How And When Were You Introduced To Betta Fish?

For me, it started with my love of dogs. (I still love them today!) For as long as I can remember, I wanted a dog. But unfortunately, due to my mom’s allergies (and her general dislike of animals) that was out.
But, after hours and days and weeks and months of begging, Mom gave in – sort of. One day, she buckled me in the car and drove us to PetSmart, then dragged me over to the fish section.
After a long talk with a guy named “Dave,” the so-called fish expert, we came home with:

. a 0.5 gallon bowl. “He’ll be so happy in there,” ‘Dave’ assured us.

. fake plants that would give you a papercut if you ran your finger over them

. big black rocks, to stick the plants in

. betta pellets

. a male betta, who I called Sunset Fireball (don’t judge me; I was 5 at the time!)

. and a whole load of advice from ‘Dave:’

* feed the fish as much as he can eat in 3 minutes, every day

* clean the tank out once a week, and scrub everything with some soap

* use tap water

* “If you do all this, your betta should live about 6 months!! Yay!”

Sigh…
Anyway, when we got Sunset home, I made it very clear to Mom that I did NOT want a fish – I wanted a DOG!! So, as an act of defiance, I refused to take care of Sunset, and he suffered. He died after a couple months.

ONE WEEK LATER…

We came home with another boy, a crowntail named Spike. He was already deathly ill on arrival. Needless to say, that didn’t end well…

YET ANOTHER WEEK LATER…

We brought home a veiltail named Goldie, as well as a ZooMed under-substrate heater (you know, the kind that you can shove under the rocks.) We went through 2 of those – each one literally blowing up in the water and scaring the daylights out of Goldie.
This fish, though, I liked, so I decided to feed him – for 3 or 4 minutes *every day.* Mom still cleaned out the tank, though; she scrubbed it with hot water and soap.
Miraculously, Goldie lived for a year, before he got sick with something that to this day I can’t remember, and we put him down. In the freezer, no less. :’(
Anyway, Mom was sick of cleaning out the tank, and I was sick of burying fish in unmarked graves. I was done with bettas.

FAST FORWARD TO A YEAR LATER…

My dad and I, quite against Mom’s wishes, went to the pet store and picked out Rojo, a very feisty jerkfish of a betta. We also got a 1 gallon tank with an undergravel filter and an LED light – but no heater (what’s up with that?) – and took Rojo home. Now, he was a pretty healthy boy. I have no idea how, though; I never fed him, never cleaned the tank (I swear, he ate the algae out of desperation) and he lived for about a year and a half before he contracted dropsy and we put him down. Again, using the freezer…

Swim in peace, little boys. :’(

4 YEARS LATER…NOW MARKS THE TRANSITION TO WHERE I STARTED TAKING CARE OF MY FISH!

We got Bandit, a halfmoon betta with an attitude. I removed the cruddy filter from the tank, added in a heater and a thermometer, and got some new plants and gravel. He was still in a one gallon…but I guess it worked. The water was changed 75% each week, and Bandit was fed 5 pellets on Monday, 5 pellets on Wednesday, and 5 pellets on Friday. (improvement.) Bandit was a crazy guy, and I still miss him.
Anyway, he lived about a year until…something…went wrong. I misdiagnosed it as SBD, but that apparently wasn’t it. He died a few days later. When I scooped him out of the tank, I noticed his gills were red and swollen. I’m sure it was an infection or ammonia poisoning.

ONE WEEK LATER…

Blueflame! A Super Delta male and my favorite betta of all time. Still in the one gallon (because I couldn’t afford another tank and Mom wouldn’t pay for it) but fed small amounts every day, water changed 1-2x per week, and he was generally really healthy. He got finrot once – right after I had been discharged from the hospital from a bike wreck, and I wasn’t allowed to lift anything over 2 lbs due to severe internal bleeding – but I diligently did water changes every day, siphoning out tiny amounts at a time and treating him with salt. He bounced back within a week. He’d probably still be alive if it wasn’t for choking on a whole freeze-dried bloodworm that fell into the tank a few months later…Swim In Peace, Buddy.

I cried buckets when he died. I blamed myself; I swore off betta keeping forever. His tank and everything in it went down in the basement. To this day, it’s still there.
I’m getting misty-eyed just writing this. :’(

THREE YEARS LATER…

I’d been doing a ton of research about bearded dragons. Man, did I want one! But Mom wouldn’t stand for it – she hates reptiles. So, as I was going through some of my junk, I found a picture of Blueflame. And I’m like, “That’s it!! A betta!!” Now, as a self-respecting teen who has quite a bit of cash saved up, I did my homework, swearing not to fall for another person like PetSmart’s “Dave.”
Here’s what I ordered – from Walmart & Amazon:

. AquaCulture 5 Gallon Tank (with Whisper Filter and an LED hood)

. Tetra 50 watt heater

. Aqueon Betta Bowl water conditioner

. Omega One Freeze-Dried Bloodworms

. Omega One Betta Buffet Flakes

. 5 lbs of gravel

. a gravel vacuum

. and a bunch of plastic plants (I’m still not ready for the commitment of live plants, but these plants didn’t tear women’s pantyhose and my boy’s had no problems with them.)

After all this stuff was set up and cycled, Mom and I trooped out in the rain to PetSmart. Their pickings were slim, but almost every fish there was healthy. (one had SBD; I would’ve got him if I’d been more experienced.)
It came down to a beautiful baby girl, a sweet doubletail male, and a very small, very young crowntail.
I went home with the crowntail. Due to his initial skittishness, I named him Shy Guy. Now he’s living happily in his heated, filtered, 5 gallon tank, where food falls from the sky in small amounts daily – with a rest from feeding once a week, and where 25% of the water is siphoned out weekly. He now flares at almost anything that moves, other than me. (I’m the hand that feeds him, after all.)
I’ve had him for about a month – he was maybe 4 months old when I got him, so he’s still pretty little at 5-months-old.

Sorry for the very lengthy post. I just wanted to tell my Betta story, and please feel free to tell yours. (No matter how many pages it takes.)

Thank you to Sunset Fireball, Spike, Goldie, Rojo, Bandit, and especially Blueflame. You all taught me what it takes to be a good betta mommy. Your memories live on.

Please comment with your How-I-Got-Started-With-BettaFish-Stories.

 

Sunset Fireball.... I'm not judging that one -- my first goldfish was named Star-Fire.

I really liked your post.

 

Sunset Fireball.... I'm not judging that one -- my first goldfish was named Star-Fire.

I really liked your post.

Ha-ha, thanks! Like I said feel free to post your story.
And Star-Fire -- that's not bad. *Winks*

For me, it started with my love of dogs. (I still love them today!) For as long as I can remember, I wanted a dog. But unfortunately, due to my mom’s allergies (and her general dislike of animals) that was out.
But, after hours and days and weeks and months of begging, Mom gave in – sort of. One day, she buckled me in the car and drove us to PetSmart, then dragged me over to the fish section.
After a long talk with a guy named “Dave,” the so-called fish expert, we came home with:

. a 0.5 gallon bowl. “He’ll be so happy in there,” ‘Dave’ assured us.

. fake plants that would give you a papercut if you ran your finger over them

. big black rocks, to stick the plants in

. betta pellets

. a male betta, who I called Sunset Fireball (don’t judge me; I was 5 at the time!)

. and a whole load of advice from ‘Dave:’

* feed the fish as much as he can eat in 3 minutes, every day

* clean the tank out once a week, and scrub everything with some soap

* use tap water

* “If you do all this, your betta should live about 6 months!! Yay!”

Sigh…
Anyway, when we got Sunset home, I made it very clear to Mom that I did NOT want a fish – I wanted a DOG!! So, as an act of defiance, I refused to take care of Sunset, and he suffered. He died after a couple months.



ONE WEEK LATER…

We came home with another boy, a crowntail named Spike. He was already deathly ill on arrival. Needless to say, that didn’t end well…



YET ANOTHER WEEK LATER…

We brought home a veiltail named Goldie, as well as a ZooMed under-substrate heater (you know, the kind that you can shove under the rocks.) We went through 2 of those – each one literally blowing up in the water and scaring the daylights out of Goldie.
This fish, though, I liked, so I decided to feed him – for 3 or 4 minutes *every day.* Mom still cleaned out the tank, though; she scrubbed it with hot water and soap.
Miraculously, Goldie lived for a year, before he got sick with something that to this day I can’t remember, and we put him down. In the freezer, no less. :’(
Anyway, Mom was sick of cleaning out the tank, and I was sick of burying fish in unmarked graves. I was done with bettas.



FAST FORWARD TO A YEAR LATER…

My dad and I, quite against Mom’s wishes, went to the pet store and picked out Rojo, a very feisty jerkfish of a betta. We also got a 1 gallon tank with an undergravel filter and an LED light – but no heater (what’s up with that?) – and took Rojo home. Now, he was a pretty healthy boy. I have no idea how, though; I never fed him, never cleaned the tank (I swear, he ate the algae out of desperation) and he lived for about a year and a half before he contracted dropsy and we put him down. Again, using the freezer…

Swim in peace, little boys. :’(



4 YEARS LATER…NOW MARKS THE TRANSITION TO WHERE I STARTED TAKING CARE OF MY FISH!

We got Bandit, a halfmoon betta with an attitude. I removed the cruddy filter from the tank, added in a heater and a thermometer, and got some new plants and gravel. He was still in a one gallon…but I guess it worked. The water was changed 75% each week, and Bandit was fed 5 pellets on Monday, 5 pellets on Wednesday, and 5 pellets on Friday. (improvement.) Bandit was a crazy guy, and I still miss him.
Anyway, he lived about a year until…something…went wrong. I misdiagnosed it as SBD, but that apparently wasn’t it. He died a few days later. When I scooped him out of the tank, I noticed his gills were red and swollen. I’m sure it was an infection or ammonia poisoning.



ONE WEEK LATER…

Blueflame! A Super Delta male and my favorite betta of all time. Still in the one gallon (because I couldn’t afford another tank and Mom wouldn’t pay for it) but fed small amounts every day, water changed 1-2x per week, and he was generally really healthy. He got finrot once – right after I had been discharged from the hospital from a bike wreck, and I wasn’t allowed to lift anything over 2 lbs due to severe internal bleeding – but I diligently did water changes every day, siphoning out tiny amounts at a time and treating him with salt. He bounced back within a week. He’d probably still be alive if it wasn’t for choking on a whole freeze-dried bloodworm that fell into the tank a few months later…Swim In Peace, Buddy.

I cried buckets when he died. I blamed myself; I swore off betta keeping forever. His tank and everything in it went down in the basement. To this day, it’s still there.
I’m getting misty-eyed just writing this. :’(




THREE YEARS LATER…

I’d been doing a ton of research about bearded dragons. Man, did I want one! But Mom wouldn’t stand for it – she hates reptiles. So, as I was going through some of my junk, I found a picture of Blueflame. And I’m like, “That’s it!! A betta!!” Now, as a self-respecting teen who has quite a bit of cash saved up, I did my homework, swearing not to fall for another person like PetSmart’s “Dave.”
Here’s what I ordered – from Walmart & Amazon:

. AquaCulture 5 Gallon Tank (with Whisper Filter and an LED hood)

. Tetra 50 watt heater

. Aqueon Betta Bowl water conditioner

. Omega One Freeze-Dried Bloodworms

. Omega One Betta Buffet Flakes

. 5 lbs of gravel

. a gravel vacuum

. and a bunch of plastic plants (I’m still not ready for the commitment of live plants, but these plants didn’t tear women’s pantyhose and my boy’s had no problems with them.)

After all this stuff was set up and cycled, Mom and I trooped out in the rain to PetSmart. Their pickings were slim, but almost every fish there was healthy. (one had SBD; I would’ve got him if I’d been more experienced.)
It came down to a beautiful baby girl, a sweet doubletail male, and a very small, very young crowntail.
I went home with the crowntail. Due to his initial skittishness, I named him Shy Guy. Now he’s living happily in his heated, filtered, 5 gallon tank, where food falls from the sky in small amounts daily – with a rest from feeding once a week, and where 25% of the water is siphoned out weekly. He now flares at almost anything that moves, other than me. (I’m the hand that feeds him, after all.)
I’ve had him for about a month – he was maybe 4 months old when I got him, so he’s still pretty little at 5-months-old.

Sorry for the very lengthy post. I just wanted to tell my Betta story, and please feel free to tell yours. (No matter how many pages it takes.)


Thank you to Sunset Fireball, Spike, Goldie, Rojo, Bandit, and especially Blueflame. You all taught me what it takes to be a good betta mommy. Your memories live on.

Please comment with your How-I-Got-Started-With-BettaFish-Stories.

 

The first betta I had wasn't really mine. The nurse at the doctor's office I worked at hired her granddaughter to be the new receptionist (that's a whole other story!). The granddaughter decided she wanted a fish for the office so off we went to Petco! We got a 1 gallon bowl and away we went! Webster was a great fish but the granddaughter changing his water and wouldn't feed him. So I started caring for Webster with weekly water changes and every other day feedings. I used to bring him home with me over the weekends till I was told he wouldn't starve to death. He lived a couple of years and I don't know what killed him other than no filtration and no heat.

I have my second betta now that I got from a family friend. Teenage son wasn't caring for the betta so the dad said he deserves a better home, so now Rusty is with me! He's a fun boy that brings everyone in my family lots of joy! Plus he loves his filtered and heated 10 gallon tank! This is an old picture but it shows him cruising around his big tank!

 

Mine started 12 years ago, we were married for about 1 1/2 years, had my cat from before we were married and had already gotten a puppy, who was now about 6 months but something was missing. I decided that mothering feeling must be because I needed a fish or at least I thought it when I bought Alpha on a whI'm when we were at PetSmart buying the dog her food.

His tank, though not properly taken care of, was the easiest tank to take care of. It was a 2 1/2 gallon tank with glass bead things which probably drove him crazy but sure looked cool and 2 plastic plants. He was a jumper, we'd hear him splash in the water all the time so we went and bought a cover (the mesh, terrarium kind). Then once a week I'd empty it all out. I'd put the fish in a 4 c. measuring cup and empty out all of the water, rinse off the beads, the sides of the tanks, and wipe them down with a paper towel to get off any algae. I kept a gallon of water under the sink so the water was the same temperature as before and I would pour that in. Then I'd refill the gallon, stick it back underneath and pour the rest in later in the day or the next once it was room temp. Beads, plants and water were put in and then the fish.

He did pretty well until one day he jumped out of that measuring cup, the dog was still young and needed out NOW. Sadly, I found Alpha still breathing but his fins were dried. I put him back in the water but he didn't make it. He's the only fish that we've buried which was no easy task, we were living in a condo and we had to do it while no one was watching! Needless to say he had a very, very shallow grave. I think that's about the time the orange, tabby started hanging around.

 

When I was about 5, my parents decided that to let me have a pet. Not a dog, like I begged for, but a fish. We went to the store (Walmart or Petsmart) and an associate gave us everything we would ever need. This included:
- A 3 gallon tank with a filter
- Water Conditioner
- Food
- Marbles
- A few plants and a castle
Now, this could have been an okay setup, but the associate also decided to give us TWO MALE BETTA FISH. Miraciously, they survived for about a year together with minimal water changes. One morning I woke up and both of them were belly up. After that, several years later, I got another betta. He was a veiltail boy that I named Blue. Very creative. Blue had slightly better care, but nothing spectacular. One day, I decided that Blue was lonely and got a few neon tetras (in a three gallon) for him to "play" with. Blue freaked out and started attacking the tetras, earning himself a timeout in a 1 gallon (filled a 1/4 of the way) from some other betta fish I owned that I don't even remember. He died the next day. Those neons lived by themselves for a bit and then we went to a fair. There was the classic goldfish stand, and I came home with a comet goldfish named Flash. I'm sure you can guess where we put him. Flash and the neons lived in that same three gallon with monthly water changes for about a year (I can't imagine the ammonia in. I then got bored with the fish and gave them away to someone else, promising my mom I would never own those boring pets again. I did not keep fish until Neptune. Neptune is my doubletail boy who lives in a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and water changes 3 times a week. He is an amazing little guy, and I feel horrible for how many of his kind I have accidentally murdered.

 

When I was a small child my parents brought home a decent sized tank (I can't recall how many gallons... I don't think I even knew it at the time) and stocked it with a few different fish, one of which was a male betta. Being the creative people my folks are they named him Betty (pronounced Bay-ty). I don't know how they maintained it, filtered it, heated it... I just remember there were some neon tetras, some sort of molly, at least one hitchhiker snail from the plants, some sort of catfish we called the "algae eater," and some others. I can't recall how long we had it, but I remember my dad would pet Betty.

Some time after the tank was long gone I won a betta at a party that was using bettas in vases with plants on top as table decorations. You know the drill; someone tells you it's a symbiotic relationship. The betta needs no care because the plant provides the food for the fish and the fish poop provides the food for the plant. Just do weekly water changes. I neglected to do water changes, and he died. He'd have died even if I had, but I felt extremely guilty for not doing those water changes as I was supposed to. I still feel guilty about keeping him in those conditions to this day.

Fast forward to present time. I'd been bubbling in turmoil from wanting a pet but didn't want to dwindle away my options at finding a place to live. My parents whom house me currently are also very picky about what animals are allowed in their house. I eventually gave in because if I couldn't live someplace that wouldn't even allow a fish I wouldn't want to live there at all. Being online opened me up to the proper care and maintenance of bettas, and over the course of a few months I researched, gathered my equipment, and vowed to do it right this time. And that is how Scurvy came to live with me.

 

Honestly, a few weeks ago. My mum and I had tried gold-fish when I was a kid and they lived for several years, but I don't really remember being overly interested in them. I had a kitten, and she definitely got the majority of the attention. Some of my friends had Bettas in those ghastly little twin-tanks the size of a coke can, and I'm retroactively horrified for them, but they didn't interest me at the time (probably because they always looked so sad and wilted).

Recently, one of my Mum's friends got given several Bettas in small 1 gallon tanks and she didn't want to keep them all so she started offloading them on her friends' kids. Namely; me and my siblings. My brother and sister took the two vibrant crown-tails, and I let them because I'm much older than they are. And so I was left with a brown veil-tail. To be honest, I kind of liked that he was dull. Like a fishy underdog.

Adopting him kicked off a week of intense research, wherein I learned that a 1 gallon unheated tank is absolutely not appropriate. So off I went to Gumtree to find a larger tank. $250 dollars later, I have a 15 gallon heated tank with driftwood, live plants, and hiding spots, and am currently waiting for it to cycle. To keep my new baby healthy, I bought him a little heater for his cramped tank, and I do water changes every second day. He's got a leaf-hammock and some java moss, which I hope help keep him entertained.

Even though he's still in the small tank, over the two weeks I've had him he's started to develop some colour and appears to be a rather muted mustard-gas. He seems happy and active, and I really love waking up to see his excited little butt-wiggles (even though I know it's the food he really wants). I'm really excited to get him into his roomy new digs and see how much happier I can make him.

 

My dad kept bettas (in little one gallon tanks) fairly successfully for years when I was really little. I don't remember them very much. The first (and only so far) betta that I owned myself came after I rehomed a fair goldfish that was living in a ten gallon tank (I was mortified to learn that I was keeping him in such poor conditions, even though my pet store associate assured me he'd be fine in the 10 gallon for a few years until I could upgrade to a 20g. Now I know that comets need much bigger accommodations than that, but that's another story). I researched what I could put in a 10 gallon and a betta seemed very appealing. I got him from a fish expo (from a kind of shady seller) and plopped him in my uncycled tank (the pet store employee told me it would be fine, though I've learned otherwise). It's been about two and a half weeks of daily 50% water changes to keep the ammonia levels under control, and trying to keep some nasty fin tears from bad decor (that I've since replaced with live plants) and a too strong filter (that I've since baffled) from getting infected, but I'm determined to give my first betta baby as good of a home as I can. I'm hopelessly in love with the little guy and his antics and, though I wish I'd done things properly, I'm really glad I have him!

 

Mine started 12 years ago, we were married for about 1 1/2 years, had my cat from before we were married and had already gotten a puppy, who was now about 6 months but something was missing. I decided that mothering feeling must be because I needed a fish or at least I thought it when I bought Alpha on a whI'm when we were at PetSmart buying the dog her food.

His tank, though not properly taken care of, was the easiest tank to take care of. It was a 2 1/2 gallon tank with glass bead things which probably drove him crazy but sure looked cool and 2 plastic plants. He was a jumper, we'd hear him splash in the water all the time so we went and bought a cover (the mesh, terrarium kind). Then once a week I'd empty it all out. I'd put the fish in a 4 c. measuring cup and empty out all of the water, rinse off the beads, the sides of the tanks, and wipe them down with a paper towel to get off any algae. I kept a gallon of water under the sink so the water was the same temperature as before and I would pour that in. Then I'd refill the gallon, stick it back underneath and pour the rest in later in the day or the next once it was room temp. Beads, plants and water were put in and then the fish.

He did pretty well until one day he jumped out of that measuring cup, the dog was still young and needed out NOW. Sadly, I found Alpha still breathing but his fins were dried. I put him back in the water but he didn't make it. He's the only fish that we've buried which was no easy task, we were living in a condo and we had to do it while no one was watching! Needless to say he had a very, very shallow grave. I think that's about the time the orange, tabby started hanging around.

Poor thing!!

 

When I was about 5, my parents decided that to let me have a pet. Not a dog, like I begged for, but a fish. We went to the store (Walmart or Petsmart) and an associate gave us everything we would ever need. This included:
- A 3 gallon tank with a filter
- Water Conditioner
- Food
- Marbles
- A few plants and a castle
Now, this could have been an okay setup, but the associate also decided to give us TWO MALE BETTA FISH. Miraciously, they survived for about a year together with minimal water changes. One morning I woke up and both of them were belly up. After that, several years later, I got another betta. He was a veiltail boy that I named Blue. Very creative. Blue had slightly better care, but nothing spectacular. One day, I decided that Blue was lonely and got a few neon tetras (in a three gallon) for him to "play" with. Blue freaked out and started attacking the tetras, earning himself a timeout in a 1 gallon (filled a 1/4 of the way) from some other betta fish I owned that I don't even remember. He died the next day. Those neons lived by themselves for a bit and then we went to a fair. There was the classic goldfish stand, and I came home with a comet goldfish named Flash. I'm sure you can guess where we put him. Flash and the neons lived in that same three gallon with monthly water changes for about a year (I can't imagine the ammonia in. I then got bored with the fish and gave them away to someone else, promising my mom I would never own those boring pets again. I did not keep fish until Neptune. Neptune is my doubletail boy who lives in a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and water changes 3 times a week. He is an amazing little guy, and I feel horrible for how many of his kind I have accidentally murdered.

Oh my goodness!! That's even crazier than what "Dave" told me!! 2 male betta?

When I was about 5, my parents decided that to let me have a pet. Not a dog, like I begged for, but a fish. We went to the store (Walmart or Petsmart) and an associate gave us everything we would ever need. This included:
- A 3 gallon tank with a filter
- Water Conditioner
- Food
- Marbles
- A few plants and a castle
Now, this could have been an okay setup, but the associate also decided to give us TWO MALE BETTA FISH. Miraciously, they survived for about a year together with minimal water changes. One morning I woke up and both of them were belly up. After that, several years later, I got another betta. He was a veiltail boy that I named Blue. Very creative. Blue had slightly better care, but nothing spectacular. One day, I decided that Blue was lonely and got a few neon tetras (in a three gallon) for him to "play" with. Blue freaked out and started attacking the tetras, earning himself a timeout in a 1 gallon (filled a 1/4 of the way) from some other betta fish I owned that I don't even remember. He died the next day. Those neons lived by themselves for a bit and then we went to a fair. There was the classic goldfish stand, and I came home with a comet goldfish named Flash. I'm sure you can guess where we put him. Flash and the neons lived in that same three gallon with monthly water changes for about a year (I can't imagine the ammonia in. I then got bored with the fish and gave them away to someone else, promising my mom I would never own those boring pets again. I did not keep fish until Neptune. Neptune is my doubletail boy who lives in a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and water changes 3 times a week. He is an amazing little guy, and I feel horrible for how many of his kind I have accidentally murdered.

Oh my goodness!! That's even crazier than what "Dave" told me!! 2 male betta? Wow.

 

I never thought I'd be a fishkeeper, I never had any interest in it before, but I'm really enjoying it tbh.
My boyfriend lives in MissourI and I'm over in Pennsylvania, and we do vacations at eachothers places every now and again during hoildays.
I spent last christmas with him and his family, at the time they were setting up a pretty octagonal tank for mollies and neon tetras. Once it was ready for fish we set out for petco together. At the pet store I wandered around through the isles and saw the betta display. I was admiring the betta fish, and his mom took note of that and suggested to Adam that he mail me a fish and an aquarium setup to me when valentines day rolled around.

He thought it was a great idea too, so on Feb 14th on my way out the door I was greeted by a mailman carrying a box that said "LIVE" adressed to me.
Dispite being shipped he looked alright. My mom helped me acclimate him while I ran to my local petco to get gravel and hiding places for him and anything else he might need.

I knew NOTHING about fish!
I read all kinds forums (which led me here) because I wanted to give this poor little guy a good life.
I didnt know about the nitrogen cycle until a couple days after getting him, and at that point I brought water samples to petco to test for me to make sure Alpha would be okay. I definitely overfed him for a while, and went about cleaning the aquarium wrong. Rinsing the filter in tap water, doing 100% water changes, stuff like that.
Shortly after getting him I noticed he had ich. I got ich meds and created a fishlore account to try and help him to get better. I had increased the water changes and started taking him out to do salt baths, and so the water changes wouldn't stress him too much. Well, he was stressed and I guess that's why he jumped out of my measuring cup. I was in absolute disbelief that he jumped out. I couldnt see him anywhere, I mean how far could a fish get out of water?? I found him in my slightly ajar sock drawer laying on one of my socks. I quickly put him back in the water, he still seems okay at first, but within a couple days obviously has severe finrot. The water changes werent doing anything and I got really worried, so I started day 1 of meds and woke up to a terrible sight the next morning. His name was Alpha and I was really sad that I couldnt do better for him.

Knowing Adam would be here in April I bought a 10gal and started cycling the 2.5 gal and the 10. I wanted to give the next betta the best I could. It was so sad seeing empty tanks every morning, reminding me I couldnt manage to keep a fish alive. Dispite not wanting him, as soon as he was mine I wanted nothing more for him to be happy and healthy. I was really sad when he passed.
But...
I now have a beautiful halfmoon betta boy named Finnegan (though I just call him baby-fish for whatever reason...) and red rilI shrimp all named Alfonso or a nickname (alfie, Al...ect. there's 9. My coworker insisted on naming them) everyone's happy and healthy and I'm glad

That turned out much longer than I thought, but that's how I got started.

 

When I was about 5, my parents decided that to let me have a pet. Not a dog, like I begged for, but a fish. We went to the store (Walmart or Petsmart) and an associate gave us everything we would ever need. This included:
- A 3 gallon tank with a filter
- Water Conditioner
- Food
- Marbles
- A few plants and a castle
Now, this could have been an okay setup, but the associate also decided to give us TWO MALE BETTA FISH. Miraciously, they survived for about a year together with minimal water changes. One morning I woke up and both of them were belly up. After that, several years later, I got another betta. He was a veiltail boy that I named Blue. Very creative. Blue had slightly better care, but nothing spectacular. One day, I decided that Blue was lonely and got a few neon tetras (in a three gallon) for him to "play" with. Blue freaked out and started attacking the tetras, earning himself a timeout in a 1 gallon (filled a 1/4 of the way) from some other betta fish I owned that I don't even remember. He died the next day. Those neons lived by themselves for a bit and then we went to a fair. There was the classic goldfish stand, and I came home with a comet goldfish named Flash. I'm sure you can guess where we put him. Flash and the neons lived in that same three gallon with monthly water changes for about a year (I can't imagine the ammonia in. I then got bored with the fish and gave them away to someone else, promising my mom I would never own those boring pets again. I did not keep fish until Neptune. Neptune is my doubletail boy who lives in a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and water changes 3 times a week. He is an amazing little guy, and I feel horrible for how many of his kind I have accidentally murdered.

Ahh yes... At least your horror stories aren't *quite* as bad as mine!!!!

 

Honestly, a few weeks ago. My mum and I had tried gold-fish when I was a kid and they lived for several years, but I don't really remember being overly interested in them. I had a kitten, and she definitely got the majority of the attention. Some of my friends had Bettas in those ghastly little twin-tanks the size of a coke can, and I'm retroactively horrified for them, but they didn't interest me at the time (probably because they always looked so sad and wilted).

Recently, one of my Mum's friends got given several Bettas in small 1 gallon tanks and she didn't want to keep them all so she started offloading them on her friends' kids. Namely; me and my siblings. My brother and sister took the two vibrant crown-tails, and I let them because I'm much older than they are. And so I was left with a brown veil-tail. To be honest, I kind of liked that he was dull. Like a fishy underdog.

Adopting him kicked off a week of intense research, wherein I learned that a 1 gallon unheated tank is absolutely not appropriate. So off I went to Gumtree to find a larger tank. $250 dollars later, I have a 15 gallon heated tank with driftwood, live plants, and hiding spots, and am currently waiting for it to cycle. To keep my new baby healthy, I bought him a little heater for his cramped tank, and I do water changes every second day. He's got a leaf-hammock and some java moss, which I hope help keep him entertained.

Even though he's still in the small tank, over the two weeks I've had him he's started to develop some colour and appears to be a rather muted mustard-gas. He seems happy and active, and I really love waking up to see his excited little butt-wiggles (even though I know it's the food he really wants). I'm really excited to get him into his roomy new digs and see how much happier I can make him.

He's a lucky boy! Does he have that 15 gallon all to himself?

 

Honestly, a few weeks ago. My mum and I had tried gold-fish when I was a kid and they lived for several years, but I don't really remember being overly interested in them. I had a kitten, and she definitely got the majority of the attention. Some of my friends had Bettas in those ghastly little twin-tanks the size of a coke can, and I'm retroactively horrified for them, but they didn't interest me at the time (probably because they always looked so sad and wilted).

Recently, one of my Mum's friends got given several Bettas in small 1 gallon tanks and she didn't want to keep them all so she started offloading them on her friends' kids. Namely; me and my siblings. My brother and sister took the two vibrant crown-tails, and I let them because I'm much older than they are. And so I was left with a brown veil-tail. To be honest, I kind of liked that he was dull. Like a fishy underdog.

Adopting him kicked off a week of intense research, wherein I learned that a 1 gallon unheated tank is absolutely not appropriate. So off I went to Gumtree to find a larger tank. $250 dollars later, I have a 15 gallon heated tank with driftwood, live plants, and hiding spots, and am currently waiting for it to cycle. To keep my new baby healthy, I bought him a little heater for his cramped tank, and I do water changes every second day. He's got a leaf-hammock and some java moss, which I hope help keep him entertained.

Even though he's still in the small tank, over the two weeks I've had him he's started to develop some colour and appears to be a rather muted mustard-gas. He seems happy and active, and I really love waking up to see his excited little butt-wiggles (even though I know it's the food he really wants). I'm really excited to get him into his roomy new digs and see how much happier I can make him.

Lucky boy! Is he in that 15 gallon all by himself?

 

He's a lucky boy! Does he have that 15 gallon all to himself?

I'm still tossing up whether I want to add some tankmates, as it is a rather large tank for one fish. Maybe some endlers, ember tetras, or harlequin rasboras? I've been leaning towards endlers, but they're so small I'm worried they might end up as rather pricey snacks. Haha.

 

Since I was 6, I'm from Vietnam and my favorite uncle was a betta breeder at the time. All I remember is he putting in some leafs into the tank and left it in a dark room.

 

Ancient tales - my grandfather bred Bettas in the early 1950s, and my Mom had fond memories of his tanks. Not long after I got my first tank, my relatives started giving us old tanks from their basements and back sheds. Fishkeeping was apparently quite a fad in the 1950s, and people had old five gallons galore to give a nerdy sick kid by the late 1960s. Most leaked (pre-silicone), but my Mom made sure one had a Betta, and my grandfather gave me a lot of advice. I was maybe 8, but that was a way better starting point than a pet chain employee.
My first Betta was blue and had red streaks in his fins, and he lived about 3 years (not good on my part). I didn't name him because my grandfather said it was bad luck for the fish.
I stopped keeping Bettas about 5 years ago, so I had them continuously for 43 years. I felt the finnage breeding was out of control, and breeders looking for a buck were producing exaggerated fins that harmed the fish. As good Bettas (by my eccentric tastes) became hard to find locally, I decided to use the space for killifish.
If I ever go back to them, it will be wild Bettas, not linebred fancy forms of Betta splendens.

 

I'm still tossing up whether I want to add some tankmates, as it is a rather large tank for one fish. Maybe some endlers, ember tetras, or harlequin rasboras? I've been leaning towards endlers, but they're so small I'm worried they might end up as rather pricey snacks. Haha.

Yeah...You know, though, once your betta boy swims his way over the Rainbow Bridge (which will hopefully NOT be soon) you could fit 5 females in there very nicely, so long as it was heavily planted.)

 

I'm still tossing up whether I want to add some tankmates, as it is a rather large tank for one fish. Maybe some endlers, ember tetras, or harlequin rasboras? I've been leaning towards endlers, but they're so small I'm worried they might end up as rather pricey snacks. Haha.

you could also stick another betta in there with him (as long as the tank was divided!!)

 

Ancient tales - my grandfather bred Bettas in the early 1950s, and my Mom had fond memories of his tanks. Not long after I got my first tank, my relatives started giving us old tanks from their basements and back sheds. Fishkeeping was apparently quite a fad in the 1950s, and people had old five gallons galore to give a nerdy sick kid by the late 1960s. Most leaked (pre-silicone), but my Mom made sure one had a Betta, and my grandfather gave me a lot of advice. I was maybe 8, but that was a way better starting point than a pet chain employee.
My first Betta was blue and had red streaks in his fins, and he lived about 3 years (not good on my part). I didn't name him because my grandfather said it was bad luck for the fish.
I stopped keeping Bettas about 5 years ago, so I had them continuously for 43 years. I felt the finnage breeding was out of control, and breeders looking for a buck were producing exaggerated fins that harmed the fish. As good Bettas (by my eccentric tastes) became hard to find locally, I decided to use the space for killifish.
If I ever go back to them, it will be wild Bettas, not linebred fancy forms of Betta splendens.

That's cool! But 3 years...If you read my *massive* post, 3 years is way better than I got any of my boys to last...but hopefully that will change with my new fish, Shy Guy!!

 

The first betta I had wasn't really mine. The nurse at the doctor's office I worked at hired her granddaughter to be the new receptionist (that's a whole other story!). The granddaughter decided she wanted a fish for the office so off we went to Petco! We got a 1 gallon bowl and away we went! Webster was a great fish but the granddaughter changing his water and wouldn't feed him. So I started caring for Webster with weekly water changes and every other day feedings. I used to bring him home with me over the weekends till I was told he wouldn't starve to death. He lived a couple of years and I don't know what killed him other than no filtration and no heat.

I have my second betta now that I got from a family friend. Teenage son wasn't caring for the betta so the dad said he deserves a better home, so now Rusty is with me! He's a fun boy that brings everyone in my family lots of joy! Plus he loves his filtered and heated 10 gallon tank! This is an old picture but it shows him cruising around his big tank!

View attachment 315068

10 gallons! Lucky boy. I didn't want to shell out the extra $$$ for a 10 gallon (lazy me), but wanted something way better than my old 1.2 gallon, and I'd heard that bettas do thrive in a 5 gallon. At least, Shy seems happy in there...

 

Yeah...You know, though, once your betta boy swims his way over the Rainbow Bridge (which will hopefully NOT be soon) you could fit 5 females in there very nicely, so long as it was heavily planted.)

The thought had occurred to me, since I'm not too sure how old my boy is and he's quite big, at least in comparison to pet-store bettas. A sorority full of pretty gals would be quite nice.

 

The thought had occurred to me, since I'm not too sure how old my boy is and he's quite big, at least in comparison to pet-store bettas. A sorority full of pretty gals would be quite nice.

Oh definitely! If your betta is big, it could mean he's older OR was just taken care of better so that he grew more.

 

Great Post!

Sent from my SM-N920T using

 

Great Post!

Sent from my SM-N920T using

Aw, thanks! Just some insight into my betta journey!!

 

I started as a shy, friendless, depressed 5 year old. Kindergarten was not fun, my dog was put down, and I moaped around all day. My mother noticed it. She and my dad kept fish before (like 25-30 assorted smaller fish in a 10 gallon), but had some... decent knowledge due to their past. Drove me to the LFS, got a bowl (horrible, but it was a HUGE bowl to their credit) and I picked out this sickly blue betta that I promptly named 'Moon' in the LFS (I was obsessed with astronomy and still am, what can I say?). Moon died after a week. Evn more depressed. My mom got me a heated, filtered 2.5 gallon, cycled it and hid it from me. One day, I came home from school to find a cycled tank and a blue betta in a Petco cup, ready to go in the tank. His name? You guessed it. 'Moon 2'. He lived for like 2-3 years, had a betra ever since.

 

Oh definitely! If your betta is big, it could mean he's older OR was just taken care of better so that he grew more.

I hope he's just big. I want him to stick around for a nice long time.

 

I started as a shy, friendless, depressed 5 year old. Kindergarten was not fun, my dog was put down, and I moaped around all day. My mother noticed it. She and my dad kept fish before (like 25-30 assorted smaller fish in a 10 gallon), but had some... decent knowledge due to their past. Drove me to the LFS, got a bowl (horrible, but it was a HUGE bowl to their credit) and I picked out this sickly blue betta that I promptly named 'Moon' in the LFS (I was obsessed with astronomy and still am, what can I say?). Moon died after a week. Evn more depressed. My mom got me a heated, filtered 2.5 gallon, cycled it and hid it from me. One day, I came home from school to find a cycled tank and a blue betta in a Petco cup, ready to go in the tank. His name? You guessed it. 'Moon 2'. He lived for like 2-3 years, had a betra ever since.

Aw! Man, that's sweet. I just realized that there's more to your post than I first thought!
It's funny, you were a depressed little kid looking for a friend, and I'm a depressed teenager, looking for a friend. And we both found bettas.
Bettas are great, aren't they??

I hope he's just big. I want him to stick around for a nice long time.

 

When I was a kid my best friend had a betta that lives for years. The little guy was in an unfiltered unheated bowl and had what probably was SBD because he was always floating at the top of the bowl and NEVER moved except when being fed. I had figured all bettas were this lethargic and sedentary.
Fast forward 10 years to last summer. I started working at a chain pet store and fell in love with the store bettas. Even though our Aquatics specialist did a pretty good job of keeping the bettas looking healthy, they were all very lethargic in those tiny cups. I started looking into betta care because I had a spare 10 gallon tank that was a previous home of my comet goldfish (also before I knew about proper goldfish care). I found that the bettas needs are much more complex than our pet store advertises. I was appalled that our store (as well as other chain pet stores) advertised thay bettas can live in tiny, unfiltered, unheated tanks and be happy. Fast foward to this January and there was one betta in particular I was eyeing. He was so pretty and I could see he had a quirky personality, which I loved. I told myself that I couldn't purchase him though, because I needed to cycle my tank before getting a betta. I figured he would be snatched up within a few days because he was gorgeous. Fast forward 3 weeks later. I had decided that I would use the liquid ammonia method to cycle my 10 gallon in preparation for a betta. I had not started the cycling yet though. I was working and on my break decided to go see the new bettas we got in. When doing so, I noticed the one I had been eyeing was still there, 3 weeks later! He was now very lethargic and had lost some color. His fins had started to rot and he was clearly very unhappy. That night I went back and forth on whether I should bring him home the next day. I didn't want to put a betta in an uncycled tank, but I wanted to give him something better than the tiny, dirty cup he was in. I figured it would be better to get the little guy and do a fish-in cycle using Seachem Stability.
As soon as our store opened the next morning, I went in a purchased the little fish as well as all the stuff I still needed for his tank. He was very lethargic and stayed on the bottom of the tank for the first two days I had him. Over the next week, he became very active, and started growing his fins back!
Since then he has been doing great! His fins are now completely grown back and he has changed color. He is very active and goes crazy for frozen brine shrimp!
This is him in the store:



This is his first day home ❤



This is him now!

 

When I was a kid my best friend had a betta that lives for years. The little guy was in an unfiltered unheated bowl and had what probably was SBD because he was always floating at the top of the bowl and NEVER moved except when being fed. I had figured all bettas were this lethargic and sedentary.
Fast forward 10 years to last summer. I started working at a chain pet store and fell in love with the store bettas. Even though our Aquatics specialist did a pretty good job of keeping the bettas looking healthy, they were all very lethargic in those tiny cups. I started looking into betta care because I had a spare 10 gallon tank that was a previous home of my comet goldfish (also before I knew about proper goldfish care). I found that the bettas needs are much more complex than our pet store advertises. I was appalled that our store (as well as other chain pet stores) advertised thay bettas can live in tiny, unfiltered, unheated tanks and be happy. Fast foward to this January and there was one betta in particular I was eyeing. He was so pretty and I could see he had a quirky personality, which I loved. I told myself that I couldn't purchase him though, because I needed to cycle my tank before getting a betta. I figured he would be snatched up within a few days because he was gorgeous. Fast forward 3 weeks later. I had decided that I would use the liquid ammonia method to cycle my 10 gallon in preparation for a betta. I had not started the cycling yet though. I was working and on my break decided to go see the new bettas we got in. When doing so, I noticed the one I had been eyeing was still there, 3 weeks later! He was now very lethargic and had lost some color. His fins had started to rot and he was clearly very unhappy. That night I went back and forth on whether I should bring him home the next day. I didn't want to put a betta in an uncycled tank, but I wanted to give him something better than the tiny, dirty cup he was in. I figured it would be better to get the little guy and do a fish-in cycle using Seachem Stability.
As soon as our store opened the next morning, I went in a purchased the little fish as well as all the stuff I still needed for his tank. He was very lethargic and stayed on the bottom of the tank for the first two days I had him. Over the next week, he became very active, and started growing his fins back!
Since then he has been doing great! His fins are now completely grown back and he has changed color. He is very active and goes crazy for frozen brine shrimp!
This is him in the store:
View attachment 315365

This is his first day home
View attachment 315366

This is him now!
View attachment 315370

Beautiful!!

 

Glorious Goldfish : Such a pretty boy! And lucky to have a good home now. I understand that the big chain pet stores have to keep the bettas in small separate containers because they can't be put in aquariums with a bunch of other fish, but that's no excuse for them telling customers that bettas can be happy and healthy in little unheated bowls.

My first betta was not my own either. It was my son's. But since he was only about 6 years old, the responsibility for taking care of Rainbow fell to me. He started out in a one gallon bowl, no heat or filter, for the first year, and I just gave him a complete water change about once a week. Horrible, I know. But I took the pet store employee's advice and was uneducated. The 2nd winter we had him I noticed he was losing color and not as active as he had been. Trying to keep our heat bill down, we had the house at around 68 F. So I wondered if he might be cold. I looked for info on bettas and learned more about their needs, and upgraded him to a 5 gallon tank with a heater, got it to cycle, and he lived another year. Yes, my username is in remembrance of him. My son no longer has a betta in his room, but I fell in love with them and currently have two.

 

My first attempts at keeping fish were hugely unsuccessful, like most. I had no real idea what they needed at 5-7 years old, nor did my mother. I'd always liked fish, but after numerous deaths I just decided not to bother.

But I'd seen bettas a lot and I just loved the look of them. By the time I was 21 and actually wanted another fish, I knew enough to thoroughly research any new pets (or anything for that matter.) So I just researched it, bought what I needed, cycled my tank, and went to a Petsmart 4 weeks later and accidentally fell in love with one. That was my first betta, Gideon (still my avatar.)

I didn't have more for a few years after he died because I moved a lot. When I got settled where I am now, I immediately got a betta, and divided a 25g to house three. Most of the bettas I attempted to house in it died, for unknown reasons. Based on my healthy one, I suspect the four that died were from bad stock, as they were all younger than my healthy one, but were all from the same store, whereas healthy one (Tip) was from another store and has looked healthier than any of the others since the day I bought her. I rehomed her to a new 7g so I'll only have one betta for now. Putting my small school of cories in the 25g after I tear it all apart and clean it.