out of the loop for a while

HI everyone! Due to hectic work schedule, family members moving, and vacation (finally!) I've been out ofthe loop for a long time! I'm trying to catch up on some posts. Just a few hours ago I went to a local store to buy my mom a betta for her classroom. (I'm giving her my old quarantine tank so it has been up and running). Her little pre-K class is learning the letter F next week and what better way to learn it than getting a pet fish! Of course, I'll be doing all of the water changes
At the store, I completely impulse bought a little crowntail betta for myself and just introduced him to my 30 gallon tank with a bunch of black neons and 2 platies. So far so good! All are getting along really well.

It is fascinating to watch the release of a betta kept in a little bowl for so long into such a substantially larger, clean tank. His bowl was filthy and I admit I just wanted to "save" him. He was all hunched up and seemed to have forgotten how to swim when he first went into the tank, but after just an hour or so he is swimming like mad and trying to eat everything in sight! And my other betta, Tiger, in another tank across the room, already seems to be jealous! As he is flaring and sitting in the corner closest to my couch just staring at me. They really are the funniest little creatures and I'm happy to be back and reading everyones stories, especially the betta ones!

 

I am so happy for you and I do believe that the idea for the fish in the classroom is a great one as long as someone with some fish experience is going to be in charge of it. Also that the little hands cannot get their little paws on the pretty little fishie. I love that you rescued the little crowntail and you must introduce that little guy to our community of bettas when you have him named. Just one word of caution, do watch his fins. I know that you may see them all getting along well and all but neons and most tetras have a reputation for being nippers and the bettas do not see them as enemies so they just let them do it. This will cause the finrot that can cause a whale of an infection in the fins and be a big problem. Perhaps this will not be a problem but just to be on the safe side, watch them for a good while. Especially if the betta is small as he is not going to have the immune system developed yet that an adult has.

Rose

 

He is a cutie! purple and red, not usually the colors I go for, but he had personality
I promise I will watch the fins closely....if they don't get along I'll be more than happy to set up a whole new tank just for him!!! hehehe I think if I won the lottery I would have a room filled with 10 gallon tanks filled with bettas, cories, and live plants (=

 

Yeah I haven't had bettas in a long time, but after we got my daughter her's it is very entertaining to watch.

 

Welcome back!!! Bettas are so entertaining. Both of my Bettas were in community tanks and lived long and happy lives. They really enjoyed having all that room to swim and lots of plants to investigate
Carol

 

The betta and my neons are getting along really well, sometimes he swims with them when they are schooling!
Tiger, my other betta, has been picking on 2 of his cory friends lately though. I think I will try feeding him a little bit more as he has gotten a lot bigger and I was sticking to the 3 worms or bio-gold balls 2x a day. He leaves the panda cories alone but will chase the green cories occasionally, usually when I am late to feed him.

 

I added two cories to Emma's tank and she gets along with them now but I did the same thing and started giving her more worms so she was busy with them when the cories were busy with their pellets. They can be so naughty. She is not being overfed but enough to keep her busy as she has to work for her food as she has some tall plants and she has to go about the plants to find all the worms.

Rose

 

fish enrichment! I like it!