# I got him, I got him!! My new king!



## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

First and foremost, this home is TEMPORARY. I know it is far too small for a king and he will be moved very soon to a larger tank, but this is what happened..

A couple of weeks ago at a Petco by my college I fell in love with this beautiful turquoise-ish king betta. He was massive and could hardly move around in his cup. It was so incredibly hard to walk away, especially because I have never seen a king these colors before. But I didn't have a tank or money to buy one.

Fast forward to today. I'm getting an old tank back (2.5gal - not ideal but better than what he has been in) and I just found 2 part-time jobs, so he will be getting a 10 gallon in the not-too-distant future. A friend of mine may also have an adequate tank laying around, she's gonna go look for me. Anyway, back to the story! I was at our football game all day (Rutgers won ;-) ) and went back to my apartment with my boyfriend. I told him that I kept thinking about this betta and that I was going to head to Petco to see if he was still there. If he was, there was no way I was leaving him to spend more weeks in that cup he couldn't even MOVE in. I walk into Petco, head straight to the bettas, and I saw him right there! Also saw a dead Delta Tail.  But all in all the bettas are pretty well kept for, except for the fact that this guy could not swim in his cup. So.. I snatched him. :-D He's in a temporary heated 1 gallon with some plastic plants and anacharis, but of course will be getting daily water changes. He's unclamping, already ate frozen bloodworms, and definitely seems to enjoy actually being able to SWIM!

Here are some photos of how beautiful he is. He's still unnamed as of now.. I've only had him a couple of hours.  I'm just *so* happy I was able to rescue him. And even if his temporary home isn't ideal size-wise, at least I know he's in clean water, being fed well, and can actually use those pretty little fins of his to swim!


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## grammymary (Aug 7, 2013)

Oh, he's beautiful! I'm so glad you rescued him and he now has a good, loving home.


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Thank you! I wish I had a larger tank ready for him, but at least now he has a heater and room to actually move around. I really didn't think he'd still be there, but when I saw him there was no way in heck I was letting him stay in that cup any longer! Some of the kings were even bigger than him... they're really starting to grow on me. Maybe someday when I have a huge tank I'll buy a giant from a breeder. 


Oh! And I forgot to add - he has blue eyes! He's gorgeous.


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

so cool! His color is beautiful! I miss my old king better, he was my first fish.


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## Skuldane (Aug 22, 2013)

Thats so nice of you. He is very cool. I'm doing a rescue myself this weekend, I will need a bigger tank too, but regardless, I will still be taking better care of him than the current owner. The rescue's top fin seems clamped or something, will that become better with clean water or a bigger tank?


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## carrohason (Aug 23, 2013)

Is he still unnamed? Because I was thinking his name should be either Prince or Jimmi (or both, if you want).


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Good news! One of my old neighbors messaged me on Facebook saying she has two tanks that have just been sitting around taking up space, so she'll be giving them to me. One even has the filter with it, too. Not sure of their size, but I'm not turning away that kind offer!  



copperarabian said:


> so cool! His color is beautiful! I miss my old king better, he was my first fish.


Thank you, he's special to me. One of those fish I kept thinking about for weeks after I saw him, so when I saw he was still there yesterday... well, the rest is history! You should get another. 



Skuldane said:


> Thats so nice of you. He is very cool. I'm doing a rescue myself this weekend, I will need a bigger tank too, but regardless, I will still be taking better care of him than the current owner. The rescue's top fin seems clamped or something, will that become better with clean water or a bigger tank?


Aw, that's nice of you too! What type are you rescuing? He's still a bit clamped up, but he does relax for periods as well and is thoroughly enjoying his bloodworms.. he doesn't like pellets. He was very clamped in that cup when I saw him two weeks ago and still was yesterday, so I suspect a lot of it is stress-related. He will be getting a bigger tank very shortly though, too, so I'm hoping that will also help. Especially since he hasn't had a heater for weeks too. :/



carrohason said:


> Is he still unnamed? Because I was thinking his name should be either Prince or Jimmi (or both, if you want).


He's still unnamed. I'm a history major so I'm probably going to name him after an emperor or something lol.


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## Skuldane (Aug 22, 2013)

Hirohito


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

I'm thinking Hadrian or Neptune. Maybe Poseidon. 

..Actually, given his pretty blue iridescence and his size, I think Poseidon is the winner!


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## helms97 (Sep 21, 2011)

YES ! Poseidon for the win ! i had aboy named poseidon.. my first betta!


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

lol It's such a great name for a betta! Poseidon is all packed up and ready to come back to school with me


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Update - He's now at school with me.  Despite his small tank, he has become much more relaxed and is unclamped with a healthy appetite. I even managed to get him to eat pellets now, albeit a different brand than what I have at home. I can't wait to upgrade him to a bigger tank, I'm sure he'll love it, especially if I've seen improvement in just this little one.


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Adorable photo time!

I've also moved my CT into the temporary 1 gallon and put Poseidon in his 3 gallon for now. Just made more sense until I get my tank situation figured out.


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## trixie55555 (Aug 27, 2013)

He's gorgeous!!! I have rescued many Petco bettas and people always ask if I paid for him. I say "yes" and they say then you didn't "rescue" him. They just don't get it. I'm always so happy to hear about other fish that have been saved from such a pitiful existence. So good for you...AND HIM!! 
I saved a king last week. He was in a small tank at first, too, but I agree with you...at least he's warm & fed. Just moved him into his very own 20 gallon yesterday and watching him swim & explore felt great. 
View attachment 209914


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## sbrit94 (Aug 1, 2013)

How big are your kings? I think its possible I may have a king on my hands but I haven't been able to figure out what a young kings size is...


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

I'd say he's about 2 1/2 inches, maybe a little bigger. Very thick though, definitely not like your average betta. They look much different imo.


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## sbrit94 (Aug 1, 2013)

Beast, my betta, is pretty thick too. He is really big compared to my other bettas but not as big as what some kings look like. I'm thinkin that he could be a very young king
He is a little over 2 inches
Here's a couple pics


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## trixie55555 (Aug 27, 2013)

sbrit94 said:


> Beast, my betta, is pretty thick too. He is really big compared to my other bettas but not as big as what some kings look like. I'm thinkin that he could be a very young king
> He is a little over 2 inches
> Here's a couple pics


He looks like a traditional Plakat to me, but I'm no expert. My only frame of reference is aquabid, but seems like what they call "traditional" have that spade tail. Here's a link to one...http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1380703217


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## sbrit94 (Aug 1, 2013)

Yeah, I realized that after more searching around. Thanks for the replies!


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Yeah, he looks like a traditional PK to me too. Very pretty boy! I wasn't sure if Poseidon was a traditional PK either until I used the mirror trick to get a good flare out of him - he has the 180* spread, so HMPK it is.


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## sbrit94 (Aug 1, 2013)

Thanks, I think he knows he's pretty! Sometimes he will pose for pictures. Who say's bettas don't have personality??


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## trixie55555 (Aug 27, 2013)

sbrit94 said:


> How big are your kings? I think its possible I may have a king on my hands but I haven't been able to figure out what a young kings size is...


Mine is at least 3 inches-tail NOT included. He's HUGE!!


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## weaver72 (Jul 9, 2012)

Beatiful! I know tank size is important but anything is better then what they have to live in ,small cups,filth,some starved!! So hat's off to you !God bless and good luck,that creature needed you and you came through!keeping doing good work's it makes the soul sparkle!


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