# Why did you choose Bettas over Guppies, Neon Tetras etc?



## yogosans14 (Jul 14, 2014)

Out of all the fish you could keep as Pets why did you decide to keep Bettas? 

For me it was because of their beautiful color (and I heard they are easy to care for which they are to a degree) and I have come to see there personalities!


----------



## Johnny579 (Aug 22, 2014)

Well, it was mostly space and lack of experience that caused me to buy my first betta instead of a bigger tank and other fish. I now have 3 tanks, 2 20s and 1 5.5 gallon aquarium that have neon tetras, guppies etc. My only betta is in my 20 gallon community tank and he is my still my favorite fish.


----------



## PickyPrince (Nov 15, 2014)

It's kinda hard to explain, but for me bettas were always a constant in my life when I was growing up. My parents got me my first betta when I was two, my little sister accidentally killed him when I was six. My sister and I each got a betta for free a year later because the place one of my cousins got married thought of them as disposable decorations for reception tables, so we took them. They passed away of old age when I was like nine or ten and by that time I had a dog, hermit crabs, and a couple lizards, so I was more focused on them than fish and I stopped getting bettas. Now, about ten years later I've adopted another one to live with me in my dorm room and I can't believe I forgot what great company they are. ^-^

As for why I pick them over other fish, I had a community tank somewhere in that time when I had kept bettas, I stocked it with neon tetras, guppies, mollies, cleaner fish, shrimp, and probably others I can't remember (not all at once, that was over the span of the ten-ish years I kept fish), but they never showed as much personality as my bettas. It might be kinda bad to say, but those various fish were pretty much all the same to me. Only one fish of a non-betta species (a koi that was sold to me as a goldfish) stood out for me in all that time.

The bettas were always a lot more unique to me personality-wise, so I get attached to them a lot easier. I don't think I even really started to appreciate their colors and beauty until a few years ago.


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Other than bettas, I've only ever had goldfish. Oh I did rescue some wild minnows once from someone who had them for bait but didn't use them all and left them to freeze in a container. They didn't live more than a couple months, which was surprising at that. I was also one of those kids who never experienced guppies. I actually had to have them pointed out to me recently to realize what they looked like xD Goldfish were my thing as a kid, had them live to 8 years old in less than ideal conditions.

I had a big red VT when I was a kid and his endearing personality and beauty drew me in the most. Now that I know proper care I've kinda dived right into them and when I move in with my friend we plan to breed them.


----------



## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

when I started keeping bettas again (around February) I started with one, in a unheated tiny tank...I know shame on me, but when he wouldn't eat a few days later, I found this forum. I think mainly the reason I Choose to keep buying bettas is, they are very easy! they only need around 5 gallons, where compared to most other fish who absolutely need 10+ gallons. they are more "freindly" I guess is how you could say it, because they always swim up to say hi, and they watch you, and they learn tricks!
also they dont live for 20 years. I know i would love to have all of my bettas for the rest of my life, but It sort of takes a burden off of me knowing that I will only have my bettas for a few years, not 10-20 years, like *alot *of animals
and lastly they are all beautiful, there are different tail types, male, female, different color patterns, different colors, its amazing that they can look so different, but be the same on the inside, like us.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

*General reasons:* Each fish is a unique individual both visual and in personality/habits/etc. Feel a more direct bond than with schooling/shoaling fish.. where having several you don't really have one stick out. More plant friendly than gouramis (some eat frogbit and other floaters). Even when given proper care (filter, heater, lager than 0.5g bowls, water changes, etc) they are still fairly undemanding fish, and have small bioloads compared to other species. Can be comfortably housed in smaller thanks than most species, allowing people with limited space to keep one (or more ^_~). Because they can be kept in smaller habitats, you are open to try non standard tanks like large vases, cookie jars, and jumbo candle holders to change up fro the usual cube or rectangular tanks.

*Personal reasons:* My niece (by marriage not blood thankfully) who is a horrible pet keeper (who i got my first tank from after she was done making a disaster of it) tried keeping betas and kept failing (typical unheated less than 1g, no plants, no filter little nightmare of a tanks). She wouldn't take my advice, and her parent's wouldn't let me force her to properly care for the fish (or take it away from her). When she finally said something along the lines of "bettas are impossible to keep alive"... challenge accepted! "If you won't take advice, maybe you'll take a hint." My bettas are much healthier, active, happier, and longer lasting than hers already... Thankfully she stopped trying to keep pets after seeing this.
Also when my powder blue dwarf gourami died in April, I knew I'd miss his friendly sweet personality (he'd always swim to the front of the tank to say hello, follow my finger, and put his 'feeler' to the glass to tough my finger), and the chance of getting another dwarf gourami that was healthy (no DGD) with similar personality wasn't too great. I didn't want another and expect it to act the exact same way then be disappointed.. so I decided to try bettas since they're in the same family.


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Not sure why people say "bettas are easy to keep". Personally, guppies (any livebearer for that matter), tetras, and whatever small fish, are easier. They can live in sororities and communities. So all you need to do is get a tank big enough and toss them in. They will reproduce on their own. And fry will literally eat anything (if they are not eaten by the adults).

Bettas on the other hand need individual care because they are mostly kept in solitary tanks. You need to manipulate them into breeding and often fry will only eat micro sized live critters. Any water parameter fluctuation may harm them. Inactive bettas are prone to diseases. So you need to keep the water stable and each betta active. . . . how is that easy? LOL

I can't really explain why I love bettas. I just do - I love their form, color, personality . . . I guess I love everything about them. Further, my real passion is breading. Bettas are really challenging. Which to pair to produce what. Then there is the fry rearing - also challenging. . . . I just love it all. I've kept many other species (on and off) through the years, but I would always have a few bettas and would eventually only keep bettas.


----------



## Pippin (Apr 11, 2014)

Well, I first got into bettas because the people at my library had a betta. I got out a couple books on them, stumbled through all the confusing words(I was seven!) and immediately loved them. A few months later, my dad offered to buy one, but the entire concept of heaters confused me, as well as filters, so I said that we couldn't get one. When I was twelve, I learned more about them, and my dad let me get Pippin because I now under stood what a heater was. Actually, a few months later in reward for getting all A's, my dad let me get guppies. and we just made a huge community tank, and got neon tetras for Pippin.


----------



## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

when I say they are easy I mean, they are easy to care for, to me anyways. they dont poop alot, and as long as their water is kept clean, there probably not gonna get sick, especially if the tank is cycled ect. 

Ive never had guppies, tetras ect. but I have had a gold fish (several times), and bettas are a million times easier to care for, because they hardly poop, and as said above they wont eat your plants, and I *love* live plants.

for my though it really goes back to the fact that they can comfortably live in just 5 gallons of water, and they dont need "freinds" so instead of me having one 20gallon with some schools of fish or whatever, I can have several (4) smaler tanks that are divided to house bettas instead!


----------



## yogosans14 (Jul 14, 2014)

Guppies and Tetras are NOT easy to care for. I put 3 guppies once in a 10 gallon tank with a Vetta and they all died 2 days later...


----------



## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

My parents bought me a betta 15 years ago because I wanted a cat but both my parents are allergic to pet dander (for some reason I'm not though). I'm not sure why they picked a betta. I just came home from school once and there was a 3 gallon tank set up with a heater and they said they were taking me to the store to buy a fish and they only allowed me to pick a betta. After that I just sorta fell in love with them and had no interest in any other fish. 

Although now, I do want to get a proper puffer fish tank and then some day a fancy goldfish tank - like butterfly telescopes.


----------



## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I got into bettas because, after our platies died, my husband and I were tired of looking at the empty 1.5g bowl on our little table. We went to Petco and saw the racks of bettas they have. We were like so many and thought bettas were easy to care for. We'd heard all the myths surrounding betta care, and thought that it'd be an easy pet to take care of. Poor Ackbar...he dealt with so much from us... Luckily I learned pretty early that all those myths were false. I got bored one night and decided to Google betta stuff, which eventually led me to this site. The rest, as they say, is history. c: 

And now I stick with bettas because, mostly, of their personalities. I also love keeping bettas because I feel like I bond with mine, and they're stunning fish.


----------



## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

Honestly, I do not know what my reasons were for back then. But if you ask me now, I would say that their long, beautiful fins, feisty personality, and individuality got me hooked. I've owned 17 bettas in the last 5 years. My 16th betta, Merlin, died quite awhile ago and I just now got back into the hobby. I was a rescuer for a couple years, but had to stop when my current rescues were not finding homes. Their ability to push through more than a small schooling fish could is another thing I really love about these fish.
I've also owned platys and guppies, and they don't give the same feeling that bettas do.


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Slight tangent sorry!
*Vivian: *Do you mean dwarf aka pea puffer or one of the larger species like figure 8, green spot, or amazon puffer? Or the brackish and saltwater varieties?


----------



## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Aqua Aurora said:


> Slight tangent sorry!
> *Vivian: *Do you mean dwarf aka pea puffer or one of the larger species like figure 8, green spot, or amazon puffer? Or the brackish and saltwater varieties?


my dream puffer is a green spot. I currently don't have the space for a large tank though  and I refuse to buy a puffer until I have a space to accommodate what they need.


----------



## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

When I was a kid, I was basically the little dog boy from Mad Max but instead of a boomerang I had a fish tank. I was the worst. I can't say how may fish I contributed to the sewers of Philadelphia, it's not something I'm proud of.

When I was in college I tried again, with Goldfish. I had a Red Cap Oranda that I cherished. He had a 20 Gallon long, which at the time I thought was huge. I had no concept of cycling or water changes. He was dead in 6 months. When I told my girlfriend at the time that my fish died, she laughed in my face. Needless to say that relationship failed to develop.

After my failure , disappointment and betrayal, I swore off the hobby for good and got a beagle.

10 years later she died in my arms and I swore of pets for good.

Flash forward to my niece's 9th birthday. She wanted a hamster, Uncle mike made it happen. Every time we would go to the pet store, I would find myself in the fish aisle. Pretty soon, I was stopping at fish stores just to look at fish, like it was the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. I was doing it for entertainment. I found it very relaxing.

I found myself in the betta section and became fascinated. They looked nothing like the betta-fish of my childhood. The colors were amazing! I bought a book. Came here. The second I saw a plakat, I was hooked. I decided to go for it. I researched everything as much as I could, determined to make it work this time around. There would be no repeating of the mistakes and tragedies of my youth. I checked my ego at the door and absorbed as much information as possible.

It's been an overwhelmingly positive experience ever since.

I'm getting ready to start a new large tank. At first it was going to be a community tank, then a cichlid tank. Now I'm 100% sure it's going to be a wild betta tank, most likely Imbellis.

Although I must admit, I do look longingly at the Red Cap Orandas at my LFS.


----------



## Reccka (Jul 20, 2014)

I guess what started me off on bettas was wanting something different. Before I got my first betta, I had just lost my last pet rat to old age a few months before(and his cagemate to a sudden seizure two months before that). I was feeling pretty heartbroken and at the time, I couldn't stand the thought of getting another rat when I knew I'd have to go through that again 2 or 3 years later.

As funny as this next part sounds, I actually moved into the aquatic "pet" mood by getting a moss ball(knew someone who had one and I became kind of fascinated by it). Eventually, I kind of looked at my moss ball buddy sitting in a jar and started thinking "A fish would be nice too." then I thought "I wonder if there are any fish out there that specifically like moss balls?" and of course bettas were the first to come up for that. I never knew they came in so many shapes and bright colors and when I found that they even had personality(compared to other fish like guppies, goldfish, and neon tetras), I decided that I'd get one. Everything about them sounded appealing to me, personality, colorful, cute, intelligent, and I'll admit I was suckered in by promises of easy care(which is pretty true now that I have a routine down.) and the kicker was no pet smell. That was always an issue with my rats since my pets are in my room with me. 

So another couple of months later(lurking here learning as much as I could meanwhile) I bought a tank and all the other stuff I needed and picked out my first betta. I now have 4 and am planning to get a 5th in the next month...I'm very much enjoying having fish. It's certainly different and relaxing.


----------



## aquafin (Feb 10, 2014)

To be honest fish used to freak me out when I was young. Not live fish, but dead fish when they were floating. Weird, I know. Betta fish used to freak me out especially because they always looked upside down to me. Eventually I got over that strange fear. I wanted to start with a fish that could live in a smaller tank by itself. I picked a betta . After I got my first betta, Wilbur I was at walmart and saw my Gus in a cup half dead. I got him not expecting him to live very long but I wanted to give him a chance and try to treat him. That was 7 months ago and he is doing great! However, my first betta Wilbur ended up with an illness I could not treat and passed away . After that I saw Starburst (in my avatar) and couldn't resist his beautiful unique colors. So now I have Gus and Starburst.


----------



## BettaNamedHerbert (Nov 23, 2014)

I'd had bettas from a very young age, and they were always fun to watch. After I noticed that my betta didn't flare his gills when he saw a mirror, I figured he must be somewhat friendly. He's now in a 10 gal community tank with guppies, platies, mollies, etc.


----------



## Betta2000 (Nov 3, 2013)

The way I got into betta/fish keeping was through my dad. 
I was 12 at the time and he decided to get me a fishtank 
(I really didn't want one but he got me it anyway). The tank 
Was an aqueon bow front 5 gal. With a heater, filter, etc.

Even though I was skeptic about the tank I cared for it 
Nevertheless. It had a betta (of course) and I didn't really 
Care for the fish too much, but after a while the betta kind of
Started to grow on me. I didn't really take very good care
Of the fish even though I tried, but then I found this site and really started enjoying Fish keeping. I've owned bettas since then.

The reason why I like the betta fish is because of its quirks.
I like how they have a labyrinth organ , and how they act
More like dogs than fish (they are very entertaining)!


----------



## Krys (Jul 28, 2009)

personalities by far.
I've never had one that acted the same or did the same things.
But when I kept goldfish, they all were pretty much doing the same thing all day everyday. Looking for food. Destroying the tankscape. Getting gravel stuck in their mouths.... I just picture them like the seagulls in finding nemo.


----------



## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

I honestly chose them because I was always fascinated at how tough they were when I was little. I guess its because I wanted to be tough and aggressive like they were, but I do know that some are very gentle


----------



## Polkadot (Feb 10, 2013)

I first became interested in Betta because of how beautiful they are.From my very first little boy to all my boys now,their personalities are just incredible.They are very cute,funny & smart.I also like that they must be kept separate.I used to wish male bettas could live together,but I really like that they each have their own little pond.I think they are the best fish in the world! :-D


----------



## Rosalinds (Feb 15, 2014)

I first got into bettas because a classroom I taught in came with a classroom pet- a betta. He was in a horrible 1g, water was a dark green, half the tank was taken up by a huge fake coral covered in algae. Even though I had no experience with fish, I knew this wasn't right for any living creature to call this a home. He was such a fighter to live so long in those conditions (no one knew when he was acquired for the classroom, but a coworker guessed at least 2 years), I felt he was owed a better life from that point onward. 

Before this point, I had no interest in keeping a fish as a pet. I preferred them to have four paws and fur.  But I researched the care for the betta and found this forum to help me out (as well as a coworker who was into bettas who now owns him, woot!), and improved his care.

I just fell in love with his personality though. I had no idea that fish were capable of personalities other than swim, swim, swim, eat, swim, swim some more. I love their grumpy faces and attitude. I love how they get excited to see you when you walk in a room and chase your finger. Just adorable. 

The artist in me loves all the colors and tail choices, but it's really their personalities that pulled me into this hobby.


----------



## JessikaSky (Sep 6, 2014)

I got my boy Bill because he was super pretty, I loved his tail! but I also have a community tank with guppies, they in a way remind me of bettas too


----------



## Ilovebettasbk11 (Nov 12, 2013)

Colors so many beautiful ones with cool colors funny personality too and i always love pets and animals and wanted a fish


----------



## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I didn't choose the betta life, the betta life chose me. My first betta was given to me by my friend.


----------



## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

I never chose bettas over any other fish. I actually started out with a small trop tank when I was a kid. Then after about a year decided to take on a few bettas. Forty years on I still have all kinds of fish. But in regards to coloring bettas beat any other trop fish hands down, IMO.


----------



## ElyseK (Nov 27, 2014)

When I was about 5 years old I had a party at a pet store. Everyone got a coupon for a free betta fish or a free hamster! Of course my parents said no to getting a hamster. So I got a betta fish. He was in a 2 gallon tank, with a light, a filter, and a heater. He lived for 6 years. I named him Swimmy XD. He was a dark purple color and I loved him when I was younger. Now I have around 6 betta fish, each in a 5.5 gallon tank. One of my betta fish actually died today  but I love the betta fishes colors, and I love the "King" bettas (that's what my local pet store calls them).


----------



## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

I can't say that I chose bettas, or any fish, at first. I'd had bettas when I was a kid, but it didn't go well because a lack of knowledge. I learned things the hard way. After the last betta died, I swore off fish completely, and I had no interest as an adult in keeping fish.

Then in April 2013 I basically had a betta dropped in my lap. My landlords found a fish abandoned in one of their homes, and they offered it to my fiance and me because they know we're animal lovers. I can't say no to an animal in need, so of course I accepted the fish. I named him Rakki and kept him in a 1 gallon bowl, unheated, which was actually an improvement from how he was found, but obviously not great. He started getting sick after a while, so I did some Google searching and found my way here. After learning what I was doing wrong, I was eventually able to get him in a more suitable environment (5 gallon tank with heater and filter).

I fell in love with Rakki's flowing fins, graceful movements, resilience, and tough guy personality. I love him so much that I decided I wanted a second betta to love, so I chose Yurei as a birthday gift back in September. If I could figure out where to put another tank, I'd probably have a third betta by now.


*TL;DR* Bettas chose me before I chose them. I love their beautiful colors and fins, their gracefulness, their resilience, and their wonderful personalities.


----------



## Littlefin (Oct 18, 2014)

About a year ago, i was more interested in getting a cat. However, since we rent a house having pets is not allowed.. For most of the time, i had accepted it but one of my friends who also rented a house got a guniea pig, i asked her if guniea pigs here allowed in rented houses and she said she talked with the owner. So anyways, i decided to talk with the owner too but she sadly said no  Maybe i could keep birds, but only in the balcony. But keeping birds in the balcony just seemed.. weird to me. So the only option was a fish. At first, i thought fish where boring but as time passed i looked at the fishies more and more in the petstore.. until one day i saw a lots of guppies swimming around, and that's when my love for fish first started. So when i got home, i did lots of research about guppies, i wasn't interested in bettas at all. But eventually, i started to be more interested in them. Their colors caught my attention, and they seemed to have different personalities, but i still wasn't sure. A month later, i brought the largest possible tank i could which was five gallons (They cost 100 dollars in Australia -.-) I decided a betta would be way happier living in that space, and i as more interested in them anyways so i decided to buy a betta and i have not regretted it.


----------



## Bettacrab (Jun 30, 2013)

My first fish tank was a goldfish in a 10 gallon tank. When it died 3 years ago my yotube fans made me get a Dragonscale crowntail. Then I got into goldfish, guppies, tetras, etc. And now I am a fish breeder!!!


----------



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

For me it's all about the personality. I've always been fascinated by fish in general, but never really got personally attached to my community fish. They were interesting for their behaviors and relaxing to watch, but the bettas really stole my heart. I love that I can walk up to the tank at any time and they all rush to the front to see me. They each have their quirks.

I certainly don't think they are easy fish to keep when compared to livebearers, tetras, etc. My opinion is probably skewed because I've always been into rescuing, so my fish are usually compromised to begin with, but those long fins are just so fragile! I certainly don't keep bettas because they are easy.

I do think there are other fish with similar personalities, but most are too large for my current living situation. I'd love to try a koi pond some day, and I also like puffers and gouramis. I've also heard that oscars have great personalities. Someday....
Bettas just work best right now. They have great personalities, beautiful colors, and I can keep them in 10 gallon tanks and they have plenty of room. The 10 gallon tanks are stable yet easily moved and relatively inexpensive to set up. It's a win-win situation.


----------



## yogosans14 (Jul 14, 2014)

In my experience I tried neon tetras in my 10 gallon and they all died same with my guppies. But my tank wasnt cycled.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I like my wild bettas because their beauty is 100% natural. They have interesting behaviours, and individual personalities that show even when they are kept in a group. I have had other sorts of fish in the past, but none of these have really held my interest the way my wild bettas do. It's why in the past four years, I've stuck with my wilds through all their ups and downs. 

Killifish come the closest to wild bettas for me in terms of beauty and behaviour. With my wild bettas, I feel like each fish is an individual, rather than basically identical to the others in the tank.


----------



## yogosans14 (Jul 14, 2014)

How did you obtain wild bettas?


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Either from breeders, or from people that catch them from the wild and then sell them on. There are over 70 different wild betta species, the ones I keep are bubblenesters, but not the same as Betta splendens.


----------



## AngelFins (Nov 19, 2014)

I had a yellow veiltail when I was a kid. His name was Sunshine, and he ended up in a tiny tank because my sister convinced me they liked small tanks -.-

I got him because she was getting a pop eye goldfish and I wanted a fish too! I don't remember why I chose a betta, but I loved their colors. I wanted a blue one but, once again, my sister forced me otherwise.

My betta ended up outliving her goldfish, and so after it died we moved the betta to the larger vase. He was so much happier in it. He would sit on the bar and watch my mom as she cooked or did the dishes and followed her finger. We had to be careful when we changed his water tho because there were many times he jumped out of the cup and I had to chase him across the tile lol

As I got older I always wanted a fish of my own, but they were always expensive. I had looked at bettas for a long time due to the myths surrounding them and their easy care, but never ended up with one until I got my first job and found a 2.5 gallon at a garage sale. I snatched it up and cleaned it out within the day, and less than a week later came home with Samurai~

I had thought about guppies or tetras, but after researching and learning about betta personalities I was hooked. Not to mention my friend's betta had stolen my heart before he died at the ripe old age of 4 1/2 years old.

I don't think I could go with any other fish now! Bettas just kinda stick <3


----------



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I like my wild bettas because their beauty is 100% natural. They have interesting behaviours, and individual personalities that show even when they are kept in a group. I have had other sorts of fish in the past, but none of these have really held my interest the way my wild bettas do. It's why in the past four years, I've stuck with my wilds through all their ups and downs.
> 
> Killifish come the closest to wild bettas for me in terms of beauty and behaviour. With my wild bettas, I feel like each fish is an individual, rather than basically identical to the others in the tank.


Thank you very much for sharing! I find this very interesting.

I really like the natural beauty of animals too. In all species, it just seems to me that selective breeding has gone too far; where bettas are concerned, I tend to think about SBD in doubletails and tail-biting in the long-tailed strains as good reasons to re-think some breeding practices. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and think they are gorgeous, but I think the health and happiness of the animal should be of paramount importance rather than appearance (same goes for dogs, cats, horses, and I'm sure a slew of other species). I would have gone with wilds a long time ago if I wasn't interested in rescuing and disease treatment....unfortunately there are just a lot of sick/dying splendens out there  
BUT...it's nice to know that wilds have great personalities too...I may have to splurge and get some soon ;-).

Regarding the killies, are their personalities as good as bettas? There are some people in my local aquarium club that have been urging me to get some (there are usually some for sale at every meeting), but I can only have a few tanks and want to make sure I really love a species before I get it. Personality is number one for me.


----------



## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I got into bettas by accident.  I have always had cats and dogs, and have had everything from cockatiels to hamsters to turtles and snakes. Currently we have a cat and a dog, (one white and one black) and my son wanted "his own pet mommy". We'd been holding him off, but one late night at walmart, we were wandering and someone had left a betta in the juice section (seriously, who does that!?!?). Anyway, my son saw him and decided that he wanted a fish for a pet. Since Daddy has a dog, and mommy has a cat, it seemed wrong to deny him his own pet, so we got a "betta cube" and some gravel and the betta, and went home. Neither of us had any experience with bettas, so I went online to find out how to care for our new pet. And stumbled upon the forum. He upgraded to a 2.5 gallon the next day with a heater and filter, and a week later I was in love. 
4 bettas later, I've been banned from anymore fish. (so now I add shrimp and snails, those aren't fish, right?) I love how each betta has such distinct personalities. I have lazy betta, aggressive betta, laid-back go-with-the-flow betta, twitchy high maintenance betta, and poor blind betta who is laid back as long as NOTHING changes on him.


----------



## Heartbettas (Dec 13, 2014)

I love their protective nature, their individual personalities, & hardiness. I also just seem attracted to everything Thai, for some reason!


----------



## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Bettas are gorgeous and they have such unique colours and personalities! But I wouldn't say I chose them over other fish, as I could never keep just one kind of fish  I have three types of fish (guppies, bettas, and goldfish) and they're all different and unique!


----------



## tiffanylucky (Nov 6, 2013)

Bettas are super smart,trainable and live a lot longer then guppies. The list goes on and on. I was trying to take a picture of my big jaws, when Tiffy desided to photobomb the picture as pay back for not feeding her then (I fed her two hours ago).


----------



## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm scared of fish, which is stupid, and I was trying to challenge myself to look at fish in the store... bettas are a little less intimidating for me since there's not a whole wall of them, just a rack of cups... also at this particular store, less dead ones, and dead things also kind of bother me... so I noticed one actually looking at me and following me with his little head and eyes... I didn't know fish could do that. It seemed like he was choosing me, so I chose him back.

I still don't know if other fish do that or not, I've only seen my betta and one other cupped betta doing it. I haven't been around a ton of other fish though... I did recently go into a fish store to buy new substrate for plants, and managed to browse their fish enough to find their salt and pepper cories and otos, which I'm thinking of also getting.


----------

