# What made you choose your betta?



## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

What made you choose your betta?

I choose mine not by looks but when I feel like I have a certain "connection" with the fish, sounds odd but that is how it is XD


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

My boyfriend. :roll: :lol: He picked Ares. Which was a great pick! Also became to be a great breeder. I picked my Janey because she was pale, small, and not a plakat. Plus she was paying the most attention :lol: I picked the nameless koi PK, because of her coloring... My crowntail, because of her coloring. My doubletail may have had a step up since he as the only doubletail (a week later there were two more) but he was not looking too happy in a small bowl :/ Plus I could not pass him up!! :lol:


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## birdielikestomatoes (May 2, 2012)

Steve and Hilda were not chosen by me. Eugeney I picked because she has the derpiest face ever and just wiggled like a madwoman every time I looked at her. And Mr Grumpy just glared at me with his grumpy face and shot around that little cup like his tail was on fire.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Phillip: He was a beautiful 3 colored elephant ear plakat, priced incorrectly much lower than he was supposed to be! I had to have him.

Irving: Young opaque delta, soooo pretty! His fins have since marbled a blood red! 

Tim Gunn: He was just so gorgeus and unique VT! Baby blue dragon scale body and butterscotch fins, I have since been told he is a mustard gas but I'm not so sure.

Stumpy: Well, he was so different and so homely I had to get him. :lol::lol:
<<<<That's him over there.

So, I went for looks. They all have their own personalities and I had no trouble "bonding" with them after bringing them home.

I forgot the girls! With the girls I went strictly on color. Now that they are all together they all have their personalities, too. I have my favorites tho


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## pittipuppylove (Feb 23, 2012)

I got my first betta while picking up supplies for my guppies, happened to check out the bettas, and fell in love with this little spunky red dragonscale HMDTPK who tried to attack me through the cup. He came home with me the next day. 

The next two came around when I upgraded my guppies to a 15 gallon and discovered how dangerous it is to have an empty tank sitting around. Boy #3 entered the picture when I saw a black orchid butterfly HM (that I've pretty much determined to be a SDeT instead) who was mislabeled as a DT and was therefore less expensive. He, too, tried to tackle me through his cup. So I got him and put him into my QT tank while I divided the then-empty 10 gallon. 

But this left me with an empty 5.5 gallon. On another trip to the pet store, I was admiring the dumbo bettas they'd just gotten in when I noticed that there was a fish nearby that was labeled as a HM but had one full dumbo fin and another that looked like it had been torn/bitten off. Figuring that he may get an infection if left in that dirty cup, I took him home and got him set up in his pun tank. I'm now wondering if the fin was actually torn off or if he just had a genetic quirk that gave him two mismatched pectoral fins, but I love him dearly either way - he's got a quirky personality. 

My fourth and final (for now, at least) betta was a CT female from the dreaded Walmart. They had stacked some cups on top of each other, and I've gotten in the habit of at least offsetting them so the lower betta gets some air. When I picked up her cup, I first noticed that she was trying to maul my hand and then that she was the most colorful female I'd seen outside of AB. Her cup was nasty, but the cleanest of the bunch and she was really the only healthy-looking one there. I know it's not a great idea to get a Walmart fish, but I couldn't leave her there in good conscience and she has since become one of the most personable of the four 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## weaver72 (Jul 9, 2012)

I always choose My bettas on how I bond with them ,I have looked for certain colors but will not get if I don't bond! I have got a few of my bettas by a simple look they give to me ,when we meet eye to eye they speak to my heart and that's the one I take home!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Well, I chose Lebron because he was the most colorful Betta in Petsmart.. He had a little bit of fin rot but with some TLC he healed.  I also had this "spark" with him, he's the reason I now have a 20G going on for a sorority. :lol:

Now for Winnie, she was a rescue. Had stress stripes, ammonia filled waters, gasping heavily, lethargic, etc. On the 1st day, my mom didn't let me get her, but we came back the next day. So on and on we go. I felt bad, I also had another "spark" with her. She's waiting for her 20G now.


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

_My first fishy, Sammy, was my daughter's Birthday present, and he started the whole thing, she was the one to take care of him, and after I did it for her, I fell in love with him, and bonded very quickly and, I was Hooked.._

_I then took in a rescue, my Blue VT, Sapphire--and he has been with us almost 6mos, then I took in 3 more rescues, from a local Y and I ended up with 2 girls, and a Red Vt, named Crimson, the girls are Pepsy, and Pompom then last but not least, I got an opportunity to actually choose one for myself, and at Petco, I was not sure, because I had my heart set on one particular one, that wasn't there, so I was going to leave, I looked at all the cups, and wasn't finding the one that got my attention, so at last, I saw this mint green one, and when he flared, Omg, I saw the fish of my dreams, he looked right in my eyes, and I saw the mint in his eyes, and the beard is Black..he is gorgeous, and he is all mine his name is Ocean<3 I adore him_


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## Setsuna (Sep 5, 2012)

hate to say it but i always go for looks and wild types


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## mplsmommy (Aug 4, 2012)

I always go for the unique looking bettas. Renaissance and Haru are my most unique males Ren is a mustard gas and I had never seen one before in petco. Haru is yellow!!  
Also I have my sorority who are all different Molly is grizzled, Jezabelle is yellow, Caltalina I got from a breeder in FL because I saw her lavendar color and fell in love, Haley his black until she is in the light and her red and teal show up. Isolde is a cambodian CT. They are all special!! 
I got Elvis for my bf since he liked how the King bettas looked.


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## Hershey (Sep 28, 2012)

Well, I chose Bae the first time because I wanted to put him with my ADF'S.. But the tank was too small.
So he lived in a bowl (note: way before mom got me my 10g now) and lived for 17 days. He had danced once and I fell in love with him. He only had rot and was the most active at walmart.

Masami: He looked periwinkle but was a beautiful emerald-green (my avatar now drawn by creat) and I knew he was in bad shape (still, no tank.)
he died the next day.

Aiden: my mom had chosen. He was a blue CT And was pretty greedy. I wasn't looking and he got sucked up by the filter.

-inb4 you're a terrible keeper hersh-

My 4 girls: I wanted to try a sorority. I didn't have much of a reason.


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## RandyTheBettaFish (Jul 11, 2012)

Usually most unique or colorful. But if I do like another common looking betta, I will buy it.


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## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

Dirk: I loved his colors and personality
Picasso: I just, well, don't have a reason
Rubin: I love his spunky personality and color (he's getting a little purple on his tail! Yay! :-D)
Maggie: I felt bad for her, being stuck in that puny cup and having fin rot, plus I could she that she would be amazingly pretty if she just had a chance and TLC and...I am correct! She is becoming gorgeous!

Thank you for letting me tell the stories of how I chose my fish. *bows and laughs*


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Setsuna said:


> hate to say it but i always go for looks and wild types


Why do you hate to say that? Nothing wrong with that at all!


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## Setsuna (Sep 5, 2012)

registereduser said:


> Why do you hate to say that? Nothing wrong with that at all!


lol maybe because alot of you guys are betta rescuers


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

My son picked Fishy, since it was intended to be his fish. He picked her (we thought it was a he at the time) because the light from outside shining on her made her look a little goldfish. Plus, she was extremely excited to see us looking at her and my son really liked that too. She was swimming about like "Oh, oh, oh, pick me! Pick me!"
Celestial Soda Pop - aka Fizz - who is not here yet, was picked off this forum on a thread about culls. I caught the thread late, when there was only 1 fish left, and since he's the one I wanted anyway, I got him. I can't wait until he gets here!!


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## Butterfly (Nov 13, 2012)

Fred caught my eye right away. I stopped by the bettas and looked at each and every one of them. Fred was soooooo pretty and active. The other ones were pretty too, but not nearly as pretty as Fred. I was deliberating getting one and was texting my friend as I was looking at them...if I should get one or not. She didn't say, so I texted her that I WAS GOING TO DO IT, 'I'm gonna get one!!!" and she was like "Yeahhhh do it!" Choosing one was a little bit hard. I stood there for a good half hour before I settled on Fred. In that time, I went on some betta websites about what to look for and what they need, lifespan, etc. I almost got a blue delta, but I'm glad I didn't. I was hesitant to get Fred because he was kind of expensive for a pet shop fishy... $14. I had a coupon for $5 off and i thought that maybe I should first buy the delta($7) to see if I could care for one. But a worker came up to me and was like "wow that one is so pretty he's been really active all day." I read on one of the betta websites on my phone that an active betta is a healthy one....and the delta looked sort of unhappy and he didn't move. So I bought fred! And I wanted the 'best' food there was for him but the pet shop dude wasn't much help. He suggested Hikari so I bought those. (also checked amazon reviews lol, the hikari pellets had better reviews than the tetra ones that I was going to buy). Fred is mighty happy and active in his larger than a cup tank. I think he will be even happier once we get our 5gal! I used the coupon, got fred and the food for $13! And when I brought him home, I told my mom "Did you meet fred?" and she was like "AWW why did you do that?!" and joked about knocking his tank over and feeding him to the cat.  I joked back that he was for an art project and my teacher told me to buy one to study 'movement' and she laughed. (btw kitty would never eat fred or stick her paw in the tank..besides, I have a lid on it(hole for air). She doesn't mind Fred. He will be the only betta I have for a while unless I see one in need. I'm going to order him some daphnia!  Or maybe find a place that sells live ones. Maybe some brine shrimp too? I think he would enjoy that seeing as he attacked a q tip I poked in there the other day(not even in the water, just near a wall). I love fred!!! so happy i picked him.


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

Well, 2 of mine were color or fins, but the other 3 i just felt some how connected with them....


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## horsyqueen (Nov 13, 2012)

Chi: because I always wanted a Siamese fighter with black on him for some reason. He also stood out in the tank of red shrimp.
Psi and ki: They were both the most colourful 'females' they both weren't in bad condtion ether.
Envy: He really stood out and was showing all his fins because of the male in the next tank. He also was very pretty


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

Nel: no option as i was given it by my brother, he's not a fish person.
Nelliel: colour, same for Osiris
Grimmjow and Blitzkrieg for colour, pattern and tail type
Halloween: bit of a impulse buy as i had a space availble and colour.

i usually have a certain colour and pattern i look for, next must be PK.


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## Lissa3116 (Nov 6, 2012)

asukabetta said:


> What made you choose your betta?
> 
> I choose mine not by looks but when I feel like I have a certain "connection" with the fish, sounds odd but that is how it is XD


I also did it with connection. He stared at me, and he would follow my finger when I put it on his bowl. Now... he is scared of my finger and flares but he still stares at me!


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## fishy314 (Nov 8, 2012)

I picked Alpha for 3 reasons:

1. He was one of the three most alert and active fish at Petco.
2. He cost less than the other 2 ($8 vs $14)
3. He had better colors than the others.


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## pittipuppylove (Feb 23, 2012)

I forgot to add the betta that's kinda mine by default. There's a betta at my dear mother's vet clinic that I work at over school breaks and some holidays and weekends that I went all "fish nazi" on and moved from a nasty unheated one gallon (I know that's aruguably enough to house a betta, but I was going for lower maintenence because I'm typically only there once every week or two and don't entirely trust that much would be done other than feeding when I'm gone) to a heated, filtered, and planted 5.5 gallon. Though I don't see him much, I do most of the water changes and regular maintenence.


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## NorthernLights (Mar 2, 2012)

*choosing*

I had decided the right betta would make my heart sing. I wasn't looking for a half-moon (he was marked as half-moon but he's really a delta-type), and I really wanted a VT or a Spade, but I knew I wanted a royal blue fish.

I wasn't seeing any that struck my fancy (not very pretty, nor showing any spirit), but then I saw this guy and he looked at me and danced for me. He was not at all shy, and he seemed facinated by me, as much as I was by him. His fins were beautiful, obviously not chewed up like some of the other longer-finned boys. He's not nervous -- doesn't seem to want to hide -- I just knew it was the perfect match. 

So for me it was looks AND personality.


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## Bettamom1691 (Apr 7, 2013)

My betta chose me XD I got him yesterday at pet smart. I was looking through the bettas and I found the one white dragon scale and he would float looking at me then jet off. Repeated the process. His color is coming in very nice he's a red dragon scale plakat I believe. But he's very friendly towards me and my son but doesn't like my fiancée. He'll flare up when he sees him. I let my son name him this morning and his name is jack.


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## Kaxen (Mar 3, 2013)

I chose mine because it was the first time I've seen a female betta and I thought I would give it a try. And I hadn't ever seen a betta with Addie's colors. Well, all the bettas I had as a child and saw my younger relatives with were either red or blue-purple. 

...originally I was just planning to get a marimo only... but then I looked at the fish... 

Originally, I wanted to get a lady betta who looked exactly like Addie but with white eyes, but she was gone and then I got Addie instead. 


For Henry, I was originally tasked with pet-sitting, but then my cousin never took him back and then I was bent on rehabilitating him.


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## FinleaPea (Feb 18, 2013)

Finlea- got her because she was the most lively out of the group and was extremely attentive to me.

Odin- got him because he was stunning!


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

Peach - he was my first betta, a vt, and he just kept looking at me like he was saying "take me home!" xD

Count Manzeppi - because I loved his color and wanted to give him a home where I could help him turn into the beauty he became.

Cirrus - lol, because I thought he was white xD he's blue now but I wubs him :3


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## AkaRyu (Feb 23, 2013)

When I went to petsmart to look for a betta i really wanted a dragon scale (i have a strange obsession for almost anything dragon related) But when I saw Phil sitting there on the front shelf, I couldn't resist him! He has the most gorgeous fins, I love the light blue color, and he started wiggling for me when I looked at him.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Rossi- I went looking for a betta and was limited to under 10 bucks, not seeing any that struck my fancy. So I convinced my mom to give half of my allowance in advance and got the limit raised to 15. There was this brown betta with marble fins on the very bottom shelf. He looked like stained glass so I brought him home 

Dominic- The fish in the worst shape

Persephone- I was going to get another female with a brighter blue coloration but she was cheaper and while was shy with the larger fish around but when she saw me she paced back and forth in a little 4x4 inch square formed by the sides of the tank and air stone. She had to much spunk and has kept it to this day.


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## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

I think sully kinda chose me, I use to pick fish base on their looks/color befor but all their personalities were not too great, one always hid and the last one that passed would not get along with his tank mates. 

I wasn't suppose to get sully that day actually because I wanted to restarts tank, but I happened to stop by the aquarium pet shop 3 days after my last fish died just to check out their stock. Remembered reading how to pick a Proper betta here and tested all the fish by seeing how they react to my finger, and sully was the only one who followed my finger after withdrawing slightly. There was a more beautiful red crown tail priced the same as him, compaired to the crown tail he was a boring color and had tattered fins, but he red boy kept shrinking away from my finger and wasn't too sociable as compaired to sully and his good response made me connect with him straight away, so I bought him. 

He's now the best betta I've ever had, always greeting me when I get home and getting angry at me by displaying his fins if I ignore him without greeting him back, acting sick on fasting day (perp for bloodworms thenext day) and wiggling lim mad when the camera is in his face


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I got my first Betta, DaBaDee, my male VT, as kind of a gift for my boyfriend. He's more mine, obviously. I got him because my boyfriends favorite color is blue and he named him DaBaDee because he's blue (DaBaDee, dabadie).

I got Bahari because of his unique blue markings that he no longer has because he marbled, lol.

I got my girls from trusted breeders here on the forum because I wanted a good deal and healthy, socialized girls for my sorority.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I am ashamed to admit this. I am shallow and pick them because of color


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## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

xShainax said:


> I am ashamed to admit this. I am shallow and pick them because of color


I spot a fellow HU soldier.

nah, picking them out of color is not a crime, most people start out like that


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## Polkadot (Feb 10, 2013)

With my 3 boys it was mostly because they all came to the front showing off when I waved at them,also because all 3 were so little compared to the other fish,they just looked so tiny,especially Piglet and he has gotten so big now along with Peanut,but Button is my weenie boy,he is little compared to his brothers.Plus I really love their blue colours & cute faces. :-D


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## makoisland (Mar 2, 2012)

When I got Mako, I was trying to decide between him and a blue VT. I think part of what made me decide on him was that he probably had half the amount of water in his cup as the VT did. :roll: Other than that, though, I guess I just liked his color better.  He may have been a bit more active too.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Shepaski said:


> I spot a fellow HU soldier.
> 
> nah, picking them out of color is not a crime, most people start out like that


Yep I am seeing them May 21.  Undead army for life. Kinda ticked that Deuce was kicked out. I want to get a betta and name J3T


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## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

I choose them 1st for color and tail shape, and 2nd for personality.

When I was getting Saki, I saw a couple other beautiful guys, but they were so skittish and kept avoiding my finger and face. Saki was more calm and went up to my face. He was a greyish color with a lilac tint, which made me think he had potential, but his personality helped me choose him.

My other betta was color, hehe >.< I wanted a betta that could be as unique and beautiful as Saki turned out to be. Luckily, he also has a great personality. The runner up was more aggressive and less friendly, but Soren flared but not excesively, and he follows my finger and swims right up to the side of the tank when he sees me.

My husband picks the betta that "calls to him". He chose Sushi because he said there was jut "something about him". He was a royal blue crowntail when we got him, and there were 3 others just like him. But he wouldn't leave him there.

Shisu he chose because he said he reminded him of Sushi... which was a bad decision since he ended up being totally different and it disappointed him. He gave him to my daughter, and got a new one.. that I think he chose this time for color, and this one has a great personality too, so that's a bonus! He spent 5 minutes staring at him this morning because this new betta grabbed a piece of food and just swam and swam and swam while holding it in his mouth for the whole 5 minutes... longer, but he got tired of watching the little guy, lol.

So....

Saki - color and personality
Soren - color
Sushi - personality
Shisu - ? reminded of sushi?
New guy - color


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Nothing wrong with picking them by looks! I also think that their true personalities don't show when they're in tiny cups on a shelf.

I ordered 6 of my 8 online so I really couldn't pick personalities, lol.


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## LyraDove (Feb 22, 2013)

I named her Lambchop as soon as I saw her. She was barely past being a baby and had such a cute, innocent little face and big, soulful black eyes -- she was adorable. She gave me 'the look' from her plastic Petco cup and I had to take her home. She's getting to be very pretty (a yellow CT with aqua iridescence and purple rays. My lil fishy warms my heart.


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## SunshineSulie (Mar 16, 2013)

I chose Sunshine on a whim. I live in a dorm by myself due to some learning disabilities I have, ad I get a little lonely sometimes. I chose her because I felt like the boys had a greater chance of getting adopted than the girls do. She was also the prettiest there. After carrying her around the store, I fell in love and had to get her. She's been my baby ever since.


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## megz (Apr 4, 2013)

First off, I got all of my boys because I recently went through a bad breakup and was feeling lonely and needed something to love and keep me company. I got Jack and Mateo because they're pretty DTHMs. Mateo's coloring is so unique and Jack's fins are HUGE. So I bought those two for their looks. BUT...

I got Gary the same day I got Mateo, partially because I knew no one else would buy him. He's a gorgeous red and white dragon HMPK, but PKs don't seem to do well around here. People just prefer the bettas with long fins. And after the first time I picked up his cup, he just kept staring at me. It was like he knew that I was the only one who could see how pretty he was with his short clamped fins. I wanted Mateo because he was pretty, but I left with both of them because I made an emotional connect with Gary.

Ditto with Panther. I picked him because he was gray with a grumpy face. Again, I knew no one would buy him. Then I walked outside and saw him in the sunlight and WOW! he was so shiny! I'd never seen a copper betta before.

I was at Petco yesterday afternoon and saw two bettas that could have been Gary and Panther's twins. They've been there for at least two weeks now. It's too bad more people can't see the potential in the "ugly" bettas.


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## shushcat (Feb 16, 2013)

Leviathan, my first betta, was the healthiest-looking one at the store, I remember, so that's why I got him. I loved that he was red, too!

Timor was so beautiful like omg (still haven't seen a store betta that was as beautiful as him!), and I felt bad for him because he looked like he was having so much trouble breathing (he died within 24 hours).

Eris I picked out just because I'd never seen a betta quite like him before. He's so beautiful to me!

And I picked out the Kraken because, even though I made a little connection with a beautiful blue one at the store (I think about him still), he was flipping out at his sad neighbor. He was flaring non-stop and just so angry-looking! I didn't want him to stress himself out even more and get sick in that little cup, so I took him home!


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## Jexx (Feb 2, 2013)

Well, when I got Galileo, I studied every betta available and dithered over every small detail of each one until my husband finally made me pick one by agreeing that Galileo was the best looking of them all. When I got Esmeralda, I was torn between 2 females. Esmeralda was the tiniest and the other was the largest. I compared the two for an hour until the fish room attendant told me to get the biggest one. I chose the smallest and ended up with Esmeralda  With Lord Sesshomaru it was a little different. I wasn't even planning on buying a fish at the moment. I had plans for the near future but not that day. I went to Petsmart on my way home from Zumba to buy a control valve and was lured over to the betta section by their siren calls. I looked at all of them and nothing really interested me so I walked away and looked at other aquariums and checked out the sales. Then something pulled me back and I saw a little red veil tail flaring at everyone and everything that moved. I immediately wanted him so I had them put him on hold. I ran home (7 km lol I am NOT a runner) set up Galileo's old 3.5, ran over to pet valu and bought some gravel. took some silk plants I had made out of their soaking tank and set everything up. Then I called my husband and broke the news to him. he was not pleased lol. I love Sesshomaru soooooo much!


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## PopzTheBetta (Dec 8, 2012)

i had bought an adorible betta and a divider for my ten gallon now i only had money for a veil tail (i pesonaly like them) so i go over there and i see him a veil tail that looks just like haru my dead betta the only diffrence was that haru was a crown tail i see this little guy and instantly i call him "ketchup" buy him and man is he a cutey


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## mushumouse (Dec 29, 2012)

i saw space ghost when i was looking through the bettas at petco when i'd gone in for something for my other pets with no actual intention of buying a fish, about a week and a half before christmas... there were a lot of bettas of many colors, presumably for the christmas rush, but i had never seen a betta that was white before, so he stood out in my mind even though it seemed less "exciting" than the colorful ones. he was also on the small side so he had the cute factor going for him, lol. i came back a few days later and he was still there. i kept thinking about him all week, and after christmas, i went back and there he was, stuck at the back of the display, so i finally used my gift money to buy him.


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## Allirane (Mar 24, 2013)

Thyeo was a sick boy when I found him. There was not much selection and I just wanted one so badly. He had spunk, which all of my fish do. Neytiri was the most amazing looking female I had ever seen. She looked at me and turned like two different colors. I was instantly like MINE! And with Grotto, it took me a while, but looks amazing in my tank and he kept flaring with his patchy little head and vibrant blue and red. All my babies have spunk. I love it when they speak to me. They are such therapy to me and when I have one that just looks at me... with a certain look.... Like an I am recognizing you look. THAT is what gets me. And now, Thyeo flares to play games with me, lets me pet him, and eats from my fingers. Neytiri comforts me when I cry by always watching me and Grotto is a spunky new guy. I love what they do for me and how they make me feel. That's how I choose my bettas


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