Pets and Animals

[TxCat]

I've got a question for the aquarium enthusiasts and pleco lovers:

Last night, the two bubblers in our big aquarium quit. I haven't had time to troubleshoot the problem, and now I'm not certain I should. (The filter, by the way, is still going so they do have water circulation and temperature control). The plecos are much more active with them shut down, it seems. Where they used to hide in the shrubbery or stick to the sides of the glass, now they're out in plain sight or swimming at mid-level or hovering on the bottom of the aquarium.

I couldn't find anything on line about their habitat regarding whether they like or hate moving water. Does anyone know? If they like this better, I can find other ways to circulate the water which won't bother them (the tank is rather murky).

I also called my two reliable fish stores (that is to say, these people are trained in aquatic pets and/or engage in the hobby themselves and have experience in the area). Since plecos aren't bred in captivity and since most people don't attempt habitat aquariums, they didn't know either.

[Synchronized]

I've got a question for the aquarium enthusiasts and pleco lovers:

Last night, the two bubblers in our big aquarium quit. I haven't had time to troubleshoot the problem, and now I'm not certain I should. (The filter, by the way, is still going so they do have water circulation and temperature control). The plecos are much more active with them shut down, it seems. Where they used to hide in the shrubbery or stick to the sides of the glass, now they're out in plain sight or swimming at mid-level or hovering on the bottom of the aquarium.

I couldn't find anything on line about their habitat regarding whether they like or hate moving water. Does anyone know? If they like this better, I can find other ways to circulate the water which won't bother them (the tank is rather murky).

I also called my two reliable fish stores (that is to say, these people are trained in aquatic pets and/or engage in the hobby themselves and have experience in the area). Since plecos aren't bred in captivity and since most people don't attempt habitat aquariums, they didn't know either.

It's possible your plecos just like stiller water. All pleco species like different things, so it's difficult to say.

[Imposibibble]

My cat had a surgery and dental yesterday. She was so nervous and scared. The premeds did not seem to work (it's supposed to calm her) and she tried to run away every chance she got. It didn't help that the lab cats were nosy and kept coming up to see what all the ruckus is about (which made her MORE nervous).

Dental and surgery went well. She maintained a good BP, heart rate, temperature. Nothing exciting. Recovery was chaotic as well. The moment she opened her eyes, she practically tried to jump out of the cage. This was not a good thing since she was still connected to the IV drip set and she was not stable. Good thing someone was with her and blocked most of her escape route. She was NOT happy during recovery. First time I heard her growl. But once she got a little less wobbly, she recognized me. She wobbled to the cage door, reached out and mewed (what I think she would say at this time): "I wanna go home!"

[TxCat]

My cat had a surgery and dental yesterday

Glad to hear it went well! The very best vets leave techs with the pets in recovery so that no mishaps occur. I have two friends who work as vet techs and they always stay with the animal.

I need to get my hound spayed, but I'm having trouble finding a vet who will do it (it would seem that the attitude about conservation of life extends to female animals down here in the Bible Belt too). She also has a benign cyst on one foot which needs removed. It hasn't grown any, but it is a solid mass and it's starting to interfere with her walking.

I have two other un-spayed animals, a cat and a dog. Both are sensitive to anaesthetics and so the vets don't want to work on them any more than necessary. We almost lost the dog when she needed worked on after a bobcat attacked her. It took her three hours to stabilize before she could be released to go home, and even then that was wrapped in a special thermal blanket. It was another two days before Freyja could actually move around and recognize us. The vet said never subject her to surgery again unless it was another emergency.

The kitty only weighs about five pounds and they're afraid she won't withstand the surgery.

I watch all my un-spayed animals and track their heat cycles so that there are no accidents and no unwanted puppies or kitties (well...they'd get to stay here but boy, would my husband be unhappy!)

[Haefaciel]

I have the two most adorable and loving boy kittens.

My boys!

Spike is the black one and Punky is the orange one.

Spike's Bio

Spike is a 14 year old black kitten that I've had since I was five. His birthday is July 26th, 1996. He's my first pet as well as my longest lived cat. When I was young, my parents took me to a babysitter that had a female cat that would become pregnant regularly. When I saw the only one black kitten in the litter, I immediately wanted him and named him and told my dad that "This is Spike, can we keep him?" Since then we've kept him for nearly a decade and a half.

I've noticed recently that the older he's gotten, the more clingy his is with me and he likes to snuggle with me. He also likes to follow he around the house. He's my buddy and comforts me when I'm sick or sad. When I change the litter box, he'll watch me take out the old litter and make a fresh box and immediately when I'm done, he poops in the clean box. He also like to wake me up early in the morning to feed him wet food.



Punky's Bio

Punky is a fat, orange cat that is 5 years old. He's my fourth pet cat. His birthday is April 18, 2005. After my brother's cat Felix died suddenly, a woman that my dad worked with said that she had a cat that had recently had a litter of kittens. On of them was an orange kitten that would crawl over his siblings to be the first one to nurse. After the woman showed my dad a picture of the kitten, I saw the picture and I said "Let's get him." Now we got him. His original owners named him Pumpkin since he was orange, and as he grew, he became such a silly cat that she kept his name, but shortened it to Punky since he's a little punk that likes to get his nose to everything.

Since he was a kitten, Punky has had some interesting quirks. He used to had a thing for musk melon and yogurt. He also has the knack for posing in the oddest positions. He never outgrew his kitten mew, so you basically have a big orange adult cat with the mew of a kitten. I've caught him drinking out of the toilet once, but since then, the toilet seat stays down.

Oh, and he does not like his tail to be petted.

Both Spike and Punky are neutered and declawed.

[Imposibibble]

I need to get my hound spayed, but I'm having trouble finding a vet who will do it (it would seem that the attitude about conservation of life extends to female animals down here in the Bible Belt too).

I find that extremely odd. So your community supports unwanted litters going straight to shelters or abandoned by families who don't want them? Since sterilization is not a popular choice, I'm gonna guess that euthanasia of shelter animals is even less so. Shelters must be really crowded in your area. Or animal hoarders.

The kitty only weighs about five pounds and they're afraid she won't withstand the surgery.

Shelter kittens get spayed/neutered at around 2 months old. At a healthy weight, they're roughly 2 pounds at that age. Your kitty will be fine. I had my cat spayed at 5 months of age (she was a little over 5 lbs) and she's perfectly fine (the surgery she had recently was for a mass removal--it was a reaction to the rabies vaccine that has not disappeared after 6 months).

[TxCat]

I find that extremely odd. So your community supports unwanted litters going straight to shelters or abandoned by families who don't want them? Since sterilization is not a popular choice, I'm gonna guess that euthanasia of shelter animals is even less so. Shelters must be really crowded in your area. Or animal hoarders.

What people do and what they will force on others in the name of beliefs are often two different things. They drown them

I waded into a swamp to get my Daisy hound. I was driving home from town when someone threw a large wriggling plastic garbage bag out of a van. I wasn't fast enough to get the van's number, and I doubt our good ole boy network would have done anything about it, but I did pull over and wade out to get whatever was in the bag.

It turned out to be her. She wasn't even old enough to be weaned.

And yes, animal shelters are extremely crowded around here and we do have a lot of problems with hoarders. Typically, at least at the county shelter, the employees take the animals home with them for a few days and mark them destroyed on the records in order to give them another chance at adoption. There are a lot of private no-kill shelters in the area too but that's not necessarily a good thing. They can't always afford the medical care and training these animals need and some of them, I regret to say, should legitimately be put down.

Your kitty will be fine.

I probably ought to have mentioned that he's pretty old and she was old when I got her. That may be why they're refusing. I don't pretend to understand how they do things down here any more. I've been to five different vets in twice as many years and still can't find one who will do everything needed. The closest is the exotics vet who treated my other bunn (he's since died of old age at fourteen years, which is OLD for a bunn) for sarcoptic mange when everyone else wanted to just put him to sleep. Even she, however, will not attempt the spaying of either of those two animals.

While it's preferable to spay and neuter them, (everyone else in the house has had the procedure, since they're all shelter pets but from OUTSIDE Florida) it's not much trouble to be extra vigilant and make certain neither of them get out or are exposed to a situation where they could be impregnated. I'm aware of the potential health benefits, but these two have already lived long and productive lives without it impacting them.

I'd have preferred the vets spayed them when I asked and I'm still looking for someone to do the hound (I may take her to Georgia or Alabama or back home to Colorado), but at least I'm as responsible as I can be under the circumstances.

[Tereghan]

Dang TxCat, I always knew the South was a bit strange, but not spaying/neutering? Seriously?!? Do these vets let all the strays created by their decisions live in their yards? Do they feed them? Do they bother to euthanize them, or do they leave it to the animal shelters? So sorry you have to deal with that level of crazy.

So, recently Petco has gotten some new Betta fish in. Halfmoon Kings, Halfmoon Plakats, Halfmoon Doubletails, and Halfmoon Doubletail Plakats. I highly doubt anyone in charge of labeling the fish actually knows what the word Halfmoon means. Heck, even the picture on the cup doesn't have a proper halfmoon tail. It's about as annoying as those designer breeders calling a poodle cross a purebred.

[TxCat]

Dang TxCat, I always knew the South was a bit strange, but not spaying/neutering?

As I said, I live in an area that bills itself as the jewel in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt. If you care to look it up, we're the ones responsible for Reverend Jerry Vines It's his church which controls most of the city. They have 26,000 congregants in just the main church. Now include the outlying churches and you can see the enormity of the problem.

The shelters are overrun and everyone just seems to ignore the problem. There isn't even a spay/neuter program in place for owners, though if you adopt out of the shelter they will go ahead and do that as part of the agreement. All my kitty boys and girls have been fixed except the little gal I mentioned.

So, recently Petco has gotten some new Betta fish in. Halfmoon Kings, Halfmoon Plakats, Halfmoon Doubletails, and Halfmoon Doubletail Plakats

Eeeehhh....I like that about as much as I like the dyed fish, the ones who have either been injected with dye or who have been injected with jellyfish genes to make them more colorful. I prefer my fish natural because if you feed and care for them correctly, their natural colors will come out all on their own. My bettas are beautiful, but they won't hold still long enough for pictures to be taken!

There used to be a pretty good betta site out there with images showing the differences in the tails:

Betta Talk's Betta Finnage

Maybe someone should keep it for reference so as to better identify the fish?

Mine are veil tails. I know most show folk and breeders consider these guys next to worthless but I adore the near-natural finnage. The others look crowded and lopsided to me and the crown tails look like someone has been eating them.

[Tereghan]

Veiltail bettas are awesome. I've found that a lot of them have more personality than some of the larger finned ones. I don't necessarily mind people breeding them for their finnage, but I do wish they'd identify it properly, especially when they charge more for their "halfmoons."

Something like that reference chart would be taken down, sadly. The SKU is the SKU, and it doesn't matter if it's true or not.

I have actually seen accounts of people keeping and breeding wild bettas, but I've never been able to find the ones I really wanted, Betta imbellis. They're simply not available online much, and even then you have to import them which would lead me to believe they may have been wild caught, a big no-no. Until I can find a good breeder in the US I've given up on them. Plus we're going too be moving, probably several times in the next few years depending on whether or not we can get jobs and find a house, and I don't think it's quite fair to be acquiring more fish at this point unless some of mine get old and die off first. I have my two bettas in a divided 10 gallon, but with the Labyrinth organs and all they're far easier to move than my boyfriend's 20 gallon community tank. We managed it a year and a half ago, but it was a complete pain in the neck.

I love fish, but until we've got a bigger place we can't have many more. We've got dreams of a huge saltwater setup though. When we're rich. They're so expensive if you do it right.