New betta and 2 pity purchases!

I've been looking for a new betta girl, preferably white with red fins like the one I lost a few months ago. Gosh she was pretty. Anyway, went to the pet store down the road from where I work because they've had some astonishingly beautiful females come through there. The males are usually nothing to write home about but for whatever reason, the girls are stunners. So...went in, found my girl! She's got red fins and gill plates, white in the middle. Perfect! But...so many other girls to choose from. I looked at them all and several were begging for attention. I felt so bad! There was one girl whose colour was hard to determine but may be a very pale calico. She couldn't swim for some reason. Not on her side but having trouble keeping her tail off the ground. I've never seen a betta with a similar problem so I'm flummoxed. Had to give her a chance though, she asked me to The weird thing is she can swim straight up like a torpedo! She just can't swim forward without her tail dragging her down and she kind of twists when she falls

So two bettas.

Then I went over to the remains of their fish section. It's a shame because they did a good job with their tanks and fish. Clean, never saw a dead or sick one, and never overstocked. But it was a very tiny selection and they never advertised they had it which I think was a mistake. They've had no new fish orders for months and all but I think 4 of the 16 tanks are empty now. There was a motley assortment of fish in the one tank with one sad little Glowlight Tetra swimming amongst them. So I bought her (pretty sure is a her!) and added her to my school. No, I didn't put her in quarantine. It was a calculated risk. They've had no new fish for months so she's basically been in quarantine at the store as far as I'm concerned.

And there you have it! Best of all, my roommate had fallen asleep on the couch and I was able to sneak past him and get them acclimated and "hidden" before he woke up

 

Congrats! I honestly don't think your roommate can tell anymore how many you have so I think you're good. lol

And pictures please~~

 

Sorry for the terrible quality, it's hard to get nice pictures of excited fish with an unhappy cell camera. I thought the tetra picture was kind of cool though! She really has been the centre of attention since I added her to the group

And the Betta girl in the breeder box doesn't have clamped fins, I was trying to show the problem she has getting her tail off the ground.

 

I wonder if she has an injury of some sort to her back, as it looks kind of humped which could be why she is having trouble swimming. Her belly also looks like it is curved as well. Hope she makes it but good for you . she's out of that cup. The other two look good. Alison

 

Exactly what I was thinking aliray! When she does manage to swim it's like her tail is along for the ride, yet she can move it laterally and really get going if she's positioned vertically. And it doesn't really show in the pic but when her tail hits the deck it falls sideways and lays flat on the floor while the rest of her body is "up". She can move it, but it's limp, if that makes any sense

 

Yes that does make sense. If it was a mechanical injury than she will just be special but keep an eye out for other fish picking on her. I had to laugh at you sneaking the fish passed your roommate. Back in the dark ages when I wasn't working but hubby was and my daughter was in early grammer school, I would sneak a fish into my tanks figuring no would notice. BUSTED. The adorable big mouth that I called my daughter, would always pipe up when we were all watching tv, and say ,Hey look daddy ,Mommy got a new fish. Very observant child bless her heart. He was oblivious but I could never sneak one by her.Alison

 

Oh, unless she recovers she will never be in the sorority or any type of group. I'm not even sure she could be in the community tank, the tetras are just too fast and she'd never get a bite to eat! At least she does have an appetite (bloodworms ftw!) and she shows great interest in the goings on around her. Hopefully with good food and "stall rest" she'll get over whatever is ailing her. If not...oh well!

P.S. Thank goodness I only have fur-children. They haven't told on me yet

 

Great news! I think... Early days yet but I tried feeding the betta with swimming difficulties a mushed pea. She kept missing the pieces and they were falling past her and through the slits in the bottom of the breeder box. She was getting really frustrated. Finally she managed to grab a great big piece and she swallowed it whole before it could escape That's just the funny part. The hopeful part is that this morning she seems to be having less trouble with her balance in the water and isn't dragging her tail anymore!

 

you have such a big heart Aquaphobia! All of your fish/pets are so lucky to have you!!

 

Aww, thanks bizaliz3! I feel happy seeing them happy

 

Just an update on the girl in the breeder box. She'd been swimming with less difficulty and was starting to seem frustrated by the confines of the container. Last night as I was falling asleep I was jolted awake by water falling on my forehead! The sorority is right next to my bed and the breeder box was positioned against the side nearest to me so I can keep a close eye on them. Little girl decided to do a tail flip and launched enough water overboard to make a significant splash on my head!

I'm off today so I released her into the main tank since I can supervise and so far so good! She still swims with her tail slightly down but she gets around fine and the other girls don't seem to bother with her