# An Unexpected Adventure



## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

This is my story on how I came across the specialist fish in the world.

Last christmas I received among my gifts a pet smart gift card with a betta on it. Cool, I thought. Now I can get a fish or something. I went to the store and promptly went to the betta section. I saw this cute little vailtail swimming around in his tiny plastic prion. he was bigger, around 5 months old. Blue and green, with cute little brown eyes. I fell in love and spent the next 150$ on a 3.5 gallon tank and everything else I could think of. A decent petstore employee told me to get conditioner and all sorts of stuff for his water, which was nice. I got deco to make his place look just like a scene from the Hobbit. And then I named him Sam. Like Samwise Gamgee, from the Lord Of the Rings. I loved reading and that name just felt right for my little buddy. 
Anyways, I got home and he has been here since! He is a little fighter. He has had fin rot 3 different times, this strange illness that left him with a twist in his spine, and gets a little lethargic every time I clean his water, but I think I am figuring it out okay now. 

In this thread I’ll post updates and hopefully pictures about my Unexpected Journey with Sam. 

As of now I am thinking about more fish. I am pretty sure I am going to leave Sam alone in his 3.5 since he is pretty delicate at this stage form all his incidents. 
Thinking about getting a fancy betta in a 5 or ten gallon, maybe adding some guppies or ADFs? 
Ether that or a hamster.;-)

More soon!!!!!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Todays Update
sam is having a good day today. Some days are worse then others with his spine, but today he is swimming around and greeting me when I come into my room! 
I am going to try to gets pictures up as soon as I can.
I really want to get another tank, maybe a 5-10 gallon and put a new betta in it. I want to get a male. If I end up with a ten gallon I will put in three adfs and a a few guppies as long as the male is nice and calm. I would upgrade Sam’s tank, but its best for him to be alone with his deformities and not be stressed out. Maybe someday a snail would be okay. Pretty sure that wouldn’t bug him.
Yesterday I cleaned out his tank. He got mad at me because I moved his mountain/castle thing around. heheh.

Any ideas on what breed of bettas like company the most?
Thanks!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

yesterday I went shopping and got a 5-10 gallon waterfall filter for my tank. It didn’t work with the hood. I discovered a small crack in the back of my plastic 3.5 gallon, so I am for sure upgrading now. Thinking about a 5 or ten gallon. Once Sam gets settled i with the new one I will be adding ADfs and possibly guppies, depending on the size of tank i go for.
While shopping at the Petco I noticed a BEAUTIFUL red white and blue butterfly betta. He looked like the fourth of july on a fish! I wish I could’ve gotten him. Maybe if he is still there when I go to upgrade I could convince my mom that I need him.....

Which is easier to care for, ADfs or Guppies???


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Hey  I can't wait to see pics of Sam! He sounds really lucky to have you. I don't know if there is a tail type that likes company more than the others, they're all betta splendens and their personalities vary wildly. All I can suggest is to try to interact with them at the store, I got quite the spunky CoTxCT by checking at the store for the wiggliest. 

Guppies are not recommended to stay with bettas because of their colorful finnage and size. Bettas can easily overtake them. If you want to have the 5-10g with a different species and NO betta then you can do guppies, but know they are insane breeders and will take over your world with babies. 

If you want a hamster I don't advise you keep it in a glass tank unless you get a good grid top for it but even then the humidity can build pretty quick and cause URI's. A 3-5 storey bar cage is great for them, they are really quite busy creatures and travel great distances at night. 

The tri-color betta is a pretty popular color morph, especially in the states because of the July 4th thing  Hopefully he is still there next time!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Laki,
I went and got a ten gallon, which looks huge on my dresser. I went to a different petstore so I didn’t get to buy the betta, unfortunately. With the ten gallon I am thinking about dividing it and getting another betta or ADfs and maybe a different type of fish. Do you know of any fish that don’t die like crazy? My mom had a 20 gallon for a while with guppies and yes, they did breed like rabbits. 
I have three cats so I was thinking a hamster in a ten gallon could be better then in bars, but I forgot about humidity and stuff. I have a large cage with bars so maybe I will keep that for if/when i get a hamster.
Pictures soon! I have been trying to get pictures for a couple days...Do you know how to get them onto here with a mac?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Yay 10 gallon fun!! If you want to divide it then you're not going to be adding fish other than bettas as each section would have 5 gallons and most small fish prefer to shoal (thus requiring more space). But you could plop a trio of frogs on each side if you have a super filter. Maybe 2 frogs per side.. You would have to aqadvisor it (put in your tank dimensions, filter and live stock)

I'm a Microsoft consumer, I have no love or understanding for Apple products, sorry!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Yeah If I divid it then i would only have Sam and the other betta +Frogs.
So far the filter is working outgreat1 Sam is managing the current fine. I was worried that after month with no filter he would not be able to handle it, but so far so good. He loves the new tank.
Apple computers are great for everything BUT posting pictures. My phone is broken, so the computer is my only intenet connection right now. Working on it.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Okay, sooooo....
Long story.
I am getting five guppies and five endlers.
I can’t get frogs (Long story)
I don’t want the divider for fear of tragedy, so here we are!
Pictures of guppies


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Picture


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Really close to what Sam looks like. he has a little more green in him, but the face is perfect.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Update!
I was gone for a week and left Sam in my fathers’ care. When i returned, his fin (Which had a small tear) Was healed up, his top fin had gotten super long, and the crook in his back was completely gone. I need to have my dad take care of him more often, apparently.

Now that I am going to be home for a while with school starting, i can start thinking about where to get guppies. I am going to start out with a herd of five or six guppies, then add endlers (Or neon tetras if I can’t find endlers) when the guppies are settled in.

Has anyone gotten guppies from Petco? Were they okay?


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

Tank cleaning today. meh.

heres what my guppies look like. The males fins were really nipped frm neon tetras, but they have pretty much grown back.


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