[StrangeDejavu]

Hi all, newbie betta/fish owner here. ;-) I was at Petco this past weekend and bought this beautiful little guy on a whim. Not knowing anything about bettas, I bought a 0.5g bowl and a single plant. As I fed him and watched him swim around, I found myself quickly attached. To ensure his quality of life was as high as I could give him, I did some research and found this site. I went back up to Petco a few days later and bought him a 5.5 gallon, bamboo and some decorations. The tank came with a 10 gallon HOB filter, but the current was wayyy too much for him. I took that out and set up a DIY sponge filter which he seems to appreciate much more. His water is heated to a comfortable 80°F with an EHEIM Jager 25w.

I have to say, he surprised me. When I was reading up on betta care, I came across many betta stories. Many picky eaters, some even spitting out bloodworms. Some that panic during water changes, and others that flare at their thermometer. I seemed to have gotten the perfect fish, based on what i've seen so far. He enthusastically eats every type of food i've fed him (flake, pellet, bloodworms, daphnia). When I was setting up the bamboo and decorations, he would swim between my fingers and seemed very relaxed. Even during water changes, he isn't bothered one bit. After seeing some of the other sickly/annoyed bettas at Petco, i'm relieved to have gotten such a happy, easy-going fish. :-D

I am terrible with names, so he is currently unnamed. I was heavily leaning toward Nymeria until I realized it was a female name. Now i'm considering Tesla, Nami or something associated with "turquoise". Anyway, here's my new friend and his new home:

 

[meviva]

Aww…he looks cute in his house. I may just have to get one of those too.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Aww…he looks cute in his house. I may just have to get one of those too.

He LOVES his little house! He'll usually let me know when he's had enough light as he'll stick his head in the hole but leave the rest of his body out, usually around 6:00pm. Once I shut the light off, he swims in completely and goes to sleep. I made him a DIY betta hammock but I think he prefers the darkness and security of his little hut.

 

[Kithy]

Lovely tank and pretty boy! Congratulations!! I am so happy to see that you decided to do some research and gave your boy the best you can offer!

The middle area is a little open but if your boy seems secure and doesn't mind then don't worry about it too much. Sometimes bettas are scared of open areas so that's something to watch for ^_^ The bamboo on the left side needs to have its leaves out of the water as well, they are labeled as aquatic but they are not fully. If their leaves are not out of the water they will rot.

I'm bad with names, too ._. Most of my fish are unnamed lol Tesla is cool though, you don't see many fish named Tesla around.

Welcome to the forum as well :3

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Thanks for heads up on the bamboo, Kithy. I'll have to buy some more sand, but i'll definitely raise those up out of the water. As for the openness, it's a work in progress. My goal is to have the tank set up with lots of live plants and bamboo, so it's temporary. ;-)

 

[pfenty]

I just love the name Monkey