A word about stores and Bettas in jars....... I work in a fish store that sells Bettas and other tropicals and salt water fish. We have to keep them in jars (approx 2 cups of water per jar) for display only. When you have twenty five Betta its impossible to have 25 separate ten gallon tanks set up for one male Betta in each. Our boys water is changed daily, they eat bloodworms and betta pellets and we offer many larger options for Betta housing for when they go home. We explain to the customer that the bowls are holding areas only and the boys need a bigger permanent housing . We cant keep them in with the other fish as alot of them will shred his fins and some of the tanks have too strong of a current on them for Bettas or the water conditions are not suitable for them, brackish etc. The only way for stores to offer them for sale and to keep the fish in good condition is to use the small bowls. Bettas are a solitary fish in the wild so being alone doesnt bother them and if they are kept in clean water and fed well the short time in the small jar does them no harm, many start new bubble nests everyday after the water changes. Please dont think badly of all fish stores just because a few keep them in dirty half empty containers, a good fish store wont do that. Talk to the manager of the store if you find the fish in bad conditions , a good one will fix the trouble. I hope this helps explain why the boys are kept in jars. If you think the jars are bad you should see how they are shipped to the store!! Tiny triangle shape bags with just enough water to cover the fish, I mean a couple of tablespoons of water tops! That makes me mad, they could surely afford a bigger bag with more water.

Very nice pixs of frogs n' toads, earlybird! I love our native amphibs here. Oh, and I have a frog story to share.... I had one of those hideous Cuban frogs get into my bedroom one night about two weeks ago. There was a small gap in the screen frame (fixed now) and he somehow squeezed in. I was woken to the sound of a thud on my wall, another thud on the second wall, and then "SPLAT!!!" the little !#$*!!! jumped to the ceiling, missed, and landed on ME. I shall not share the location of the landing zone. *G* This was about one in the morning. I was NOT amused. At all. My cats were going nuts, but I managed to grab the pasty white ghost frog, go out into the back yard barefooted, whereby I almost immediately stepped in dog poop. I flung the hideous thing like a major league outfielder and it landed in the middle of the lake. I hope the fish pecked at him for a really lonnnnnggggg time. Oh I do hate those evil things. When I was down south working for the vet in Jensen Beach we used to tell people to put them (both Cuban and Bufo) in a freezer bag and freeze them to death, so that might be an option for the more squeamish.

OK, I took some pictures. They don't look like much. The plants are young. I have raked up leaves to spread between the plants. And there is a mass of Lilies-of-the-valley. I regret planting them, but they seem there to stay. The back tier has Big Daddy, Sum and Substance, Krossa Regal and Halcyon. The 2nd tier has Krossa Regal, Paul's Glory, June, Aoki, and Fragrant Bouquet. 3rd tier has Aoki, August Moon, Piedmont Gold and Middle Ridge. I fronted the bed with alternating Gold Drops and Japanese Painted Ferns. There are some ferns and heucheras intermixed. The landscaping flags mark the little Japanese Painted ferns (so I don't step on them). The pond raceway has new alba marginata divisions on the right side, but I need to weed around them. The weeds respond faster to watering than the hosta do. LOL!

I wouldn't recommend Stresscoat, because whatever is in it that promotes the slime coating (I think it's aloe vera gel) on fish will also build up in your terrarium. Sea Chem makes the best dechlorinator. It's called Prime, and it will remove the harmful chemicals. Trouble is, it can't remove the minerals (salts) that mean trouble for terrariums. It's fine for houseplants though. In your case, Cdfortin, it probably would be wise to get an RO unit, since you have SO MANY tanks! (Post pics!!!!). Don't get a small one though, get a bigger one, because it sounds like you'll need it. Really though, it would be more work than collecting rainwater, and a lot more expensive, so I would reconsider your 'laziness'. =)