Ceramic Aquarium Decorations, Senior Crit

Front side of large piece.

Back side, multiple caves and hiding places.

Small piece, has 3 holes, bottomless.

Hey Everyone,

I have pictures today! Wooh!

Senior Crits:

So, the senior crit today went really, really well. Our guest critiquer was Glenn Rand and he did a really wonderful job. It's probably the best critique I have ever had and it really helped me out with some of the issues with my pottery. I had a great time and I look forward to starting to work towards my next show!

Ceramic Aquarium Decorations:

They are under way! I have created two so far and I'm very happy with them! I have made a small one that is just meant to be a hiding spot for smaller or less active fish. The other is a large piece, probably 10 inches by 4 or 5 inches and probably 3 inches tall in the tallest place. I made the larger piece with multiple little caves, overhangs, and a tree trunk (with roots!) that a plant can be put into even if it's potted and the roots will hang out underneath with lots of circulation around them. I made the surfaces on the pieces pretty rough (as opposed to skin smooth) so that they can trap bacteria and aid in the healthy-ness of the tank and the water. They will be lightly glazed so that they can withstand water for a long-long time without breaking down, similar to china that they are still pulling up from the titanic that is in pristine condition. I'm looking forward to finishing them and seeing what they look like in my tank and then I'll make more to sell on Etsy!

Aquarium update:

So, got the fish some live plants today since it could take up to a month for the bulbs to germinate. I got some pretty hardy plants (can't remember their name!) and some moss. I also got a piece of driftwood that I attached the moss to, once it attaches it should keep growing and cover the driftwood. I'm hoping to have the aquarium pretty well planted and established by june or july. I also ordered an aquarium heater that I'm going to use to breed the betta's first, then I'll install it in the big tank and keep the fishes warm, it's getting a bit too cold in this apartment for them.

P.S. Amazon sells fish supplies for up to half price of where I can buy them in pet stores and general stores, awesome!

Ben

I am such a bleeding heart....

Frank, the abandoned Bunny. Left in the winter snow to freeze.

Blood-fin Tetras, I actually got these from a professional breeder. There is a clown plecostomus too, but he is really shy.

Charlotte and Persephone. Charlotte was a baby from a pet store and Persephone was rescued from becoming snake food once her babies were sold.

Shiva, rescued from a Wal-mart shelf in a 6 oz. container.

Fireball, the boyfriends betta. From a professional breeder.

Hey Everyone,

Well, the other day I stopped by goodwill and I found a 10gallon fish tank with a broken hood for 7$. Great deal right? Wrong....little did I know, a new hood with a light is 30$ and then a new filter and I already had the air pump...pretty much a new tank with everything is 55$ and that's pretty much what I spent to set up this used one....oh well I guess, live and learn! Anyway, so I upgraded by 3 bloodfin tetras to the 10 gallon along with the clown plecostomus and then we moved my boyfriends male beta to my 3 gallon tank. They are all so happy!!! The tetra's have so much room and the tank cycled out in like 3 days and the betta has tons of room now!! So happy fish all around!

Now the bleeding heart...So I went to walmart today to get a couple things for the fish tank since the fish store was closed and I came across the bettas. Wal-mart keeps their bettas in those 1.5 cup containers that you buy potato salad in and only have them half full. So about 6 ounces of water and one fish, miserable right? That would be like you being contained to your 4x5 ft. closet 24/7. That is horrible conditions, so I know we have been thinking about getting a female betta and since I can't save all the fish at wal-mart (because they'll just get more) I bought one of the females (the one that didn't look like it was already dead) and brought her home. I got her some stones and put her in the 1 gallon tank that we had in storage and now she is very happy! She's super perky, lively and very beautiful! Her name is Shiva.

I also, a month or so ago, got another rat for my rat Charlotte. She was very energetic and getting a little crazy (since they like to live in at least pairs) so I got her a friend. I went to the pet store and there was a baby rat and the momma rat. The baby was the last left from a litter of 14 and they had all been weaned and I found out that the momma rat was gonna become snake food if she was not sold before the last baby was sold, so I bought the momma. (all the babies were sold, I checked today). So I brought her home, introduced the two and now Charlotte and Persephone are best friends and they cause tons of mischief together! (including chewing on some of my cords even though I have toys for them everywhere).

And the last bleeding heart thing I have done these past few months has to do with our bunny, Frank. Frank is a domestic dwarf/(something) mix. He is obviously a pet bunny and someone let him go, or dumped him near my boyfriends apartment in November. It was getting really cold outside and he was already showing signs of the weather affecting him. I saw him when I drove up to the boyfriends apartment. Left all my things in my car, walked up, picked up the bunny and brought him upstairs to the apartment. We both knew we couldn't let him just freeze to death so we got him a litter box and kept him in the bathroom for a few days (linoleum is so easy to clean!) and then, once we knew we wouldn't find the owners (after posters and searching) we bought him a cage and decided to keep him! So now Frank lives with us, he has a little hut and litter box, good food (full of goodies that he always eats before the healthy stuff), lots of timothy hay and people who love him! We have no idea how old he is, though I suspect he is young, and no idea what kind of rabbit he is, but whatever, he is cute and awesome nonetheless!

So, over the past few months I have inherited, from the horrible things society does to animals, 3 more critters that are wonderful and I'm so glad I have them! When we have a home one day, I plan on rescuing a dog and cat also. I want to do my part to help out some of these poor animals that get dumped on the street, left to starve, kept in horrible conditions, or are becoming meat meal because their breeding usefulness has been filled. I hope to help more in the future!

Ben