# Fish, fur and the hubs



## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

So it's been 5mos since I let the hubs get our first betta Bruce. Only five months it feels like so much longer. We are up to nine bettas now, though we are not actively looking for more, we are on the wait list for a forum members anticipated spawn and we are always going to the fish store so one might strike us as a keeper. I wish I could do the adoption thing, there are so many beautiful fish that I know someone would love to have them, but I also know me lol I would have a hard time letting them go. You now know how many bettas we have let me introduce you to them starting with our oldest Betta.

Master Bruce Wayne: He is a DT but that is about all I can tell you about his fins. He never fully flares even when another male is shown to him he just flares his dorsal and gils, the tail kind flares but its like he really doesnt care he knows he is the biggest fish on the block(if he only knew about our king lol). He is a very funny fish, he plays dead, chases his shrimp about and hates the paparazzi(me and my camera) I can never get a good picture of him.









Lady Jaina: She is the second fish we got and my birthday gift. When we got her she was so tiny in the cup. She has grown up into a beautiful Royal Blue VT. She is a neurotic one( I mean that in the best way). She does not like anyone or anything else near her tank. We attempted a sorority but she was having none of it. She loves to dance and has recently discovered the joy of darting thru the current from her filter. She is constantly zipping and darting all around. I love watching her, she is so full of life and energy always makes me smile.









Sindragosa: Sin was my second female and the third betta we got and she is a VT and a grizzle I believe. She is probably my most personable fish I have. She actually enjoys touch, she rubs up on your fingertip or hand. She is so much fun to watch and she is a chill little girl. Do not though get in between her and her food lol, she will try and eat your finger haha!









Yrel: My sweet HM Cellophane, she is the fourth betta we got. She was purchased at the same time as Sindragosa. She is a ham, she loves the camera and poses for it readily. She loves her food almost as much as Sin. She is coloring up now after about 6weeks of having her. She is getting some iridescence and red in her fins and on her body as well as some black coloration. She is truly a beautiful fish. I am sad that she is coloring up a bit but I was expecting it. 









Greymane: He is our copper CT and a wonderful Walmart find. I didnt even know they sold them... He is a fun fish to watch. He darts thru his plants and hates when there is something on his glass. he is always plucking the snails off the glass. He shares a tank with Bruce(separated by divider)and they hardly pay each other any attention. He is a character though, if he doesnt see Bruce he goes up to the divider and flares but if Bruce shows up he darts away like he is say "oh ****, he is there" His face also remind me of a pug idk why.









Anduin: Sweet little Andy was an "omg he is so tiny buy" He was literally no bigger then my fingernail when we got him. All white except for the red on his head. He has colored up so nicely though and adores having his picture taking. He also loves seeing the cats, I know it is totally weird but true. He is a HMEE and absolutely adorable. Im not saying he is my favorite but omg those little pectoral fins just flapping making me squee lol. He will take food off my fingertip and often splashes water for attention.









Tyrannistrasz: He is a marble HM and all my husbands. He is very much a man fish lol. He wont eat if i feed him, only if the hubs feeds him. He is super shy. We gave him more cover recently to help him feel more secure, but he is just a super shy fish. He dances and flares when the hubs is at his desk(he is on the hubs computer desk) and I think they both watch tv together.









King Varian: Varian is a king plakat betta. He is like a puppy dog. I even think he has the puppy eyes down too. He is such a hoot. When we first got him he was trying to jump out of or atleast we thought out of his tank but it turns out he didnt like the flow from his filter so once we baffled it he stopped. Now though he launches himself out of the water towards your fingers for his food. He has no qualms about nipping your finger either LOL. He also has something against surge protectors lol, he can see his and he has to atleast a couple of times a day now go over there and flare to show it who is boss. 









Un-named female: She doesnt have a name and is the newest fish to our collection we have had her for a week. She is still getting used to her new digs(especially since it got a bit of a remodel today). She has some fin damage where she was either nipping it or it got nipped by a sister. She is extremely smart and took only a few feedings for her to know exactly where to go for food. We have three names picked out we are just waiting to see how her color goes.









Those are our fish babies. This weekend I will introduce my furbabies and maybe the fish enabler hubs lol.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Very cool. It's good your hubby likes the hobby you have help and someone whose eyes won't glaze over when you talk about fish.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

^^ Amen, Sister!


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## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

Sometimes it is all we talk about. It's super nice to have someone get excited about fish besides me. He does think I worry to much about them though lol.


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## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

I am in LOVE with Anduin! What a gorgeous boy he is. Do you have a baby picture of him? I would love to see it.

And how cute that Betta thermometer is..! I have never seen one like that.


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## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

@BettaSplendid here is a picture of Anduin when we were picking him up at Petsmart and shortly after he was home.

















As you can see he hasnt gotten much bigger, still a tiny little guy. I do adore him but dont tell my girls that.I think we got that thermometer at Petland, i cant remember.


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## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

*My furbabies and the hubs.*

Besides our fish we have two cats. They are my babies really and I spoil them a ton. There is a back story for both my cats that still sometimes make me cry.

Takara or Taka for short: He came into our lives 7mos after my MiL passed away. One night I sent hubs out to the gas station for a soda and he came bounding in telling me to get my shoes on and come outside. It was so cold that night as winter hadnt quite let go. I ran outside and was immediately shushed by the hubs, looking at him dumbfounded, he whispered listen. I listened and i heard it, a weak mew coming from somewhere on the side of the house. I did the whole kitty kitty thing and nothing i waited a bit then said c'mere baby its ok. Then i saw the briefest flash of fur by one of the pine trees. I walked over sat down on the cold wet ground and just started talking. He came bounding over to me and curled up in my lap and started purring. I picked him up and stood. I was unsure of bringing him into the house, we had several insulated feral shelters set up and I put him in one, while my hubs sat there with him loving on him. He was so thin and cold i was afraid he wasnt going to make it thru the night. I came out with some wet cat food(i occasionally fed the strays in the area during the winter.) and gave him one which he promptly scarfed down and then i gave him another one. He was brought inside the following morning by the hubs and he was sp well behaved. He even knew how to use a litter box, which only tells me he was someones pet and either got out or got dump. He is my DIVA cat. He will jump on the bathroom counter to be brushed and stare at himself in the mirror as he is being brushed. He loves his baths. He sleeps above my head on his own pillow and is such a character. 









Sir Derp: His story isnt as romantic. The lady across the street was taking care of several(like 12) stray cats and one day during last spring i saw a little black kitten on her steps. I went over to it but it darted under her porch. I didnt think much of it, i thought he was just to feral. Well August rolled around and surprise surprise she up and moved, leaving all the strays there. Ofcourse there were several kittens and a pregnant momma. I was so upset. I contacted a local animal shelter about their TNR program and we were put on the list. In the meantime I decided to leave some food out, I had no intention of feeding all of them I just wanted to make sure momma and the kittens put on weight before the winter hit. My sister came down to stay with me for a bit towards the end of August, and she noticed that the little black kitten was coming around. We started sitting outside when we fed them and started leaving toys for them to play with. They all became i wouldnt say friendly but used to us being around them. One day we were sitting outside and my sister who has a way with cats, was able to touch the little black guy. He didnt panic he reveled in it. He began to purr and he was a love bug from the point on. Fast forward to late october, and i discover that animal control was trapping the strays in the area. I was panicked, our local animal control is not a no kill shelter, though they try to place all of them in rescues some arent. I went out and bought a cheap reflective collar thinking if i could get it on the black one she wouldnt pick him up. I had already decided at that point that he was going to come inside i just had to get Taka used to the idea. Surprisingly he wore the collar with no issue. One morning i went out to give everyone breakfast and there was not Derp, i was worried but tried to blow it off. He was an outdoor kitty afterall and male at that. Dinner time, still no Derp. for a few more days it went like that, then finally i saw a neighbor that might know what happened and i heard news that immediately made my heart sink. Derp was trapped by animal control. Thankfully animal control has a fb and i checked it and there he was looking terrified. I contacted animal control and made arrangements to pick him up. When I got there to pick him up, i was appalled at the state of the cages and overwhelmed by the smell of ammonia. She took me to his cage and stated that she cant handle him cause he is to feral, i walked right up there and went "baby derpie, come here" he jumped into my arms and was pratically hugging me and purring so loudly. I started to cry. We immediately took him to the vet where he got all his shots and treated for minor ammonia burns , scheduled his neutering and brought him home. After a stop for a well earned cheeseburger  He is a snuggler and a blanket thief. I love him and boy has he put on weight lol!









The hubs: he is a trained chef and an animal lover like me. He used to breed Bettas several years ago(way before we met) and wants to get into it again. He was in the Marines but was discharged after a training accident which caused him to be paralyzed for almost a year. He is a quiet man but will go out of his way to help anyone in anyway he can. Which is why he is working nights now since one of the cooks cant work the night shift... We met while we were both working at WalMart. It was as though fate brought us together when we both needed it. He needed me just as much as i needed him. My kids adore him and my youngest calls him Daddy all the rest call him by his first name and he is perfectly fine with it. We have been together for 7 years now and it just seems like yesterday when we met. No picture of him as he doesnt like his picture taken or shared lol


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Awesome story! Your first kitty Takara reminds me a abyssinian in his face.


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## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

How lovely! I am enjoying your animal stories. Your kindness shines in your writing.  Glad you found such a sweet man to enjoy life with!


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## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

*Thr un-named has been named*

So we settled on a name for our EE female, she has been named Ysera. She is doin well and hubs has decided to move her to the planted tank once he gets it settled and the cycle started nicely. 

The little adf hubs got is so much fun to watch I didn't think he would be that fun but he is lol.

Today is tank maintenance day, I am not feeling it lol the thought of lugging gallon jugs of water is not appealing. Its my fault though I didn't fill the jugs prior to today like I normally do. Oh well, the running is done now is time for the fun...


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I'd like to point out that ADF are social with each other and will be more outgoing if you bought a few extra! I love your stories and fish.


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## BettaMommaHeather (Jan 22, 2016)

We plan on getting a couple more, we weren't sure exactly how they would fit in..


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