CrissAngelLover animal update thread *update and question*

[CrissAngelLover12345]

I was able to find the cord organizer! I bought one! I might have to get another one, dunno yet though. I'll have to see. For the cords that aren't animal related, I'm probably going to get something similar from home depot since I won't be having to continually take the cords out of it.

I also got a breeder net, just in case Patriot starts having difficulty getting to the top of the tank. I have noticed his colors seem a bit more enhanced on the new food, though his condition isn't improving. sad I'm thinking about going ahead and putting Patriot in the net. He is having difficulty chasing his food as it moves around the tank, and the net will help with that I'm sure.

Bandit and Charcoal's transition period onto the Orijen is completed! Bandit absolutely LOVES the Orijen, and from what I can tell, so does Charcoal! biggrin Any ideas on how I can get Bandit to slow down on eating his? I'm trying handing it to him, but that doesn't appear to be helping much, as he practically inhales the pieces I give him lol. He does chew some of the pieces a little bit lol. If I just put the bowl down, he's finished eating in less than a minute to maybe a minute if we're lucky lol.  

[Akari_32]

CrissAngelLover12345

I found both Omega One and New Life Spectrum at my Petco. Knowing what the packaging of New Life Spectrum looked like helped me locate it lol. I compared the ingredients and decided to go with New Life Spectrum. biggrin I saw that Omega One contained Ethoxyquin, and knowing that it's bad for dogs and cats due to causing cancer and other illnesses (as well as other things that Ethoxyquin is used for besides preservatives in pet food... >.<), I figured it probably couldn't be any better for fish. I gave Patriot a little bit for his dinner, and he seems to like it. He's still eating, for now anyways.

Wow, never knew that. I'll have to look into that stuff. I used to feed Omega One flakes (couldnt ever find the pellets untill I recently moved), and I dont think I'll ever go back to flakes after losing two of my Bettas to dropsy (no offence to Omega One LOL).

Glad he likes it! The only fish I cant get to eat NLS is a new Honey Gourami, but I think its because PetSmart feeds their fish on Omega One flakes, so he isnt sure what to do with the funny little round things lol Still eating is a good sign =3

CrissAngelLover12345

...
I also got a breeder net, just in case Patriot starts having difficulty getting to the top of the tank. I have noticed his colors seem a bit more enhanced on the new food, though his condition isn't improving. sad I'm thinking about going ahead and putting Patriot in it. He is having difficulty chasing his food as it moves around the tank, and the net will help with that I'm sure.
...

How long has he been on NLS? He may atcually get a little better in a few days. Perhaps get a feeding ring (or make your own), so that the food isnt going all over the place. Not having to work so much for his food will definatly help him.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Akari_32

CrissAngelLover12345

I found both Omega One and New Life Spectrum at my Petco. Knowing what the packaging of New Life Spectrum looked like helped me locate it lol. I compared the ingredients and decided to go with New Life Spectrum. biggrin I saw that Omega One contained Ethoxyquin, and knowing that it's bad for dogs and cats due to causing cancer and other illnesses (as well as other things that Ethoxyquin is used for besides preservatives in pet food... >.<), I figured it probably couldn't be any better for fish. I gave Patriot a little bit for his dinner, and he seems to like it. He's still eating, for now anyways.

Wow, never knew that. I'll have to look into that stuff. I used to feed Omega One flakes (couldnt ever find the pellets untill I recently moved), and I dont think I'll ever go back to flakes after losing two of my Bettas to dropsy (no offence to Omega One LOL).

Glad he likes it! The only fish I cant get to eat NLS is a new Honey Gourami, but I think its because PetSmart feeds their fish on Omega One flakes, so he isnt sure what to do with the funny little round things lol Still eating is a good sign =3

CrissAngelLover12345

...
I also got a breeder net, just in case Patriot starts having difficulty getting to the top of the tank. I have noticed his colors seem a bit more enhanced on the new food, though his condition isn't improving. sad I'm thinking about going ahead and putting Patriot in it. He is having difficulty chasing his food as it moves around the tank, and the net will help with that I'm sure.
...

How long has he been on NLS? He may atcually get a little better in a few days. Perhaps get a feeding ring (or make your own), so that the food isnt going all over the place. Not having to work so much for his food will definatly help him.

He's been on NLS since the evening feeding on the 17th of this month. I went ahead and put him in the breeder net so he wouldn't have to work as hard to get the food. biggrin He wasn't very happy when I put him in it. Though he did get curious about it when I first put it in the tank lol. Catching him was a challenge. I put some Stress Coat in the tank because of moving him. He does seem to like not having to work as hard and not having to go so far to get to the top as well. biggrin He seems to have realized that the breeder net isn't such a bad thing after all. Hopefully he'll get better on the new food. biggrin  

[Akari_32]

Atleast its not stressing him out =) I would put a small plant in there for him to hide behind if he feels he needs to, and give him something comfy to sleep in.

Also, I did a bit of research on that Ethoxyquin stuff. I'll post some links.

Wikipeadia states it causes mortality in fish; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethoxyquin

It is in most prepared fish foods; http://parrotcichlid.com/node/14037

Shows the problems it had cause in dogs, and shows a comparison between Australian dogs, not fed on commercial dog foods, and American dogs that are fed on commercial foods. Also shows issues with disables/sickly/still born puppies, and so on; http://www.oscarfishlover.com/ethoxyquin-preservative-articles-132  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Akari_32

Atleast its not stressing him out =) I would put a small plant in there for him to hide behind if he feels he needs to, and give him something comfy to sleep in.

Also, I did a bit of research on that Ethoxyquin stuff. I'll post some links.

Wikipeadia states it causes mortality in fish; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethoxyquin

It is in most prepared fish foods; http://parrotcichlid.com/node/14037

Shows the problems it had cause in dogs, and shows a comparison between Australian dogs, not fed on commercial dog foods, and American dogs that are fed on commercial foods. Also shows issues with disables/sickly/still born puppies, and so on; http://www.oscarfishlover.com/ethoxyquin-preservative-articles-132

O.O Wow, more reasons to avoid ethoxyquin. I also avoid BHA and BHT like the plague as well. Ever since I started doing the research on pet foods, what to avoid and what to look for in good foods, I've been avoiding those like the plague in all processed pet foods/treats I buy and looking for things with natural preservatives, thoroughly inspecting the ingredients list.

I'll see what I can fit into the breeder net with him. I will try to get a small plant in there with him at least. smile

Edit: I randomly decided to look at Ace's wafers and Squirtle's pellets (both brands, I got two different brands from my brother). They contain ethoxyquin! gonk I'm about smacking myself for not noticing that in Ace's wafers when I bought them... For Squirtle, I got the food from my brother when I took Squirtle, and that was also before I started doing the research on it... Dunno why it never occurred to me to check his food. I'm going to get NLS wafers for Ace. I dunno what kind of pellet food I'm gonna get for Squirtle since I don't know what's really out there... >.< I'll be picking up the new food today, though.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

For Ace's wafers, I ended up going with Aqueon wafers. Aqueon and Hikari were the only two brands that did not contain Ethoxyquin (even NLS's wafers contained ethoxyquin. gonk ), and Aqueon didn't contain any artificial colors. Ace seems to love it!

For Squirtle's food, I only had a choice of ZooMed... ALL the other aquatic turtle pellets available had Ethoxyquin. gonk ZooMed was the only one that didn't. >.< Why does Ethoxyquin have to be such a pain in the butt to avoid, especially in fish and reptile food? gonk Squirtle seems to love it too! biggrin  

[Akari_32]

CrissAngelLover12345

For Ace's wafers, I ended up going with Aqueon wafers. Aqueon and Hikari were the only two brands that did not contain Ethoxyquin (even NLS's wafers contained ethoxyquin. gonk ), and Aqueon didn't contain any artificial colors. Ace seems to love it!

For Squirtle's food, I only had a choice of ZooMed... ALL the other aquatic turtle pellets available had Ethoxyquin. gonk ZooMed was the only one that didn't. >.< Why does Ethoxyquin have to be such a pain in the butt to avoid, especially in fish and reptile food? gonk Squirtle seems to love it too! biggrin

Aqueon foods are one of the only brands with out Ethoxyquin. I personally dont like Aqueon. I blame their water conditioner for killing my fish >=(

I use Hikari Algae wafers, and my Bristenose seems to like them. As long as he's eating it, and gets a variety of foods, it really doesnt matter much lol  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Akari_32

CrissAngelLover12345

For Ace's wafers, I ended up going with Aqueon wafers. Aqueon and Hikari were the only two brands that did not contain Ethoxyquin (even NLS's wafers contained ethoxyquin. gonk ), and Aqueon didn't contain any artificial colors. Ace seems to love it!

For Squirtle's food, I only had a choice of ZooMed... ALL the other aquatic turtle pellets available had Ethoxyquin. gonk ZooMed was the only one that didn't. >.< Why does Ethoxyquin have to be such a pain in the butt to avoid, especially in fish and reptile food? gonk Squirtle seems to love it too! biggrin

Aqueon foods are one of the only brands with out Ethoxyquin. I personally dont like Aqueon. I blame their water conditioner for killing my fish >=(

I use Hikari Algae wafers, and my Bristenose seems to like them. As long as he's eating it, and gets a variety of foods, it really doesnt matter much lol

That's interersting. I prefer avoiding artificial anything if possible, and Hikari has artificial coloring in it... Ace does seem to love the Aqueon wafers a lot more than the other wafer I had been giving her, she's actually seeking them out! With the others, if she happened to be near the wafer, then she'd go for it, otherwise, she'd ignore it.

I still would like to know why some people (particularly the pet food companies and the people who feed those brands to their pets), think that those artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and Ethoxyquin, are safe to give to pets (and I read some spices we use in human food are preserved with Ethoxyquin to prevent color loss... gonk )... gonk  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

My mom found a way to get Bandit to eat his food slower. She accidentally added water to his food when she was adding water to the cats' food and Country's and Jonny's food (it's the only way they'll eat it), and he ate it slower than he usually does. biggrin  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

It looks like my parents might be stuck going grain-free with Country and Jonny. We had been trying to figure out what has been causing Jonny to keep licking/chewing on his legs for some time now (beyond the point where they get all bloody... >.<). Ever since my mom got the rest of the Wellness Core dog food from me after Bandit was switched over to Orijen, and it got mixed in with the Kirkland's, Jonny hasn't been chewing and licking his legs as much. We're now suspecting grain allergies (minor from the looks of it). While picking up a bag of Orijen for Tigger, Patches and Boots (my mom decided to get them onto Orijen since it's only a few dollars more than Wellness Core), we looked at the varieties of grainless foods they had there. It looks like she's going to try Taste of the Wild. biggrin Here's hoping it works to stop his chewing/licking himself. biggrin  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

My mom has gotten Taste of the Wild for Country and Jonny. Now we're working on transitioning them onto it. smile

Bandit and Charcoal love the Orijen! I have noticed their fur has already started to become even shinier and softer and that they have a lot more energy than what Wellness Core was giving them! biggrin

Weight wise, Bandit's looking good! I can tell he's lost some fat weight! He still has a bit more to lose, though, but he's getting there! biggrin He's also building more muscle! biggrin I want to weigh him when ever I can get my Wii plugged back in. My dad unplugged it to plug something else in, and now there's nothing I can unplug to plug it in. My mom says we have another surge protector/power strip. Hopefully I can use that since there is an outlet that has one thing plugged in that can be moved to the new power strip/surge protector.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Patriot does indeed have dropsy... He now has pineconing, he looks like he has swallowed a marble, he has stopped eating, and he's either laying at the bottom of the breeder net or floating at the top of the tank... He looks like he's suffering quite a bit, so I'll be humanely putting him down once my mom gets back with the supplies to do so later today... I looked up the most humane way of doing so and will follow the instructions I found... I'm gonna miss him... crying

I plan on medicating the tank to make sure that what ever might have caused the dropsy is out of the tank, then doing a water change, and getting another betta. It will probably be either a halfmoon or crowntail... It'll probably be a little while (at least a few weeks to a month or so, depending on the medication (I've been trying to locate Maracyn-two (which treats dropsy), but haven't been able to find it anywhere, and can't find anything else that treats dropsy)) before I get the new one, but I will post pictures of the new one when I get him...  

[Akari_32]

CrissAngelLover12345

Patriot does indeed have dropsy... He now has pineconing, he looks like he has swallowed a marble, he has stopped eating, and he's either laying at the bottom of the breeder net or floating at the top of the tank... He looks like he's suffering quite a bit, so I'll be humanely putting him down once my mom gets back with the supplies to do so later today... I looked up the most humane way of doing so and will follow the instructions I found... I'm gonna miss him... crying

I plan on medicating the tank to make sure that what ever might have caused the dropsy is out of the tank, then doing a water change, and getting another betta. It will probably be either a halfmoon or crowntail... It'll probably be a little while (at least a few weeks to a month or so, depending on the medication (I've been trying to locate Maracyn-two (which treats dropsy), but haven't been able to find it anywhere, and can't find anything else that treats dropsy)) before I get the new one, but I will post pictures of the new one when I get him...

Aww I'm sorry. If you do wait that long to get another fish, you need to either dose the tank with some pure ammonia every couple days, or add fish food regularly, to keep the tank cycled. There are methodical ways to do both, though I dont know them.

On second thought, you could just buy some Tetra Safe Start when you're ready. Its like $15, though....

If you are waiting that long, theres no need to medicate the tank. Most likely it was something beyond your control, like he kept ingesting too much air when he ate, or something. Stuff happens that we cant to anything about. Treating the tank with no fish to treat will not do any good. If you wait, if it really was some thing that caused it, it'll die off in a week or so with no host.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Akari_32

CrissAngelLover12345

Patriot does indeed have dropsy... He now has pineconing, he looks like he has swallowed a marble, he has stopped eating, and he's either laying at the bottom of the breeder net or floating at the top of the tank... He looks like he's suffering quite a bit, so I'll be humanely putting him down once my mom gets back with the supplies to do so later today... I looked up the most humane way of doing so and will follow the instructions I found... I'm gonna miss him... crying

I plan on medicating the tank to make sure that what ever might have caused the dropsy is out of the tank, then doing a water change, and getting another betta. It will probably be either a halfmoon or crowntail... It'll probably be a little while (at least a few weeks to a month or so, depending on the medication (I've been trying to locate Maracyn-two (which treats dropsy), but haven't been able to find it anywhere, and can't find anything else that treats dropsy)) before I get the new one, but I will post pictures of the new one when I get him...

Aww I'm sorry. If you do wait that long to get another fish, you need to either dose the tank with some pure ammonia every couple days, or add fish food regularly, to keep the tank cycled. There are methodical ways to do both, though I dont know them.

On second thought, you could just buy some Tetra Safe Start when you're ready. Its like $15, though....

If you are waiting that long, theres no need to medicate the tank. Most likely it was something beyond your control, like he kept ingesting too much air when he ate, or something. Stuff happens that we cant to anything about. Treating the tank with no fish to treat will not do any good. If you wait, if it really was some thing that caused it, it'll die off in a week or so with no host.

I still have my BN pleco in there...though she doesn't seem to have it...so it might have been the food he was on before I got NLS, he might have decided to eat my BN pleco's food. His symptoms were that of dropsy, so that's why I'm pretty sure it is dropsy he had, and from what I found, it's usually something bacterial that causes the liver/kidney failure, which is why I want to medicate the tank, just in case, with there being a fish in it... I miss him...

I ended up having to wait until today to put him down... My mom didn't get the stuff I needed for it yesterday... sad He's no longer suffering now, though...I miss him already though... crying  

[Akari_32]

CrissAngelLover12345

I still have my BN pleco in there...though she doesn't seem to have it...so it might have been the food, he might have decided to eat my BN pleco's food. His symptoms were that of dropsy, so that's why I'm pretty sure it is dropsy he had... I miss him...

I ended up having to wait until today to do it... my mom didn't get the stuff I needed for it yesterday... sad He's no longer suffering now, though...

Oh, with the BN in there, then just do your water changes. If he's not showing any signs of it, then I wouldnt be worried, honestly. Dropsy isnt usually something you can help, just make the fish more comfortable.