Hey fellow Betta fanatics!
I've been gone for almost two months, I think, but things are going well!
Tian-Tian and I are living at home at my parents place now that college is out for the summer. He made it home safely and has been thriving. (If anyone would like information on how to transport Bettas safely, I'd be happy to post an article about how I do it)
He keeps changing colors on me... in the picture to the left he's green. However since I've been home he's turned a royal blue and his red patch is much brighter. How does he do it??
I also just gave Tian-Tian a 100% water change, so he's swimming beside me while I type.
Silly fish.
*** STORYTIME ***
I had a bit of an experience last week... something I've learned a lot from. I didn't consult with anyone else here about it, just because I figured I could handle it myself.
Silly me.
So I'd heard Bettas do well with feeder guppies and/or ghost shrimp. I decided to give both a try with Tian-Tian... and he quickly became the biggest bully I'd ever seen!
Even though the ghost shrimp originally ganged up on Tian-Tian (think of the crabs from Finding Nemo and that's how these little guys were!) he showed them who was boss and they took refuge under the castle. The feeder guppies, then, had no where to hide because the shrimp wouldn't let them hide in the castle too!
I never ceased to be amused by the intelligence of these tiny creatures!!
I rescued the poor feeder guppies (which randomly bore fry when I got them out of his tank) and the ghost shrimp. They wound up in the outdoor tank that we have for our 10" comet goldfish (who will be moved to the new koi pond once it's completed). All parties involved have since been well.
*** EVERYTHING ELSE ***
I've been planning on getting another male Betta.
I saw this very handsome black and burnt orange-finned male at Petco and I was totally enamored. Had I money on me that day, I'd be writing about my new Betta!
But I'm a person within reason, and I wanted to make sure my personal finances were in order before I took on another Betta. I love planning these kind of things.
To begin:
- If I were to get another Betta, I'd rather upgrade to a 5.5 gallon tank and split it into two halfs rather than get another separate tank (so each fish would get 2.5 gals... that's the current size of Tian-Tian's tank right now so there wouldn't be a dramatic change for him).
I only say 5.5 instead of a 10 gal because I'll be living in the dorm again this Fall. I'd rather have a transportable tank than a big hulking piece of framed glass... that's just a disaster waiting to happen (plus the shelf space in my room by the window would fit only a 5.5 gal tank, not a 10 gal.)
- I'd like to filter the tank, but I'm not exactly sure how I'd go about doing that, since one half of the tank would have the filter while the other would have none. Opinions on this?
- Let's see... I'd also need to figure out how to sell my 2.5 gal. tank if I were to get the 5.5 gal. Craigslist, Ebay or would someone here be willing to buy it for $10.00 USD?
How prices break down (in USD):
- 5.5 gal tank (no filter or lights), $15.00
OR
5.5 gal tank WITH filter/lights, $30.00
- Second male Betta, $4.00-5.00
- Additional water conditioner, $8.00
- Additional tank decor, $5
- Material to make a tank divider $5.00-6.00
So.... I'm looking at roughly another $35.00 to properly outfit a second Betta. Once said purchases are made, however, the only thing I'd have to buy after that is just water conditioner. So it's totally doable. I just need time and extra cash on hand to do it.
Also: I want to buy my own camera so I can post more pictures of Tian-Tian.
That'll be another purchase that'll be made later this summer(because it's needed for a few projects that I'm working on).
So how's everyone else doing??
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