Crowntail Duo

[LyraGuppi]

(Apologies if this thread gets photo heavy. The post below was supposed to be posted yesterday, but my neighbor's fireworks weren't as loud as I thought, and I had some issues uploading pictures. Hopefully everything works now.)
The same relative I got the 55 gallon aquarium from also had three bettas that she wanted to get rid of, so I've taken two off of her hands. The third one is currently in a 10 gallon at her house that we set up, with an established filter and a heater.
They don't have names yet, so I'll call them Red and Blue.
I set up my spare quarantine tank, a 10 gallon, for them to sit in until the Multis are out of the 20 gallon. The mercy space in the center has a heater behind the sponge filter, the tank is sitting steady at around 80°F.

It's not much, but it's better than the tiny bowl things she had them in before. I shoved all the spare Anubias I have into the swim spaces to let them rest, along with a little dwarf water lettuce. The filter was running in an established tank, some of the sand was borrowed from the established tank, and I put in a little bottled bacteria, so hopefully the cycle should hold. After I got them from her, I decided to put in a few oak leaves.
The third betta was in the worst condition, with Blue a very close contender. They both have buoyancy issues, ammonia damage, a little fin rot, and look underfed.
Here they are acclimating, with said oak leaves:

A few photos, you can sort of see them through the tupperware:

Upper view, they're very small and thin:

Blue immediately settled down on the anubias, Red decided to have a swim around. Sorry for the poor photo quality and background, the tank is very shaded.

They've both eaten one pellet each, and look much more active than before. I really hope they'll be alright. c:

 

[LyraGuppi]

Update from today:
Red is definitely improving, his buoyancy issues are not as pronounced, and his colours are beginning to come in. He's busy exploring the tank right now. I'm thinking of naming him Magnus. "Red" doesn't really fit him anyway, he's more of a burgundy. ("fun" fact, my relative called him ugly )Sorry for the lens reflection.

Blue is still content with resting in the anubias. His colours have come in, and he's more active than before, but I'm a little nervous. My relative did say he was the oldest, and showing his age. I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is age, or damage. His lethargy probably shouldn't be as concerning as it is, since he just got moved, right?
I don't want (or know what) to name him yet.
On a side note, Blue's eyes are huge. Really dark as well. I hope it's not popeye, but seeing how he shows signs of poor eyesight, it may be.

They both had a couple flakes, and a couple brine shrimp + garlic. Both of them attempt chase the food as it sinks, maybe that's a good sign?
Bonus-
He saw the camera!

 

[Sunnyfish]

it's awesome that you've quickly managed to bring them "back to life." i'd imagine they're much happier now! it's funny, my first two bettas were named Mr. Blue and Crimson. i was young, so those names sound a little less appealing now. i guess Crimson isn't that bad of a name.
good luck on treating them! hopefully one day they'll have completely recovered.

 

[NickAu]

Nice looking fish.

It's not much, but it's better than the tiny bowl things she had them in before.

I think your set up is perfect.

 

[LyraGuppi]

it's awesome that you've quickly managed to bring them "back to life." i'd imagine they're much happier now! it's funny, my first two bettas were named Mr. Blue and Crimson. i was young, so those names sound a little less appealing now. i guess Crimson isn't that bad of a name.
good luck on treating them! hopefully one day they'll have completely recovered.

Thank you! I wouldn't say completely back to life, but I really hope they'll be at decent health someday. c:

Nice looking fish. I think your set up is perfect.

Thanks!

I did a small water change and added a couple more leaf pieces. The tank has tannins already, surprisingly! My mother hates the look of tannins, so I haven't had the chance to have anything anywhere near tannins-stained for a while. I missed the tea water!
Blue's constant lethargy is very concerning, but I'm trying to make myself remember that these fish will have short lifespans and damaged immune systems, and I shouldn't expect the same behaviour from them as a bought betta would have. :c I mean, they were in those bowls for months.
When I move them into the 20gal, I'll definitely keep the anubias floating for them to lay in.

 

[Sunnyfish]

it's awesome that you've quickly managed to bring them "back to life." i'd imagine they're much happier now! it's funny, my first two bettas were named Mr. Blue and Crimson. i was young, so those names sound a little less appealing now. i guess Crimson isn't that bad of a name.
good luck on treating them! hopefully one day they'll have completely recovered.

Thank you! I wouldn't say completely back to life, but I really hope they'll be at decent health someday. c:


Nice looking fish. I think your set up is perfect.

Thanks!

I did a small water change and added a couple more leaf pieces. The tank has tannins already, surprisingly! My mother hates the look of tannins, so I haven't had the chance to have anything anywhere near tannins-stained for a while. I missed the tea water!
Blue's constant lethargy is very concerning, but I'm trying to make myself remember that these fish will have short lifespans and damaged immune systems, and I shouldn't expect the same behaviour from them as a bought betta would have. :c I mean, they were in those bowls for months.
When I move them into the 20gal, I'll definitely keep the anubias floating for them to lay in.

that's what i meant to say, i suppose!. i agree it's a shame that they may not last as long because they were kept in those bowls, but at least at the end of their life they had a much better environment to live in than where they had been.

 

[NickAu]

Blue's constant lethargy is very concerning,

Give it time, He may yet surprise you.

 

[LyraGuppi]

that's what i meant to say, i suppose!. i agree it's a shame that they may not last as long because they were kept in those bowls, but at least at the end of their life they had a much better environment to live in than where they had been.

That's very true! I'll try my best to not be horribly pessimistic and remember that

Give it time, He may yet surprise you.

Surprising me is exactly what he's doing! o: He's an odd fish: he swims as fast as he can down to the bottom of the tank, then rests for so long that I think he's dead, then lunges back up and does the exact same. I suppose that means he's doing better! I think I'll name him Ronan.
I took some photos with flash today to try and show their new colours. Magnus has also learned that me walking in from of the tank means food, meaning taking pictures is a bit of a challenge.

If you ignore the awful water mark, that's probably the best photo I got of his wiggles.

The blue came in pretty quickly, he only had a very faint hint of blue speckles when I got him. His head is still a little pale, and has a slight stress stripe, but I'm hoping that'll go away.

I'll upload Ronan's pics tonight, so I'm not just spamming pictures q:

 

[LyraGuppi]

he peeks

 

[LyraGuppi]

Ronan, suddenly photogenic! He's perked up a lot:

Magnus, not a great picture, but the camera flash was stressing him. Taken with the lamp that's over their aquarium:

Both of the bettas have flared. Magnus gets very (very) angry, Ronan just sort of side-eyes his reflection.
I switched them around, since Ronan is less active, he's now in Magnus' old compartment. It's a little smaller, has lower flow, and more floating plants.
The 20gal is empty now, and I'll be able to buy plants for it this weekend. They should hopefully move by the end of this month, if the cycle moves quickly.
I've got to leave for work from Tues-Sat, so my parents will be watching them.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Still trying to regain sleep and get back into my usual routine after being out for work, so no pictures today.
I came back home to very wiggly bettas! I'd say both of them have recovered from their buoyancy issues, have a little new growth on their tails, and have learned to hold all of their fins out and open when they swim. I'm not sure if that was habit from floating in one spot all day for months?
The progress on the 20 gallon may be a little halted with all the stress from work and upcoming school. I've still got to empty out the water and sand, scrub the tank, and cycle, so they may move in August. Oi.
I'll try to get a video of their wiggles soon.

 

[LyraGuppi]

That was a long nap

Ronan, as of now:

Magnus, as of now:

I'd say they've recovered entirely.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Planning to get a 20 gallon long on October 7th, so they should have a new tank soon. Not guessing as to how soon, seeing how I keep pushing that date farther and farther back q:
I haven't manually cycled a tank in a year, so this should be fun!
I think I'm going to drag out my hoard of mopani wood for their 20 gallon and make it a full blown blackwater. Hopefully they still leach, seeing as I've had some for over four years!
the blue boy:

His eyes still look giant. They're not protruding like popeye, the pupils just look abnormally large

speckled man:

Poking about in the oak leaves for that pellet

 

[NickAu]

Poking about in the oak leaves for that pellet

This is poking around the leaf litter for a pellet,

 

[LyraGuppi]

Wow! That's dedication o: