# Miss You, Taco



## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

My first ever Betta fish was a brilliant shade of blue. His color wasn't too light or too dark, making him my favorite shade of blue. Since Taco was my first Betta fish, I formed a special attachment to him. Every day that I had him, I would sit by his tank for a small amount of time and play games with him(I used a mirror and ping-pong balls) and talk to him. It was weird, because he seemed to listen to me! I went on vacation and my dad watched him for me. I came back to find that Taco had Ick(Ich). I was so upset and began looking for cures on the internet. A day went by and I was unable to go to the pet store to get medication for my sick Betta. The next morning, Taco was floating horizontally at the top of his tank. It looked as if he was relived of Ick, but his once beautiful blue and flowing fins were brown. I knew he was relived of his pain, but it was so sad that Taco, my first ever Betta fish was gone. I only had him for 2 weeks, which made it all worse. I now know that he is most definitely in a better place though. R.I.P Taco. Miss seeing you every day! We sure had some fun times together, though!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Aww I'm so sorry for your loss. He had a cute name


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Thanks, teeney! It is really hard to lose a betta, but I just got a new one on Sunday! He is a Crowntail and I named him Kingston!  But, Taco still has a special place in my heart! <3


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettapop8 said:


> Thanks, teeney! It is really hard to lose a betta, but I just got a new one on Sunday! He is a Crowntail and I named him Kingston!  But, Taco still has a special place in my heart! <3


Aww  When I first started Betta keeping, I had no idea what I was doing. I went through 3 bettas in less than 2 years. 

But now my bettas have big heated Tank and everything they need to thrive.
I lost 2 bettas over the weekend; they were sick before I bought them. Poor babies.


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Yeah, I'm new to the whole betta fish keeping thing now. Hopefully, I won't have to go through too many bettas in order to get the hang of things. Sounds like you have provided a great home for your betta fish, though! Do you have any basic tips for me? Anything would help!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Sure! 

IMO, the habitat every Betta should have:
2.5 gallon or more TANK (NOT a bowl)
Heater (keep at about 80 degrees F)
Filter (optional but it is really great to have)

If you want to know about how often to clean your bettas tank, ask on the forum (or ask me haha) 

Also have a liquid test kit (I RECCOMEND API brand) to make sure your Bettas tank doesn't have high ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. A lot of people cycle their tanks (if you want to know how, google cycling a fish tank)

Also be careful what you put in your bettas tank- no plastic, no metal, etc. If you want to put something in it that is not meant to be in a fish tank, ask on the forum if it is safe first.

Hope this helped. If you have any more questions feel free to ask


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Ok, great! That helps so much!  But, I'll definitely be needing to make a trip to the pet store soon! So, it's bad that Kingston is living in a square 1 gal. tank? And I also have a little, green plastic plant in there. Is that something I need to get rid of? Thanks for your help.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettapop8 said:


> Ok, great! That helps so much!  But, I'll definitely be needing to make a trip to the pet store soon! So, it's bad that Kingston is living in a square 1 gal. tank? And I also have a little, green plastic plant in there. Is that something I need to get rid of? Thanks for your help.


Everybody has their own opinion on tank size, but in my opinion 1 gal is too small. It requires LOTS of water changes and doesn't give the Betta much room to swim. Plus you can't decorate it as much xD 

Most plastic plants can rip fins. If you want to test it, get pantyhose (woman's tights) and drag it across the plant. If it rips it, it can rip your bettas fins. It is recommended to use silk plants or live plants in a bettas tank


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Ok thanks so much, teeney! So, enough about me and my fish! How are your betta's doing? How many do you have? Do you get them from a breeder or a pet store?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettapop8 said:


> Ok thanks so much, teeney! So, enough about me and my fish! How are your betta's doing? How many do you have? Do you get them from a breeder or a pet store?


Haha! Mine are doing well. I have 5 female bettas. One is in a big 10 gallon tank, the others are temporarily in quarantine tanks. They are going to live together soon. (yea, females can live together if they have the right temperaments, and a heavily planted tank, but it takes a lot of research lol)
I got Teeney at walmart, Pandora from petsmart and Fiona, monet and Luna from PETco. I have pictures in my album if you wanna see (don't have Luna in there yet)


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Ok, cool! Once I can learn how to concentrate on one fish and keep him alive, I hope to buy some more. But, if I ever want to put more than 1 female fish in a tank, I guarantee you, I'll do my research! I don't want anything bad to happen! But, the females don't fight like males do, right?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettapop8 said:


> Ok, cool! Once I can learn how to concentrate on one fish and keep him alive, I hope to buy some more. But, if I ever want to put more than 1 female fish in a tank, I guarantee you, I'll do my research! I don't want anything bad to happen! But, the females don't fight like males do, right?


Yes, females CAN fight just like males. Certain individual females are more aggressive and cannot live with other females (we refer to multiple female tanks as a sorority) Females and males should never live together, males and males should never live together and like I said females can live with females if you get docile females and have the proper set up.  They will nip at each other in the beginning but establish a pecking order and make it work.


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Ok, great! Thanks again for all your help!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Noo problem! I look forward to hearing about your Betta! Careful, bettas are addictive Lol. I sent you a friend request :3


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Oh BTW- important tip- NEVER listen to information pet store employees tell you. They are 99% of the time clueless when itcomes to Betta care. That's the reason most stores have plenty of filthy betta cups, and sick/dying/dead Bettas on the shelves :'(


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## bettapop8 (Jun 23, 2012)

Ok thanks for the tip. Yeah, the guy at the pet store kept saying "uh...and yeah...change the water....and uh yeah...take care of him." It was like he didn't even know about them, yet he was working at a pet store and selling betta fish! And, I am SO addicted to Betta fish already! I want to just go out and buy a whole bunch!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettapop8 said:


> Ok thanks for the tip. Yeah, the guy at the pet store kept saying "uh...and yeah...change the water....and uh yeah...take care of him." It was like he didn't even know about them, yet he was working at a pet store and selling betta fish! And, I am SO addicted to Betta fish already! I want to just go out and buy a whole bunch!


Yeah it is not uncommon. I wish it were better, but it's not


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