[Megan1793]

Where it All Began
Peter​

I guess starting at the beginning is a good thing to do. My interest in bettas started my freshman year of college. As I'm sure a lot of college students do, after moving away from home I began missing my pets (dog, cat, and horse). And in my case, I was going to school out of state and therefore was a good 4 to 4 and a half hours away from my fur babies.

Needless to say, I ended up with a little bit of a void as far as things for me to love and adore went. So, after a friend got a betta for herself, I figured I'd check it out. I started to do a bit of research for myself. One thing led to another, I got a tank, filter, and heater, and then I acquired my first betta boy, Peter.
​

Now Peter was an adorable orange veil tail who I immediately fell in love with. He was very active in his little cup, and wasn't frightened or shy in the least bit. I only wish I had better pictures of him. He always brought a smile to my face when I would return from class and see him with his wiggly butt and little half flares. He got to where he would take pellets from the tip of my finger.

He was my little buddy for the first year and a half of my college career. Then he got sick. I wish I had known about this forum sooner, cause then maybe he’d have stood a better chance. I’m still not sure what eventually caused his death, but it was a sad day. The loss of the first is almost always the hardest.

But, Peter had started an addiction for me, and I wanted to keep going, I wanted to learn more and more about bettas. And a month or so later, I found a new fishy friend, or so I thought…

 

[Elleth]

Subbing!

 

[Megan1793]

Subbing!

Well thank you Hope I don't disappoint lol, I'm not the best at keeping up with journals

 

[Megan1793]

The Next Step: Part 1

Round Two?
Viserys
​

Now, I don’t have any pictures of Viserys (yes, game of thrones lol) they have been lost unfortunately, but he was a gorgeous red and turquoise half moon. I found him at my local Petco, and was drawn to his color combo. He was nice and active in his little cup, and was thrilled once I had him acclimated and placed in his new tank, however things began going down hill from there.

He refused to eat. At first I wasn’t too concerned as I knew bettas have a tendency to go days, if not weeks, without eating, especially in new environments. Other than his refusal to eat, he looked otherwise healthy. His water was clean and warm, he wasn’t clamping or having any swim trouble, he was still active and seemed happy for all intents and purposes. After the first week I decided to pick up a couple different brands of pellets, thinking maybe he just didn’t like the ones I had offered him.

Nothing. He didn’t eat a single one.

He would bite at them and spit them out once, and only once, before swimming away and ignoring them. I let them sit in the water, hoping he’d eat them if he got hungry enough, maybe. But after 20 minutes of him avoiding that corner of the tank like the plague, I scooped the uneaten pellets out.I did this a few times a day, trying out all of the 4 different brands of pellets I had picked up, and he didn’t want any of them. What else could I do?

 

[blueridge]

Subbing! I can't wait to read your journey into betta care

 

[Tealight03]

Subbing

 

[Megan1793]

The Next Step: Part 2

The Hunger Strike

Viserys
​

After week two I got some advice from some pet store people as well as google. I decided to pick up some betta flakes and some freeze dried blood worms to try. Same thing. Investigate, nibble once, swim away as fast as he could, completely ignore and avoid that corner of the tank. At this point he had started to be a bit less active than normal as well. Not surprising seeing as he wasn’t eating properly. Once the third week of his hunger strike came about, I returned to the pet store to get some more advice. The lady I spoke with was kind enough to give me a small sample of the frozen blood worms they had. After all, what betta would refuse actual live (once thawed) blood worms?


Well, Viserys was that betta. After he refused to eat the blood worms, I was sure he would just end up starving himself. I waited though, kept trying different pellets, flakes, and the blood worms throughout the fourth week of his hunger strike in hopes that he’d cave.

Still nothing.

He was getting more lethargic now, and his colors were starting to fade. He was breaking my heart. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, why he wasn’t eating. His water parameters were fine, the temperature was a nice 80 degrees.

I had even resorted to sitting at my desk and staring at him through the glass, begging him to eat something, anything while he swam up, happy to see me. Happy until I reached for a food container at least, then it was back to hiding. This behavior was so bizarre to me, and I couldn’t find help anywhere.

After the first month had come and gone, my heart broke into a million tiny pieces. I couldn’t just sit and watch Viserys starve himself to death, I just couldn’t. I placed him back in his Petco cup, and solemnly returned him to the store. I felt terrible, but I couldn’t stand to watch him die. My fiancé (then boyfriend) had to drive me back home because I burst into tears as soon as I walked out of the door towards the car. For the next week or so, I was so mad at myself, trying to figure out what I had done wrong, what I could’ve done differently, what would have gotten him to eat…

Eventually I accepted that there was no way for me to have force fed him, and that he had chosen not to eat any of the food I had provided. That helped a bit, but my heart still broke a tiny bit every time I glanced at his now empty tank, and the small pile of pellet and flake food containers. I went to return all the extra pellets and flakes I had purchased, and that’s when I found him, my little spark of hope, and in Walmart of all places…

 

[Starburst44]

Subbing!

 

[Megan1793]

An Unexpected Fresh Start

Happiness Returns
Dovah
​

A beautiful purple and red double tail, hiding amongst the sad, poorly treated Walmart bettas. And he seemed quite happy considering. I swore to my fiancé (then boyfriend) that the little guy just lit up when I picked up his little cup. I felt like I had connected with the little guy, I felt that click and I knew I had to bring him home with me. Dovahkiin, that’s what I named him, Dovah for short, (I was on a skyrim kick) and he was perfect. He acclimated well, and was super happy with his new tank and his new home. He gobbled up his pellets almost faster than I could drop them in the water, it was a complete 180 from my most recent betta experience.

He was such a happy little boy, and he was such an adorable fish. I had his tank set up on my desk where I would do my homework, which a lot of times consisted of me highlighting notes and whatnot. This is how I found his first little quirk. He would flare at my highlighters, just the highlighters. If I held one up to the side of the tank he’d follow it along and flare the whole while. I tried holding up a pencil, and similarly a brightly colored ink pen, and he had no reaction. It was only with the highlighters that he flared. I thought it was the cutest thing at the time.

Another thing I kept at my desk and coincidentally by his tank was a thermos of coffee. This particular thermos was a marvel comic book printed one, and had a myriad of bright and vibrant colors. I began to notice that he would hover around the side of the tank that I had placed the thermos cup at. I began moving it to different spots to see if he would follow, and he did, every time. I eventually retired the thermos from duty to serve as an out of tank decoration for him. I would move it around outside his tank every week and he loved it.

He was quite the little character indeed. I happened upon a dragon skull decor/hiding hole for him and thought it was perfect (his name means dragon in skyrim video game language). It didn’t have any sharp or rough edges and I figured you could never have too many hiding spots for bettas, so I picked it up. He was adorable when I first added it to the tank. He swam around and around it, went inside and sat for a bit then came darting back out and began flaring at it. I think it was the red jewel eyes on the dragon that he was flaring at, but it was so cute. After the first few hours, he finally figured flaring at it wasn’t getting him anywhere and he went back to swimming around it and resting inside. It soon became his favorite place to sit.

He provided many hours of entertainment and happiness. I would even go as far as to say he was my best betta experience so far (not that I had a lot to compare to, but still). The nearly 3 years that I had Dovah was a little brighter and happier because of him. He just passed away this last month at the beginning of June after going through a move and getting into fin biting. The move stressed him more than I would have liked, and he wasn’t the same afterwards. He wasn’t his normal happy little fishy self, but I still loved him, and I will admit that I cried like a baby when he passed. I’ll also admit that I teared up writing this.

After a little over a month, that addiction that Peter had started came itching back. I had drained all the water from Dovah’s old tank and cleaned everything before setting it back up. I just wasn’t ready to put it into storage. I kept the filter going and kept up water changes just like he was still there. Three years of habit is hard to break. His tank sat empty for the entire rest of the month, water enticing me every time I happened to glance over. At this point in time I had adopted a new fur baby. The apartment I had moved to allowed pets, and I now had a kitten to chase after. Maverick kept me entertained and distracted, but every time I looked at the empty tank, I felt it, that itch.

I was in Petco getting cat food for my kitten, and I just had to go by the betta section. It’s just something I always do no matter the store (I’ve hopefully saved a few betta lives this way, but that’s a whole other mini-rant). And I saw him, sitting in his little shelf-cubicle thing (Petco has interesting betta storage to say the least). He was fast, swimming in circles around his cup, half flaring, seemingly rainbow colored fins flashing…

 

[Megan1793]

Here we go Again - Present Day

Time for Some Luck
Falkor
​

The high energy, active swirl of color I had come across was going to be going home with me. He was absolutely gorgeous. His body was a pretty, almost iridescent white, and his fins…Well I’m not sure to be honest. At some angles his fins appeared to be a lovely mix of purples, pinks, and even some blues. Yet, at other angles, his fins appeared to be red and green with bits of yellow even. I fell in love with this gorgeous fancy half moon boy. The store had incorrectly labeled him as a dragon, his scales didn’t have that thick armor look at all, but that didn’t matter to me. He may not have been a dragon scale betta, but I would end up giving him the name of one of the most loveable dragons know, Falkor.

Falkor the luck fancy half moon betta. Didn’t quite have the same ring as luck dragon, but he seemed happy to finally have a name once I had decided on one. I got him acclimated, and into his new tank in no time. So far his favorite place is the dragon skull. Every time I look over and see him resting in the opening I feel a small twinge of sadness, remembering Dovah’s love of the same resting spot, but Falkor simply wiggles his butt and makes me smile. I still miss Dovah, but Falkor makes it easier every day to remember the good times. I’m hoping this is the start of a long, fun filled relationship with another dragon boy who stole my heart.


I’m going to be heading into town today to stop by my Petco, the same one where I got Falkor, to see if a pretty plakat boy is still there. Fingers crossed. I’ll update later.


Now, for a small barrage of pictures, because since I’ve joined this forum I actually have a place to put pictures.

 

[Tealight03]

He's gorgeous!

 

[Elleth]

Such a pretty boy! And lucky to have a good owner.

 

[Megan1793]

Meant to Be

Two Bettas are Better Than One
Unnamed
​

So, guess who was still sitting in his little cup at petco, just waiting for someone to give him a home? That blue/turquoise halfmoon plakat boy I was telling you about. I had seen him last week when I went and found Falkor, and I told myself if he was still there on Friday that I was going to bring him home. I had to do a little bit of searching, and almost gave up when I finally found him. He had been moved to a different section on one of their side shelves. I told myself it was a sign and that I couldn't pass him up a second time. He is the first plakat betta that I’ve had, and I’m quite excited. He’s so cute and he has this eye catching pop of orange on his ventral fins, and a few little hints of orange under his head and on his pectoral fins, and he has the cutest looking little grumpy face ever. The grumpy face is quite evident and easy to see in the second picture.

Now I finally have a new friend to put in my second tank setup. I’ll start acclimating him as soon as I’m done posting this little update, and then I’ll get some pictures of him in his new tank. I haven’t decided on a name yet, though I have a few ideas. I’ll probably get a marimo for his tank at some point seeing as Falkor has one in his, and they add a nice pop of green (and they’re squishy so yay lol). I’m also waiting for an amazon order for more silk plants so I can have a little stash to cycle through every so often.

 

[Elleth]

What a handsome guy! So glad that he was still there for you. Congrats!

 

[Megan1793]

Mister Grumpy Gills

Home Sweet Home
Unnamed
​

Well, my new addition is finally in his new tank And he just seems so grumpy about it lol

He's actually proving to be much more difficult to photograph than Falkor. He just darts around so quickly, most of my pictures just end up as a blue blur. Hopefully he'll settle down after he's explored his new abode and I can get some actually decent pictures. I just cannot get over that grumpy face though, it's the cutest.

I have a few ideas for names, the first few have something to do with water/the ocean, and the last one means autumn rain in hebrew, which I thought could be cute with his pop of orange.

• Nereus
• Nerio
• Kai
• Caspian
• Jorah

I'm also open to any suggestions as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


What's With all The Noise
Falkor

​

Mister luck betta has decided that he's gunna start throwing around some of his pebbles, particularly into the sides of his tank, and particularly at 3AM. My guess is he just likes scaring the kitten with random noises. Every time he does it I look over and he just stops and floats all guilty like before swimming away and hiding in his dragon skull cave. He's turning out to have quite the personality indeed.
​

 

[Tealight03]

I can see why you went back for him. That grumpy face is adorable!

None of my bettas will play with anything, not even their moss balls.

 

[Megan1793]

Mr. Playfull and the Meme Fish

Silly Boy
Falkor
​

Well, Falkor was at it again last night, though he only threw his pebbles around a couple times. I'm thinking about getting him a ping pong ball to play with. I've tried ping pong balls over the years with my previous fish, but none of them were ever really interested. Perhaps Falkor will be the playful one. I've noticed that he occasionally will nudge around his moss ball that's in his tank as well, so I have high hopes for the ping pong ball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Oh, I see you Wanna Take my Picture? *Darts Away*
Unnamed
​

As far as my newest boy goes, he's still too quick to get a lot of decent pictures, and I haven't been able to get him to flare for me yet, but I'll keep trying. I think I'm going to make a simple baffle for his tank filter when I get home from work tonight. It's hard for me to tell, but I think he's having a bit of trouble with the current. Falkor is doing fine in his tank, but the tank shapes are a little different so that me have something to do with it. I'll keep an eye on it after I've baffled it and see if my new boy acts or swims any different. As far as names go, I've gotten some opinions from family and friends and it's a tie between Kai and Jorah. I think I'll ask some coworkers tonight and see if I can break this tie and get this boy a name.

On a side note, he could totally give grumpy cat a run for her money. He is prime meme material lol

​

 

[Tealight03]

He could definitely give Grumpy Cat some competition. Grumpy cat actually makes a lot of money. I think I read somewhere it's at least a million.

 

[Megan1793]

Time for an Update

Baffled and Named
Jorah
​

I put together a super simple and quick baffle for the filter on Jorah's tank. I simply cut part of a water bottle and attached it with a rubber band so the outflow is spread a bit better. Jorah seems to be very content with it. I however have a teeny issue with it. While it works and gets the job done, any time I open the lid to the tank, because of the shape of the tank and the airline tubing from the filter the little plastic water bottle piece ends up moving a bit. I think I'm going to look into getting an aquarium sponge and putting some in the intake tube thing on my filter and seeing how that goes. If anyone has tried this or knows of a different alternative, I'd be more than happy to hear from you

But, other than all that, Jorah is doing well. He finally has a name so there's that. I got about 6 more opinions on the names and 4 out of the six voted for Jorah, which made it the most voted name so far. So, I went with it (which by the title of this "chapter" and the above paragraph you already know...). I like the name, it's unique and has a meaning which sort of reflects his appearance (autumn rain, rain=blue, autumn=pop of orange lol). I think I was secretly rooting for Jorah for that very reason, though I really liked Kai as well.

I have still yet to get any flare pictures of him, and it isn't just because of how fast he is either, and boy is he fast. He is the first plakat I've owned, and I knew plakats were fast but dang. Aside from his ridiculous sudden bursts of speed when I get by his tank with a camera, he has yet to flare for me. I've been trying to get him to flare for pictures since yesterday. He doesn't seem to care for the mirror I hold up. He just stares at it and swims away every time, no reaction what so ever. He's just too camera shy I guess, but I'll keep trying. I really want to see that grumpy face flare for me

 

[Megan1793]

Same old, Same old

Shenanigans
Falkor
​

Well, as the title of this section suggests, Falkor is still up to his usual shenanigans, throwing around his pebbles. I did get him a ping pong ball though, and he seems curious about it though he hasn't messed with it much. He gets a bit braver with it everyday though, so I'm sure he'll be pushing it all over the place before long. I'll have to see about getting some pictures up once he starts playing with it. He flares like no other when I hold the mirror up to him, as well as when I turn the light off in the bedroom (I think he has a reflection when the main room light is off but his tank light is on). But other than that, his first week in his new home is going well. I'll be doing his first water change today so we will see how he likes the siphon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's up With You?
Jorah
​

Jorah the grump is still refusing to flare for me at all. He did have me a little worried for the last day and a half though. I had noticed that his nice vibrant blue wasn't as vibrant and that he had some stress lines down his body. I've been testing his water everyday to make sure everything was good and keeping his tank at a nice 80 degrees. I'm thinking it was just some stress due to adjusting to his new home outside of a tiny cup, cause today when I woke up he was back to his lovely vibrant blue and the stress lines were gone. He's still getting the hang of where his food comes from, but he's learning that when he sees the food container to swim to the surface. Hopefully I'll figure out some way to get mister grumpy to flare for me. I've never had a betta not flare for me with mirrors, and it's so odd.