Hello from Virginia!

[skycon]

Hello!

My husband recently inherited a betta from his work. Of course he turned right around to call me and relieve himself of all care and responsibility that comes with owning a fish. :p Me, having owned a betta before, jumped at the chance. Though it wasn't quite what I expected when he brought him home. He was kept in one of those half gallon tanks you buy at walmart and looked as if the water had never been changed. It was cloudy and the surface of the water had a thin layer of nastyness. Gavin, what I named the poor guy, was at the bottom inside a plastic toy shark someone had set in there. He rarely came out, but when he did I noticed that about half of his caudal fin had been eaten away. Though the ends are a white color and not black which is usually present with fin rot. So I am kind of pairing it to the poor quality environment he was kept in. I was not even sure of the last time he had been fed or what diet he was on since I didn't get any food.

So, I had to run out to get something else set up for him right away. A few days later he is in a 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater, a proper hideaway, and a few live plant bulbs that will hopefully grow soon. (first time trying) For some reason, my local Petsmart didn't seem to have a good variety of Betta food. I wanted something different but ended up with Omega One Betta Buffet Flakes and freeze dried blood worms. I hope to also get some frozen food and maybe live foods in the near future. Anyway, Gavin swims around the tank like normal now, flares up, and comes to greet me at the front of his tank whenever I am near. I love watching him chase my finger tip. He even created his own bubble nest!

I am waiting until Gavin fully recovers, but I want to get some other creature for the tank in the future. Preferably something that feeds off the bottom like cherry red shrimp or ghost shrimp. I am hesitant about snails because they took over my Aunt's tank a while back. lol. Any suggestions?

[skycon]

I wanted to add a picture of his current state. When I first got him, I didn't think he was going to make it but he really has just come alive. :) I apologize for not wiping down the tank before tanking a picture. Anyway, any suggestions to help his condition? Or anyone had a recovery from something like this? I've never had a betta missing this much of his fin, just curious to know if he has a chance of it fully growing back.

[Shirleythebetta]

clean water! keep the water extra clean and his tail will grow back. Since he has no fin rot he should be great as long as the water is kept clean. It will come in clear and color up as it grows.
BTW my husband suckered me like yours did. He wanted a fish tank and said he would be caring for it. He doesn't and now I have almost twenty bettas purely from my own addiction. Be careful of the betta bug!

[skycon]

Will do! Thanks for the advice. :D I can't wait to see his fins all grown in and healthy!

Haha. Sounds like the typical man. Where do you keep all those bettas?! lol I already have two siberian huskies, a ferret, and now a betta. I am good for the time being since I am the only one who feeds and cleans after these critters. XD Though I have been wanting another betta for a long time. Unfortunately since my husband is in the military I never thought it was a good idea since we would be moving every 3-4 years. I just got stuck with this guy though.

A couple more pics of Gavin, since they are slightly better.

[Shirleythebetta]

He looks like he is already getting some regrowth! The growth happens so fast. I have a sorority and I have 6 boys all around my kitchen. Water changes can be a nightmare. lol. But I am addicted *sigh* on top of the fish I have three mischievious doggys. An Aussie shepard/collie mix, a beagle/basset mix and a border terrier who is a ten pound evil monster.

[Romad]

Whoa... Gavin is a beauty. Congrats on your new fishy friend. Like Shirley said, clean water is the best thing you can do for him and use a good conditioner like Prime when changing the water to remove harmful chlorine and chloramines from your tap water.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction :)

[Shirleythebetta]

He's probably going to end up looking like my guy now that I think about it...

[skycon]

Thanks Romad! And, Shirley, those fins are incredibly long! haha. I wonder how long Gavin's will get.

It's funny because I just got finished playing with him and I have never had a betta with so much character! When I first got him, he would just lay on the bottom and hide but now he races around the tank and watches me do everything. It is really cute!

I also have Gavin in the kitchen. I wanted to put him into the living room but my ferret literally gets into everything and I knew he would find a way to the tank. Somehow his little devilish self gets onto our couch and bed all by himself. He has his ways...

[ZackyBear]

Oh he's so pretty! I like that shade of red he has~

He seems to flare nicely for the camera

[Shirleythebetta]

Gavin's will probably get close to Red's fins length, Not even kiding. I really think Gavin will be a Veil tale. Then you'll have the privelage of getting mad because he mysteriously split his tail in the night. It's an argument me and Red have occasionally HAHA. I can see your future fights with Gaven already. Same as mine. I hope not though. I got his fins looking so gorgeous and you can see in the photo I posted if you look. At the end of his anal fin it's still a little see through. He tore that whole end off on gravel of all things and he looked so lovely. Veil tales can be agravating in that sense.