Hi All,
I found this site this past summer when my boy Thor took a flying leap and, sadly, after about a 6 foot drop, didn't make it. I got some good advice, and while I don't often give advice (I'm not exactly an expert and would prefer not to mislead someone), I like to read the posts and stories, and see the pics of your lovely buddies!
About me:
I'm a grad student (translation: nerdy and BROKE!), and due to multiple allergies (I should probably live in a bubble), I got interested in bettas since they're about the only pets I can have. I always found them fascinating and beautiful as a kid, and I love to scuba dive and check out all kinds of marine life, so it only made sense that one day I'd have some little fishies of my own
My little betta buddies are:
Ghost: A lovely male cellophane that almost looks albino. He's a delta tail (did I get that correct?) and he's got a very eccentric personality. He refuses to eat anything that's dead, which makes him pretty high maintence, and rarely builds bubble nests (at most they're about the size of a quarter). He's mellow to the point of causing concern, when I first got him I thought he was blind or possibly inbred, but over time I've come to learn that he just sort of swims to the beat of a different drum. He rarely if ever flares (occasionally at Lucky, his neighbor, but even then, maybe once every couple of months at best!), and has more apathy than most house cats, so it's kind of weird. He does, however, get excited when the turkey baster approaches his bowl because he knows a shipment of tasty sea monkeys is about to arrive!
Lucky: A rescued male betta lyretail, all black. I found him at a LPS in a dirty wineglass in about 4 or 5 tablespoons of water, twisted and suffering from severe swim bladder disorder. He didn't even have enough water to place his body upright. So I bought him and begged the salesperson to add some water into the plastic bag they gave me, but they refused, despite my insistence. I mean, they made their sale, just give me a glass of water for the little guy! It took Lucky weeks to recover, and I had to place all kinds of goodies at the top of the bowl for him to rest on and get easy access to air, but as soon as I placed the girls next to his bowl, he perked right up and started building bubble nests! He likes to show off and do his "sexy dance" in front of the girls, which I'm certain went a long way towards his recovery. Today he's 100% healed and still doing his "sexy dance" for the girls - several times a day!
Duke: a multicoloured, standard issue male betta. Bought him from a tropical fish and aquarium expert, the best store in the city, and he's an aggressive one! He's actually bit me once or twice during feeding, and he's located on the other side of the girls. He builds the biggest and most impressive bubble nests and doesn't care so much for the "sexy dance" that Lucky does, but prefers to show off his nest building abilities to the girls.
Panchali: (named after princess Panchali from the Big Bang Theory!) A lovely blue female who likes to jump and steal food right out of my hand! When I first got her, she was kind of submissive and Cersei (Yup, from Game of Thrones) was the dominant one. These days, the tables have turned, and Panchali is queen!
Cersei: Former dominant female, a lovely red. Thought she was the boss, and took over all the cool toys on the bottom of the tank. Little did she realize that food comes from the TOP of the tank, and before long, Panchali dethroned her and now calls the shots in the tank. But Panchali is a fair leader and she lets Cersei have her toys - for the most part.
Newest Addition, Lazarus (yup, because I hope a mircale will happen and he'll be brought back from the dead): Poor Laz. I just got him yesterday. This IDIOT former chef at the restaurant where my husband works bought Laz (from where, I don't know), dumped him in a big industrial kitchen container along with some massive rocks and a bamboo plant, overloaded it with food and never changed the water. To make matters worse, he was kept in a rarely used basement office with no windows - hence, no light, extremely cold temperatures (the water was almost like ice when I rescued Laz!), and about a half inch of crap and rotting fish food on the bottom of the container. Laz jammed himself between the rocks - was likely stuck - and was barely breathing when I found him. That was yesterday. Today he's in a nice, clean, WARM 4 gallon tank with meds and an Indian almond leaf. He swims around and is still getting used to his new home, but he seems quite happy despite the multiple infections and fin rot. I haven't fed him yet because his stomach still looks a little like a marble, but he's going to the bathroom (so to speak) and as soon as he's back to normal, he'll be on a steady diet of Hikari pellets, bloodworms, and nice tasty live brine shrimp. I think he's red, but he seems to have hints of blue and lilac in him as well. I'll have a better idea of what he looks like once he's feelng better. As for the tail, I'm also not sure, we'll have to wait and see what grows back!
I also love plants! I have a ton, and I know more about plants than I do about bettas, so feel free to ask me about plants if you want! ;-)
I found this site this past summer when my boy Thor took a flying leap and, sadly, after about a 6 foot drop, didn't make it. I got some good advice, and while I don't often give advice (I'm not exactly an expert and would prefer not to mislead someone), I like to read the posts and stories, and see the pics of your lovely buddies!
About me:
I'm a grad student (translation: nerdy and BROKE!), and due to multiple allergies (I should probably live in a bubble), I got interested in bettas since they're about the only pets I can have. I always found them fascinating and beautiful as a kid, and I love to scuba dive and check out all kinds of marine life, so it only made sense that one day I'd have some little fishies of my own
My little betta buddies are:
Ghost: A lovely male cellophane that almost looks albino. He's a delta tail (did I get that correct?) and he's got a very eccentric personality. He refuses to eat anything that's dead, which makes him pretty high maintence, and rarely builds bubble nests (at most they're about the size of a quarter). He's mellow to the point of causing concern, when I first got him I thought he was blind or possibly inbred, but over time I've come to learn that he just sort of swims to the beat of a different drum. He rarely if ever flares (occasionally at Lucky, his neighbor, but even then, maybe once every couple of months at best!), and has more apathy than most house cats, so it's kind of weird. He does, however, get excited when the turkey baster approaches his bowl because he knows a shipment of tasty sea monkeys is about to arrive!
Lucky: A rescued male betta lyretail, all black. I found him at a LPS in a dirty wineglass in about 4 or 5 tablespoons of water, twisted and suffering from severe swim bladder disorder. He didn't even have enough water to place his body upright. So I bought him and begged the salesperson to add some water into the plastic bag they gave me, but they refused, despite my insistence. I mean, they made their sale, just give me a glass of water for the little guy! It took Lucky weeks to recover, and I had to place all kinds of goodies at the top of the bowl for him to rest on and get easy access to air, but as soon as I placed the girls next to his bowl, he perked right up and started building bubble nests! He likes to show off and do his "sexy dance" in front of the girls, which I'm certain went a long way towards his recovery. Today he's 100% healed and still doing his "sexy dance" for the girls - several times a day!
Duke: a multicoloured, standard issue male betta. Bought him from a tropical fish and aquarium expert, the best store in the city, and he's an aggressive one! He's actually bit me once or twice during feeding, and he's located on the other side of the girls. He builds the biggest and most impressive bubble nests and doesn't care so much for the "sexy dance" that Lucky does, but prefers to show off his nest building abilities to the girls.
Panchali: (named after princess Panchali from the Big Bang Theory!) A lovely blue female who likes to jump and steal food right out of my hand! When I first got her, she was kind of submissive and Cersei (Yup, from Game of Thrones) was the dominant one. These days, the tables have turned, and Panchali is queen!
Cersei: Former dominant female, a lovely red. Thought she was the boss, and took over all the cool toys on the bottom of the tank. Little did she realize that food comes from the TOP of the tank, and before long, Panchali dethroned her and now calls the shots in the tank. But Panchali is a fair leader and she lets Cersei have her toys - for the most part.
Newest Addition, Lazarus (yup, because I hope a mircale will happen and he'll be brought back from the dead): Poor Laz. I just got him yesterday. This IDIOT former chef at the restaurant where my husband works bought Laz (from where, I don't know), dumped him in a big industrial kitchen container along with some massive rocks and a bamboo plant, overloaded it with food and never changed the water. To make matters worse, he was kept in a rarely used basement office with no windows - hence, no light, extremely cold temperatures (the water was almost like ice when I rescued Laz!), and about a half inch of crap and rotting fish food on the bottom of the container. Laz jammed himself between the rocks - was likely stuck - and was barely breathing when I found him. That was yesterday. Today he's in a nice, clean, WARM 4 gallon tank with meds and an Indian almond leaf. He swims around and is still getting used to his new home, but he seems quite happy despite the multiple infections and fin rot. I haven't fed him yet because his stomach still looks a little like a marble, but he's going to the bathroom (so to speak) and as soon as he's back to normal, he'll be on a steady diet of Hikari pellets, bloodworms, and nice tasty live brine shrimp. I think he's red, but he seems to have hints of blue and lilac in him as well. I'll have a better idea of what he looks like once he's feelng better. As for the tail, I'm also not sure, we'll have to wait and see what grows back!
I also love plants! I have a ton, and I know more about plants than I do about bettas, so feel free to ask me about plants if you want! ;-)