I appreciate the responses very much... Picklespickles, I think you might be right about starting over. It would be hard on me to do, but the thing is I am not sure if we could at this point. You mentioned getting another female or two. WeÂd love to but donÂt know where we could find them and donÂt know of anyone needing a couple of ganders... personally I could never eat the culprit (those who can, thatÂs great) and besides, heÂd make a mighty expensive Christmas dinner! lfrj, I donÂt think she was compromised in any way as far as I know. Just that morning when my dh let them out they were all strong and vigorous. This happened a couple of hours later. During the day they have a large grassy area for ranging behind our house including a 2 acre pond. My kitchen window overlooks it so most of the time theyÂre in my sight. We put them in a secure enclosure every night and they are glad to go there. We have lots of coyotes around and some creature has tried to dig itÂs way into the enclosure several times so I think it gives them security... also we had a small pen right next to them where we were trying to nurse a badly injured goose back to health (coyotes had gotten into our neighborÂs pen and killed all but her). This pen was sturdy and heavy but I went to let them out one morning and something had dug its way under her pen and killed her. I felt pretty sick. Must have done it for pleasure because only her neck was injured besides her former injuries. My geese had some less serious injuries as though they had been terrorized. The largest gander seemed to have a broken foot (the wire of the pen was bowed out on the side nest to the small pen and I think he must have kept hurling himself against it wanting to help while the other trauma was going on), three had missing toenails, all their beaks looked roughed up, etc. For days they didnÂt even want to come out which was very unusual. But they soon were back to normal, altho the gander limped for quite awhile. I wonder if your first theory could be right. IsnÂt this a little out of season for mating behavior or can that happen anytime? Maybe she wasnÂt receptive? Now I am worried about the other goose if the gander keeps up this behavior, which I see no reason why he wonÂt. There is a lot I donÂt know about geese, I guess. IÂd thought we were somewhat experienced.

Can you tell me what else is in there ie live plants, silk plants so on, and WHAT type of gouramis... gouramis when they mature get territorial (I am glad you have females not males in there, lol)... and often females get more aggressive as they age... as you already know bettas do jump, it's a natural thing when they catch insects in the wild. But she is not suicidal nor is the other fish assisting her... it could be aggression by the one betta towards the other, and she is avoiding her by jumping (escape behavior) and luckily gets stuck to the side as opposed to landing on the floor. Also, fish jump when the water chemistry changes (for the worse) so rule this out by checking everything. Cories btw should be kept in schools... at least 3 for this size tank. (larger school better, but cories need more space to swim about so 3 at least as to not overstock). I'd find another tank for the gouramies. So, she is not jumping intentionally as we know of it, but either jumping for food (but would do this when you come close to feed) (I had one that jumped about 8 inches as she saw me coming towards enclosure to feed her - lucky she was in a huge 50 gallon globe kept 2/3's full, so she would flop back into the water). 1 - check water parameters... 2 - the fish pushing her up probably is being aggressive... females can fight to the death as easily as males (I had a group all sisters, in huge 30 gallon fully planted, and when they matured pecked each other (and if done long enough they get stressed, sick and die) so had to put each into their own tank. I think you might have missed the aggressive behavior, and the "pushing" is actually her chasing biting aggression towards her. She is jumping to avoid if this is so. When my four at first got along, I'd then (as they matured) notice some in hiding, with number one top dog, running after the second strongest (like ducks they will pick on down the line)... they would fight just like males and I was stunned at the eventual ferocity! I could see her just nip at the others face... and I took her out fast - that was that. Gotten along for a while then all changed. Also, if gouramis are in need of space their aggression or even tension can spread to others - all in one tank are affected by the other fish - it spreads. As someone said one on another forum, put a lot of people in an elevator and see how you feel after a while. What looks like lots of space to us, due to each species needs may not be.. both bettas (females included) and gouramis are territory, and in nature are not in such close proximity, but loners unlike schooling fish. (save for breeding, and even then female bettas have even killed males). 3 - gourami (even dwarf) are in too small of a tank, and need a planted tank with enough space for each to claim their own territory. Again, learned this the hard way - 40 gallon with four dwarf blues. At first about one year fine, then each claimed part of the tank, then top dog wore down one (died before I got a clue and did more research on natural biotypes) and had to separate them and it was with tons of plants and wood. Just part of their nature. Can you put some java moss, other floating plants around edges at least.. eventually her scales/slime coat can get damaged (make sure lid is on tight to keep moisture on sides) if she is truly sticking and Flexibacter columnaris bacteria (looks like fungus but deadly) can set in. Even with plants if she is still jumping, eventually it will catch up with her.. they can breathe out of water for a while but if she dries up not good at all. (salt water bath can save her, but need to graduate it up and then back down dose wise slowly over time)... When fish (not bettas or those that catch insects and jump doing so) jump it is most often always an escape response - so try to observe/find out what she is escaping from. You are correct in assuming that this is not healthy for her. (guy on another forum had a small tank with aggressive barbs, fish dying right and left (cowering neons picked off one by one - gee could it be the barbs says he) and even the shrimp tried to escape (natural food for most fish esp those with teeth!) and he would find them crawling out of the tank to escape! No one wanted to be in the small tank (needed at least a 30 and he had them in a ten!) with those nippy barbs! (Not to mention all needed diff water chemistry). He is insisting on keeping what he wants so fish will suffer. Since she is doing this recently and not just during feeding time, something is wrong in her environment. Water chemistry, aggression (and it can come on suddenly after ages). (maybe transfer her water add some plants for security and put her in another tank (with lid) to see if she still does this behavior ) (to reduce stress, cover tank partiall and low to no lights for a while until she settles down)... Also, best to transfer bettas in plastic (like chinese soup tub) container as their tails/fins are one cell layer thin and nets can injure them. Also much less stressful for them (clear easy to do, just float under water and gently scoop them up - I add a bit of moss while taking it out and be careful they jump when stressed - lid on fast! lol) (as you can see many decades of raising bettas/fish with all sorts of experiences, lol). I once put a huge female guppy in another large planted globe with one of those seperated females. When I can back a few minutes later I was aghast to see this great guppy leaping out of the water like a skipped rock (like when as a kid you skim a rock over water, just like that bamm bamm bamm)... the female betta was chasing her down like a madman and she was running and jumping (escape) for her life... fish can be killed very fast by their powerful jaws. I of course ran for a net and took momma guppy out pronto! Try to remember if anything changed before this occurred. Best, let me know how it goes (my email stopped coming ages ago, so sherryazure@yahoo.com or sherryazure@gmail.com). Sherry

I see there is interest in this so I'll link to my animal communicator's website. The communicator, Gayle Nastazi, has always been very helpful to me. I have used her services with many of my cats in various situations; from dire emergencies (missing animal- found after 3 weeks!), to behavioral issues, to intergration and rescue issues with feral and abandonned cats that come into my care. I always learn something from every session. Although I know the whole idea strikes some people as pretty far-fetched (and that's OK), I feel comfortable saying that it has worked very effectively for me, and that I think it makes resolution of some difficult issues much easier. One thing I can say for certain is that Gayle is completely legitimate. I have met her in person. I also have no financial interest in this referral - just a hope that my suggestion might be useful. Click on the clink below and look for the Animal Communication link at the top left of the page. Carry on from there if you are interested. RE: Various Animal pee cleaners/destinkes - I think many (most?) employ some kind of enzyme. My conclusion after using all of them is that after the bottles are opened and partly used that it's possible that exposure to air in the emptying bottle degrades the enzyme significantly. It always seems to me that they work like gangbusters at first and then less so, particularly if not used up in a short time. Then I try another brand and it seems to work better (even tested side by side), but eventually poops out, too. I have tried Odor-X, Nature's Miracle and Get Serious, along with scads of others. The pattern seems to hold for all, so now I only buy in quarts not gallons, even though it's 'way cheaper in big jugs. I haven't experimented with decanting a gallon into smaller jars and keeping them closed until I've used up the other portions. Also I find it's helpful to vigorously shake the plastic bottle before applying. The idea mentioned by olychik about using rags is v. interesting and I will keep it mind. I hope that my link may be useful to you. Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Gayle Nastazi, Animal Communicator's webpage

Right Dominant type males can tend to mark in the house. I had it with one male. I put him on a short lead and tied him to the couch foot. I slowly lengthened it to where he could get around the entire LR. After awhile of that I took him off the leash and he was AOK after that. He had a large yard to run in so exercise was not the reason he marked. The other male who lived in a separate part of the house never marked. They were both stud dogs. Small dogs and hounds, with SOME exceptions are harder to housebreak. The pup you get will grow up to have the traits that pro breeders breed for if you bought from a pro person. If you bought from a pet shop, pet farm or backyard breeder than since they practice NO quality control you have NO idea what traits are latent in the genes. You get a pig in a poke. Most pro breeders choose for stable and outgoing personality. ONE growl or snap or bite at a judge and that dog can never be shown again. Still, some breeds can be trained to behave in the ring and still not be friendly to strangers elsewhere. Know thyself equals know thy dog. Temperament problems can come from even 4 generations behind your pup, especially in the more aggressive types. There are no small problems with big dogs. Friendly pups do not always grow up to be friendly adults. Adult personality can easily be very different from puppy personality. If you are adopting I think a grown dog is the better choice as then you are quite sure of what you are going to live with. Personally I always choose an adult if possible, unless it is a really rare breed with few puppies bred and available in the market sense. In the rarer breeds adults are seldom available as they are usually not impulse buys since there is usually a waiting time for a puppy. Impulse buyers usually don't wait. They just buy another breed. Seeing the parents and other family members is a good idea. I would often have 3 or 4 generations living when I was breeding regularly, so buyers could see the dam, granddam and sometimes great granddam. Sometimes grown ups from previous litters out of the pups dam and/or sire. Sometimes sisters of the dam. It all makes for a fuller understanding of the objectives of the breeder and the range of type, size and personality in the bloodline ( which of course most sellers of dogs do not have). A bloodline is the breeding of one person for 7 or more generations. That can lead to distinct qualities that are prominent throughout the line : ie good toplines, heavy muscles, strong movement, deep and wide chests, small ears, dark eyes, and so on. This happens because the breeder chooses what to keep or breed to that have those qualities. THAT makes a real breeder. People who only do random breedings with no intention of aiming for producing correct dogs ought to take up another hobby. They only flood the market with inferior puppies with no benefit to the long term advance of the breed. That is a MINUS for the dogs and the...