Just some additional thoughts. What is the outlet from the bio wheel filter.. ie the flow. Too high a flow can ravage their fins tissue which is a single cell thin. (I use sponge to slow it down or silk plants attached to outlet). Also, they can handle lots of salt during treatment, and adding 1/2 to one teaspoon per 10 gallon helps to keep them (my experience) free(er) from bacteria. It needs to be added slowly over time though. They have been so inbred that they are not at all as hardy as when I was younger and in my opinion need extra care. Plus the way they are shipped in a few teaspoon of water so on, they arrive highly stressed in medicated water. So, prone to bacteria. I have found that salt water dips, (aquarium salt of course) each day and fresh water changes helps a lot. I rescued bettas (ok did one more lately) and use to use meds but the salt water workes best even with the extremely hard to rid flexibar columinaris (which looks like stringy fungus but is bacterial). Or you can use a gram positive and gram negative med plus the salt. Use your hospital tank so as not to hurt plants, bio load. Take out all plants, salt treatment will kill. Use soft silk (large leaves better as they like to sit on or hide under when asleep).. Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per gallon for hospital tank, then each day tank him out with tub (plastic container and cover so he won't jump).. I lower lights place towel over container, (inside of larger incase he does jump) Then I slowly dribble additional salted water for a soak, while I clean his main tank. I have had fish recover nicely from this, but it took some work. Melefix will help with healing tissue after bacteria gone. I have found they can handle much larger salt loads, but am hesitant to suggest this, just watch for stress, ie frantic swimming. And go slow slow slow. Then reverse with his fresh (adjust to match) clean tank water until equal and gentle place him back in. I never use nets just cup them gently in containers. (there are pros and cons on salt but I've used it since I was a kid many decades ago, per Dr. Innes and no problems and much help. Has to be used properly though). ........................... from a forum The simple answer is that bettas do not like much salt in their water. Bettas will tolerate a certain amount of salt in their water; however, there is a limit. Salt will change the flow of water due to a change in the concentration. All fish will tolerate salt to some degree, but when there's too much they will dehydrate due to water flowing out of the creature. Saltwater fish have kidneys that allow them to expel excess salt while retaining their water. Freshwater fish do the opposite - they expel water because of the concentration gradient. When using salt, you should use it for specific problems or needs. If you don't know when it's right, do some research. For example, FishEnthusiast.com notes that: "Salt puts electrolytes in the water that stimulate production of the mucus coating that protects fish from infection. At the same time, it alters the chemical balance of the water, usually increasing the pH. Salt also helps inhibit bacterial growth at least the kind that seem to cause algal blooms in freshwater aquariums." Salt assists in the healing of injuries, promotes formation of slime coating, improves gill function, reduces the buildup of nitrite (useful when setting up new tanks: 1/2 ounce of salt per gallon), and is effective against some parasites. However, it is a double-edged sword; there are also some downfalls. For example, some plants and fish species cannot tolorate salt. This yet another reason you should do a little research before treating a problem. It is NOT advised to use salt with scaleless fish, particularly cordydoras. These species are particularly sensitive to salt, and even a small amount can harm them. Also, tetras are fairly sensitive to salt. More useful information regarding salt: Salt in a Freshwater Aquarium Re: feeding, in nature when animals are really sick they often don't eat, much as people don't. The body is working immune system wise to repair and has more resources then you can imagine. But since you mentioned that he came alive with worms seems he might have been finicky (as they often are at first). Remember their stomachs are as small as their eyes. It is easy to overfeed, esp with dry food as it swells inside when wet. A small amount will do it. I feed a few pinchs of flake, chaning types for variety (live brine shrimp when I can find them, and Hakiri sterilized blood worms, as the live and non Hakiri always caused bacterial problems with any fish that ate them. They are grown in sewage like conditions and freezing does not kill the nasty bacterial or parasites. Hence Hakiri is three times sterilized (forgive my bad spelling). I feed a bit of vegetable matter in late afternoon to provide a purging of earlier meaty meal.)

they do that, don't they? some time after they show up, they just disappear for a few weeks. it could be that she was sitting on eggs when you were seeing her, and now she has live mouths to feed, so she's lookin for bugs more than nectar and is too busy to come visit. hopefully, before july is out, you can help her feed the little ones at your place! :-) keep watching and keep us posted.

We are pushing HARD to get in that house by Christmas. I was out there until 10:00 last night running trim in the livingroom. Once the last of this granite goes in, I can trim the kitchen and living room windows. Still some things left to do (like our final electricity hook-up which should happen in the next couple of days). Then we will start moving in, even though our certificate of occupancy won't happen until january. We told the county inspector that we would be celebrating Christmas in the new house...he was OK with that, even though we won't have the official go-ahead to move in. He's a nice guy.

I am happy to now have room in my kitchen for a TV. I do a lot of cooking, and it's nice to have one there while I'm prepping, cooking, and cleaning. I live alone, so I'm the only one to affect my decision. Right now I'm just sitting mine on my island so I can see it cooking and prepping, though it's behind me when I'm at the sink or loading the dishwasher. It was sitting unused in my bedroom (I thought I would want one there, but I didn't), so now it's finally getting some use. It's one of 2 TVs in my home - the other is a 38" in the living room. I haven't had cable in years, so the TV only connected by a power plug and a USB plug for the Chromecast I use with it.....and that means it will be easy to move around, or away, should I want the space for other people or things. Actually, there's a 2' long piece of counter next to my fridge that would be a good fit; it's the space where I roll out pastry (custom height), but I don't use it for that very often. I haven't really gotten around to decorating much; I've only really been able to use this space in the last month. I'm even still waiting for the cushion to go on the bench behind the table. It looks really empty in this picture - I never really thought of it until I see it here.