Ritsuko Blog

2008-03-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Betta Fish Care

2008-03-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Betta is a popular tank fish and its maintenance is least painful. However, it does need care and you must be observant about its heath. A sick Betta is easy to spot since naturally the fish is very active and vibrant. If you have had the fish for a while you will be able to spot immediately when they are unwell.

Following tips can help you keep the Betta ecosystem healthy and vibrant:

1. A bowl large enough to allow ample swimming space is a prerequisite. The fish shouldnt bump and tear its fins or scales. A large enough tank also ensures that the water has adequate oxygen level.

2. These fish do not require filtration but need the cleanest water you can provide them. Change the water every three days to keep it clean and avoid infection in your fish. The water you add to the tank should have set out for 24 hours (aged water).

3. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish because the male of the species will fight each other to death! Never put two males in the same tank. Females can stay together and so can one male with many females. You can also keep your Betta with algae eaters, guppies and corydorus catfish.

4. Ensure that the bottom of the bowl or tank is debris free. You can use something as simple as a turkey baster to do this cleaning. Debris sitting at the bottom will make the water cloudy and unhygienic for the fish. They will also cause the water to smell.

5. Maintain the tank pH at 7.

6. When cleaning the tank accessories, avoid using soap because traces of soap will change the water pH.

7. Betta can jump out of tanks and bowls, so keep them covered.

8. Betta is not a fussy fish and will happily eat the Betta pellets and frozen bloodworms. However, Bettas are fond of live food such as brine shrimp, and you must serve it as a treat now and then.

Ong Hui Woo

Making BIG Profits with Wholesale Real Estate

2008-03-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

The beautiful thing about being a real estate investor is that there are unlimited ways to make BIG cash all the time in any type of economy. Real Estate is one of those things that everybody needs. It is not quite water, but it is something that everybody needs. Even the homeless guy has established his piece of real estate under the bridge or in the alley, etc. So you can see how you can take advantage of this wonderful resource and make lots of money.

Creativity is the key to making lots of money in real estate. After all, we want to be able to make money no matter what, so we need to come up with many options to make this happen in any economy and environment. This is where I like to look at one of the easier techniques known as wholesaling. Wholesaling is the art of finding a seller who is in a bit of a state of emergency. The state of emergency or distress can be many different things. It can be foreclosure, divorce, death, military move, and there are many others out there. The challenge here is to find them, or in fact make them find you.

The basics of wholesaling are fairly simple. You simply find a good deal from a distressed seller who needs to get out of the home as soon as possible. When you find this deal, you have many options to choose from. You can rent it out and make a couple extra bucks a month, rehab the property and resell it, lease options, etc. You can also do what I like to do and wholesale the property. You simply get the rights to the property and sell it to another investor for a more than you have rights to the property for. This does a couple of things. This insures that you will be paid on the front end of the deal at the closing table and you do not have to do any of the rehab work on the property. The investor that you sold it to will be the one that is taking on that responsibility. So, you do not have to deal with any of the contractors involved or any rehab period, all you have to do is get your check at closing and move on to the next one.

Wholesaling is great and fun and some even call it addictive, however I will add this word of caution. Make sure you protect yourself in your deal. The last thing you want is to find a good deal, and show other investors and they go behind your back and cut you out of the deal. So make sure you protect yourself. Get out there and get those deals and make lots of money. Anybody can do this. The only thing stopping you is YOU!

Terry Burchett is known for his real estate savvy and has shown many people how to make loads of CASH in real estate. To find out more, check out his website at http://www.twholesaleproperties.com

Motorcycles

Puppy Dog Training For Obedience How To Train Your Dog Puppy Properly

2008-03-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Puppy dog training for obedience is a topic close to the heart of dog lovers. Now, getting a new puppy in the house can be as joyous as having a new baby at home. It brings much excitement to everyone especially the kids. But you need to make sure that buying the puppy is not a decision made in haste or at the spur of the moment. Dogs are living creatures and not just gifts that need no maintenance. Though a little puppy can bring so much laughter and happiness, they do require a great deal of training and when that happens, it is not a fun thing to do. Expect work if you want to train puppy dog well.

Dogs are like human beings. They too have temperament as well. Surprised? A puppys temperament depends on their birth place and his/her breed. So pay a bit of attention here about different breeds and their personalities in order to know how to train your dog puppy correctly. Rottweilers, bull dogs, boxers and German shepherds are guard dogs and they are born with natural instincts to love and protect their human companions. Gun dogs, pointer and Labradors are born and reared as hunting dogs. Because of their background, they are naturally energetic.

Bearded and border collies, on the other hand, being herding dogs are bred and reared on farmland, and are rather active and curious about their surroundings. They are known to love moving around and dont sit still well. You have to be a little careful when you bring them to live in cities as they may be anxious and a bit scared and nervous since they are not used to the modern environment.

Training dog puppy needs time. But do not be unduly worried as it often takes a couple of weeks before it learns dog obedience. What you need is a little bit of patience and the amount of effort you put into it. One piece of good news is you do not have to spend hours to train dog puppies as it only takes a few minutes each day over a few times. Thats all it takes.

The very first task to train dog puppy is its obedience in simple commands like come, sit, heel, stay and fetch. These are easy to follow and most puppies are able to learn that quite fast. As they grow older and bigger, you can move on to include more advanced commands like rolling over, pawing and even play dead. One thing good about training dog puppies is they are very open towards learning. They are like blank pieces of paper ready to be written on. So training a puppy dog can be quite a fun experience especially when it starts responding to you.

Like kids, what they learn in their initial growing up months would be engrained in their memories. The puppy dog training for obedience would also shape their behaviors later. All it takes is a simple rule, stick with the few minutes per session routine and keep repeating as a reminder.

Puppy dog training for obedience is so important as untrained puppies can be rather mischievous. Since they are young, during their teething stage, they develop a natural chewing behavior. This can be quite damaging for your furniture as the holes they leave can be numerous in numbers. It is good to therefore start training dog puppies early so that they learn to differentiate what is wrong and what is right behavior.

Dog owners may resort to using dog training devices or products to aid puppy dog training but this is really not that essential. A little bit more of practicing and repeating the simple commands everyday would go a long way. The whole puppy dog training takes approximately a few months. Yes it may seem tough but the rewards would be great. At the end of the training, your puppy would grow up to be a loving and obedient dog that makes a great companion.

If you are keen to find out the specific commands to execute to properly teach and train your puppy, find out from my dog obedience website where you can learn some quick and effective dog obedience training techniques to train your puppy dog.

Davion Wong is a successful author and dog lover. Learn the special 4 - day dog obedience training system which any dog owner can use to stop dog behavioral problems at http://Train-A-Dog-In-4Days.Etc-Now.com and make your dog as obedient as a little puppy.

How And When To Teach Your Kids About Money

2008-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

As a child, money seems to somehow grow on trees as mum and dad always appear to have money to buy things.

Even though this is clearly not the case, its unfortunately the perception of children who live in a very consumer oriented world.

Rather than letting your child grow up thinking that money comes easily, you need to institute some form of education that teaches them how to understand and use money wisely.

Teach them young and they will carry forward that knowledge and live a better financial life. Heres a few tips how :

From ages 3 - 7

1. Show them the value of money by explaining what $2 can and can't buy. It may be an idea to do this whilst walking down the super market aisle or toy aisle (if you are game!).

2. Let them watch you pay for things. You may even start by letting them hand over the cash or pressing the OK button on the ATM.

3. Do not give them notes. Pay their pocket money in coins as your children need to understand how to allocate their money.

4. Show them how to visualise their goals. Get them to draw what they want to save up for. Keep the goals realistic otherwise they will very quickly lose interest.

What they learn -

Different things have different values.
Money simply doesn't grow on trees and that you have to work for your money.
You have to allocate your money for different things

From ages 7 - 12

1. Encourage them to participate in the school banking programme. This will give them a sense of regular commitment to savings.

2. Get them interested in looking at their bank statements and following how much money they are saving. This will get them used to scanning banking paperwork.

3. Get them to start thinking of a long term saving goal and work out how long it will take them to reach that goal.

4. Give them a combination of notes and coins for their pocket money. This will really strengthen their allocation abilities and efficient usage of spare change.

5. Start showing them the family bills and explain positively that the bills have to be paid to keep the family going.

What they will learn
Saving is a planned activity and something that needs a bit of thought rather that just putting away what's left over.
The value of small change
It takes a fair bit of money and good money management skills to keep a roof over their head.

For Teenagers

1. Encourage them to set up their own bank account and use internet banking.

2. Direct debit their pocket money into their account. This will get them used to dealing with intangible payments, and that electronic money is not just a set of numbers.

3. Make them responsible for their own bills such as mobiles. This is a very quick way to teach them how to spend wisely.

4. Try not to lend money to them for purchases that are of an extravagant nature. If they really want it, encourage them to get a part time job to save up enough. If you do loan money to them, do so only on the grounds that you will reduce the amount of their pocket money until the loan is paid.

5. Charge them board if they have a part time job - this will start getting them into the habit of paying their way for things they take for granted - like food and shelter!!

6. Introduce them to the concept of return on investment. Show them the value of putting some of their money into high interest savings accounts or even into managed investments.

7. Highlight the fact that if they start now they will be so much better off down the track.

What they learn

Not only will they learn more modern and more efficient banking techniques they will also learn how to curb their wants, or find ways to earn rather than going into debt for something that is not totally necessary.

It takes money to create money.

Greg R Smith is money expert from Australia who is recognized for his gift to translate the often complex money world into simple over the kitchen table language. He is a qualified financial planner with over 20 years experience and is also a best selling an author, TV presenter, columnist, public speaker and radio presenter. He is also the inventor of a revolutionary money box that will change the way children learn about money forever - visit http://www.moneyedbox.com for more.