purple_drazi
Fishaholic
I thought I'd introduce myself!
I bought my first Betta years & years ago. The lfs told me that tap water was fine, room temp was fine and here are some bloodworms to feed it. That poor animal. I was following the instructions they gave me but the fish got so depressed it starved itself to death. I was heart-broken and vowed no more fish.
11 years passed.
In January I was at the lps and saw the most beautiful Betta, a blue iridescent crown-tail. He was a pet store mutt but I was smitten and I bought him. The staff person told me I needed a betta bowl so I bought one of those plastic 1/2 g things to put him in. When I got home I got onto the internet and found out all of the information the lps hadn't told me - about treating the water, water temp and so on. Spike and I made it through the first month.
By then that 1/2 g bowl started looking pretty stupid and way too small so I got the 2 g goldfish bowl out of the basement, cleaned it and Spike had a new home. After 4 months though, he started looking depressed. It wasn't the food, or the water, or the temp. I knew Bettas are very social & curious animals so I did a bit of an experiment, I borrowed a female Betta from a friend and put her bowl next to Spike's. Instant happiness radiated from Spike's bowl! He had been lonely! His bowl is on my desk in the livingroom where people are working all day but it just wasn't enough.
so.
I bought a 12 g tank. I set it up with a divider in the middle and ran it for a week before I put Spike in. My plan was to order a fancy pure-bred Betta from a breeder and put it in the other side. That plan went a little off the rails.
I was visiting a big local fish store with my kids when we saw this Betta doing everything it could to get our attention. It was in this (disgusting) tiny little bowl and yet it was swimming so energetically we couldn't believe it, it went in circles, first fast then slowly, up to the top of the bowl and then down again, side to side, over and over all the while looking at us as if to say, "Hey! It's me!! Don't leave me here!"
So why did we buy Sparky? Because he wanted us to!
He belonged in our family and sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
Sparky was in quarantine (with Bettamax) in the 2 g bowl for 3 weeks before he joined Spike in the 12 g tank (on his own side of the divider of course!). And now the two boys are having a ball. They each have a decent amount of space to swim in, lots of plants to explore, hide in and sleep on, and company to flare at!
So, just in case someone wasn't paying attention..
I got a $3.99 mutt Betta...
and a $14.99 bowl to put him in
then a $120 12 g Eclipse aquarium
plus $60 worth of plants
and another $3.99 mutt just so he can have company.
I'm still learning since this is my first aquarium and I've only just started, but we're doing well so far!
cross fingers & knock on wood!
I bought my first Betta years & years ago. The lfs told me that tap water was fine, room temp was fine and here are some bloodworms to feed it. That poor animal. I was following the instructions they gave me but the fish got so depressed it starved itself to death. I was heart-broken and vowed no more fish.
11 years passed.
In January I was at the lps and saw the most beautiful Betta, a blue iridescent crown-tail. He was a pet store mutt but I was smitten and I bought him. The staff person told me I needed a betta bowl so I bought one of those plastic 1/2 g things to put him in. When I got home I got onto the internet and found out all of the information the lps hadn't told me - about treating the water, water temp and so on. Spike and I made it through the first month.
By then that 1/2 g bowl started looking pretty stupid and way too small so I got the 2 g goldfish bowl out of the basement, cleaned it and Spike had a new home. After 4 months though, he started looking depressed. It wasn't the food, or the water, or the temp. I knew Bettas are very social & curious animals so I did a bit of an experiment, I borrowed a female Betta from a friend and put her bowl next to Spike's. Instant happiness radiated from Spike's bowl! He had been lonely! His bowl is on my desk in the livingroom where people are working all day but it just wasn't enough.
so.
I bought a 12 g tank. I set it up with a divider in the middle and ran it for a week before I put Spike in. My plan was to order a fancy pure-bred Betta from a breeder and put it in the other side. That plan went a little off the rails.
I was visiting a big local fish store with my kids when we saw this Betta doing everything it could to get our attention. It was in this (disgusting) tiny little bowl and yet it was swimming so energetically we couldn't believe it, it went in circles, first fast then slowly, up to the top of the bowl and then down again, side to side, over and over all the while looking at us as if to say, "Hey! It's me!! Don't leave me here!"
So why did we buy Sparky? Because he wanted us to!
He belonged in our family and sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
Sparky was in quarantine (with Bettamax) in the 2 g bowl for 3 weeks before he joined Spike in the 12 g tank (on his own side of the divider of course!). And now the two boys are having a ball. They each have a decent amount of space to swim in, lots of plants to explore, hide in and sleep on, and company to flare at!
So, just in case someone wasn't paying attention..
I got a $3.99 mutt Betta...
and a $14.99 bowl to put him in
then a $120 12 g Eclipse aquarium
plus $60 worth of plants
and another $3.99 mutt just so he can have company.
I'm still learning since this is my first aquarium and I've only just started, but we're doing well so far!
cross fingers & knock on wood!
/www.bettatalk.com/
Welcome to the forums
aint that the truth.
to the forums. You will find lots of info from a great number of people who really know their stuff.
