# Rescue Betta - *Pic Heavy*



## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

I posted a thread in the care section for treatment ideas before, but I thought I'd start a photo thread since I have so many pictures. 

For those that didn't see the other thread, I rescued a betta this past Saturday (11/3/12) from my LFS. 

This boy has been at the store for over a month now, and every time I go in he looks the same. They've apparently pulled him and tried to treat him a couple times, but his condition has stayed about the same. He did manage to get a little bit of weight on his bones from the first time I saw him, but he still looks pretty bad. 

When I was in there on Saturday, I happened to catch the main betta lady while she was working. I causally mentioned (after chatting for a bit) that if she would be willing to drop the price (he was still marked at $11.99), I'd be willing to take this guy home. She told me that if I wanted him, she would give him to me since nothing they have tried has helped and no one would probably buy such a sickly looking betta anyway. 

Since having him in my care, his energy has increased dramatically. He is eating everything I give him, and always swims up to the front with a little wiggle when I check on him. 

I wish I would have taken a picture of him when he was in the little tank at the store - he was in the back corner floating sideways at the top of the water. When I first looked through the bettas, I thought he had finally passed after suffering for so long, but as you can see, he is still very much alive. 

I'm thinking of naming him Kaneq - which means hoarfrost. I got on to the frost/snow theme when I saw the white/silver iridescent color on the tip of his tail. I'm definitely open to name suggestions though! 

In the bag from the store: (the black X just means I didn't have to pay for him since they usually write the price on the bag)



















First Night: 



















24 hrs later:










48 hrs later (today):




























Video - he ate a whole pellet today!

It'll be very interesting to see what his colors do as he gets healthier!


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Wow hes a cutie! Congrats on ur rescue! Once he gets a little weight on him and those fins grow out imagine what a beauty he will be!


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

Congrats on your rescue! He looks like he is going to be a looker :BIGwinky:


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## Fin Fancier (Aug 11, 2012)

Awe he's really cute. Glad you got to take him home and give him a chance to heal up.


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Thanks everyone!

He is actually the most personable fish that I have right now. Immediately when he sees me he starts to do his happy wiggle at the front of his little tank. I can't believe how much energy he got so quickly!


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

Keep up the good work and can't wait to see more pictures!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

I might have to take (and post) pics of him daily if his color is going to change this fast all the time! I almost can't believe this is the same fish I brought home. I think I need to come up with a new name for him now though. ;-)




















Can I eat that?


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Wow he is beautiful! And yes we would love picture updates daily! As for names i like griffin and ceasar.


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Wow i just realized that ur username is gryphon, weird... I didnt mean to do that!


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## PoseidonsMaid (Nov 6, 2012)

*Thank you!!*

Enjoying seeing your rescued boy. Very pretty! My new betta (my second betta to enslave me) is Poseidon and I've had him for about a week now. He has made similar changes to this guy, and it is amazing to see how much better they look with good, reasonable care and TLC. Kudos to you, would love to enjoy more photos. You've also inspired me to take more photos of Poseidon.


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

He is looking so pretty!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Gracie8890 said:


> Wow i just realized that ur username is gryphon, weird... I didnt mean to do that!


Haha yeah, Gryphon is the name of my blue and yellow HM boy. I do like the name Caesar though! I'll add it to my 'names to consider' list ;-)


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Congrats! Wow. He's so nice. 

Imagine what the store was doing to "treat" him. What he needed was someone to love him, give him clean warm water and good food! Great job


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

Omg, he is soo gorgeous, look at that face, I love that pic..Can I eat that? so cute..you can see the changes in him already..you are doing a great job, and Congrats on your rescue..he will be fine..TLC and warm water, are indeed the best medicine..keep up the good work..look forward to his complete transformation!!


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

How about these for names:
Beau, chale , duece , tiger , atlas , badge , davinci, hamlet, finn , marble, mo, moose , thats all i have right now! Maybe you could name him after someone or thing. I named my rescue after a "lucky" event that happened right after i bought him- when i got two orange crushes out of the soda machine instead of one , so i named him crush!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Laki said:


> Imagine what the store was doing to "treat" him.


Probably not much. I like my LFS in that they usually take care of their fish (since that is really all they do, it is a fish store) but even so, their bettas get sub-standard care since they are still in little jars on a display. 

I did ask what they had tried, and pretty much it was to move him to the 1 gallon tank he was floating in, and then medicate him (but I don't remember what she said they medicated with). All I've done is give him clean, warm water and regular amounts of quality food. It's amazing what proper care can do for a fish.


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## sunstar93 (Sep 6, 2012)

His colors remind me faintly of a koi fish. Look at those eyes! I bet he's going to be gorgeous!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Gracie8890 said:


> How about these for names:
> Beau, chale , duece , tiger , atlas , badge , davinci, hamlet, finn , marble, mo, moose , thats all i have right now! Maybe you could name him after someone or thing. I named my rescue after a "lucky" event that happened right after i bought him- when i got two orange crushes out of the soda machine instead of one , so i named him crush!


I like your naming system! I'm terrible at giving fish names. They'll be in my house for a month or more before I'm like "I should probably call you something other than 'unnamed fishy 2'" 

What do you think about the name Maestoso? It means "in a majestic manner" in Italian (I think)


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

sunstar93 said:


> His colors remind me faintly of a koi fish. Look at those eyes! I bet he's going to be gorgeous!


To me, his colors right now remind me of a child that got into his mother's makeup and played with the red lipstick (getting it everywhere of course) ;-)


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

and so the photo journal begins... 

Day 5


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

love the lipstick


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Gryphon said:


> I like your naming system! I'm terrible at giving fish names. They'll be in my house for a month or more before I'm like "I should probably call you something other than 'unnamed fishy 2'"
> 
> What do you think about the name Maestoso? It means "in a majestic manner" in Italian (I think)


I actually love it! I the italian language, there names and words just roll off the tongue nicely.. Maestoso. And he is looking goood! I wish crush would color up that fast!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Sorry for the long break between updates! It's been a crazy couple of days.. how did it get to be wednesday already? 

Anyway, here are some more pics! 

Day 6 










Day 9










Day 11


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

He is very pretty. I love his metallic coloring.

What was his issue? just his head turned weird?
I love seeing the photos of his color coming in.


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Love it! Im in love with those eyes! And im seeing new growth on his fins! Keep it up! Did u decide on maestoso?


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## 5150wicd4fish (Oct 28, 2012)

Very nice pics...I'm jealous!  May I ask, what type of camera you have? I just want a good camera for Christmas so I can take decent pics..


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

When I got him it looked like he had a bit of a spinal deformity, but I think that was just because he was emaciated. Since he has gained weight, I haven't noticed any problems with his spine or any issues swimming. When I got him, he had problems swimming (he just floated sideways at the top of his tank), was super lethargic and clamped, and his fins were in shreds. 

With proper care, it's been less than 2 weeks and he has gained weight and his fins are starting to grow back. He has also colored up like crazy. 

In the pictures from today he was moving around a lot and flaring, so most of the pics I got are blurry ones of him looking sideways. These couple pics were the ones in focus. ;-)


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

5150wicd4fish said:


> Very nice pics...I'm jealous!  May I ask, what type of camera you have? I just want a good camera for Christmas so I can take decent pics..


I just use a Nikon Coolpix s6100 - it takes awesome pics for being a point and shoot. I think it proves that you don't need a super fancy camera to take good photos!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Gracie8890 said:


> Love it! Im in love with those eyes! And im seeing new growth on his fins! Keep it up! Did u decide on maestoso?


The new fin growth is so exciting to see! He is a little spunky guy too! I'm slightly concerned that he is going to tear his new growth by flaring at every little thing he thinks moves, but I guess if it makes him kinda happy... :roll:

And yes, I think so. I've been calling him that so I guess it's sticking! ;-)


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Awesome i really like that name, i might name my next betta that! He sounds like a spunky, happy little man!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Here are some more pics! 

He was caught partly in shadow in the first pic, but it shows how much his fins are getting metallic! It was super obvious this morning how shiny his fins are now. ;-) It also shows up in the other two pics, but the light didn't catch the color as well. 

Day 13




























Look at that cool bubble nest!


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

Wow, he is looking beautiful! You're awesome for rescuing him!! You should show these pics to your LFS and see their face!


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Oh wow he is a beauty and so lucky you got him and gave him a nice home !!!!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Haha I took pics in to my LFS this afternoon and it seemed like the betta lady was relieved that she picked the right person to send him home with. When she first saw me she asked if he was still alive, so I had to show off pics of how well he is doing.


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## Cez (Nov 13, 2012)

That's so cool! You've done a wonderful job with him and he's looking fantastic. Well done!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Great job, Look at those bubbles! wow.


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Thank you! He has so much energy that he does laps in his 1gal hospital tank. I think it might be time here pretty soon to upgrade him to a larger tank since he is doing so well.


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

Photo Update: Day 24

I haven't had much news about this guy, other than giving him time to grow his fins in. He eats like a beast and is a speed demon, but those are amazing characteristics for him. ;-) It took forever to get these semi-decent shots (4!) out of 100 something photos... all the others are half blurred since he was rocketing around his tank so much. 

I had moved him to a slightly larger tank for recovery, but I definitely think it is time for a tank with more horizontal swimming space. Maybe that'll be his christmas present. :-D


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## Dmsantana (Nov 15, 2012)

Yeah he reminds me of a Koi!!!


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

He looks so big!!!!


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## Gryphon (Aug 24, 2012)

He has grown a lot since I got him, but he is still on the smaller side for a betta. I don't know if he will be smaller since he was emaciated/sick, but compared to my other boys he is a little waif of a thing. His fins are getting nice and big though!


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