my water (I took a whole 2 hours to do this because of his condition) he started exploring his new home which is my 10 gallon QT tank. He even blew 1 bubble, and when I checked on him a little while ago he was sleeping with all his fins fanned out :-D.

It's actually kind of creepy how well everything worked out. I had just spent a few hours the day before cleaning out the guppy tank (they finally got better and moved to the 15 gal) and sterilizing it, then resetting it up. I had even put the airstone in so that the water was aged for 24 hrs before I brought him home. And, I had been resetting the heater the day before, but I wasn't concentrating on it too much because I didn't think I'd be putting fish in there until after Christmas anyway, and I didn't even check it in the morning. When I got home, the tank was 78 degrees and the heater has kept it that way since!!! Talk about coincidence. Oh, and my canister filter needed a cleaning, so I just took out one of the filter pads and stuck it in the 10 gallon. Instant cycle! All this happened before I even knew I'd be bringing him home :shock:.

So, without further ado here he is. The pics actually make him look way better than he is, he is actually very dull and greyish in color. Stupid flash! He has colored up a bit more since I moved him to the heated 10 gallon.

























The first 2 are in his little bowl with the horrid plastic plants that ripped his fins to threads origionally (I actually saw blue pieces of tail on them when she first put him in there) and the last one is him in my 10 gal. QT tank. I didn't have many silk plants so it's pretty bare, but still WAY better than where he was. I also turned the filter flow as far down as it would go and put a double layer of nylon around the intake tube. Now it is perfect! :-D:-D


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Good for you, rescuing Professor Lupin!  I think it was meant to be because everything just seemed to fall into place for you. I know he'll have a wonderful home, with such a caring person to take care of him.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Nice fish story! Sounds like Professor Lupin is going to have a very nice Christmas!!!


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Great news! That whole thread you had going before was so frustrating. I'm glad your teacher finally turned around. If his home looks anything like your own personal tanks, I'm sure your teacher and the rest of the class will be amazed at how beautiful and healthy a properly cared for fish can be.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Good story w/ a nice happy ending. Great job, Kim!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Thanks everyone! 

I have an update: I checked on him this morning to see that he blew about 5 bubbles during the night, and has regained a lot of color. His ventrals are now a nice red, and he is getting a red wash on his fins. The edges of his fins also look less brown than they did yesterday. It's just amazing how quickly they can bounce back! He also got his first meal, some bettamin flakes. At the school they kept trying to feed him these huge pellets that he probably couldn't eat even if he wanted to. Then, they would just leave them in there to rot. So, basically he survived on freeze-dried bloodworms. He absolutely gobbled up the flakes though. He also seems to be playing near the out flow of my filter, and he likes to watch the fish in my 15 gallon next door  He is a fighter to be doing so well!


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

It's kind of amazing how quickly fish can bounce back. Shark was much the same. When I found him at Petsmart in his death cup he was listless, faded, and looking rough, and he was one of the nicer looking ones. Within half an hour of being in his new home he colored up (becoming a much deeper vibrant blue, I swore he was purple) and swimming everywhere to check things out.

If the teacher is willing to foot the bill for a new home I'd say don't push things. A simple 2.5 or 5 gallon tank, small internal filter, auto heater*, and some silk plants. Don't go too nuts, your teacher will probably get sticker shock even from you holding back.

*One of the ones without a control knob and stays at 78 automatically. Probably best to not give them the power to adjust the temp to make him more "comfortable".


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Glad to hear he's doing so well. He probably thinks he died and went to heaven.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

It sounds like he did have a near death experience and he IS now in heaven. I'm glad he's doing so well. Such a great thing you did. Persistence pays dividends!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so there it is :-D. Compare that picture to the last one in my first post (the one that most accurately showed his colors). WOW! He is so active now! When I woke up this morning he was repeatedly swimming through the outflow of the filter, turning around, and doing it again :lol:. When I gave him his morning flakes he practically attacked them!! And, if you look VERY closely you can already see a teeny tiny bit of clear regrowth on his fins! I'm going to be writing my teacher a really sappy e-mail today in hopes that she will give him to me for Christmas. I mean, it would be good for her because she wouldn't have to pay for a tank anyway. But, I'm not getting my hopes up because at least I know that he will have a proper setup if he has to go back. And now that I have my new QT tank (thank's mom!) I can rescue 2 more to put into my divided 10 gal.

As far as maintenance is concerned, I have been using a turkey baster to clean up poop and uneaten food daily, as well as testing the water to make sure my filter sponge did the trick cycle wise. So far so good :-D.

It still makes me mad though. I mean, all he needed to be healthy was a clean, cycled, larger tank, a heater, and food that he can actually eat! :evil: The reason he was so bad off was neglect, period!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Oh, I forgot to add that he has blown bubbles all over the top of the tank!!!


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## Nudist (Oct 19, 2008)

that is fantastic Kim, you are a super kind young lady. 

rather than asking your teacher for him you could always say that he died and just not take him back. 

good luck in getting to keep him, i know he would be MUCH better off because i have read all of your post about him and your teacher.

Steve


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with Steve. You COULD just tell the teacher that he died.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Great story, better outcome! 

All of this betta talk makes me want one... or four.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

dramaqueen said:


> I agree with Steve. You COULD just tell the teacher that he died.


I thought of that, but I am supposed to be the one who knows about fish. If I "kill" the fish that lived for much longer in her care then she will likely not believe me again and just get more fish to treat in the same way :-?.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Cody said:


> Great story, better outcome!
> 
> All of this betta talk makes me want one... or four.


Oh yeah, bettas are great! They are addicting too. Once you get one you want more, and more, and more.....:lol:


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

UPDATE: Lupin is doing great. He is still very active and his fins are showing more improvement. He has even gotten a good start on an actual bubblenest in the corner (before he was just haphazardly blowing them over the entire tank). He is also loving all the good food he is getting. I am feeding him flakes in the morning and frozen food in the afternoon (bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia). I have been very careful though to not overfeed him on rich foods, but so far so good :-D. He gobbles everything up and is looking really healthy. I'll post more pics when his fin regrowth is more evident.

I did realize however, that my teacher's e-mail address goes to her computer at school. So, she won't likely get it for a while, but I am still going to try. I'm also going to gush a lot about how much I love him when I get back to school. Maybe I'll get lucky due to her stinginess and lack of caring about him ;-).


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You're right, Kim. Its best to be truthful. They might think that you don't know as much about fish as you say you do and, like you said, won't believe you.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Your teacher might decide, like my neighbor, that the fish isn't worth "fooling with" and let you keep him.


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## Nudist (Oct 19, 2008)

i dont blame you at all for not wanting to tell the teacher that he died, thats being dishonest and will always come back on you in the end. hopefully she will go ahead and give him to you, maybe you could offer to buy him from her.

the only thing that scares me about the great care he is getting right now is if she dont let you keep him and when he goes back in the classroom, he might not eat anything and get so stressed that he would die.

keep up the good work and we will keep our fingers crossed that she will go ahead and do the right thing and let you keep him.

Steve


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Well, he eats the flakes regardless so I'll just give her some if she won't let me keep him. I really hope she will though, she doesn't care anyway so why even bother??


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I sure hope she lets you keep him. I'm sure you've become very attached to him.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Unfortunately, he had a bit of a relapse last night. I went to bed happy because I was seeing some real regrowth on his fins, and when I woke up this morning I found that they had disintegrated a bit  I kind of feared that this would happen because he had finrot when he was in his bowl (he ripped his fins and they got infected, just it didn't move very fast because the water was so cold). I had hoped that just the clean water would do the trick, but apparently the higher temps eventually let the bacteria gain the upper hand. Anyway, I am prepared so I dropped a tablet of fungus clear in right after I discovered it. Maybe I should have added a bit of salt in the first place...I'll have to keep that in mind the next time.


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## GuppyColorMaker (Nov 17, 2008)

That's a Fish Story. I have a female betta fish, and I'm getting one from my friend. He will be in a 20$ 1.5gallon loke my female. I got a 20gal for x-mas so I'm making that the best that I can. 


GCM <333333


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Alright, the fungus clear seems to be doing it's job. The edges of his fins are smoothing over and there is a tiny bit of regrowth in certain areas. I can't wait to get rid of the green water, but he does not seem to be affected. He actually blew a large bubblenest overnight  I am really anxious to see some real regrowth, (and to see his colors again-stupid green water), but I can't do anything at the moment except be patient. I'll post some pictures when there is some real improvement.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Update: His fins are still looking better. I'll post pictures soon. I think his name actually should be something like pirannah because of the way he attacks his food!!


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## Hailfirex (Dec 23, 2008)

good to hear he is looking better


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

How about Jaws! Haahaa. One of mine, who passed on last year, "attacked" his food like a shark attacking its prey. lol I'm glad he's doing so well.


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## GuppyColorMaker (Nov 17, 2008)

How cute. Glad to hear he's improving.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

He's still doing really well. And, today is the day that I can do a water change and add some carbon to get rid of the green water!! Yay. That also means that I can add the new gravel and decorations that I got for Christmas. I didn't want to add them before because the fungus clear stains things green. I'll probably post pictures of him and the tank later once I get it set up. He also blows huge bubble nests every night  It's so cute.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Alright, so his fins were looking absolutely fabulous. I had cleared up the green water, added some salt as a preventative measure, and put in decorations and gravel which he seems to love. We had a Christmas party yesterday and I was even showing everyone how good my "rescue" was doing. Then, when everyone had left and I was finally ready to go to bed (it was midnight!!) I went into my room and was getting ready to go to bed when I did the usual fish check to make sure everyone was fine. I noticed that something looked a little odd with Prof. Lupin's fins and immediately identified it as a tiny bit of disintegration on one spot! What the heck!! (don't know how this site takes to swearing lol) I was so shocked, I mean I had just done a 50% water change 2 days ago, I had added some salt, and there was already some good regrowth. I thought he was out of the woods by now! So, I took quick action and added another Fungus Clear tablet then went to bed. Well, this morning he looks good again and the areas where the fins were beginning to fall apart seem to have fused back together. But, what really worries me are his eyes. They almost look like popeye. Now, when I brought him home I do remember noticing a little something odd about them, but it was too slight to tell. Now I'm still having a hard time deciding what it is. His head is now a deep blue color instead of grey, so maybe I'm just seeing the outline of his eye more. I don't know. I need to ask my mom to help me get a good picture of it, because I can't get anything focused enough to show you. Ugghh...and there's school tomorrow so I need to figure out how to deal with my teacher. I think he's still in too delicate of a condition to be moved, and the whole eye thing has me extra worried. Any advice concerning how to deal with his "issues" (fin relapses and eyes) would be greatly appreciated. 

Here's some pictures that I took this morning. You can see that his fins still do look better than the last time I took pics though. Tell me what you think if you can see his eyes.









Oh yeah, and the green water is why you can't see his red wash, not that he has lost any color. Just so you know.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I can't see his eyes at all in that picture but I can see that his fins look great. Maybe you'll be able to get some better close ups of his eyes....


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Yeah I figured. I actually thought the picture was a little clearer when I wrote that. If you could see his eyes...then I'd have to be amazed!!


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## GuppyColorMaker (Nov 17, 2008)

Amazing!! What a great story!!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. I am hoping that there is nothing wrong with his eyes because of 2 reasons...1) they haven't gotten worse and 2) Flame's eyes stick out just as much so maybe it is just normal for him too. Maybe his eyes were just sunken before because he was starving and freezing. If he were my fish I'd just keep an eye on it, I really hope that I can convince my teacher to just let me keep him tomorrow. It'd be so much of a hassle to buy all this equipment, bring it and the fish to school, and instruct her on proper care, oh and carefully acclimate him to the new water. Come to think of it, she really owes me for all the worrying and work I've done for this little bugger over my vacation 

Aunt kymmie - Is that your doggie in you avatar? Kind of off topic, but he's a cutie, and what a great picture!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Lets just hope that she lets you keep him. You deserve it, you've taken such good care of him. As far as your teacher is concerned, I don't understand why someone would want something that they really don't care about.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

I doubt that its that she didn't care about it. I'd suspect its more that she just doesn't know any better. The advice you get from a fish shop (major chain or local mom & pop) is usually bad trending towards horrible. People are used to pets like dogs and cats where the only thing you really have to do is make sure they're house broken and feed them. Most people don't understand that you're not just responsible for feeding fish but maintaining their whole environment, a fish tank isn't a cage, it's a life support system. However telling people about cycling, keeping the temp up, filtration, etc. would scare away a lot of business so most fish sellers gloss over those details or just leave them out and tell people what they want to hear. Fill the tank with water, toss in the fish, feed it once in a while.

Unfortunately betta's nature works against them here. They're tough as nails and can take such poor treatment for months on end before dying. Since the fish doesn't immediately die people assume they're properly caring for them. When the fish finally expires months or even a year later they assume it died of old age and they did just fine and immediately buy another. Other people have had similar experiences and reinforce their belief by telling them that's normal. They don't realize that a properly cared for betta can live four years or even five or six.

There's also an element of willful ignorance. People often seek out the answers they want. Its easy to identify on forums at times. Someone will ask advice and a dozen people will give them the same advice but its not what they want to hear. Too much work, too expensive, just not what they want to do. Then someone comes in and tells them what they want to hear and they immediately take it as gospel, ignoring the dozen people who are now telling them how awful the advice is. Its not uncommon for them to show up later with the same problem or a worse one because they didn't listen. The teacher probably isn't a bad person, she doesn't want to believe she's mistreating the fish, she wants to believe she's doing a fine job, so when a dozen people tell her she's doing fine but one student tells her she's not who is she going to believe? Frankly I think that the teacher was willing to let Kim take care of the fish and even write her what amounts to a blank check for the fish's care is admirable. It represents her being willing to change her mind or at least give Kim a chance to prove her point.

Telling the teacher the betta died would be the worst thing she could do. First off, the fish was alive under the teacher's treatment, then it dies under Kim's? At this point any sane person would have some serious doubts about Kim's knowledge. After all the fish "expert" just killed the fish. No, the best solution is to bring him back in his new home and show the teacher a happy, healthy fish and let her arrive at her own conclusions as to who was right in regards to his care. At this point the teacher is likely to change her mind. Now she might get sticker shock at what his accommodations cost and tell Kim to keep him, which is a win, if not the class gets to see the proper way to care for a fish which is a win too.

In fact lying to the teach would not only cast doubt on Kim's knowledge but likely prompt the teacher to replace the "dead" fish with a new one to be kept in the same conditions.

Anyways, congratulations on the rehabilitation. Let us know how it goes with the teacher.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I agree with everything Tyyrlym said. Thank you Tyyrlym for taking the time to write that.

PS. Yes Kim, that's my boy! He's my guard dog, so he thinks and acts. The reason I like that photo is he looks sweet & approachable but in real life he's rather intimidating. He's the smartest & most loyal dog I've ever had live with me... a real keeper!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Yes, Tyyrlm that is exactly why I will not tell her he died. It would look awful for me and would just condemn another betta.

The reason that I came to the conclusion that she doesn't care though, is just the way that she reacts to the entire thing. The fish was obviously dying at some points (floating on his side one time, refusing to stop lifelessly floating inside his cave on another occasion) and she still did nothing. She would talk to me about it, and even repeat my advice to others like it was her own :-?, but when it all came down to it I just don't think she wanted to take the time to do anything about it. Ummm...and today at school she didn't even say anything about him :|. I thought that was kind of wierd. 

Anyway, back to Prof. Lupin. I am hoping that if I show her the pictures on how good he's looking so that she knows I have some credibility, then tell her the price (undoubtedly more than she wants to spend even for a bare minimum setup) she will just let me keep him. I just have this feeling that he is going to need a lot of supportive care for a while now, and he's just not going to get that at school.

Aunt kymmie - Aw...he's cute! Is he a german shepherd? My dad had a belgian shepherd and he says that she was the BEST dog that he ever had. In fact, she died before I was even born and he still rants and raves about her ;-). From what I've heard about the 2 breeds they seem like the kind of dog for me. When I get my own place I'd love to get a dog that will be real loyal to me. I think they're gorgeous too :-D.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Now I feel bad for suggesting that you tell the teacher that the fish died. I guess I never thought about the consequences.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

That's so strange that she didn't even bring up Prof. Lupin. I don't know what to make of that?? On one hand I do want you to be able to keep him. On the other hand, if you get to keep him is this teacher going to get a replacement? That would just create a vicious cycle... 

Yes, Kasey is a German Shepherd. I adopted him from the local animal shelter. It's beyond my scope of understanding how anyone could ever let a dog like this go, but I'm very glad that they did! I think Shepherds are the most loyal of all the dog breeds and highly recommend them!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think that when you adopt an unwanted dog, they turn out to be the best dog and most loyal dog you'll ever have. We had a dog that we saved from the pound and he was the best dog we ever had and very loyal and protective.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes, that is true. Every dog I've ever had has been an "adoption" but only Kasey has shown me this *intense* type of loyalty that I attribute to his breed. 

Speaking of loyalty, don't bettas come close?? Of all my fish my bettas are the only ones that appear interested in me. I know Prof. Lupin is very interested in Kim!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yes, bettas are always interested in what we are doing. They even act like they are interested in what we are saying when we talk to them.  I was getting ready to change my female's water tonight and she saw my hand with the net over the top of her container. She looked straight up because she thought I was going to drop food in her water. I felt bad for her, changing her water and not feeding her. lol


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I did talk to the teacher (I actually had to approach her after a few days of no mention of him at all which I thought was weird) and she said the same old "oh, I'm definitely going to bring in my 10 gallon tank and set it up" (notice how it is now a 10 gallon and not a 5???). So I actually sent her some pictures of before and after and she said I was "amazing" and asked if I could hold on to him for a few days until she got the 10 gallon up and running. Well, it's been over a week with no mention whatsoever of him or the tank. I'm thinking he's just goint to end up staying with me







. Oh well







.

This fish is so funny though! He is so active that he eats literately twice as much as my 2 other bettas! He swims constantly, and so fast that I can't even get a good look at him







. He gives a totally new meaning to the "wiggle dance"!

Kind of off topic, but here's a good one. This same teacher was talking/demonstrating how to groom a dog in the "Pet Palace" which is a grooming business run by her and her students to cover the costs of the classroom animals.....well, I bet you can guess where this is going. She starts off by roughly handling both dogs so that they are pretty much terrified. Then she demonstrates nail clipping - well, she clips down to the quick and makes the poor dog bleed. She handles this by saying, "well, sometimes you have to do that, so just get the powder over there to stop the bleeding." Also, when we're cllipping the nails she has us basically hold the dog in place no matter what, using whatever force it takes so they don't "win". Then she says that if we find hair in the ears while cleaning them (she tells us to stick our fingers in as far as they will go and dig aroung because you can't hurt them) that we should rip it out. When it starts bleeding we are instructed to put some more powder on it, then wash it out later. Then she starts telling us about clipping the ears and how there is one dog that frequently comes who has sensitive ears with lots of folds of skin. She says that oftentimes they get cut up so....you guessed it, more powder. I mean really, she's like performing surgery down there! The poor dogs must be terrified by the time they come out of there!







I mean, I guess I kind of expected this from her......but it surprises me that people actually bring their dogs there. As for the rest of the class - I'm really suspecting that they don't have more than 2 brain cells that think for themselves because they just follow her like sheep. It's disgusting!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Kim...what are you trying to do? Give me nightmares before I go to bed? :shock:
I'm pretty mellow when it comes to most things but this type of ignorance causes the "road to rage" to start brewing inside me. What I wouldn't give to live there, bring Kasey in for a groom and not feel an ounce of remorse when he chomped down on her. He's the type of dog that won't tolerate abuse. I know it's terrible of me to think this way. Eventually she may get bit. I just hope that if a dog ever decides to snap that it'll be her who gets bit and not one of your classmates. I truly hope you are able to keep Prof. Lupin. It seems that your effort to educate her (in a very nice way, I might add) on proper fish care has not been in vain. A 10 from a 5 is HUGE. I truly do wish that you are able to keep Prof. Lupin.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

The dog I petsit for would probably take a chunk out of her, too!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Well, I think he's mine. She hasn't mentioned him at all and I only have my final to go and I'm out of that class. She cut another dog's nail down to the quick....anyway, back on topic.

I think the little bugger is a tail biter. I'm beginning to suggest that what I thought were relapses before were actually him biting. They normally corresponded with water changes with no meds added, but really after a week all the meds should have been deactivated anyway (treatments only last 4 days). And just this morning I noticed a few big hunks taken out of his tail. He hasn't had his water change yet, and he was fine last night so I'm thinking he did it to himself. Also, he's moved tanks (a few weeks ago) and the two bettas in his former tank are both fine, so I know it's nothing wrong with my water quality. Well...I suppose it's better than fin rot that won't go away :/ I'll post some pics later to see what you think. He was looking so good too....urggg.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Oh, forgot to add. The other reason that I think it's tail biting is that the damage can be quite extensive and occur within an hour, but today I have been home and haven't done anything since I noticed it in the morning (well, except for his weekly water change, but I didn't add any meds), and nothing has changes. You'd think if it were fin rot that if it could do that much damage in a few hours that it would continue at the same rate.

The bad thing though, is that the biting (if that is what it is) doesn't seem to have a real pattern. Sure, sometimes it would occur after a water change, but other times I'd do the change and nothing would happen at all. He doesn't seem to be a stressy fish (he's generally friendly and active) and he doesn't seem really bored either although that may be something to look into. Maybe I'll get him a few ghost shrimp and see if he likes them.....


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Here's the pics. Yeah, I know they're crappy, but I can't get any that are better. Note the large hunks missing from his fins...not typical fin rot looking. Tell me what you think. Oh, the ends of his fins are normally darker than the rest, they just grew in like that.

















 his poor beautiful fins!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

He's pretty!  Do you think the tail biting was a habit he picked up from when he was in the small container in the classroom? I think adding the shrimp would be a great idea. Maybe he'll forget about the tail biting.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

dramaqueen said:


> He's pretty!  Do you think the tail biting was a habit he picked up from when he was in the small container in the classroom? I think adding the shrimp would be a great idea. Maybe he'll forget about the tail biting.


Probably, he was doing it when I got him so...it's nothing new I guess. I'm now sure that is what it is. Today his fins look no worse, and there is maybe a little regrowth so it's not fin rot.

I guess I'm the new owner of....a tail biting betta :|. Oh well, I love him anyway. I'm thinking of renaming him Jaws. :lol:


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Does stress cause them to do that?


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Stress, bordome, and sometimes the odd fish that just has random triggers. I don't really know what's up with Prof. Lupin yet though.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

It reminds me of captive parrots & macaws who for no reason at all pluck out their own feathers and chew up their own feet. They've yet to figure out the exact cause of why some of these birds are "pickers". Owners can remove all stressors and still the bird picks. Is it possible that some fish are simply nuerotic as some birds are??


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Yesterday I caught the little bugger at it. I figured out that it's stress that causes him to do it too. So, no shrimp for him!

I just looked at the tank and noticed a little algae on the front glass. So, I very carefully stuck my toothbrush in and gently scraped it off (I'm always very careful with my fish so as not to disturb them too much when doing tank maintenance). Like 2 minutes later I looked in the tank and he was circling and trying to bite his tail! I distracted him with my finger which he thinks means food, but I don't know how to possibly put him in a lower stress environment than he is now. I mean, he's in my room which no one really goes in, I am gentle when doing water changes, the tank is cycled so he only gets about a 20% weekly change, and there's no other fish in sight. Maybe he is just neurotic!


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## SolaceTiger (Oct 4, 2008)

Hey Kim, how's Prof Lupin? It's been about 5 months and I don't see a newer thread about him.


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