# What's your story?



## Foisair (Aug 3, 2011)

So I thought I'd start a thread where we can tell our stories about how we first got into bettas. Or as some might say, how we got bit by the betta bug. I know sometimes these stories can be quite lengthy, but that's the fun of it. I'll go first.

It all started at work for me. I was at my desk and I remember how drab everything looked. So then, I decided I wanted a betta. At this point I knew literally nothing about them. So I had the common misconception that a betta in a bowl on my desk would be okay. Now because this was involving a live animal, I thought I'd think about it a bit rather than do the impulse buy thing. (Did that once with a ferret. Did not end how I'd have liked.) I shared this new found desire with a close friend coworker. He mentioned how other coworkers had had fish at their desks in the past and that he was all for it. 

A couple weeks had passed and I had done a little research into how much a tank and supplies would be and how much maintenance it would take. After deciding that it would cost more than I should really spend and be more work than I really wanted to do, I talked myself out of it. I didn't really need a fish anyhow right?

So a little while later, I'm at work and it's my birthday. Afore mentioned coworker goes out for lunch and comes back in with a beautiful teal and black veiltail male and a 1 gallon cube for him to live it! Imagine my surprise. Next thing I knew, I was holding the little plastic cup staring at my new, scared friend while my coworker quickly set up his cube.

Since then, I've had two other bettas; a red veiltail and my blue, black and while marble deltatail. I have also upgraded to a 2 gallon tank with heater, filter and live plants. I've also had the chance to return the favor to my coworker and got him a young red halfmoon. This has been quite a journey for me and is quickly turning into an obsession. (This forum isn't helping in that regard.) My only regret is I wish that I had found this forum before now and maybe my first two friends might have lasted a little longer. 

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I can't wait to read yours.


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## Eris Harmonia (Jul 17, 2011)

Well, one of my friends at school got a betta named Collin. It was fun to hear about her fish, and when he died of columnaris, she mentioned that her second fish, Ezra, had a spazzy personality. She keeps hers in a filtered but unheated 3-gallon with weekly 100% water changes, better than most new fishkeepers who don't look up proper care.

I was interested in the idea of a relatively low-maintenance pet with a personality. Feeding twice a day and twice-weekly water changes... not a problem for me.

So, a while later, I managed to talk my parents into letting me get a betta... signed up here and bought most of my supplies in advance, and then pranced off to the Petsmart to look, knew I'd be able to wait or try a different store if they didn't have the perfect fish, ready to talk myself out of one that was not quite right for me.

That was when I saw the blue-violet mustard gas butterfly halfmoon with pretty yellow/blue/white banded fins who is extremely silly and clueless.

And that's why I have Ginji. He developed ich within 24 hours of coming home, but luckily this forum had info on what to do about that, and he's all better, happy, hyper, and making bubblenests on every available surface, including his filter.


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## obiwansolo18 (Aug 8, 2011)

I have always had a fondness for fish. I was sitting in my apartment one day and was like I need something. So I was thinking fish tank I love fish anyway. So then it came down to what fish would survive my move if I decided to move and did a little research(wish I did a bit more). Figured out a betts would be able to survive a move and though they need some care it's not hard. So I got a female veil tale and she is beatiful, and my fiancé got a male veil tale. Her boy didn't make it sad to say. I moved into a bigger place and figured I get a tank and a few friends for my girl. Unfortanetly, she didn't play well with others. So she has her own little place and I now have 9 girl sorority.


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

I had gotten $20 for my birthday, and wandered into the petstore. I basically had an "hallelujah" moment when I saw the bettas. I'd never seen them before, and so I found a beautiful royal blue VT boy. Sadly, he was my first and I hadn't really researched my new venture ... he'd lived in a bowl for most of his life, but also had a 15g tank with two fantail goldfish, to finally having a semi decent 2 gallon home of his own. He lived for a good solid three years in everything imaginable. 

That was about ten years ago. Since then, I've had many bettas, and I've smartened up considerably. I love these fishies dearly and deeply, and I think no matter where I am I will have at least one. Right now, I have eleven males . . . I used to have female sororities but tank maintenance was too much for me. The girls in my life are now gone, but I am always looking. Bettas keep me busy, that's for sure!


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## Leeniex (Aug 14, 2011)

My 10 year old son wanted a fish, so I bought him a betta. I never let him near the fish. MY FISH, LOL!;-)


I raised guppies as a kid and have wanted another tank forever. Now I'll stick to Bettas I think and just put them all over the house.


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## hmckin20 (Jul 30, 2011)

I'd been in college for a while and I missed my dog, so I wanted to get a betta to take back to college with me. I'd wanted one for a few weeks before I got home and a few weeks after it. Finally I dragged my mom to petsmart and talked her into it. We got a little red veiltail and a bowl with some gravel and food, and I named him Harvey Charlemagne Fitzgerald. Unfortunately I didn't know anything about bettas so he didn't live the happiest or healthiest of lives and finally gave up on me late June. At that time I'd bought Pierce and they were living in a divided 2 Gal. Then Flair came along, and when Flair started showing the same symptoms as Fitz before he died, I decided to look around and get some help. Thus, I found this forum and expanded to three ten gallon tanks and six happy bettas.


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## Norichan (Jul 16, 2011)

I. Wanted. Fish. Five dead shubunkins and excessive crying later, the boyfriend cringed when I brought home a 1.8 gallon filtered bowl and declared that I was getting a betta. Bettas are low maintenance, I told him. They aren't delicate like goldfish. So the next time there was a trip to one of the cities where you can actually find a PetCo in Maine, I went.

It was with an elderly lady from my church. I spend a lot of time with her. She was going downcountry for a doctor's appointment, and said that of course we could stop at the pet store. After carefully examining all of the bettas, I settled on a simple, but striking red VT male with classic good looks- Mongkut, the King of Siam. (Her son, who is in his forties, kept calling him 'Mon-COOKED!' and threatening to eat him... fear not, he was joking). We all went out to lunch afterward, and Mongkut sat on the table so he wouldn't overheat in the car. An adventurous start for the little king.

So for a couple weeks he lived contentedly in the 1.8. It is a VERY shiny bowl. But then he started to look listless. He wouldn't eat, he just sat on the bottom pouting, and no water changes or other conditions would please him. Desperate to perk him up, I put him in the vacant 16g and we left for several hours to go to ANOTHER pet store in ANOTHER city, to see what they had to offer (both of these stores are about 45 mins away). 

When we came back, he was plenty perky, and showed his first signs of aggression and personality by flaring at a torii gate I had in the tank. I can't even describe how much he hated this thing, but it kept him from being bored, so it stayed. Eventually he lost a fight with it- split his fin from flaring too much. But by that point, I hopelessly adored the guy. Many other betta-games evolved, and betta playtime became a regular part of my day. I'd stick a mirror in the tank, or put a button on a string and let him chase it. Pretty soon Mongkut had charmed the boyfriend too. He's coming to school with me, Cryo is coming with the boyfriend, and I think I see a sorority in my future. Betta love forever!


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## Litlover11 (Aug 1, 2011)

I had just come home from college and didn't really want to go back. I thought a pet would make me feel better. Everyone told me that a Betta would be the easiest to take care of, but I wasn't too excited about Betta fish, because every one I had ever seen had been in a tiny bowl and always looked boring and slow. But I figured they were the best choice. So, like every other animal I have ever adopted, I did tons of research, and I found out that Bettas need so much more than most people realize and that they are actually very active. So, I went out and bought a 3 gallon aquarium kit. Then it was time to pick out my fishy friend. The first time I saw Touchstone, I thought he might be dead. I picked him up to make sure, and he "woke up" and did a little dance for me! It was love at first sight. Two years later and Touchstone is still alive, although not as pretty thanks to mistakes I made. I also now have Ares, a beautiful blue and red veiltail, and would have many more Bettas if my parents would let me!


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Well, I wanted a hamster for my 14th birthday... So my parents thought it would be funny to get me a betta and name it hamster *rolls eyes*. 
He lived for about 1.5 years in a 1 gal bowl (I know, I know) 
Since then, I hadn't gotten another betta. But when college came around, I really wanted a pet to keep me company while I studied- so a betta it was! 
A gorgeous royal blue VT and I named him Xio Lan.  
He lived for 2 years in a 2 gal critter keeper. Since then, I've really gotten into bettas (I have 8 now) and I'm even breeding.(CT spawn at 2 weeks and HMPK x VT spawn at 3 months) ^^ 

Betta lurve for ebah!


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## LaLaLeyla (Aug 17, 2011)

I remember being young and going to a friends birthday party. And instead of giving gift bags they gave us betta fish! 
I got a adorable purple betta fish that I named Betty. Original name right? xD

He was in his little 2 gallon filtered tank, we used to house 2 gold fish we got from the carnival ( did not work out well xD)

That little guy lived for years! And when me and my family went on vacation the person we had to watch him made him die. All I remember was coming home with tons of pellets floating in his water and the water being really cloudy. And there was his little body floating at the top D:


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## Sekutur (Jul 13, 2011)

Some great stories mines not as impressive.

I had bought a tank with the express view of getting into inverts, as my parents had just bought a tank for fish.
Being a trainee science teacher I thought it would be interesting to try something new. In the family fish store my dad goes to me and my GF walked past the Betta's a stunning wall of smallish tankswith jut one betta per tank. As we walked past this one betaa started flaring and going for the jangling keyring I had in my hand.

Right there I changed my plans and now we've just bought an even bigger tank for him and his gang of tetras to move into.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

I got my first betta Neon when i was 11 in 6th grade. he was kept in a 1 gallon filtered tank which i cleaned once a week. ever since then I have always had a betta. Thenn for a bit I didnt have any but decided about 5-6 months ago I wanted a betta again. So I bought a male and a female, I named them fred and ethel!! Ethel passed a week later but Fred is still alive and doing well. I had been thinking of getting a hamster (im 19 and never was allowed a hamster until now >.<) and had done alot of research on them, I dont remember how but I found this site and learned how to properly take care of bettas so fred got moved to a 5 gallon tank, and soon after I thought to myself A sorority would be cool. So I asked my mom and she said she would rather have me get the sorority. so that was 5 more fish. then while at petco getting my girls I saw a beautiful black and yellow guy who i had to have, bringing me up to 7 fish. Then the petsmart dragon thread was created and im sure you can guess what happened :roll: so then i was up to 8 fish. then 3 weeks ago at my lfs I found a pretty little boy, who i had to bring home making for 9 fish, then 2 weeks ago i decided i wanted a tank with live plants to i went to petsmart and didnt even look at the fish i was so proud when i hear my boyfriend say hey hun look at this guy and now I have 10 fish. And I love them all. I just got my room down to 4 tanks, 2 five gallons and 2 ten gallons, one holds my sorority and the other is divided 3 ways


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I was 14 or 15 and I really wanted a dog but my parent's kept saying no. One day (after dragging my Mom out of bed on a Saturday morning to go to a Petsmart Adoption event) I was pouting as we were walking out (dogless) and I asked "Can I at least get a fish?"

She said Ok and we went to look. All the tanks were too expensive (I originally wanted a Black Moore Goldfish). The petsmart employee directed us to the Bettas. I hadn't ever really paid much attention to them.. I'd seen them in peoples homes as the ones that "eat the roots of plants" but didn't really care about them.

I picked out a pretty purpley, blue/red one. I named him Potato Gonzalez. Along with him I got a small betta tank (.5 or 1 gallon) that came with purple gravel and a little plastic plant. 

After a few weeks I noticed he didn't do much. Went to petsmart to ask if he was sick and they said he might be cold. Bought a stupid LED light thing that was supposed to warm the tank up (derr.. LED don't get very warm at all). But since Gonzalez always stayed right up under the light I figured it was keeping the tank warm.

About a year after I got him he died  I was super sad because he'd been my first pet (as in not a "family" pet). My friend tried to make me feel better by buying me a new one.. who I hated. He was not the same fish and I did not want him. That fish turned out to be "Fish".. and for those who have been around here long enough will know how much I grew to love that fish.. he was and always will be my most favorite Betta.

Fast forward about 2 years and I have another betta, Freddie Mercury. Freddie's tail mysteriously starts dissappearing and I stumble onto a betta forum... and the rest is history.


Now I have anywhere from 10 to 20 tanks running and anywhere from 15-30+ bettas, member of the IBC and my local chapter (Georgia Betta Breeders Association), spend more time reading about bettas than the law allows, and am working towards starting my own lines and showing my fish.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Well hm... 
I've always been an animal lover. With my family I've kept cats, dogs, hamsters, ferrets, rats, tadpoles, pond goldfish, newts, hermit crabs, and even a betta or two. There's probably more to that list, but those are all I can think of right offhand. Anyway, I had just become an "adult", and had sorta moved out. I felt weird not having an animal to care for. And in my vulnerable state a friend and I went to Wal-Mart at like 2 in the morning. We were browsing, and I remembered they had a fish section, and I very much remember enjoying looking at the bettas on the shelf way back when I was little. So we figured "what the heck" and we looked. When I was a kid they had nothing but the common blue and red VTs. But what surprised me was the pathetic looking, oddly colored ball of fish sitting up front. I looked at him, he looked at me, we connected, and I ended up bringing home this little orange nightmare that I named Winston 
Here's a horrid cell phone pic from when I first brought him home: 









And with a lot of TLC, spoiling rotten, and research on this forum, he turned into this:









And that turned into around 14 more total. lol

I love this hobby, I LUB my fishies, and I'm glad I stumbled upon Winston that day


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## Fredthebetta (Aug 8, 2011)

Hey all, I just got my first Betta about a month ago. I actually went looking for a couple goldfish to have on my desk at home. When I saw the Betta's I instantly fell in love with their beautiful colors and fins. My daughter had a Betta at her dads house and talked it up all the time. (She's 6) I thought I would give one a try on my desk and he is wonderful to watch when the stress starts rolling!!

He had me a little scared yesterday though. He was just hanging around and not swimming. Thought I was gonna lose him. With help from others on this site, it turns out he just needed a bigger home. I got one for him last night and today, so far, he's been moving a lot more!


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## Moshann (Aug 7, 2011)

I got my first betta at the end of July. I was doing some research to find out what tropical fish I was going to add to my new larger tank. We don't see bettas a lot in the UK (well, not my bit of the UK anyway) and I was fascinated with the pictures I kept finding on sites like this and also the accounts people were giving about betta personalities etc. 

Anyway after moving my tropicals into their new home I was conveniently left with a spare 5 gallon tank plus filter, heater etc. I found online betta sellers in the UK and although I was a bit concerned about fishes being sent by mail my new friend arrived safely and is sleeping on his silk plant as I write. 

I'm so glad I discovered these gorgeous fish and to be honest if I'd bought the betta first I wouldn't have bought the tropicals and the larger tank at all and then I could have had another betta tank!!!


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

Unlike the majority of people, I was never allowed any sort of pet as a child. No family dog, no family cat, nothing. When I was very little, there was a "turtle craze" among the local Asian community and my grandma came home with 4 baby red eared slider turtles, one for each of her youngest grandchildren (Me, my brother and two cousins). The two went to my cousins and my brother and I got 2. They started out in one of those tiny reptile bowls. Once they outgrew it, they got a bigger tank (I think 30-40G?) that was put on a chest of drawers type thing in our kitchen, IR lamp and everything. Then they got a BIGGER tank, 55-65G and it had to go on a stand. My dad loves symmetrical things so we got a matching tank and stand and put fish in the other one. I don't remember much about that tank other than we had ENORMOUS Tinfoil Barbs when my dad gave up on the hobby (too many deaths, my mom kept getting more for feng shui reasons -_-). Our turtles were given away to this nice man who ADORED them. He had a huge pond for them and let them walk around the place like my dad did.

Fast forward to first year university. Our family had been pet-less for about 5 years-ish. Our animal behaviour lab was giving away goldfish, bettas and zebra danios. Obviously the bettas went first, so I ended up getting two goldfish, Zippo and Blotch. These guys were tinier than tiny. I kept hem comfortably in one of those "Marina Betta Kits" (Now my QT). I changed their water everyday until they got a little bigger. I then asked my dad to help me buy a new tank for them, we came home with my 2.5 Gallon tank (Now my cursed tank) and they lived extremely happily. Since I was in residence, I couldn't get a huge tank for them, I also didn't know any better. After 1 year in residence, I took them home where I commuted to university. They lived or another two years, then Zippo passed away. My mum (ugh) bought me Nigel to keep Blotch company because Blotch would NOT leave Zippo's body alone, and attacked me several times as I tried to scoop it out. Unfortunately Blotch HATED Nigel, chased him around and eventually died as well. My mum (AGAIN) bought Nigel a friend, Dea. They lived in my cursed tank until I moved into my current apartment last year, now they live in an 8 Gallon BiOrb.

My 2.5 Cursed tank was empty, and I didn't like it just hanging around, so I researched what I could fit in there. I found this forum, stalked it for a couple of weeks to gain information, then went to go purchase a Red/Blue Multi-VT with a heater and a new silk plant. I fell in love with him INSTANTLY, if any of you knew me long enough to have read Shimmoo's Memorial, you would know why. He was pretty much like a curious kitten. I was extremely upset after he died 10 days after I got him. 

I decided to put my hobby on hold because I was going on vacation for 2 weeks and didn't want to leave a new betta unattended (Nigel and Dea were fed by boyfriend at the time). I came back, bought a 5 gallon kit and bought HongBo. He was like the puppy I never had as a kid, so active, bright personality, everything. I knew then, I was bitten by the betta bug. My cursed tank was itching at me, sitting there being empty. About 2 months later I bought MeiLin home. My tanks were full and I was satisfied. A few months later again, MeiLin's tank started leaking, so I temporarily fixed it with duct tape and went to get a 3 Gallon, After my neon tetra episode, I hated that tank so I got a copy of my 5 Gallon. 

I had learned about divided tanks and was curious. Lelouch came home after an impulse buy at a Petsmart in the next city over. First it was Lelouch and Lin sharing, then after their incident I made Lelouch and HongBo share. HongBo was too dominant for Lelouch even through a divider so I put HongBo in my cursed tank for the weekend because I couldn't get the dividers to work out well and was running out of ideas. Cursed tank claims HongBo's life. I was devastated. I officially stared calling it my "cursed tank" because it has taken the lives of 4 fish to date. I cried for a week, thinking it was just a bad dream and that I would wake up to find HongBo wiggling at me the next day.

Lelouch and Meilin enjoyed their own 5 Gallons until I fell in love with Skittles and Starburst on Aquabid. It took a lot of guts but I ended up bidding and winning them. I re-split the tanks, got two new hiding places. It felt like FOREVER for them to arrive. I ended up getting Redbeard, a red male CT for my brother in his own 5 Gallon bowfront. Unfortunately Redbeard also passed quickly, like Shimmoo. I returned the body and got Redbeard II (Just call him Redbeard, though) and a couple of live pants.

Skittles and Starburst FINALLY arrived and I was acclimating them to their tanks. A few days later, I ended up getting a 1Gal cube and brought Mali home. Sadly, Lelouch started mysteriously acting emo, and passed away 2 days later. I didn't have time to mourn him (he has no memorial on this forum) because I had to go up to my grandma's that weekend and was very stressed. 

Now, Skittles and Mali share a tank and MeiLin and Starburst share the other.


...That 1 gal cube is starting to stare at me >_>


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## Bettabites94 (Jul 31, 2011)

I actually got my first one in July. I had wanted another fish for a while (I have 2 fantail goldfish) and wanted one that would take too much effort or space. When I went to a fish store with my friend and her dad I saw a bunch of bettas. I knew they didn't take a bunch of space and upon finding a fiery red one I bought him upon impulse  i set him up in my goldfishes former 1 gallon bowl ( I got them as a gift and afterwards realized they needed a much bigger tank) and stump led across this site. After finding out their needs I dug up my hermit crabs old kritter keeper (3gal) as I prepared to move my goldfish into their new even bigger tank to free up the 5 gal for the betta. Unfortunatly he died within the week before I could move him into his big roomy home so my mom took me to petsmart. They only had few selections on veil tails and dragons and my mom showed me two who looked healthy. It was so hard choosing between the two! But I went with draco the veiltail. That night I couldn't get the other poor guy out of my head bc he just had that sad look when I didn't choose him. My mom said no more fish but the next day I went back and bought him and divided the five gal  since then I've also acquired a copper half-moon dragon Rhyu and am restraining myself from buying anymore bc I won't have any money left!lol betta love <3


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Well, I had just lost me Parrot Cichlid, Dunkin, a power outage lasted three days in the area after a bad storm and the whole tank was wipped out (50gal.)
I then moved into an apartment that only allowed 10 gallon tanks (largest) so I put my 30 gal in storage and after some sweet talking, my bf bought me Tihs, who was kept in a .5 gal. shortly after I updated her to a 1 gal becuse she didnt seem happy, after finding this forum (I actally found this forum when I rescued Hercules/bought King) I upgraded Tihs to a 2.5 and now I have 9 bettas and counting


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## FireKidomaru (Jan 24, 2010)

Well I had always wanted some fishes so when I got my third degree black belt I asked for a fish tank with balloon bellied mollies but then I saw this spunky red vt...I put him in this small little tank (because I didn't know better) but I fell in love...like I tAlked to him and watched him and his tank sat right next to my bed...well I was looking around google and found this site and read all about bettas....then I wanted another one....so I got a purple vt...they lived happily until I put a chemical in their water which killed them by accident....I cried for hours..they were great and wonderful friends....when i got the chanch to buy more...I did and more and more and more...they are wonderful companions and I love them


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## Foisair (Aug 3, 2011)

These are all excellent stories. Thank you all for sharing. ^_^


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## Norichan (Jul 16, 2011)

This is a really excellent thread, btw ^^


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## Wolfboy51 (Oct 12, 2011)

I got into betta fish recently, i went to my friends house one day for a couple of hours and he showed me his new betta fish it was a beautiful dark purple crowntail and i fell in love with them from then. I did research on them and came axross this website which gives you every piece of info ever needed. Im going to get a black crowntail for my 5gal. Or 2 crowntails with a divider.


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## Noemi (Jul 9, 2011)

I was mad about goldfish. My now-ex boyfriend was big on fish, so he took me to a little mom and pop craft store that sold fish. I saw a little blue betta in a tank all by himself dancing for me, and I fell in love. So I took him home and named him The Doctor, and in looking up how to care for him i discovered this site. I never looked back


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

A neighbor of mine got a betta, then another one left hers with me when she went on vacation and I ended up keeping him because my stupid neighbor didn't want to take care of him properly. She said he's not made of gold and could easily be replaced. Grrr! I fell in love with Buddy then got my own. Shortly after I got mine, Buddy came to live with me permanently.


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## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

I once bought a 180 litre tank that came with a betta. He was the most ugly and boring creature imaginable and he made me think all bettas were slow, dopey fish. I was kind of relieved when he died...and Bettas became one of my ,most hated fish.
Then a few years later me and my mate were at a new LFS and they had bettas.
We bought one each with the intention to train them and fight them...
But dont get mad yet!
We got attached to our bettas and didn't want them to get damaged so a fight never ensued.
Then I bought a bunch of females and tried to breed them. It failed and the girl tore up my males fins, leaving me disheartened. Then next try, I got a successful spawn and my addiction was sealed.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

mom got a betta in a vase as a free gift at a store years ago. we named him Mr. Fishy, and took care of him like we were told, and he lasted a little bit. when he died, we got another one to live in the vase, and his name was Mr. Bubbles. when we moved, we didn't have room for Mr. Bubbles, so we gave him to a friend of ours. 

years later, i had the itch to get another betta of my own, so one day, i took my paycheck(back when i was working), went to the pet store, and got Zach, my orange dal boy. i fell in love with the little guy fast. he was so smart, and so different from Mr. Fishy and Mr. Bubbles(because i bought betta food for him). he quickly became my best friend, and i was sad when i moved and couldn't take him. my mom and sister took care of him for me, and even bought him a gallon tank(he lived in a bowl-shaped candle holder first, about half gallon, then a half gallon bowl). when i moved back home, i saw mom never got fish for her 10 gallon, so i put Zach in there, where he lived his last two years of his four year life.

then, last March, i think, i had some money, and wanted another betta finally. i went to the store, and came home with Cup. i wanted Cup to live like Zach did, for years, and did research. i found another betta forum first, and came across this one more recently. but, this site's helped me SO much, and i adore it. :3


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I'll post my story before reading the others 

Back in 2003, I worked at a small Mom and Pop pet store, really a little hole in the wall shop. Family owned, and I knew the owners niece from high school. I always hung around, learning about animals and socializing them so they would be better off in new homes (ferrets can get nasty!). Eventually the owner gave me a job there, I got paid nothing but I had the run of the store really. I could take a pet home if I wanted, no charge. But it gave me something to do. One day during shipment, there was a box of cichlids that came in. For the life of me I cannot remember what they were, Convicts I'd guess. Anyways, once they were put into the big 120g tank, I noticed this one little tiny fish, scared out of it's mind. I got a small bowl, filled it with tank water and took the little fish out. I was puzzled, only thing we ordered was Cichlids. So I told the store manager I was taking it home, I'd look it up and see what it was online and buy a tank for it. Turns out, it was a small Veil tail Cambodian female Betta. I am guessing wherever these fish came from, females Bettas were food for Cichlids  So I got her a 1g heated filtered tank and kept her for about 8 months. Angel was her name. Sadly, my Mom was babysitting the critters and left her tank open. I believe one of my 4 cats got her  

I decided I needed another Betta. I drove 6 hours to the nearest store (Walmart) to get a Betta fish. They only had one in the store, they were selling off fish cheap because Walmart was no longer selling fish. I looked at the cup and there sat a sad little grey male, his fins looked like one big spike, not flowing like they should be. They told me I could have him, as they were going to dispose of him that night anyways. 

So I took Joey home, placed him in the 1g tank, and over night he turned yellow! He was up and swimming around in 3 days, being a ham like he always was. I decided I liked him so much, I wanted a larger tank and impulse bought a 29g with everything, set it up and added 5 silver dollars and a pleco. After about a year, I wondered if he would go well with the crew in the 29g tank. I mean, they were big fish, non aggressive and not colorful. So I tried it. Joey lived in the 29g for just over a year, schooling with the Silvers although he never quite got the sharp turns. He ended up being a fire orange, solid of course. My little boy, I loved him so much. Sadly, I was sick one weekend in mid 2006 and my then boyfriend decided to help out with the pets. He sprayed the side of the tank with Windex, and killed every one of them 

Flash forward to now, I have been asking my fiance for a Betta fish for 2 years. Our old apartment was way too small for a tank. He said once we moved to a bigger place, he would get me a small tank and a Betta. We moved in May. Well I ended up getting a 5g, 10g, 29g, 10g tropical tanks first, then I got Venom  Now I have too many fish to count  I am sure I'll always have a Betta fish


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

To be honest, I was never interested in bettas. I thought they were all veil tails that were solid blue or solid red, because that's all I ever saw. Not that they aren't beautiful..Just..they were EVERYWHERE! And all the bettas I ever saw were unhealthy so they never really moved a lot. I didn't know better, everyone told me that was normal--so they seemed boring. That was pretty much my childhood anyway. 

I grew up only interested in the furry critters until I met Nathan, who introduced me to the world of reptiles and amphibians. I had found an area I was passionate about, remembering watching animal documentaries, steve irwin, etc. and being able to take care of cool pets of my own and see their amazing instincts in person. It was amazing to have this creature thrive in my care. The world of 'herps' taught me the valuable lesson in researching each animal you get. They were so foreign to me, I had to google their care. Soon it became habit, researching each animal I heard about to see how they should be properly cared for--even if I didn't get them, I could help others who did get them. I was able to save a red ear slider who was kept in a cold betta bowl because I had done research. I loved this, I was confident and able to help awesome animals. 

The ability to research animals transferred into my other pets as well--I learned about every issue cats, dogs, horses, birds, and rabbits could have. When our cats got sick, I was the one who diagnosed them properly, and probably saved the kittens' lives.

I went away to college, and being alone and without pets was such a foreign thing. I had my sea monkey colony(hehe), but they still weren't really -pets-. I loved taking care of them as a whole though, that was fun. But I wanted a college pet.

At first I wanted an axolotl--the rule was it had to be in a tank and be aquatic. Since aquatic frogs counted as 'fish', I asked if an aquatic salamander would as well. I got the okay, but had to cancel my plans due to their size requirements(larger than a ten gallon, and don't like soft water).

So, I figured "Okay, betta fish are pretty much it...might as well." I didn't know anything about them though, and so out of habit, i began my months of research before getting a new pet.

And thank goodness I googled them! I found this site, found the beautiful pictures, videos, and stories..And fell in love with them! Realized how personable a fish could be! And I learned how to really take care of them. As usual, I didn't want to support the big chain pet stores, so I chose to get him and all his equipment online. It was scary waiting for him to arrive, but he arrived safely  

I still only have my sweet Dionysus right now, but may get more in the future!


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## tracyalexa (Mar 29, 2011)

I have a 6 yr old daughter. She asked for a fish. We got a 3 gal divided (sigh) and 3 bettas. Within maybe a week, 2 were gone.  I had no clue why and found this forum. Then I felt like the WORST parent/betta parent ever. So, I went out and bought the one survivor a 5 gl tank, heater, plants etc. His name is Billy. :lol: And the betta bug bit. I've even ordered from Thailand. Lord have mercy. But I love all my bettas and they are all happy & healthy now that I know how to care for them. 

Everyone in the family thinks I am insane and they are very tired of "all those fish". But I don't care. I used to have a pitbull rescue so come on, 20 fish or 20 pitbulls?


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

I got my first betta when i left for college, I was living on campus and it was really the first time I was away from home for so long and I was homesick/depressed a lot.

Fish had always made me happy, so I impulse bought Roger, my red veiltail and George, my blue veiltail and kept them in one of those itty bitty divided betta tanks. They seemed low maintenace and the person at the petstore told me I could virtually do nothing for them besides throw a few pellets in, so I got them. They lasted me the whole year and came with me when I came home. I didnt end up going back so they stayed in my room with me.

After awhile, I decided to get some more bettas since Roger and George were doing so well and long story short, I ended up with 12 bettas in those little betta keepers (and a completely overstocked 50 gallon, so many goldfish D

Unsurprisingly, all my bettas died within the span of 6 months or so. I wasnt too torn up about them since they didnt really do anything (though how could they, in that little bit of water) though Roger going hit me pretty hard.

I ended my betta habit and ended the 50 gallon shortly after, I was tired of all the upkeep of it (Nothing ever worked on that POS tank LOL)




Then about 6 months ago, I was missing fish again so I set up a small 5 gallon with Gaston (my avvie picture) I wanted something bigger than a betta keeper and bettas were the only fish that were cheap enough and pretty enough to put in there. And then, I finally saw how fun bettas were, Gaston has such a great personality, he flails at everything!

I managed to only keep Gaston for about 5 months and then I asked if I could reset up my old 50 gallon. (By then I had found this site and wanted to start a sorority) My old 50g was a tall though so I ended up selling it and buying a a 40g breeder (better for bettas!) After more researching, I ended up not getting a sorority and divided the whole thing up so now I have 6 betta males in there.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=83993
Here they are c:



So now I'm officially addicted again, this time with information and the ability to come here for help and I already have 2 more tank ideas I want to try out!


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## Zappity (Oct 15, 2011)

When I was 2 or 3, my Grandpa took me to the petshop to look at the fish(I LOVED looking at the fishies..I still do). I don't really remember that much about being there, but I ended up with a betta, whom I named Rosy. Who was navy blue and looked nothing like a rose. I 'gave' him to my mom for her birthday (even though she had already seen him xD), who asked if she could give him a name. I said yes and she named him Mr. *insertrestofnamehere*. He lived for almost 5 1/2 years. He was my first betta, and less than a year after I got him, I got another one, who lived for 2 years. I had about 4 after that, but, heh, being the little kid I was, I fed them about 11 times a day(mom didn't know), which always resulted in "MMMMMMOOOMMMYYYY MY BETTA DIIED!!", and crying hysterically. So after Mr. *insertnamehere* died, I didn't get anymore till August of this year. I talked my Mom into taking me to the Petstore, where I bought Mr. Bubbles. Right now, Mr. Bubbles is fiercely protecting his bubblenest and flaring at me. <3 Oh how I love my Bettas...


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## Gamma (Oct 25, 2011)

I was righting a report on freshwater fish tanks and asked my mother if I could get one she told me I could have a betta so I got one I didn't know anything about them and put him in a half gallon bowl.

he wouldn't eat so I thought maybe his bowl is to small and up graded to a gallon bowl.

still wouldn't eat I so i read up on bettas a bit and realized what I had done and went and got a filtered, lighted tank. Then he started eating but really he head been eatting but was to small to eat a whole pellet.

Baron lived happily in tha tank for a year and a haft until a fly landed in his tank and gave him a infection. sense then I had a female Betta Tera and I'm planning on a new one.


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## Dragonlady (Nov 29, 2010)

I have no story to tell, really. I caught my first wet pets alone in a local stream by my house at around age 7 or 8. The rest is history.


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## xbecky685x (Sep 25, 2011)

My boyfriend got his own fish tank and i grew interested about the fish he had and came across this website.. which then led me onto this Betta bit and iv been addicted ever since! Then after a couple of weeks or something? not really sure.. Got my own betta!  
x


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

My first love was cats. I bred Ocicats (hence the name) and showed them for several years. When I was 19 I went into my LFS and told the person I had never had a tank before and followed his instructions. I was lucky and he knew what he was doing. I stared with various tetras (still love them). Several years later I discovered Bettas (WOW). The females at that time were all pretty muddy looking, so I was only interested in having one male at a time.
After showing cats for several years, it got more expensive for me so I stopped. I got into Bettas because they are so beautiful, and I still have the show bug!


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## laughing (Mar 12, 2011)

Ok bear with me on this story...

A little over a year ago my boyfriend and I were at a school "fair" (carnival) type of thing before homecoming game and all that jazz. There was a game with a HUGE line but it was cups set up in a triangle that you threw ping pong balls at to make it in the cups. Let's just say my boyfriend was very good at this from lots of practice.... Y'all older ones will get it! So because of this I begged him to go play it, and the prize was fish. Goldfish I believe, actually. He's one of those guys where he isn't too patient, and told me there was no way in hell he was going to stand in a line for 45 minutes for a dang fish! 

We ran into my friend there and she knows him well. She tells him in her sassy manner that because of his reluctance to _win_ me a fish, he _has_ to _buy_ me a fish! I said I wanted a Clownfish, because I think they're gorgeous and so much fun. This went on for a few months... Then we were at a football game and invited a different friend along. My boyfriend shared my little dream and our friend (who knows a decent amount of fish) basically chewed me out on my decision and that I would never be able to manage a salt water tank. DREAM CRUSHER.

Fast forward even longer than that to our anniversary (February). I had set up a whole suprise date and such so he came over to my apartment. He had a gift bag and then in his other hand was holding his clothes. (Gym shorts, shirt, etc. for later relaxing.) I went to help him and grabbed his clothes.. I freaked out. (In the bad way!) There was something under there that was firm but gave to pressure and I had no idea what it was and basically was scared out of my mind. He then revealed it to me... A tiiiny baby angel fish, and 2 balloon mollies! He kept his promise C: 

Now I was freaking out in the _good_ way. I threw a tank together, jumped on Google, ya da ya da... I began to find care for them and looked at Tropical forums. After about 2 weeks of owning them, I found this forum that was linked to the Tropical Fish forum... Oh boy. I began my spiral! I looked at the pictures, browsed Aquabid, read, read, read... I got brave enough to make an account and found out what these little guys needed. During this time I found out a 5 gallon for a baby angel fish and 2 mollies wasn't appropriate AT ALL, and that I needed 4 more mollies for everyone to be happy. My poor angel fish died, he got sucked into the filter... But I still pursued my mollies. Bought them a 20 gallon, thought I was doing everything right, etc. etc.. Then I brought in one female mollie that carried ich and killed my whole lot! I was left with the original 2 males.

That's when I decided a sorority was a good idea for the 20 gallon... Then I got my first betta. She was SO tiny. My mom thought it was a bad idea (she thought the whole fish thing was a bad idea!) so I left her for a week. I said if she was still there, I was supposed to get her. And she was. 

I never built that sorority, the 20 gal is still empty, as well as that 5. The 2 male mollies finally died a month or two ago. They don't have long life spans, I think it was "old age". (They were maybe 6-8 months old, Google says because of their inbreeding and genetics 6 months is their general life span.) 

Now I have my little girl who is mighty happy on her own, Julep my male who is a bubble nesting fiend, and my new yellow HM from Chard56 coming to me next week!


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## Poseidon28 (Apr 19, 2015)

I had to fish in my tank, but I was inexperienced so both died within a month. I went for six months with an empty, smelly tank. 

Then my dog died. I was so devestated. I cried for hours.

A few months passed and I was lonely. I had had s bad experience with gerbils and fish now so my brother would always call me an animal killer.

I did EXTENSIVE research and ordered all of the nessecary products( thanks to this website). I told my family I was getting a betta and my brother said, "another victim!" 

I wanted to show him so I did more research and ordered more things.

My LPS tested my water and it was fine. I walked over to the shelf and a blue betta that has green find in the right light was swimming in fast circles. He looked me in the eyes and I fell in love.

I have had him for six days, but he is happy and healthy.


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## kaleigh (Feb 28, 2015)

For my 8th or 9th birthday, my older sister came home from college with a red veiltail betta in a tiny critter keeper tank for me. All of the neighborhood children gathered around the fish and look at him with longing but I was extremely glad to have another pet as I have always loved animals. My sister told me his name was Yoshi and I quickly fell in love with him. 

The next day, I went to the pet store to get a larger tank, food, filter, etc. My dad purchased a 2.5 gallon tank with a filter and a small female betta which I named Peach. At that age, I was stupid and ignorant and did not know that betta fish could not permanently reside with each other no matter the sex. I think I was actually planning on breeding them. Some how, I got Yoshi to tolerate Peach in his tank and they swam peacefully for a while until water change day came along. 

It had been a week and everything was going alright (despite the fact that I was keeping two bettas together). It was time to clean the tank. I took Peach and Yoshi out of the tank and put them in seperate cups. I dumped the dirty water out, swished around the gravel, and put clean water in. My dad put in a capful of water conditioner and we placed the fish back into the tank. 

It was dark outside and my friend Jade and I were happily watching my two fish swim around. I noticed they started swimming slower and slower and then all of a sudden Yoshi flipped over and floated to the top of the tank. Peach followed right after him. They were barely alive. I panicked and burst in to tears. I was so confused as to what had happened. Quickly, I realized that it wasn't water condition that my dad placed in the tank. It was bettafix medication. I ran into the dark street and cried. My dad felt guilty and grew frustrated with me but he promised that we would get another fish. I just gave him a hug and cried some more on the sidewalk while my friend Jade sat next to me. 

So the next day, I picked out a little blue veiltail. Now that I think about it, I never actually gave him a name. My father bought those big gallon bottles of spring water for every water change to prevent an accident like the one that had happened. I loved that fish for a while but I grew bored of him and became more interested in my other pets. I didn't feed him regularly and I hadn't changed his water in two months. Completely irresponsible of me. 

One weekend, I went to my aunt's house and saw how much she cared for her betta. I explained to her how my blue veiltail usually sat at the bottom of the tank and it seemed like he was going to die soon. My aunt gave me a tetracycline medication that she said had helped her betta fish and a few aquatic plants. When I arrived home, my fish wasn't looking too good. He was resting on the bottom of the tank as usual and for the first time in a while, I felt love for that fish. But most importantly, I felt GUILT. I transferred him to a little cup and did a 100% water change and added the medication. I tried to acclimated him to medicated water but it was too late. He was already gone. I felt sad but I was older and didn't cry like last time. I feel so guilty for what I did to that poor fish. He did not deserve that. A dog, cat, or fish depends on YOU for everything. While your whole life does not depend on this animal, its whole life depends on you. That's the lesson I learned that day. 

In February, I decided to get another betta fish. This time I made sure I did tons of research before hand. I set up a 5 gallon tank with a filter, heater, and plants which I purchased myself. After almost two hours of trying to decide which betta I liked at the petstore, I picked out a little yellow pineapple veiltail boy and named him Moses. I was almost going to get a blue butterfly halfmoon but when I placed my finger up to Moses's cup I saw his little blue eyes look up at my finger and then back at me. I felt a connection and my little brother also thought Moses was the one for me. Moses is a very special little guy and I have never loved and cared for a fish more. When I'm in school, I will shove pictures of Moses into my friends' faces and say "Look at him! Don't you think he's cute?! Try to tell me he's not cute I dare you!" They get annoyed with me and laugh but admit that he's a cutie!


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## bubbles4ever (Jan 19, 2015)

Aw I love this thread! These fish are so lucky to have such great owners :-D

I had never had fish growing up and I never really had any interest in them. However, in college I was really lonely. I had a really hard time connecting with the people I went to school with and spent most of my time alone in my apartment. Then for our one year anniversary, my boyfriend bought me a fish tank! He grew up with fish and thought I would like to have a little companion with me while I finished up college. The next day we went to Petco so I could pick out my new little guy. I saw this small pale little guy with the cutest face who started swimming excitedly the second I put my finger near his tank. 

Sir Bubbles spent his first 3 months in a 2.5 gallon heated but unfiltered tank. Not the worst conditions, but I definitely didn't change the water enough so I know he must have been suffering somewhat. He then spent 8 months in a Fluval Edge 6 gallon tank with a proper filter and I was able to fish-in cycle it without too many problems! Thats when I really saw him come to life. His fins which where clear before turned bright purple and he was always zooming all over the tank. 

Then after I got fed up with the fluval edge (I seriously do not recommend this tank, feel free to message me if you want to know why :lol I upgraded him to his very own 10 gallon where he lived out the rest of his life. He got a nasty infection right around 1 year of having him. 3 months of trying every medication I think you can buy for fish, I finally gave up the fight and euthanized him. That little guy brought me so much joy and comfort during a really difficult time in my life. He was put through so much and was such a trooper. He will always have such a special place in my heart.

After he passed I decided to divide my 10 gallon. At the time I had 2 endlers and my mystery snail in a 2.5 gallon. I figured dividing my tank would give them an upgrade and let me keep a betta at the same time! So that's what I did and so far it's working out perfectly. I now have 3 endlers, a (giant) mystery snail, and 2 nerite snails who are living happily on one side of my 10 gallon and have been there for the past 3 months. Then today after months of trying to find a betta to buy on Aquabid, I fell in love with a crowntail at Petsmart and brought him home! He's currently settling into his side of the tank. I am also proud to say that this tank is full of beautiful thriving live plants! This is a big deal since I've never been able to keep a plant alive and it was my third attempt at aquatic plants. I think I finally have the hang of low light setups 

I am still learning so much about keeping fish, and probably won't be able to get anymore tanks until I move out, but I know I will always have fish in my life from now on! I never thought that fish would be able to bring so much joy into my life during hard times, but sometimes they really are my only motivation to get out of bed in the morning, and I am so thankful to have them. Even my family who thought I was crazy over how much I spoiled them is now obsessed with them :welldone:


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

*Warning: Long Post cause I can't seem to stop typing.*

I've had betta before, but didn't care for them properly and just stopped keeping fish and had no interest in ever starting up again. 

Last year my roommate at school asked me if I was ok with her getting a betta fish. I told her sure, it'd be kinda nice to have one. So she brings home this blood red VT in a 1 gallon bowl, half filled so he's in about .5 gallons total. She doesn't do anything with him besides maybe feeding him once a week. I started feeding him daily and I always did the water changes. (1 100% a week, this was before I found this site). 

Then she ended up leaving a month before that semester ended and he was dumped in my lap (figuratively) I ended up taking him home over J-term and caring for him then. 

She came back two weeks after J-term ended to pick up the stuff she left in the room when she moved out during J-term and asked me if I just wanted to keep him. I said yes (I had gotten attached to the little guy and wasn't going to let her have him back) and she left, and I got the fish. 

His gallon bowl cracked during a water change when I tried to get a better grip on it and set it gently against the handle to my door, it slipped, the handle swung up and hit it and it cracked. So I got a ride from a friend to the nearby pet store to get him another bowl (he sat in a Jimmy John's cup for like three hours poor guy) and got him a Marina .5 gallon kit. 

One night I looked up to find him on his side floating at the surface of the water. I watched him a bit and he was struggling to swim. I went online and found this site, joined and got him some help, he had SBD due to what I had thought was inhaling too much air when he ate (he was being fed tetra flakes). I fasted him then gave him part of a pea and he went back to normal. Switched him to Tetra Pellets, and then Wardley's when I couldn't get tetra (did not know about NLS or Omega One) 

he did ok for a bit, and I got him a 2.5g Aqueon Minibow. Moved him in a week before spring break, then took him home for spring break in the .5 gallon. 

During Spring break he relapsed with the SBD and passed on. 

That was when I got Jasper, my blue VT. I passed up two pure white HM's and a blue marble delta for a little blue VT who wouldn't stop wiggling at me. he got the .5 gallon for the rest of spring break and then moved into Ignus' (Red VT) 2.5 gallon once I got back to school. 

At this point, the tank was not heated. I soon found out they needed a heater and got Jasper one, along with a thermometer. I noticed an instant change in him, he colored up more, didn't have perpetual stress stripes, and even grew like a weed. 

Jasper did great for me and then the day after my birthday during the summer, I went to Petco for cat litter because we had thought we were getting rid of my cat while we were on vacation but it ended up not working out so we needed to pick up cat litter. I looked at the fish just to see what they had and cause we all know bettaholics can't help but go see fish. And I found Castiel. I fell in love with him immediately, but still looked at all the others to make sure there wasn't one I loved more. Asked my mom if she'd be upset if I got another fish, she said no, and that she was ok with it. So I picked his cup up and looked him over some more, and then put him in my cart and started grabbing things for him, tank, heater, thermometer, gravel, plants, etc. He ended up in a Tetra 1.5g cube as it was the cheapest I could find (I still feel horrible about it) with an unadjustable heater (he got upgraded later on to an adjustable one), too much gravel and a couple plants with a cave. Got home and set him up and then dealt with my mom yelling at me about it as she had asked me to wait until pay day and she'd buy me everything as a birthday present. I didn't get the text until I got home and it was too late. 

Two weeks later, on my mom's birthday we stopped at Petco for something and I looked at the fish again, and found Oliver. The black band around his fins and the stark difference between the blue and the red coloring on him caught my eye. I walked away from him that day, but kept thinking about him, i went back the next day to see if he was still there and he was. I walked away again and left him there. Then the following morning I broke down and said if he's still there I'd take him home. I convinced my mom to let me get him if he was still there, though I couldn't afford a tank, I had planned on dividing the 2.5 gallon tank until I could. So we went back to petco, and he was still sitting there, a little more clamped than before but still in pretty good shape. I picked him up and checked his price, wincing a bit at the $19 price tag but otherwise deciding he was worth it. I didn't want him to end up in a 1 gallon bowl for the rest of his life. 

We brought him home and I set him up in a 6 quart tupperware as quarantine and until I could get a divider for Jasper's tank. He sat in the tupperware for about a week and then was introduced to the tank that I had managed to divide. 

Then a couple days later I went to work for a few hours, came back and Jasper had shredded the last cm of his tail completely, and Oliver had one nip out of his tail but they were both in their own sections. I panicked and went back down to petco and was planning on getting a 5 gallon to divide, then moving Cas up to the 2.5 gallon but mom insisted I just get another 2.5 gallon. So I did we got back and set Oliver up in his own tank and Jasper got his first bout of finrot. He lost that last cm of tail he shredded and then healed up nicely. 

Jasper ended up getting one more round of finrot in his dorsal fin but that again went away quickly and healed back nicely. At that point I was perfectly content keeping just three fish. Moved them back to school in the fall and all was well. 

And then my friend saw Dean at a Petco in her hometown and sent me a picture of him. I fell in love with his puppy fish eyes and I thought on it for that day and night, then she drove me the next day to go get him (She bought him for me as she owed me money anyway) he went into a medium kritter keeper I got for him with some gravel that my friends had extra. along with Jasper's cave as Jasper didn't use it. 

Two days later I heard that my school's psychology department had betta fish they were giving away after an experiment. Me and the same friend who bought Dean for me went just to see what they had and how the fish looked and to figure out what they were going to do with them if they couldn't find homes (planning to take them if they were going to be flushed and just rehome them ourselves). The professor said he keeps them until they all get homes so we were just going to walk away, but my friend had said that if they had a steel blue boy she'd snag him, and they did so she got the blue guy. I wasn't going to get one, but a little orange guy kept staring at me, he was orange and had this bluish green coloration on his sides. The professor said he was his favorite out of all of them. So I snagged him up after almost walking away again. He came with me to my Ice Skating class and sat wrapped up in my sweatshirt while I froze. Took him back to the dorm and set him up in the tupperware Oliver called home for a while. Then started looking for tanks for him and Dean as the Kritter Keeper wasn't cutting it for me. 

Sammy (the little orange VT who turned out to be multicolored) got a Tetra 3 gallon cube, and I originally planned on putting Dean into a 3 gallon cylindrical tank but the ones I ordered came cracked so he ended up in an Aqueon Evolve4. 

Things went great for a couple months, but then the growths that Castiel had since September got too big, the one on his head started interfering with his brain I'm guessing. He had 5 seizures in the span of an hour and I decided that his quality of life had diminished too greatly. I euthanized him that night with the help of a friend. 

A week later I got Crowley. He went into the 1.5g cube and things went ok again. Brought them home for J-term and eventually got Crowley a 2.6g tank and put the 1.5 gallon away for a hospital tank or if something came up where I needed an extra tank. At this point I also had the Kritter Keeper extra. 

Nothing big happened for a while, things went great, then came Valentines day, or at least a few days prior. Jasper got sick. he went into a small tupperware as the Kritter Keeper cracked and the 1.5 gallon wasn't at school. He ended up dying the day before valentine's day. 

Fast forward about a week and we come to Misha. I got Misha from the Betta Shop in MN. He is by far my most expensive fish at $27. Took him home and set him up in the 1.5 gallon until I got the 2.5g sanitized. Did that and then moved him into the 2.5 gallon when I got back to school. He's been doing great in there, and has marbled since then. 

About two weeks after that I found Blaine. I had watched the videos the betta shop posts and saw a white Halfmoon male. I had originally tried to reserve him but someone already beat me to it so I reserved one of the white HMPK's. Went to pick him up and stopped at petsmart to get him stuff. He went directly into a 2.5g tank with a heater and such. 

Now fast forward about a month or so and Blaine is no longer white. He's a marble and his fins have turned blue, he now has a blue butterfly band. 

And that's how I got bit by the betta bug. It's still working its magic and I constantly have to stop myself from getting just one more boy. 

I have pictures of them all up on my Journal "Betta Fish Anonymous" and then I have a marble progression post in Betta Pictures "My marble progression..." that follows Misha and Blaine's marbling.


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## tuxthebetta (Apr 14, 2015)

I didn't want a betta. 

I wanted a community tank filled with fish -- like I had when I was 13. I had a 10gal and filled that thing with danios, tetras, red tailed sharks, a pleco, hachetfish, barbs, and various other fish. I had no idea what the nitrogen cycle was.

They all lived, of course -- until I lost them all in a freak Ice Storm in 1998 when the entire state lost power for two weeks. After that, it took the wind out of my sails for fish-keeping and I never restarted the tank.

My brother kept a goldfish and a betta in a goldfish bowl when we were kids. I remember the betta -- somehow -- surviving for at least a few months in this tiny bowl with no filter, no heater, no decor, nothing. When it died, no-one assumed mistreatment -- it wasn't "meant" to live a long time, anyway, was the attitude. 

I didn't think it was cruel at the time to keep fish like this. I had read the "1" of fish per gallon" rule, which I (incorrectly) translated to mean "1 fish per gallon". 

So when I picked up a 10gal this time around, I was pretty shocked to see the ultra-conservative perspective that 10gals were NOT community-sized tanks, and were really only good for keeping a single betta or a few inverts, or inverts & a betta.

I remembered the betta in my brother's room and didn't want that -- a "boring", "common" fish. But then I started researching bettas online and found out they come in WAY MORE VARIETIES and COLORS than I ever knew. There were betta communities, and betta breeders, and betta shows. I was amazed by the Crowntail, specifically, and wanted an all white one. 

When I went to the pet store, I was shocked to see exactly the betta I wanted -- I wasn't planning on getting a fish then, but he was so "rare" and incredible looking, I knew he wouldn't be on the shelf long. So I grabbed him and took him home. And that's how I became obsessed with bettas.


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## Getrealism (Apr 16, 2015)

For me it started in high school. I had a freshwater and a saltwater tank. I was a busy high school kid- AP classes a job and I swam, played soccer and volley ball year round and so when It got to be too much I had to get rid of my tank and re-home my fish. My mom waited until i went to college and got a Betta for herself and kept it in a terrible vase tank- he lived for about 6 years though. 

Now about 5 years out of college one of my staff [i'm a whole boss these days] got me a betta for bosses appreciation and I keep him in a tank on my desk at work but he has really turned more into my clients [teenage girls in a residential facility] pet. I still love him and like any parental figure do all the water changes. However it has lead me to my new Betta obsession.. I have two currently and will likely end up with four by the end of the week... they are just so pretty.


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