waterskies

[waterskies]

Benjamin found my Xmas muffins!!

[waterskies]

I made another thing. Betta is based on one of my previous bettas named Prince.

[waterskies]

Mikhail is checking out the camera~!

[waterskies]

Poor Razvan has an injury along the bottom of his jaw. It's been healing over the past couple of days, and so far, there are no signs of infection. I don't know how he got the injury as the driftwood in this tank isn't sharp. The only thing I can think of is maybe he got spooked and bashed himself against the dragon stone somehow 🤷‍♀️

Hopefully, he will heal up just fine. He is still eating and acting normal, so that's a good sign~!

[waterskies]

So, since this is Benjamin and Qhuinn's first winter outside, I was hoping for a gentle introduction to the season. Nope. Three days of frigid winds and heavy snowsqualls that dumped a good 3 feet of snow on us. Neither one of the boys showed up during those three days, so of course, Mama worried. I hoped they were dry and warm and had plenty of food stored in their dray. Well, once the weather broke, I saw one of my boys outside.

He looked so cold in the blowing snow and cold wind! But I had to remind myself that they've adapted to our climate, so he is fine.

He stayed up in the tree for a while, surveying the area. I suppose he was wary because it looks different in the snow.

Eventually, he came down from the tree and approached the door where him and his brother enter the house.

He snuffled around the door for a second and then sat in the bush beside the door. He never came in, though. He waited until the next day before he was brave enough for that. Good thing we had a bunch of nuts for him!

Qhuinn and Benjamin are not pets. They were found in a busy parking lot during a rain storm when they were only 4 weeks old and hadn't even opened their eyes yet. We suspect they had fallen out of a barely used vehicle that a mama squirrel made a nest in, as there were no trees in the area as it's a big parking lot. We were in contact with wildlife rehabbers and were given guidance from them as we raised them. They were both released in the spring of 2024 and have been doing great. They still come home to visit and have treats, but they spend most of their days outside doing squirrelly squirrel things~

[waterskies]

Qhuinn came home and visited today~

It's close to Xmas, so the grocery store is selling shelled nuts for cheap, so I got a couple of bags for the boys~

Here he comes for those yummy nuts~!

He sat and enjoyed a few of them

Then he ran off back outside to hide the rest of them~

Qhuinn and Benjamin are not pets. They were found in a busy parking lot during a rain storm when they were only 4 weeks old and hadn't even opened their eyes yet. We suspect they had fallen out of a barely used vehicle that a mama squirrel made a nest in, as there were no trees in the area as it's a big parking lot. We were in contact with wildlife rehabbers and were given guidance from them as we raised them. They were both released in the spring of 2024 and have been doing great. They still come home to visit and have treats, but they spend most of their days outside doing squirrelly squirrel things~

[waterskies]

Dropped in a bottom feeder pellet for the baby corys and waited patiently. Then this little one showed up! Still so tiny and smol~

[waterskies]

Enjoying my dwarf neon rainbows. I can't wait for the males to mature and have that deep body look~

[waterskies]

My therapist was asking me about things that calmed me, and I mentioned that the scent Dragon's Blood really calms me and that it's my favourite scent. I told her that I get a whole image in my head when I smell it, and she asked me to draw it for homework and show it to her in our next session. I thought I'd post it here, too. So here it is~! I tried to capture the scene as best as I could, but I'm rusty with drawing, lol.

[waterskies]

And to think I was worried about keeping these plants alive lmao 🤣

[waterskies]

Getting those extra Daisy's blue rice fish really helped out. They don't hide all the time now and are actually coming out. Before, they were barely coming out of hiding even at dinner time. I'm happy to see the change!

[waterskies]

Spotted the baby peppered corydoras today!

They seem to be doing well~!

[waterskies]

Volume up for the most lovely of noises~

[waterskies]

Close up of the 40gal long

Lol the male rainbow displaying for the female rainbow near the end~

[waterskies]

Just watching the fish~

[waterskies]

My 40gal long after a bit of a trim and some floating plant removal. You can also hear Benjamin and Qhuinn running around in the background. One of them drops a nut and then jumps down to get it and makes a little sniffle sneeze lol

[waterskies]

Made another fish related purchase. Got some more dwarf neon rainbows from a different source than the first batch, as they were sold out. I asked for all females this time because the first batch had 5 males and 2 females. So I hope I get what I asked for. I also got some amano shrimp for the 10 gallon. I'm starting to get a bit of thread algae in there, so I'm hoping they'll help me keep it at bay. Then, as I was browsing the plants with no intention of buying any, I saw they had some bolbitus in stock, which never happens when I actually have the money to get it! I've always wanted one, so I snatched that up! I'll probably put it in my 40gal long by the mossy log, which needs a trimming.