HI, I'm Stacy and this is Finlay....

[indjo]

Welcome to the forum.
Sorry you're having problems with your roommate. Hope you can work everything out.

Status doesn't mean anything except the number of posts members have made. It has nothing to do with expertise.

[Shewbert]

Welcome.
When you get Finlay back, buy him a small heater for his tank, room temperatures fluctuate quite a lot and he might not like it much, plus try and keep him away from spiders, he might catch a bug from them.
But glad to hear that he is interacting with his owner, you have chosen well, Bettas make ideal pets, they can be so entertaining, oh last thing he does not like the mirror, it puts him into fighting mode, he thinks it is another male in his tank, he can get stressed.
Enjoy Finley he certainly looks a lovely fish.
Ray

[uzanybug]

Originally Posted by indjo

Welcome to the forum.
Sorry you're having problems with your roommate. Hope you can work everything out.

Status doesn't mean anything except the number of posts members have made. It has nothing to do with expertise.

I appreciate the welcome! and the info on how the forums work. Your from Indonesia -- that's cool. My cousin is dating a girl from your country and she makes us delicious dishes to eat. I hear it's beautiful there. Are bettas popular pets? Are there wild bettas there?

Visited Finley today and it was heartwarming to see him get all excited to see me. My friend who is taking care of him says Finley has a bond with me. Imagine that! I know I miss him lots. It's much easier to get attached to a fish than I ever would have thought!

Going to pet-sit in a couple of days and will be able to bring Finley AND keep him warm. My roommate is still giving me the cold shoulder over my leaving a lamp on to warm the tank and I'd been using a space heater at night because it's only 67F in my room. Too cold - he would get sick. Hope to bring Finley home permanently soon with a bigger tank and a heater of his own.
Thanks again.

[uzanybug]

Originally Posted by Shewbert

Welcome.
When you get Finlay back, buy him a small heater for his tank, room temperatures fluctuate quite a lot and he might not like it much, plus try and keep him away from spiders, he might catch a bug from them.
But glad to hear that he is interacting with his owner, you have chosen well, Bettas make ideal pets, they can be so entertaining, oh last thing he does not like the mirror, it puts him into fighting mode, he thinks it is another male in his tank, he can get stressed.
Enjoy Finley he certainly looks a lovely fish.
Ray

Finley doesn't seem particularly aggressive, and I thought flairing for a little bit would keep him from being bored. But if you think it is too much stress, I'll bear that in mind. And, yeah, I guess a spider could have parasites or something, so you're probably right. Thanks for your concern/ advice.

Fish-keeping is completely new to me. I got interested in bettas because I saw this beautiful little guy in a giant plant vase on someone's desk and the lady told it was an enclosed ecosystem. I was enchanted by the lovely little creature and never forgot. Someone gifted me a betta bowl, and I was so excited. I learned too late that in my climate, I need a set up with heat. How important is a filter, if I don't have plants and am good about water changes?

Finlay seems like such a lively little guy with loads of personality. Visited him today; and hope to be able to bring him home soon.

I'm curious: Your avatar is a clown fish, I think? Do you have salt water tanks? I hear that is for the very dedicated. How long have you been interested in fish-keeping?

[charlie1881]

Hey UZ ,
Just wanted to say hi an welcome to the site .
Everyone here is very nice an more than willing to help with new ppl an questions about caire. Hope you enjoy your fishy .I am a new to bettas but not to tropical fishes me an my son recently adopted 8 !!! OMG lol . So now Im in the betta forum meetin ppl an learnin to God bless
charlie

[twolovers101]

Welcome!!

Just had to pop in and say hi xD

Using a mirror to encourage him to flare is perfectly fine and gives him some exercise, it's not too much stress as long as you don't over do it, like leaving a mirror next to his tank or making him flare for long periods of time. Just use common sense. :)

Personally, for a 1/2 gal, I would suggest doing a full water change at least twice a week (every 3 days should be okay), I don't really find partials necessary for such small amounts of water. A less stressful way of doing changes is by "cupping" your betta with a small plastic cup (I use the one mine came in) do the change, and acclimate him back into the water.

Don't worry, all of us experience a learning curve where we learn what bettas really need vs. what we've been told, I certainly did, and now my boy has a 5.5 gal NPT with ghosties and a heater xD I spoil him (that and I'm lazy and don't like doing a ton of water changes, been there, done that)

Filters are not very important with bettas and are completely optional, however, if you want anything bigger than a 5 gal, you might want to get one if you want other fish and don't do live plants (100% changes on large tanks are a royal pain)

Hopefully you get him back soon :) best of luck with your buddy!

[uzanybug]

Originally Posted by charlie1881

Hey UZ ,
Just wanted to say hi an welcome to the site .
Everyone here is very nice an more than willing to help with new ppl an questions about caire. Hope you enjoy your fishy .I am a new to bettas but not to tropical fishes me an my son recently adopted 8 !!! OMG lol . So now Im in the betta forum meetin ppl an learnin to God bless
charlie

Thanks for the warm welcome and happy holidays to you and your "school" of fishy-friends, Charlie!