The Temptation Is Too Great!

[Rynoah]

Last night, as an end-of-the-semester celebration, a few of my friends and I went up to Wal*Mart (small town, small amusements) and hung out in the fish section for a time. I, naturally, went to the betta section.

Big mistake!

As I was browsing, I stumbled across a gorgeous yellow/blue boy with tiger strips on his rays. He was very dark colored, but you could see his colors just fine in the light. He looked fairly healthy and was as active as a boy can be in such a small cup. He was quite a good size, too.

At any rate, I'd forgotten my purse, or I would have bought him then and there and brought him home with me. I thought, "Well, it's better this way. I can't afford him right now!"

But I received money today for doing some errands, and I have a choir performance in the area where Wal*Mart is today. I've been hoping and praying that he's still there when I go. I'm even tempted to leave early so that I can pick him up (along with a tank and plant for him), or at least reserve him.

Wish me luck!

 

[Rediahs]

Wow, that sounds beautiful. I love those tiger stripes that they sometimes get. I want one!! Good luck.

 

[liz2]

I hope you get him he sounds lovely.

An aquatic centre in my area is not very good with fish ..any I have had have died. So I dont buy fish only heaters etc. as they are cheaper. A girl I work with went there Thursday she said they had loads of bettas, and they were in a bad way. One had got stuck under the dividing glass and was dead. She told the bloke in there about them. He just shrugged his shoulders!

 

[Rynoah]

Sadly, when I arrived today, someone had already snatched up my little tiger-striped boy. Alas!

However, I did pick up a new boy who looks similar to my Mephisto (I think they might be brothers). He looked in need of a home, as he was clamped and listless at the bottom of his cup. Now that I've got him home and he's sat for a while (waiting for the tank temperature to level out), he's already perked up, like he knows that he's in for bigger, better things.

"See how sad I am?"

"Won't you please take care of me?"

The tank I have for him is 2.5 US gallons with silk plants. It's by Mephisto's tank (he's already jealous!), but I've arranged the plants in such a way that they won't see much of each other. I'm hoping that will be enough to keep Mephisto, who is very feisty towards anything and everything that moves.

I'll post more pictures once this guy gets settled.

 

[Rynoah]

A bit of a pictorial walkthrough of the new boy's introduction:

Mephisto: "Why does he get that big ol' tank, and I just get this stupid cave?"

New Boy: ". . . dude?"
The new boy wasn't actually as eager to get into the tank as one would hope. He seemed rather indifferent, actually. He's proven himself quite mellow thus far--the very antithesis of Mephisto.

Mephisto: "Hey. Who's that?"

New Boy: ". . . dude!"
I had hoped he wouldn't venture to that side of the tank, because that's the one closest to Mephisto. He wandered over there after I'd scooped him into the water (which was much easier to do with him than it had been with Mephisto), and Mephisto, of course, had to show off to establish just who was boss. The new boy showed a little interest, but not much. Mephisto was just beside himself, swimming around wildly, but he didn't flare up.

Also note the slight teal/bluish sheen of the new boy. Mephisto has the same thing.

A little more spotlight on the new boy. The lighting in his tank is atrocious. One half is dark (thankfully the half nearest Mephisto), while the other is blindingly bright. I will never buy a tank like this again. Also, very sorry for the quality, but every time he stopped and I got the camera ready, he moved at the last second.

Another picture, this time in the dark area of the tank. Doesn't do much for his colors, however pale they are.

And another poor-quality picture, better establishing his colors. His fins are a mixture of red and light blue, and his gill flaps are a very light red color. I got him to flare only once; I don't think he's up for it much right now, and if his laid-back personality persists, he likely won't ever be up for it. He was very spectacular, though, and I wish I had gotten a shot of it. We'll hope for flaring pictures tomorrow.

And the tanks side-by-side, with my autographed The Black Halo album in the center (that album and its predecessor, Epica, are the source of Mephisto's name). I think I'll name the new boy Ariel if he survives the week, which is the main character in said albums.

 

[liz2]

beautiful new fish and the old one......love your tanks...crystal clear water.

 

[lisie]

Handsome boys!

I have two of those tanks that you do... they come with incandescent lights, which stink, but you can get flourescent lights that fit in there perfectly. I got mine from WalMart.

 

[Rynoah]

Thanks! When I got home from my final choir performance tonight, I found that the new boy was much more reactive and alert. I think the clean, new space is doing him a lot of good. He even took pellets and a little freeze-dried bloodworm a few hours after his introduction to the new tank and was absolutely ravenous tonight. I've never seen two fish of the same species that are so dissimilar. It's very amusing.

And I try to keep the water as clean as I can, with frequent partial changes. Unfortunately, over this weekend, Mephisto's tank has gotten a little gunky at the bottom, thanks to lack of time. With summer upon me, I'll have a lot more time.

As sad as it sounds, I never thought to buy a fluorescent bulb for the tanks. I'll have to do that later this month, when I'm able. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Rynoah]

Here are some better pictures, this time of him flaring. It was hard to get them, because he flares at the mirror, and then swims away as fast as he can, so I didn't want to upset him too much. However, for these shots, he flared, swam away, and then moved to the center of the tank and spread his fins, showing off his handsomeness. He sat there for a good minute, allowing me to snap some pictures.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Amazing Amore Ariel!"

"Oh yeah. I'm good."

"This goes out to all the ladies out there."

"There's no competing with me."

"Thank you, thank you! I'm here all week!"

I'm beginning to think that he's an older betta because of his laid-back personality, but I can't be certain. Is there a sure-fire way of figuring out a betta's age, or at least an age-range?