Ares And Neptune

I'm homeschooled and keep a lot of pets in my room, but since none of them can really be considered "friendly", I thought it might be nice to have a companion to keep me company while I work. After a bit of consideration, I decided to get a betta.

I'd had them a few years ago before I knew how to actually keep pet fish, and despite the sub par conditions they were engaging, friendly fish with big personalities. Unfortunately, the one I have now is the exact opposite of "friendly".

If I dare have the audacity to come within a foot of his five gallon tank, he rushes over, puffs his gills out as far as they'll go, and makes a huge fuss at me. He's been in the tank less than a week and he's already made a huge bubble nest, too!

I called him Ares, after the Greek god of war. At Petco he was labeled both as a halfmoon doubletail plakat and as a "bumblebee betta", which I'm sure is either meaningless or a misnomer. As for his fins, he's definitely a doubletail plakat, but I'm not so sure he's a halfmoon... he's got nice sharp fins, and all the halfmoon plakats I've seen are rather round. He's a perfect arrow shape. Also looks exactly like a mustard gas, only with red fins instead of yellow ones. I might post a picture to identify his fins, but pictures just don't do him justice as far as how pretty he is.

I thought it was all well and good just having Ares, but my dad was at a dollar store today, saw a betta in a "nu valu" brand """fish tank""", felt bad for it, and bought it because he figured I could provide a good home for it. The "tank" is more like a bug keeper than a fish tank, and it even says on the label that it "contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects". Why would anyone think it's even remotely acceptable to put a fish in there??

The fish is a teeny tiny blue veiltail, skinny as a skeleton, with half his tail rotted away. The first thing I did upon receiving him was to put him in a one quart glass vase with clean water, as it's the biggest vessel I had on hand. I'm going to buy better temporary accomodations tomorrow so I can house him more safely while I set up and cycle a new tank. In the meantime, daily 100% water changes will have to suffice.

Currently, the new fish eats and swims slowly but constantly, and it seems to me he just needs some clean water and care. It's only been a few hours and he's already showing some red on his fins that wasn't there before.

I told my little brother that if he helps me feed this little guy and do water changes on my big tanks, the new fish can be his pet (with my supervision, of course)... he named him Neptune. I can't wait to head out to the store tomorrow and buy Neptune a proper tank with a filter and heater... even a vase is better than the toxic "tank" he was sold in, but hey, it's still a vase.

Anyway, I really just wanted to share my excitement about my new betta buddies, but if anyone has tips that'd be nice. In case it wasn't clear, Neptune is in a vase temporarily, but Ares has a five gallon tank with a filter, heater, and silk plants all to himself (I'd feel bad for any snails or shrimp who have the misfortune to run into this guy! Lol)

Soon I'll post some pictures, both to help ID Ares' tail and to make sure there's nothing wrong with Neptune that I didn't notice.

 

Yes, pictures! Dante, in my profile picture, was labeled as a bumble bee at Petco. I believe that's their marketing term because the breeder responsible for mustard gas has some trademark or copyright to it? I'm sure someone who knows more than I do will clarify.

 

if anyone has tips that'd be nice.

Aside from the standard "keep up with water changes and tank cleaning, be familiar with the signs of a sick fish, feed carefully and not too much" basics (these threads can also help, if you haven't seen them already: Betta Care Sheet and Important Betta Topics ) for all fish, what I think sets bettas apart from other fish is their intelligence and personality.

I personally recommend providing some sort of behavioral enrichment for your betta. Not all bettas take to being trained, but they all tend to be smart enough to draw simple connections if food is involved. I use a toothpick to drop pieces of food into the tank, and my crowntail immediately learned to follow it around during feeding times. This led to him doing tricks such as jumping for food, spinning in a circle, and shaking his head, using the toothpick as a cue. My delta tail doesn't do any tricks, but he'll still follow the toothpick around for a little while if it has food on the end.

I've heard that some bettas will actually get bored and start nipping their own fins or getting lethargic, so it's good to rearrange tank decor placement from time to time (I try to do that once a month). Alternatively, you can put some knickknacks outside of the tank for your betta(s) to look at, such as polished stones, books, accessories, paperweights, and so on, and rearrange those. Every time I change the placement of his "toys", my delta tail will spend some time by the side of the tank with the "toys" just looking between them all. My crowntail just likes hovering protectively over shiny marbles like he's guarding them.

However, the best form of enrichment for your fish is you! Bettas can learn to recognize faces, and as you've noted above, they'll swim over to look at you if they see you.

Best of luck with your new fishes, and do keep us all updated with pictures!

 

Here's a more recent picture of Dante.

 

View attachment 342597
Here's a more recent picture of Dante.

Wow, he's gorgeous! Yeah, Ares looks just like that except red, and with a thicker blue border around his fins. I'm pretty sure Petco also sells mustard gas as "Paradise" bettas, too.

 

Aside from the standard "keep up with water changes and tank cleaning, be familiar with the signs of a sick fish, feed carefully and not too much" basics (these threads can also help, if you haven't seen them already: Betta Care Sheet and Important Betta Topics ) for all fish, what I think sets bettas apart from other fish is their intelligence and personality.

I personally recommend providing some sort of behavioral enrichment for your betta. Not all bettas take to being trained, but they all tend to be smart enough to draw simple connections if food is involved. I use a toothpick to drop pieces of food into the tank, and my crowntail immediately learned to follow it around during feeding times. This led to him doing tricks such as jumping for food, spinning in a circle, and shaking his head, using the toothpick as a cue. My delta tail doesn't do any tricks, but he'll still follow the toothpick around for a little while if it has food on the end.

I've heard that some bettas will actually get bored and start nipping their own fins or getting lethargic, so it's good to rearrange tank decor placement from time to time (I try to do that once a month). Alternatively, you can put some knickknacks outside of the tank for your betta(s) to look at, such as polished stones, books, accessories, paperweights, and so on, and rearrange those. Every time I change the placement of his "toys", my delta tail will spend some time by the side of the tank with the "toys" just looking between them all. My crowntail just likes hovering protectively over shiny marbles like he's guarding them.

However, the best form of enrichment for your fish is you! Bettas can learn to recognize faces, and as you've noted above, they'll swim over to look at you if they see you.

Best of luck with your new fishes, and do keep us all updated with pictures!

That toothpick trick sounds like fun... I'll have to give it a try! So far I've noticed Ares spends a lot of time investigating the outside of his tank, and I've even tried showing him YouTube videos (he responds very aggressively to them). So far Neptune is doing alright, he's certainly figured out what it means when I bring out the fish food!