# Journal of an Overprotective Fish Lover



## Overprotective Fish Lover (Apr 11, 2015)

Hello all...

I thought that I might begin a journal to keep track of my betta fish adventure. Here goes!

I desperately wanted a pet. But I'm very busy, and, along with other reasons, dogs and cats weren't going to work out. At my wit's end, I finally settled on a fish, even though at the time, I considered fish to be the most boring pets in the world.

My friend had recently gotten a betta fish. It was purple, with long, flowing red fins. It wasn't like any fish I had ever seen (or, at least, paid attention to). When I asked my friend about it, she said that it was really cool, and that she had been told that bettas could be trained. That sold it for me. A trainable fish? How cool was that!

I settled down in front of my computer to research these betta fish. I discovered that fish were far less "easy" to take care of than I assumed. I also discovered that it would be far more pricey than I originally thought. But I had set my mind to it, and I was determined to do it right. I bought a 5.5 gallon tank with a filter, I bought a heater, a thermometer, gravel, a pink tree, a green cave, a leaf hammolk, a bottle of Prime, some National Geographic Betta Pellets, a bottle of Colony (similar to TSS), and a gravel vacuum.

I set it up and ran it for two days with Colony and Prime, as per the instructions on the bottle. It worked like a charm. Thursday, we brought home the fish...a little blue and turquoise VT which we named Poseidon.
I loved Poseidon more than I thought I could ever love a fish. He had a big personality...feisty, energetic, and fun, but also fond of chilling on his leaf suction cup or in the branches of his tree. He quickly learned the "fingers mean food" concept, and began pecking at my fingertips whenever I put my hands in the water.









Soon though, I began to see tears in his fins. It was mild at first, but the slits got longer and the tips spindlier. I began to worry. At first, I panicked, thinking it was fin rot...but I soon traced it to his beloved pink tree, which was plastic. I took it out, and he moped all day. So I gave him a silk plant instead...however, he never liked it as well.

The girl at the pet store gave me a bottle of Bettafix for his fins, but after reading some of the online controversy, I took most of it out in a water change. And so life with a betta continued...his fins began to look better, and everything was going wonderfully.

Until...

One fateful Sunday, Poseidon seemed to be lackluster. He lay in his cave all day, rarely coming out to see me. He also seemed to have a bit of grey under his belly. It was so slight though, that I couldn't treat him for anything. However, hearing that a grey belly could be a sign of dropsy, I decided to add some Epsom salt. We put him in a bowl of clean water and added it. Then I crossed my fingers and went to bed.

In the morning, he was worse. His fins were clamped, and he was very grey looking. As the day progressed, it became clear he would not last long. He began panting and lying on his side, only struggling up for a breath of air. In the afternoon, he died.

I had no idea what killed him, until I was told about some strep bacterial infection which I now think is the cause. Now, I always keep some Erthromycin on hand in case I see the symtpoms again.

It was a hard day. I buried him under a tree overlooking the water in a little heart-shaped chocolate box which I covered in black duct tape. I cried harder than I thought I could. I felt as if I had lost my baby.

We washed out the tank with vinegar and bought a new fish. It was an iridescent turquoise HM...beautiful form. I now think he might have been a rosetail. We were going to name him Zeus, but we refrained from doing so...for he refused to eat.









He spent his four days with us hiding in his cave and refusing food, rarely even coming up for air. He had no symptoms of any sort of disease I had heard of, so I couldn't treat him for anything. Monday morning, he was found dead. I was frustrated and upset. Two dead fish in a week.

This time, we washed out the tank with vinegar _and_ bleach. We didn't buy from Petsmart this time...instead, we bought from a small petstore which carried EE's. I fell in love with a little "white" one, which turned out to be the HM EE Pastel Mulitcolour which I named Gabriel.









He had spunk from the minute I first saw him...he swam around in his cup like he thought he'd get to the ocean if he worked hard enough. When I dumped him into his tank, he immediately started exploring, and ate hungrily when I fed him.

He acts like a dog...he always swims up to the glass and waggles his tail whenever I walk into the room. He handles water changes like a pro, and he adores food of any sort...he'll eat almost anything. He's healthy and happy, and the only thing that ever quenched his curiosity was, of all things, a moss ball! He wouldn't go on that side of the tank for at least ten minutes after I put it in the tank, before creeping over and darting away repeatedly. He and Agatha (the moss ball) still haven't completely made up.

I've had Gabriel three weeks now, and am hoping he lives at least two years. I'll keep you guys updated with what's going on with him. Thanks for reading! 

-OFL


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Subscribing!!!


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