Betta Adventures

[SweetDLove]

My first official post on this website shall be a blog. If people read and comment, cool and if not...ah well!

I currently do not have a Betta fish but I will be getting one next Wednesday. I am really excited. I've always had a thing for fish...I feel I can connect with them. I love water, swimming...I've got this fishy vibe going on. I did own some fish in the past (typical goldfish won at fairs...well in my case, homecoming fairs for school) that died...fast. I feel so horrible because I didn't take care of them properly. I remember when i flushed my first fish....

Anywho...

I've been doing A LOT of research on Betta Fish these fast few days. non-stop reading about their care and obsessing over how beautiful and amazing they are. I am jealous of some peoples Betta's on here because of how gorgeous they are. I'm hoping mine will be a beaut!

I have chosen the very disliked walmart or a petstore near there to get my fish. I feel disgusting even knowing I'm getting my fishy from there but at least I will help give them a MUCH better home. Walmart in general shouldn't even carry living creatures. I've gone there so many times and seen filthy tanks with piles of dead fish and it's horrible. Why bother selling them if no one is willing to take proper care of them? Sure, not all places are like that but a good majority are neglectful.

I've ordered my tank ( a 5-gallon for now. Once I get better at caring for my fishy and have more knowledge and space in my bedroom, I am most definitely getting a bigger one. It also comes with the filter), a heater, and a mini sea anemone ornament. I've ordered them all on amazon. I've decided to get the rest of the supplies (gravel, plants, decorations, conditioner,thermometer, etc) either this Sunday or Wednesday). I can't wait!

I'm really hoping I can do a great job of giving a beautiful betta a loving home. I'm a weird person....lazy and depressed, I will admit, but I am determined to take care of my fishy as best as I can. I really plan on getting a female and I've already got a name picked out...Moxie. It came to me randomly and I liked it. I've also got two guinea pigs named Pandy and Lucy and a dog named Simone (who's more less the family dog). I'm stoked to expand on my pet variety.

I am nervous about my Brother. He'll put up a fuss because I got another pet. Never mind I'm 21 years old and I can make my own decisions. They won't effect him in any way. If he doesn't like it, he can bite me. My Brother was never much of an animal person anyways.

I will be updating this as my betta adventures goes along. For now, I must end it here as I don't have much else to say. LOL.

[Romad]

Hello and welcome to the forum Kudos to you for doing the research that it takes for fish care before you purchase your new friend.

Oh and if you haven't figured it out by now, bettas are addicting. I've got 6 boys scattered through the house but if I had any more surface space, it would have another tank on it and a new betta :)

[SweetDLove]

Originally Posted by Romad

Hello and welcome to the forum Kudos to you for doing the research that it takes for fish care before you purchase your new friend.

Oh and if you haven't figured it out by now, bettas are addicting. I've got 6 boys scattered through the house but if I had any more surface space, it would have another tank on it and a new betta :)

Thank you for the welcome! After a few mistakes I've made with pets in the past, I've really made it a goal to do as much research as I can about them before I adopt/buy them. >_>.

I can bet after a couple months, I'll probably have a room full of them LOL. I know I'm definitely going to be a betta addict.

[SweetDLove]

I have officially decided to wait a little longer to get my betta. I was going to try my hand at the fish-in way of cycling my tank but I figured it was too risky, especially for a beginner. it'd just be cruel to keep them in there while my nooby butt messes around trying to make the tank completely safe, plus keeping my fishy in their icky cup for a week or two would be stupid and mean. My tank should be arriving Monday and I will start cycling it asap. I found a pretty solid method on doing it that shouldn't take too long. I couldn't bare waiting weeks >_>. I hope it works fast. I'm a bit slow in the head, so I am just constantly looking up things to make sure I do them right.

I've also kind of decided on more names besides Moxie. I am really thinking of Rue or Prim as well because I love the hunger games.

So most likely sunday or wednesday, I will head to a pet store or walmart to pick up some tank items like my gravel, thermometer, decorations and all that jazz. I am realllllllllllllly excited and can't wait to finally get my fishy. :)

[shadowpony]

Are you going for a feamale (shorter fins) or a male (long fins)? Most petstores only sell males for the sole reason of "mommy I want the big red one with the long tail". 5 gallons! I keep my bettas in 2.5 gallons. Your fishy is gonna be spoiled! Also I would check out signs of illness...a first betta is better of a healthy one.

[SweetDLove]

Originally Posted by shadowpony

Are you going for a feamale (shorter fins) or a male (long fins)? Most petstores only sell males for the sole reason of "mommy I want the big red one with the long tail". 5 gallons! I keep my bettas in 2.5 gallons. Your fishy is gonna be spoiled! Also I would check out signs of illness...a first betta is better of a healthy one.

I had my mind set on a female but knowing how slim my chances are at finding one, I'll probably have to get a male. xD. I'll definitely make sure to look for illnesses...The amount of times I've gotten pets from pet stores and found out they were sick and died the next day...blech

[SweetDLove]

Well the tank arrives tomorrow (while the heater and anemone come on tuesday). I forgot to add that it's actually a 5 gallon marineland eclipse acrylic aquarium system. This is a picture from the amazon page:

Plans also changed again. I am going Wednesday to a pet store a half an hour away that has a pretty good aquarium section to get the rest of my basic supplies. I've been really debating on whether I should get my fish then or just wait. I am so impatient but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes trying to be my nooby self and cycling the tank with my fishy in it. I've most definitely got the time to do the water changes and various tests but I'm bound to make a stupid mistake.

I've decided on a type of theme. I want it to be bright/girly colors with a touch of finding nemo. I don't think I'll get much for finding nemo decor for awhile because of the width, so I'll probably save most of that for when I get a longer tank in the future.

This is exciting and I can't wait! :)

[SweetDLove]

Woo!

So now all my amazon packages have arrived. The package for the heater was opened a little bit but seems to be fine. There's this weird paper thing at the bottom (the kind usually wrapped around...packages..Idk what it's called) and I don't think it's supposed to be there. I'm not too sure how to get it out either LOL.

The anemone is a little smaller than expected but great otherwise. I hope my future Betta likes it.

Now tomorrow may be the big day. I know for sure I am going to get the rest of the supplies, but i may also come back with a fishy. I'm fighting myself....Fish-in cycling...or wait...lol. I'm making sure to do plenty of research on cycling tanks with a fish in it so I know what I'm doing and don't torture the poor thing.

We shall see what happens tomorrow!

[SweetDLove]

Everything is SET!

The site was down for me for awhile (boohoo..:(). I'm probably going to set up my tank later on and tomorrow, get my little fishy and their tank items. I'm not sure if the petstore I am going packs their fish in bags or cups, but I'm keeping the box and airplus stuff that my heater and anemone came in just so I can have a solid and comfortable little thing to put my fishy in since the ride home is basically a half an hour and can be kind of bumpy since the highway and roads around here are poo. >.>

Today was supposed to be a lazy day...watch lifetime movies, drink lots of soda...but no..turned into paranormal obsession day LOL. So i guess later, I'm going to the cemetery to try and get some EVPs or what ever. I am a freak :P.

[SweetDLove]

5/2/12 - I finally got my fish! I am currently setting up his tank. I have a few pictures that I am going to post once I finish with all this. :P