# Betta Adventures



## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

My first official post on this website shall be a blog. If people read and comment, cool and if not...ah well!

I currently do not have a Betta fish but I will be getting one next Wednesday. I am really excited. I've always had a thing for fish...I feel I can connect with them. I love water, swimming...I've got this fishy vibe going on. I did own some fish in the past (typical goldfish won at fairs...well in my case, homecoming fairs for school) that died...fast. I feel so horrible because I didn't take care of them properly. I remember when i flushed my first fish....

Anywho...

I've been doing A LOT of research on Betta Fish these fast few days. non-stop reading about their care and obsessing over how beautiful and amazing they are. I am jealous of some peoples Betta's on here because of how gorgeous they are. I'm hoping mine will be a beaut!

I have chosen the very disliked walmart or a petstore near there to get my fish. I feel disgusting even knowing I'm getting my fishy from there but at least I will help give them a MUCH better home. Walmart in general shouldn't even carry living creatures. I've gone there so many times and seen filthy tanks with piles of dead fish and it's horrible. Why bother selling them if no one is willing to take proper care of them? Sure, not all places are like that but a good majority are neglectful. 

I've ordered my tank ( a 5-gallon for now. Once I get better at caring for my fishy and have more knowledge and space in my bedroom, I am most definitely getting a bigger one. It also comes with the filter), a heater, and a mini sea anemone ornament. I've ordered them all on amazon. I've decided to get the rest of the supplies (gravel, plants, decorations, conditioner,thermometer, etc) either this Sunday or Wednesday). I can't wait!

I'm really hoping I can do a great job of giving a beautiful betta a loving home. I'm a weird person....lazy and depressed, I will admit, but I am determined to take care of my fishy as best as I can. I really plan on getting a female and I've already got a name picked out...Moxie. It came to me randomly and I liked it. I've also got two guinea pigs named Pandy and Lucy and a dog named Simone (who's more less the family dog). I'm stoked to expand on my pet variety. 

I am nervous about my Brother. He'll put up a fuss because I got another pet. Never mind I'm 21 years old and I can make my own decisions. They won't effect him in any way. If he doesn't like it, he can bite me. My Brother was never much of an animal person anyways. 

I will be updating this as my betta adventures goes along. For now, I must end it here as I don't have much else to say. LOL.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave: Kudos to you for doing the research that it takes for fish care before you purchase your new friend.

Oh and if you haven't figured it out by now, bettas are addicting. I've got 6 boys scattered through the house but if I had any more surface space, it would have another tank on it and a new betta


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Romad said:


> Hello and welcome to the forum :wave: Kudos to you for doing the research that it takes for fish care before you purchase your new friend.
> 
> Oh and if you haven't figured it out by now, bettas are addicting. I've got 6 boys scattered through the house but if I had any more surface space, it would have another tank on it and a new betta


Thank you for the welcome! After a few mistakes I've made with pets in the past, I've really made it a goal to do as much research as I can about them before I adopt/buy them. >_>.

I can bet after a couple months, I'll probably have a room full of them LOL. I know I'm definitely going to be a betta addict. :twisted::lol:


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

I have officially decided to wait a little longer to get my betta. I was going to try my hand at the fish-in way of cycling my tank but I figured it was too risky, especially for a beginner. it'd just be cruel to keep them in there while my nooby butt messes around trying to make the tank completely safe, plus keeping my fishy in their icky cup for a week or two would be stupid and mean. My tank should be arriving Monday and I will start cycling it asap. I found a pretty solid method on doing it that shouldn't take too long. I couldn't bare waiting weeks >_>. I hope it works fast. I'm a bit slow in the head, so I am just constantly looking up things to make sure I do them right. 

I've also kind of decided on more names besides Moxie. I am really thinking of Rue or Prim as well because I love the hunger games. 

So most likely sunday or wednesday, I will head to a pet store or walmart to pick up some tank items like my gravel, thermometer, decorations and all that jazz. I am realllllllllllllly excited and can't wait to finally get my fishy.


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## shadowpony (Apr 15, 2012)

Are you going for a feamale (shorter fins) or a male (long fins)? Most petstores only sell males for the sole reason of "mommy I want the big red one with the long tail". 5 gallons! I keep my bettas in 2.5 gallons. Your fishy is gonna be spoiled! Also I would check out signs of illness...a first betta is better of a healthy one.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

shadowpony said:


> Are you going for a feamale (shorter fins) or a male (long fins)? Most petstores only sell males for the sole reason of "mommy I want the big red one with the long tail". 5 gallons! I keep my bettas in 2.5 gallons. Your fishy is gonna be spoiled! Also I would check out signs of illness...a first betta is better of a healthy one.




I had my mind set on a female but knowing how slim my chances are at finding one, I'll probably have to get a male. xD. I'll definitely make sure to look for illnesses...The amount of times I've gotten pets from pet stores and found out they were sick and died the next day...blech :roll:


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Well the tank arrives tomorrow (while the heater and anemone come on tuesday). I forgot to add that it's actually a 5 gallon marineland eclipse acrylic aquarium system. This is a picture from the amazon page:








Plans also changed again. I am going Wednesday to a pet store a half an hour away that has a pretty good aquarium section to get the rest of my basic supplies. I've been really debating on whether I should get my fish then or just wait. I am so impatient but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes trying to be my nooby self and cycling the tank with my fishy in it. I've most definitely got the time to do the water changes and various tests but I'm bound to make a stupid mistake. 

I've decided on a type of theme. I want it to be bright/girly colors with a touch of finding nemo. I don't think I'll get much for finding nemo decor for awhile because of the width, so I'll probably save most of that for when I get a longer tank in the future.

This is exciting and I can't wait!


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Woo!

So now all my amazon packages have arrived. The package for the heater was opened a little bit but seems to be fine. There's this weird paper thing at the bottom (the kind usually wrapped around...packages..Idk what it's called) and I don't think it's supposed to be there. I'm not too sure how to get it out either LOL.

The anemone is a little smaller than expected but great otherwise. I hope my future Betta likes it.

Now tomorrow may be the big day. I know for sure I am going to get the rest of the supplies, but i may also come back with a fishy. I'm fighting myself....Fish-in cycling...or wait...lol. I'm making sure to do plenty of research on cycling tanks with a fish in it so I know what I'm doing and don't torture the poor thing. 

We shall see what happens tomorrow!


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Everything is SET!

The site was down for me for awhile (boohoo..). I'm probably going to set up my tank later on and tomorrow, get my little fishy and their tank items. I'm not sure if the petstore I am going packs their fish in bags or cups, but I'm keeping the box and airplus stuff that my heater and anemone came in just so I can have a solid and comfortable little thing to put my fishy in since the ride home is basically a half an hour and can be kind of bumpy since the highway and roads around here are poo. >.>

Today was supposed to be a lazy day...watch lifetime movies, drink lots of soda...but no..turned into paranormal obsession day LOL. So i guess later, I'm going to the cemetery to try and get some EVPs or what ever. I am a freak .


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

5/2/12 - I finally got my fish! I am currently setting up his tank. I have a few pictures that I am going to post once I finish with all this.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

These are the current pictures I have at the moment. I am pretty sure it's a boy....But once I get better pics of his whole body, we'll know for sure. The tank is set but I am letting the temperature go down a little. I might need to adjust one of the plants but later on.

It was so hard choosing a fish because there were multiple that I thought were so pretty. The fish all looked to be in good health. 

Bosco (named after Bosco from thirdwatch . It was that or Howie cuz of Howie from the backstreet boys) here (given that it's a male) practically called to me. He was so fast in his little bowl and constantly staring at me as I was looking at the different Betta's. There was also another later there shopping for a Betta and she was really friendly. She said she had two that lived for 2 years.

Bosco is acclimating in his bag in the tank right now. He's swimming around like a G and staring at me. He's probably wondering why he can't get out to go play in the sea anemone or his spongebob pineapple house (I wanted something different but the other hideout I saw was a little pricey and bigger so i wasn't sure if it'd fit). Besides swimming around a bit, he kind of stops for a minute or two and watches the TV. xD. 

I love this fish already. As I sat in the walmart parking lot holding his bag and, he saw the shadow of my finger and was chasing it/nipping at it and I was sitting there laughing like a complete tard LOL. 

All together, I spent $127 on my little Betta buddy. 

The petstore clerk was really nice and helpful. She made sure we had a heater, good sized tank, things of that sort. She even gave us advice on feeding and what to feed them. Once my iPod charges, I'll upload some pictures I took at the petstore.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Bosco is a crazy little mofo. he seems pretty hyper as of right now after being in the take for an hour or so. He seems to like the area between the anemone and tank wall (near the TV). I think he's chilling by the plant atm. Tried to give him a couple pieces of fish food and a blood worm but I think he's too busy being a happy fishy. xD


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Final pictures/post for the day. If anyone stumbles across this and knows what type of betta Bosco is, please let me know!





























And as for random ones. I saw this fish when I firs twalked into the aquarium section and fell in love. he/she swam right up and stared at us....crazy lil thing. does anyone know what kind of fish this is because I LOVE it?










The shelve with Betta's. There's a few more not shown on the sides. It was honestly hard as hell to choose because I saw a few that I LOVED but as I said, Bosco called to me in some way with fish ESP. LOL


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

First night with Bosco was a success! it was stressful for me because I was worrying about him a lot haha. I've had to put some paper on the sides of his tank except for the front and turn his light off a few times because he seems to be neurotic and glass surfs and it makes me feel bad.

He's calmed down now and kind of poking around at the anemone and the plant. Right now he's in his pineapple house chilling like a G....oh but now he's spying on me as I type this. xD

I am not sure if it's because of his age (I don't know how old he is but he does look young to me) but it looks like his fins may be growing back a little (maybe from finrot or something?). He's in great condition overall.


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## Tobythefish (Nov 14, 2011)

Bosco looks like a Veil tail. He's good looking!
The other fish looks like a powder blue surgeon fish, a type of tang.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Tobythefish said:


> Bosco looks like a Veil tail. He's good looking!
> The other fish looks like a powder blue surgeon fish, a type of tang.


Thank you so much for telling me! I had a feeling he was he was a veil tail and thank you for letting me know what the other fish was. XD


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## shadowpony (Apr 15, 2012)

He may be growing. Petsores sell them when there 3-4 months old, most of the time. He may get bigger fatter, and may even develop a pattern, if your lucky. Congrats on your new freind!


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Success! 

Bosco is calming down a bit! he doesn't glass surf as much and actually takes the time to chill in his pineapple house or occasionally in the plants or anemone. I've finally gotten him to eat a couple bloodworms. He wasn't eating for awhile so I kind of let him be and now he's finally decided to swallow his food and not spit it it out. I'm in a bit of trouble now though because he keeps swimming towards the hole where i feed him .xD


I'm not too sure, but I think his fins have grown a little bit.

I'm calming down now too.The first few days were hard because I was worrying about him, but now I'm getting a hang on things and Bosco is also calming down.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Bosco is doing pretty darn good today! I was thinking of switching his plants around since I have a couple more I never added. I tried to feed him a pellet and a blood worm and he ate both. now he's practically begging for me >.>. 

I am happy though that he's stopped all the glass surfing. now he chills more in his plants and house, and swims around a lot. He looks really happy today


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Well today has already turned out to be a really bad day.

I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was one of my guinea pigs, Pandy, dead. I don't know how it happened. I really don't. I've had her for 3 years and nothing like this has ever come close to happening. 

I opened my eyes and saw her mop of hair sticking out of the cage. I thought maybe she was laying down in the corner. Once I put my glasses on, I saw her head was sticking out of the little grid. I panicked and shot out of bed. I tried to pull her out thinking she was still alive, and I pulled a little but it was useless. I only realized she was dead when I looked into her eyes and felt how cold her lifeless body was. I kept crying "no" in the process. I thought I was dreaming. I've had dreams like this before, so I was standing their trying to get her out thinking I'd wake up and look over only to see Pandy sipping water and chowing down on her food.

It makes no sense how this happened. The grids were too small for her to squeeze her head through and neither her or Lucy have ever tried to escape the tiny ones. Maybe poke their nose through a little, but they're not stupid. They can't and will not force their big heads through the tiny gaps. The only explanation is something had to have pulled her through.....

I feel like I am being punished right now. 

I do believe in the supernatural and all that jazz, and last night I was fiddling with my p-sb7 ghost box before I went to sleep. I became so paranoid earlier that I thought a demon may have entered my home and....Killed my piggy. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I seriously considered that and I don't really believe in demons too much. It really makes no sense at all.

Poor Lucy is on her own now and I really can't bare to pick up another piggy right now. I know it's good to have more than one guinea pig together because they are herd/pack animals, but I can't replace my peanut butter so soon. I feel bad for Lucy. I held her for awhile and fed her some apples and now she's in the cage hiding. My poor little Lucy is going to be just as depressed as I am.

I can't go in my room right now so I sit on the laptop in the living room. My Mom and I had to hunt for wire cutters and stop by the hardware store to get multiple pairs just so we could cut the grid and get her poor head free. Burying her is still a work in progress because it is rainy. We've got her wrapped in a blanket in a box with a couple carrots (one of her favorite treats) and in a tiny hole. The ground is just full of roots and it's so hard to dig real deep.


I'm so bummed right now. I was in the process of planning a bigger and even better guinea pig cage to put up within a months time. I still will, but Lucy will be the only one to enjoy it for awhile.



And to bring in other pets, my dog Simone gave me a real sad look. I was sitting here in the recliner holding the box with Pandy in it crying. I looked at Simone and she looked so sad. She wouldn't stop staring at me. I looked away to the TV and that is when Simone hopped up and came trotting in with that sad look in her eyes before she stood next to me. Speaking of the Devil...Simone just came bouncing in and curled up in front of me.


All this supernatural hocus pocus has be really paranoid now. Simone has been acting kind of funky this morning and was last night while I was using my ghost box.

Maybe I'm going crazy? LOL.

I can't think of much else to say. Bosco is doing much better and swimming around like a mad man. 

This little entry has been depressing but I couldn't help myself. I feel a bit better now and will just watch some TV and chill for awhile.


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## shadowpony (Apr 15, 2012)

Im so sorry!! At least you still have Lucy, but no piggy will replace Pandy. Lucy will be fine on her own for awhile. Maybe you could get a small teddy bear or somthing for her to snuggle with? I understand your not getting another pig. I myself LOVE guinea pigs, but I'm allergic sigh. I was so sad when I had to give mine up, I can't imagine what it must be like for yours to die. Best wishes.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

shadowpony said:


> Im so sorry!! At least you still have Lucy, but no piggy will replace Pandy. Lucy will be fine on her own for awhile. Maybe you could get a small teddy bear or somthing for her to snuggle with? I understand your not getting another pig. I myself LOVE guinea pigs, but I'm allergic sigh. I was so sad when I had to give mine up, I can't imagine what it must be like for yours to die. Best wishes.


Thank you!

I like the idea of a stuffed animal. i think I may try and get one because I feel so bad for Lucy since she's so depressed now.


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## shadowpony (Apr 15, 2012)

It may cheer her up. I saw an only piggy with a stuffed animal that it dragged EVERYWHERE with it. So cute.


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## SweetDLove (Apr 26, 2012)

Had a little mishap today with Bosco's heater. I feel so bad and stupid for not double checking.

Last night, I accidentally shut off the surge protector that his heater was plugged into. I turned it back on but originally thought his heater was plugged into the wall, so I didn't double check. This morning as I woke up, I realized that his heater may have been plugged into the surge protector and I checked his water and it was cool (not horribly freezing cold. A bit cooler than usual) and I checked to see that his heater was also unplugged, so I plugged it back in and turned the heater back on. I feel so bad for being such an idiot.

Bosco is fine though. Swimming around wanting food and being his usual silly self so I am glad he's okay. I need to get a new thermometer though as mine mysteriously broke somehow. >_<


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## greenfishfl (Nov 27, 2011)

sorry for your guinea pig and bosco sounds like his a cool boy


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