# The life of a betta hoarder.



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Hey guys, so I have a serious betta problem. It all started with thor, My dumbo half-moon male. My friend was buying me a betta for my house warming gift when i moved into my new apartment 3 months ago, and so naturally we went to petco and was looking around. And there he was, pale and thin and Blind in one eye. The same eye that im nearly blind in. I fell in love. I had to take him home with me, so 45 dollars later (My friend was so mad) I had a fish. He was in a dinky .75 tank and a silly little column stood in his tank, but boy did that fish have personality. He would swim up to the glass when i came near and would flop those giant fins around, and i would smile and laugh. He made me happy. Now 14 betta fish later, he sits in a separated 10 gallon and still gets excited to see me. Other bettas i have are aggressive or shy, but this betta is the love of my life. Since then i have bought 15 betta's (One was unlucky enough to meet my kittens tummy) but whenever i bring someone in my fish room i show them Thor, and with a proud gleam in my eyes tell them this is where it all started.


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*How to get unexpected betta's? (A unwanted user)*

So in the latest betta hoarding new's,

My boyfriends best friend FINALLY got a girlfriend (I dont quite mind him) but she came over for me and my bestfriends girl night while her boyfriend spent time with mine. Well my best friend to went with me to buy her first betta fish for her 5 gallon tank (She is a molly breeder so betta's arent her usual fish) Well she decides to rescue one from walmart and the women came with us and bought a little viel tail for her self. 

Get this though, she is currently living in her boyfriends sister's home, and is not allowed to have this fish. So she spends the night THEN LEAVES HER BETTA HERE AND SAYS SHE CAN'T TAKE IT WITH HER. Now i have 15 betta's of my own, and although i am always open to more betta's i was not interested in a veil tail in my mix. (I am currently working on breeding my double half moon king with my halfmoon female leih) and did not want a fish in a tiny little cup. 

SHE DID'NT EVEN NAME IT and im pretty sure that she only bought it to try to fit in with me and my friend. End of story though i have a veil tail, which i am currently calling reject. I mean, how could someone abandon their baby like that!? I couldn't imagen doing that to any of my fish...just UGH and my boyfriend wants her to move in with us. UH.....NO!

Has anyone ever had someone abandon fish on them? Im so mad...


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

So lets get things rolling,
I have recently started to cycle my new 2.5 gallon tank for a fish im getting in the mail (First mail fish sooooooooooo excited) and i was beginning to worry about it. I mean, i have lots of betta's don't get me wrong, and i do a pretty decent job of taking care of them. But i figured with this fish, i will do only live plants. This started a whole problem in its own. I mean, i have 3 live plants in my tanks and one died on me because i accidentally snapped the plant from its roots. (Thor doesn't care though.) So i go to pet smart pick up a plant i don't even know how to pronounce and i think im done. NOPE i gotta get more plants because its smaller than it looks. Cool so im dragging my boyfriend to pet kingdom tomorrow to look at plants. Problem is i used up all my betta allowance this week. Ugh no good. wish me luck. Im thinking of getting some java moss....


----------



## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

*giggle* "betta allowance", that is cute. Live plants are sooooo expensive. Water Wisteria grows fast and then can be cut and then you have a whole 'nother plant- it will grow roots off the stem. It also adjusts to high or low light and can be planted or left to float. I bought mine at Petsmart. 

And the fish dumper girl sounds horrible and insecure, I can't imagine her living in my house. Please give veiltail a proper name. It isn't his fault he got rejected when a human like that bought him. How about Fate? Destiny had it that he ended up at a knowledgable betta lover's house! He actually got the good deal with you and not her. Veil tails have really sweet personalities. 

Thor sounds amazing! I want an EE halfmoon! Never seen one at Petco.


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Plant wise I'm going to an aquarium specially store, so hopefully they can have some good plants. But when it comes to the Veil tail, we named him chance. Since he has a new one. He is a sweetie always hiding till I come out and he swims up and smiles. I like him alot for being a fish I didn't need. But he needed me and that's how I see it. 
And oh gosh is my baby thor beautiful. He has the fullest tails and he's all this light gild color with pink and blue. He is what got me to research and love betta's. But ya he'said a dumbo eared halfmoon. Abosultly beautiful never seen another fish like him. Sad petco mistreated him though and he'said half blind.


----------



## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

You should post pictures of all your bettas on here! I made a thread recently of my past 47 bettas, all their pictures look pretty cool together. lol
I am also almost completely blind in one eye (left) and a few years back rescued a long finned Oscar that was missing an eye. I always have a soft spot for the crippled ones.


----------



## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

I think the most beautiful fish at the store are often there the longest, simply because the price. Thor may have been waiting for you quite a while.


----------



## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

bettafishsam said:


> So in the latest betta hoarding new's,
> 
> My boyfriends best friend FINALLY got a girlfriend (I dont quite mind him) but she came over for me and my bestfriends girl night while her boyfriend spent time with mine. Well my best friend to went with me to buy her first betta fish for her 5 gallon tank (She is a molly breeder so betta's arent her usual fish) Well she decides to rescue one from walmart and the women came with us and bought a little viel tail for her self.
> 
> ...


Wait, wait...wait wait wait, does the bestfriend of your boyfriend live with you two as well? Cause otherwise him being like "yeah I want to let the girlfriend move in with us!" is kinda weird  Just me? Plus it sounds like they haven't even been dating for a significant amount of time o.o

Anyway, totes rude! She just thrust at least half a year of another commitment onto you xD


----------



## Autumncrossing (May 2, 2016)

Crash said:


> Wait, wait...wait wait wait, does the bestfriend of your boyfriend live with you two as well? Cause otherwise him being like "yeah I want to let the girlfriend move in with us!" is kinda weird  Just me? Plus it sounds like they haven't even been dating for a significant amount of time o.o
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, totes rude! She just thrust at least half a year of another commitment onto you xD




No I totally agree with you!!! I'm getting a "her boyfriend is a creeper" vibe too. You guys need to seriously sit down and have a talk, that's strange as HECK!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Crash said:


> Wait, wait...wait wait wait, does the bestfriend of your boyfriend live with you two as well? Cause otherwise him being like "yeah I want to let the girlfriend move in with us!" is kinda weird  Just me? Plus it sounds like they haven't even been dating for a significant amount of time o.o
> 
> Anyway, totes rude! She just thrust at least half a year of another commitment onto you xD


No they have been together for 2 minths. It was so rude I was like grrrrr. Never inviting them over. And no they're crashing at his sisters house. Poor chance hasn't had a good life. Can't wait for his tank to be cycled and watch his personality change.


----------



## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

bettafishsam said:


> No they have been together for 2 minths. It was so rude I was like grrrrr. Never inviting them over. And no they're crashing at his sisters house. Poor chance hasn't had a good life. Can't wait for his tank to be cycled and watch his personality change.


Shoot I would be so mad, doesn't help that I'm the jealous possessive type :lol: 

I'm glad he'll have a more comfortable life in your care, even if it was unexpected!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Aluyasha said:


> You should post pictures of all your bettas on here! I made a thread recently of my past 47 bettas, all their pictures look pretty cool together. lol
> I am also almost completely blind in one eye (left) and a few years back rescued a long finned Oscar that was missing an eye. I always have a soft spot for the crippled ones.


I'm the same way...I love my thor more than anything. And I've started to take a ton of pictures of all my fish and I'm planning in making a list of them. I'm on my way to pick up a koi female. So pray for that


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*OMG omg betta love*

You guys after searching for months i just got a beautiful halfmoon female koi betta to breed with my male plakat koi!!! I also got a white female to breed with my beautiful thor!! This guy was so amazing he gave me a sponge filter on top of everything and two handfuls of almond leaves literally dying and going to fish heaven!!! Pictures to come!!!


----------



## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

bettafishsam said:


> You guys after searching for months i just got a beautiful halfmoon female koi betta to breed with my male plakat koi!!! I also got a white female to breed with my beautiful thor!! This guy was so amazing he gave me a sponge filter on top of everything and two handfuls of almond leaves literally dying and going to fish heaven!!! Pictures to come!!!


That's awesome that you can breed your favorite boy! I assume you'll be keeping some of Thor's spawn for yourself? :-D

Also I love kois!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Of course but I'm also selling a few. I've got a few friends who are dying for some of thor's babies and some stores wanting koi babies.


----------



## mingking (Mar 7, 2016)

Oh yay! Found Chance's owner's journal  Can't wait to see how he is and for all the pics of your bettas!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Goodbye chance.*

Hey guys, 

So chance has officially been rehomed. My betta amount was getting to large so he was removed with my stepmother who has been looking to get a betta for her 5 gallon tank. He is living happily among some java moss at her house. She has alot more time to give him individually than I do with all my fish. But I promise she will take care of him and I will check in on him every week!


----------



## Amberjp (Apr 28, 2016)

Wow, that girlfriend sounds like a piece of work -___- totally going to be besties though right? (sarcasm) If I were to ever(ahem,never) abandon my fish, it would be like abandoning my child

I like your "betta allowance" I'm actually going to start one of those too as I'm a impulse buyer when it comes to my fish(only the best for him! TVT) and I plan on saving for college so I can;t be spending all of the extra money I have ^.^'

How do you tell if a betta is blind though? I wonder if he was like that all of his life, how quickly did he adjust to his new surroundings?


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

Amberjp said:


> Wow, that girlfriend sounds like a piece of work -___- totally going to be besties though right? (sarcasm) If I were to ever(ahem,never) abandon my fish, it would be like abandoning my child
> 
> I like your "betta allowance" I'm actually going to start one of those too as I'm a impulse buyer when it comes to my fish(only the best for him! TVT) and I plan on saving for college so I can;t be spending all of the extra money I have ^.^'
> 
> How do you tell if a betta is blind though? I wonder if he was like that all of his life, how quickly did he adjust to his new surroundings?


Yes she was a piece of work, never again on her. I could never abandon a single baby i have. And my betta allowance is actually 60$ which my boyfriend sets for me because i can spend 200$ on betta's in a day. So he does not like me not having rent money...and as for my blind thor, his one eye is actually completely clouded over, and the vet (am i the only person who takes fish to vets?) said he was probably in an accident when he was young. Love him though!!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Daily log: Platies, spawn's, and scum.*

Hey guy's,

First i want to start out by saying that i appericate everyone who come's on here and read's what im saying and actually replies, it makes me happy to know people love my betta's as much as i do.

So if you guy's have read my post, i got two platies yesterday from walmart after making a rookie mistake and listening to the petstore employee. Ha! gets me everytime. Well these two 2 dollar fish have turned into 20$ fish real quick. So let me tell you how much i love fish. I have happy 18 betta's, 5 ten gallon's, 2 2.5 gallon's, and 4 1 gallons. In my fish habit its been about 2 grand in fish. (Could be more, rough estimate) and have traveled up to 2 hours for fish. With this said, i wouldn't trade them for the world. 

But back to my latest adventure. Yuki baby (My new female koi) is now sitting in a cycled breeder tank with Genji (My koi male) so excited to see her. trying to get these two to breed so fingers crossed. They are so cute together, and i will be so happy for babies. 

Now those dreaded platies. Now most of you will be like "Why didnt you take them back" That answer is simple, they're from walmart. That is almost CERTAIN DEATH. so they stayed. so i went to my stepmom's today to see her. When im there she offers me this 10 gallon tank, and i jump at the oppurtuinity. Little did i know it would take me 3 hours to scrubb the thing clean. It was filthy!!! But it was fully stalked. a bubble led volcano, a filter, and air pump, led hood, and decor. So after three hours to my suprise it all worked!! So i treat water get it going ( They were sitting in a cycled tank i barrowed from a friend) Dumped the water out and bang! New tank. It was like christmas. So three happy babies and A horny koi couple. Today has been successful.


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Spawn, logs, and microworms*

Hey guys sorry I haven't posted in so long, I'm been having some personal nonbetta related problems with my boyfriend and my roommates. But here we go.

My betta allowance is already blown for the next two months. But good news is, genji and Yuki have spawned! And I now have probably a little over 100 5 day old betta babies! That in its self has been so amazing. I never thought I'd actually accomplish that, but here we are. Babies!!! I was so unprepared it seemed. My micro worms didn't come in the mail in time because my boyfriends bank denied the charge (new banks are always fun) then I had an amonia spike so high in my tank the day they hatched I was lucky they were alive! Right now though the temp is at 80, the amonia is a .25, and they are happily feeding on micro worms. That being said, genji is so depressed now and exhausted from the care of the babies I'd though he'd die

The mother Yuki though has done a lot of color change from white to black and she looks so freaking gorgeous. I hope the babies have this too because omg is it pretty. Other than that though it's my usual betta care. Not much to say on that. I found out why my tanks ph has always been high. My tap water is a 8.3!! I won't even drink it anymore. 

Hoping to spawn thor with snow (my all white female) soon. Have some really cute babies but I have to focus on this set first. Ugh I want them to grow up and see their pretty koi colors!!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Working with my passion*

Hey guys,

So today has been great. I have my police exam later today and I had an interview at petco for their aquatics specialist position. And we'll fingers crossed but I'm pretty sure I got the job. And with that said I'm so excited, because my passion for bettas actually paid off. Like, everyone out there who loves bettas or any aquatics remember this isn't just a hobby it's a lifestyle. And you can go far with it. 

Plus discount on fish stuff so hey, betta allowance will go alot farther


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*The mystery of the koi betta*

Hey guys, been a rough few days. But lets get this updated. So babies are swimming wonderfuly. I got some snails growing in my tank which i though at first was bad but ive been assured that they are just going to help the tank and the babies. So thats good. I also have some bugs growing in the water now, which i find hilarious because i mistook them for shrimp at first and freaked out. But apparently (from what my lps told me) they will just eat the dead plants on the bottom. So that helps things. 
We also had some tragedy as well this week. My little guppy died that was in with my platies, over night they had attacked him and i found him all pecked up in the morning. It was so sad but we gave him a proper burial. I also had gotten a betta in the mail from another user on here, and because the ignorance of the postal system, the bag had popped and little jon snow was no more. I have never cried harder in public in my life. 
And then my darling baby yuki (Mother of my fry and my little koi female) has began to change all her color. She now turning almost all black!! she used to be almost all white...she very young though so apparently its common but im not enjoying the coloring as much as her old ones, but shes still my baby!!!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Bettas brighting my life*

So I want to talk about something a little more serious today. 

So I don't hide the fact that I suffer from crippling depression and bipolar disorder from anyone in my life. I'm not ashamed, but it's hard some days. I wake up and I don't know if the monster inside me is going to be awake and try to ruin every relationship I have. But when I sit in my aquarium room, I feel peace. Now I have registered companion animals, and a loving boyfriend, but there is nothing quiet like watching 19 bettas all happily swimn all over the tank at you, as if saying "hey mom I'm so happy to see you" 

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I know I have had some horrible days, and my fish just brighten my day. I love them all so much, and I appreciate every little moment with them. 

Anyways brighter note, here's my new fish of the day!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*I think I'm at 22 now...*

So the fact that I have so many bettas is exhausting sometimes. I mean itshe 22 now!! I'm not called a betta hoarder for nothing. Sigh, so I got this beautiful 30 gallon tank for 15$ of over the weekend, and I'm really happy about that so I can move my platies and my rummy noses to the BIG BOY TANK. That's what we're calling it. I love it sor, but we're in the process of moving again and it's gonna be a bitch to move. Ugh...my poor poor boyfriend!! 

The babies though are huge!! And fat...I feed them bbs 3 times a day and they gobble them up!! I'm so excited to see them grow and get color! I also got 3 new betta's over the weekend. Deadpool, rose, and blue bada. Rose and blue were my birthday fish (I'm so werid 19 and asking for betta fish for my birthday!!) They are so pretty though!! I'm so happy. 

Thor and yuki both caught a nasty fungal infection over the weekend as well and I had to treat them. It was so scary I thought they'd die! But they're both in their own tank swimming away!! My walmart betta also had his fins rot begin to come back so he's being treated as well. Ugh my babies!! Mama gets so upset when you're sick...

I'm also thinking though of trying out doing my own online betta selling. My mentor has a licence to sell from over seas and he's where I bought my rose and deadpool from so if you guys are interested let me know!!


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*Daily life or a fish hoarder*

So I figured today I will talk about how my days usually go.

So today was blood worms day. My bettas favorite days. So what happens is that I take a few blood worms frozen tabs and defrost them. Then I give each betta a few tasty healthy blood worms to eat. They usually love it. Then it's on to the fry, I get my turkey baster and grab my fry some healthy bbs. I then squirt it into the net, and gently swish it into their tank. I also had a molly give birth to 45 babies yesterday so theyou now get the healthy shrimp. Then it's drop some flakes in the community and start water changes. I only have 1 5 gallon bucket. So this takes about an hour to drain all the tanks for water changes. 

Then if it's not blood worms day repeat feeding before bed. It's quiet a process.


----------



## bettafishsam (May 23, 2016)

*The many adventures of a betta addict*

So, let's do a little updating I guess on how life has been. I haven't been on for awhile because well, life gave me lemons and I didn't have the sugar to make lemonade. 

That said, here's what's going on. My move was sucessful, only 2 fish died (S.I.P BETTY AND ROSE) But since then things have been rocky. Starters the community tank had ich, and boy did that suck. I've lost almost all the community tank, except 5 adult platies, a pleco, a khuli loach, and 1 baby platy I've named trooper. God that was aweful. I've never cried so hard in my life. 

My koi spawn though is showing lots of red. I'm really happy about that. They are about a month and a half now. Getting so big! I love them so much. I feed them frozen bbs now, and they are thriving. 

I recently got a new betta named captain waffles, he had such bad fin rot he looked like a crown tail. I was livid and took him home. He's doing great in a 10 gallon now. So proud of him.

I've also started work so I'm super exhausted when I get home. Bleh


----------

