LIVED ONLY FIVE DAYS.. i got a betta fish from my brother for my birthday. It feed it morning & @ night for 2 days, although it didn't seem interested to eat. The unbeaten food remained in the bottom. It was so spirited the 1st 2days. I didn't leave him alone, I use the fish bowl on my lap & play with him, sleep with him. He use to jump when I stick my finger near surface to eat the food. He seem so happy when I'm around. He use to sit at the bottom when I'm not around & swim up when I come taping the bowl. 3rd day night I cleaned the bowl & added aged water as suggested in web sights. The same night he seem fine but I noticed a hole in his tail after few hours. I didn't handled him roughly.. I didn't even used fishnet to remove him. I let him swim into a glass with his will. Next 4 th day I noticed his was sitting still in bottom n looked little gray n his tail was rotten n shredded. From morning I didn't came to say hello to him. I came at 11:30am to see him like that. May be he missed me so he was sitting in bottom ( he sit like that when he is alone n sad) I put food to him but he wouldn't eat. Then I panicked n cried so much. I didn't leave him alone the whole day.. May be that's y he lived 2 more day. I searched every website " how to treat fine rot." every one told he need med n heater. But it's a fish bowl I can't get heater to that. I can't afford. I got an idea of my own " putting the bowl into a mild hot water container" I use to check the heat before keeping the bowl in it. And it worked. He liked it ( caution " only mild water") may be it bought him 2 more days to live. Every time I keep him in the mild hot container his skin color come to normal n when he get cold he use to turn gray. I did it every 2 hours or 1 1/2 hour ( until his fin rot get cured n grow new one). Another thing I noticed that he got fin clamp but on 5th day I saw the wings to got rot. He got infection I guess. I used to water.. May be it has too much clorine even though I aged the water. Afternoon till evening he lost his tail n down fin. I didn't changed the water but I removed all the shred from water using net. He turned gray till stomach N under his jaw. His gills looked unusual. He still didn't eat any thing. My brother told let try bore water at least anyway he looks like dieing. So I prayed to God for one more day. That night I kept him close to my bed so that he won't feel alone. On 6th day 3:45am suddenly I woke up n thank God he was near surface ( on 5 th day he stayed on top) I frequintly checked n I saw he lost his left wing n swimming side ways.. It hurt to see him like that. At 4:30 I treated him with mild water then I removed the container before it get cold. I checked every 5 mins but I only closed my eyes for 8 or more mins.. in middle I heard swift movements n water splash then went silent so I checked. @ 4:45 he was floating vertical facing bottom & tail up. I cried continusly for 2hrs.I buried him @ 5am in my front yard crying.

From what I know, it causes bits of die back but doesn't take out most trees. Might be whats killing so many madrone trees north of the bay area, though (they really look awful, lots of black spots on some trees and serious dieback on others). Man, Phytophthora is REALLY nasty. The whole genus. Killed the Irish ( phytophthora infestans). Killing the Wollemi Pine (phytophthora cinnamoni. Killing the oaks ( phytophthora ramorum . Little flagellate bastards. Only possible treatments seem to me to be ones that would have to be systemic and self-sustaining...i.e. bacteria or viruses that are engineered/bred to feed on zoospores or something of that nature. The way that a virus is thought to have made the chestnut blight weaker, etc. All the chemical spraying in the world won't do a thing to remedy this problem.

Caye61542, so so sorry that you lost your baby blues from those nasty HOSP's. Never never let them nest in your bird houses. Always put up a sparrow spooker after 1st egg has been laid by bluebirds or any others that may nest with you. If you're not familiar with spooker, there is plenty of info online. Most people make theirs, but I bought mine. Make sure you remove it after babies fledge, so HOSP's don't get accustomed to it. They are really effective, but not always. The other thing that's critical when you have a HOSP problem is to get a Van Ert Trap installed inside your bluebird house (can order online & very easy to install). You can only use this when no birds are nesting. It can be removed during this time. What happens is when the HOSP enters, it sets the trap off & covers up the hole. Then, you have to get a big bag (I have large laundry bag with drawstring so I can see the bird & make sure it was a HOSP that I caught) & put all the way around house & open door for HOSP to escape. They will come out quickly, so make sure they don't escape. It's key to monitor hourly when you use this trap because you could trap bluebirds or other native birds as well & don't want them to die in box. You will then need to dispose of HOSP & try to trap the mate as well. I know some people don't want to dispose of them, but how else are you going to keep them from killing your bluebirds? There are humane ways to do it. The Sialis site outlines the entire process for you & gives other tips on how to control HOSP's. It's a personal choice, but definitely invest in a sparrow spooker. People that have serious HOSP problems trap multiples in a repeating trap that they use a decoy & millet to get them trapped. I'd be getting rid of that nasty HOSP that killed your babies! Best of luck! Nicole

I'm so sorry. You'll never be the way you were, nor would you want to be; as you said, he was your true love, & he wouldn't want you to grieve & be miserable & not enjoy, relish, & revel in the life you still have on this earth with your/his children. You are a vibrant young mother with 2 dear children tethering you to this earth; your mission here is important & it won't be complete for many many years. Your precious sons are the next links in your beloved husband's chain of life, & you're the one who can nurture their connections to their roots, for their sakes & for the sakes of their children., Please take care of yourself, in every way. Eat right, don't drink, make sure you see people every day (isolation is an enemy). Grief is deep & dark, but depression is a physical malfunction that can be beaten. Get outside that house & get your heart pumping; oxygenated blood is the best medicine for...well, many things. I know you don't feel like jogging or playing tennis or swimming, because not wanting to do anything is a symptom of depression. Make yourself do it anyway. If you can't summon the strength, have someone call you every morning & tell you to get up & get dressed & get outside. I always managed to get up if I knew someone was on the way over to take me to jazzercise, etc, somebody who wouldn't be embarrassed to bang on the door & holler at me to get my @ss out there. & go to your doctor: this is the year 2014, & there are sophisticated medicines out there these days to help you. Enlist some help; go to your family, friends, neighbors, church family, people at work, people you meet in the grocery store (seriously, I've found that saying "what a beautiful hairdo!" or "is that the best peanut butter?" provides a tiny little spark of human contact that really helps you to keep putting one foot in front of the other). & this may sound off the wall, but do something for someone else: it lifts the spirits & affirms...something, I don't know what. I do know that researchers have discovered that giving makes people happier than getting, or as our grandmothers said, it really is 'more blessed to give than to receive'. I wish you the very best, including a long & satisfying life, filled with the memories whose pain will fade in time, leaving only a sweet joy.