# My first fish:



## NaturesEcho (Dec 19, 2009)

I purchased this fish to be the subject of a biology experiment, but after staring at him for awhile I decided I could not leave him to that fate. So I lied to my partners and told them I couldn't get the fish. 

I named him William.
View attachment 6697

However, as much as I care about Bill, all I have is a one gallon bowl, and I really cannot afford to buy an upgrade for him right now. Will he be okay? What can I do to keep him healthy and happy?

What's more, my lab partners bought a replacement fish for experimentation, which I rescued and smuggled out of the classroom. I managed to borrow another fish bowl from a friend to house Beatrix. So now I have two Bettas and no proper housing :|


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hello and welcome to the forum. Thank goodness you rescued Bill. He's beautiful!! They'll be ok in gallon bowls for now as long as you change the water 1-2 times a week. Water quality is very important.


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## NaturesEcho (Dec 19, 2009)

Thank you!
I have had him for 2 or 3 weeks now and I have been changing that water every 3 or 4 days. It looks so unpleasant when it starts to get murky!
What would you recommend? If I were to put Bill and Beatrix in the same tank (with a divider of course) what size would you suggest?


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## Mecal (Nov 2, 2009)

so you stole a betta that your lab partners purchased...?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

A 5 gallon would work but a 10 gallon would be better. There would be more room for plants and decorations .


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Congrats on the new bettas.  thank you for rescuing them. 

Yep, a 5g would work fine, but they would LOVE a 10g!! 

Welcome to the forum!


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## JamieTron (May 16, 2009)

What was the experiment about?


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## AlexXx (Aug 23, 2009)

That fish is incredible! omg! Good work!! What was the experiment about!


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

And.. with a ten you could even go three and put another boy in there if you were to run into one.


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## TigerLily (Sep 17, 2009)

What sort of school is it? I'm not sure about all schools, but when I was still in school any experiment involving live animals was strictly forbidden to prevent any possible cruelty or neglect.

Poor little things. While it's a shame you had to steal them, I'm certainly glad they're with someone who cares about their well-being.


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## NaturesEcho (Dec 19, 2009)

It was an experiment testing animal behavior. There wasn't supposed to be any cruelty toward the fish, they were acting as predators, but my lab partners are not very nice. So after the main part of the experiment was over, they wanted to be mean to the fish. So I yelled at them and ran away with the fish. We had already collected the data we needed, and they were just going to kill it.


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## sunkissedinCA (May 7, 2009)

he's GORGEOUS! it's good you rescued him, i would have done the same exact thing. god, people can be so messed up, it makes me sick.


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## bettamama (Dec 17, 2009)

OMG KILL IT?!?! How could anyone kill something that pretty? Ugh, people freaking disgust me. Anyways, it's a good thing hes in your hands now. He's gorgeous.  You got lucky...and well, so did he.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

People disgust me, too! I'm glad he's with someone who will take good care of him.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I am glad you rescued them both. Could we see a picture of Beatrice? One of my tanks is a divided 5 gallon tank and my fish do very well in it. There is an online store called Big Als and they have a lot of really nice smaller decorations and they are not very expensive either.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

I;m so glad you rescued them, they are gorgeous! Good luck with them.


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

lying is not a good thing, however in life and death... I'm glad you did so

a one gallon bowl is fine without a divideder I have one 1gallon and several 1.5 gallons (I think) and they work perfectly for me. I might get a sorority for X-mas so my one gallon will go unused


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## JamieTron (May 16, 2009)

Ohhh no really? good thing you saved them from your partners! You have two beautiful fish now  Hopefully they do not buy any fish on their own if they think in those sort of ways...*shakes head*


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

KILL IT I would've had some chose words for them I'm soooooooooooo mad I could knock them out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:evil::evil::evil:


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## SASSweetassin (Dec 28, 2009)

*@Jay:* XD

AWESOME fish! Real glad you saved him, his colours are gorgeous!


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## AngelicScars (May 5, 2009)

Oh he's a beauty! SO glad you were able to save him! It's terrible that your lab partners felt they should hurt/kill any living creature! 

The 1 gallons should be fine for now. If you need something smaller, a 5 gallon to split will be just fine. For now, just make sure you keep the water around 78-80 degrees F. A small plant and hiding place for them would be great! Also, I would suggest putting something on top of the bowls because Bettas are jumpers! Good for you for keeping on top of the water changes! 1 gallons should have 100% water changes at least twice a week. I'm assuming you are using a water conditioner too.


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## cindylou (May 11, 2009)

*OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Thank you for rescuing that handsome male, he is lucky you stole him.*
*I would like to know also what kind of experiment it was too? Whatever it was they should be ashamed. What will you name him?*


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