Other Pets

[Chilidog]

I'm working on setting up a 10 gallon planted Betta aquarium. No fish yet.

Got the plants in, I need a ceramic decor item. I'm thinking a small stone bridge or a pagoda.

[Chilidog]

My other tank with the two types of White Cloud minnows.

[Azastan]

My other tank with the two types of White Cloud minnows.

Your White Cloud photo isn't showing up?

I love White Clouds, they are easy to raise and have babies! And they are very elegant little fish.

I assume one betta?

[MsDaisy]

My dearly departed sister loved fish tanks. She was mentally handicapped and never got mentally older than her 5 year old self. I had custody of her for her last 11 years of life. Such a goober she was and that bloody fish tank was a pain in the ass, but well worth the enjoyment she got from it. (Enter heart smiley here)

[northland10]

I was not sure where to put this. She small and furry, but not a baby, as far as I know. She is not a pet though she let me get rather close without objection. She's not a bird, though she can fly.

So, I'll just drop it here.

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[Tiredretiredlawyer]

When I was four, I tried to pet a furry friend like N10's cuz it looked so soft and fluffy. I learned three lessons that day: 1) bees sting, 2) I am allergic to bee stings, and 3) I would be punished if I ever sneaked out of the house again during naptime.

[Azastan]

I was not sure where to put this. She small and furry, but not a baby, as far as I know. She is not a pet though she let me get rather close without objection. She's not a bird, though she can fly.

So, I'll just drop it here.

Every once in a while I see a meme that *insists* that one can pet bumblebees. Not honey bees, but bumbles.

I have not personally put that to the test.

[pipistrelle]

I was not sure where to put this. She small and furry, but not a baby, as far as I know. She is not a pet though she let me get rather close without objection. She's not a bird, though she can fly.

So, I'll just drop it here.

Every once in a while I see a meme that *insists* that one can pet bumblebees. Not honey bees, but bumbles.

I have not personally put that to the test.

I believe in leaving wildlife alone, even insects. Except skeeters.

[northland10]

I was not sure where to put this. She small and furry, but not a baby, as far as I know. She is not a pet though she let me get rather close without objection. She's not a bird, though she can fly.

So, I'll just drop it here.

Every once in a while I see a meme that *insists* that one can pet bumblebees. Not honey bees, but bumbles.

I have not personally put that to the test.

I wouldn't try it and I do agree with Pip about letting them be. I was not as close as the picture would make it seem. The right lens, with the right zoom, the right focus, and some adjustments afterward make it come out looking closer than I really was. I don't have one of the lenses made for things like this so it took me a many shots of her and her friends to get this. They do love those flowers everytime they bloom.

I would probably not have tried it with a yellow jacket. They are just plain mean.

[pipistrelle]

I was not sure where to put this. She small and furry, but not a baby, as far as I know. She is not a pet though she let me get rather close without objection. She's not a bird, though she can fly.

So, I'll just drop it here.

Every once in a while I see a meme that *insists* that one can pet bumblebees. Not honey bees, but bumbles.

I have not personally put that to the test.

I wouldn't try it and I do agree with Pip about letting them be. I was not as close as the picture would make it seem. The right lens, with the right zoom, the right focus, and some adjustments afterward make it come out looking closer than I really was. I don't have one of the lenses made for things like this so it took me a many shots of her and her friends to get this. They do love those flowers everytime they bloom.

I would probably not have tried it with a yellow jacket. They are just plain mean.

I mean touching them. Photos are okay.

[Chilidog]

When my son was 4, he picked up a bumble from a flower

"Look Mommie!"

No harm was done to boy or bumble.

[sugar magnolia]

I can't count the number of times one of my kids picked up a biting/stinging/pinching bug, held it out to me and asked "does it bite, mama?"

[Chilidog]

Meet "Jellybean."

The newest member of the Chilidog's family.

[Azastan]

Oh, colourful! I've never seen one like that.

[MsDaisy]

We have lots of hibiscus along the back of the pool fence and the bees love them, they stay covered in the pollen.

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[Chilidog]

Oh, colourful! I've never seen one like that.

He is a "candy Nemo" variety. Derived from plakat Bettas.

Which means that he is a short fin variety with lots of neat colors.

[Azastan]

Oh, colourful! I've never seen one like that.

He is a "candy Nemo" variety. Derived from plakat Bettas.

Which means that he is a short fin variety with lots of neat colors.

Many years ago I kept a 'wild type' plakat Betta. Found him in an unusual fish shop which must have catered to a Thai population, because it was the first time I'd ever seen one. The shop had some of the more unusual Anabantids, such as pygmy gourami and ornate paradisefish, as well.

[Volkonski]

What to do if you find invasive zebra mussels in your aquarium
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says the invasive zebra mussels have been found in Texas.

https://www.khou.com/article/life/pets/ ... c07f591d26

An invasive species might be living in your home aquarium. And Texas Parks and Wildlife officials want you to take a look.

TPWD, along with other agencies, says a 'moss ball' sold in many pet stores may be home to invasive zebra mussels. The zebra mussels in moss balls have been found in many states, including here in Texas.

The 'moss balls' -- a type of algae -- is sold under the brand names “Beta Buddy Marimo Balls,” “Mini Marimo Moss Balls,” and “Marimo Moss Ball Plant,” according to a release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

That release goes on to say they were likely imported from Ukraine.

https://www.texasinvasives.org/cleandraindry/

[Chilidog]

I don't have moss balls.

And those damned things (zebra mussels) are all over the place here anyway.

[tencats]

Meet the Sea Slugs That Chop Off Their Heads and Grow New Bodies
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/scie ... slugs.html
Their severed heads get around just fine until they regenerate perfectly functioning, parasite-free new bodies, scientists say.

Ms. Mitoh and her team monitored several groups of Elysia marginata and Elysia atroviridis over the course of the creatures’ lives. Not all the sea slugs they monitored decapitated themselves, but many did — one even did it twice. Bodies regenerated from the heads of both species, but the headless bodies stayed headless. However, those dumped bodies reacted to stimuli for as long as months, before decomposing.

The head wounds the sea slugs created during autotomy took only one day to heal. Organs such as the heart took an average of one week to regenerate. For most of the sea slugs, the regeneration process took less than three weeks to complete.

Whatever purpose, these sea slugs’ regenerative abilities are “remarkable,” said Kenro Kusumi, a biologist at Arizona State University who studies regeneration in reptiles. According to Dr. Kusumi, the sea slugs in question have all the best traits found in animals capable of complex regeneration. For example, these sea slugs have a “breakage plane” along their necks that allows for a clean break. Many lizards, including geckos, have a similar breakage plane near the base of their tail.

“It’s so interesting to see so many features of regeneration in the animal kingdom brought together in one organism,” Dr. Kusumi said.

Much remains to be learned about drivers and biological mechanisms that allow Elysia marginata and Elysia atroviridis to sever their own heads and regenerate their bodies, but Ms. Mitoh and other scientists believe that improving our understanding of this strange phenomenon could one day lead to advances in regenerative medicine and other fields.

See also https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ts-and-all

[Estiveo]

Can you imagine the litter box?

Estiveoshot_20210318_061326.jpg

[roadscholar]

Can you imagine the litter box?

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[lunaluz]

Not a pet but very interesting: