RJ making himself at home

RJ has become quite the little stinker. When I first introduced him to his new home he was very curious about everything. He has an obsession with the airstone and the bubbles it makes. He's constantly investigating it.

He also isn't afraid of his reflection. In fact he's quite conceited. He loves to stare at himself. Has not flared at himself yet. I don't have any paper on the tank either. He's always swimming up and down the tank walls checking himself out. It's so darn cute to watch.

The only thing he's eaten so far are Freeze dried bloodworms and of course the algae wafers. : STINKER. I tried crushing up some of his Betta flakes,but he spit them out. Once again STINKER. SO, yesterday I went out and bought him some HikarI Betta pellets. He's on a fast right now because since he's developed a liking for the wafers : I didn't want him to get constipated.I tried feeding him a pea the other day w/o fasting him, but he refused. All he did was play with it. So, he left me no choice, but to fast him. When I get home today I'm going to try feeding him pea again. Then I'll try him on the pellets tomorrow.

So, I think this little one is going to be one little stinker. I love him all the same though. Natalie

 

Seems he's having a good time training you, Natalie.  Too bad we can't just hand them a menu and let them place their order.

Mike

 

Yeah, really. Natalie

 

HI Natalie.........RJ sounds like he is a charmer.!! Hey, do you cut up the pea treat or put it in the tank like half? I keep seeing pics of betta with this big hunk of pea, and I painstakingly cut the pea into the tiniest of pieces, and pick them up with a toothpick, cuz they are too small for me to pick up?

I have to say, they sure have fun playing with the big pieces - it is fun to watch.

Val

 

Yeah it is fun to watch. I usually cut them up. I only feed 3-4 pieces. A whole half a pea is really too much for them to consume. I usually cut the half in half and then 4 small pieces. Natalie

 

It so good to see you happy with your new family member. Guess you grew attached to him LOL

 

yea, we found that they are cute to watch playing with a 1/2 of a pea like a little dog with a big bone and eventually ours do eat a good bit of it, but after the first time we did that we got to thinking about a better way to feed them the 1/2 pea, so we've also started mincing it as small as we can - then feeding like the pea pieces are pellets. Works great & we find the little guys like to pretend they're done eating a piece to get another one so we watch for them to finish each piece.
For Angel, we have to mince it even tinier because the pieces the boys eat fine look big in her little mouth and she swims around playing with it like they do with a 1/2 of a pea.

Natalie's right - a whole pea is too much.. The first time we fed a whole pea like we read, our little Betta looked like he'd swallowed a green basketball.

I think RJ & Sora should start a Finicky Bettas Club.

 

Yeah it is fun to watch. I usually cut them up. I only feed 3-4 pieces. A whole half a pea is really too much for them to consume. I usually cut the half in half and then 4 small pieces. Natalie

Even though Neptune has discriminating tastes - he eats everything I give him. I give him half of a half, and hand feed him - put the pea piece on end of my finger and he goes for it. He is not too long picking it up if he drops it. It makes me laugh cuz they say food from the bottom of the tank will help cycling - well I have yet to see Neptune let a piece of food drop. He never misses - ever!!! Sundays are his "pea" day. Oh he makes me laugh right out loud. My husband thinks I'm nuts as he hears me laughing!

The only food I don't hand feed are the pellets, and he snarfs those straight down, spinning around in all directions to ensure they don't get away!!

I have to say it again - Who knew?? Val

 

Gotta love when they know how good they look

 

Gotta love when they know how good they look

Yes, they definitely know Asinity. Natalie

 

I'm glad RJ is settling in well. Sounds like he is giving you a good run for his money, Natalie!....LOL

Nicole

 

Yeah he sure is.

I gave him some pea last night for dinner after a day and a half of fasting and he was still stobborn about eating it. I cut 6 small pieces up just incase he was going to be stubborn and he ended up eating 3 out of 6 pieces, but he grinned and bared it all the way. Hopefully eventuually he'll learn tolove them the more heh as them. He did the same thing with the pellets I fed him this morning. He played with them, but from what I saw never ate them. I'm hopoing he decided to eat some after I left for work. I didn't see any in his tank this afternoon so he very well may have decided to try them. Natalie

 

Well I put RJ in the 5 gallon with Fred and Barney. He was a stinker trying to catch though. It took me 45 minutes to get him. He really didn't want to be caught. He's been in there since I think Saturday. My memory fails me on that. He seems to like it, but he's back to eating wafer again and he got himself a bit constipated from it. Not too bad though. I fed him pea yesterday morning and last night for dinner and again this morning. I'll probably feed him it again tonight and then he should be good to go. I don't think I'm going to feed then the wafer anymore since RJ eats them. I think I might just stick with fresh green veggies for them. I can feed them little pieces of broccolI can't I? It in the brussel sprout family. I I'll probably feed them peas and cucumbers too. RJ is finally eating th peas w/o a problem now. He seems to love them now. Now if I can only get him to eat the HikarI Baby pellets. ??? He truly is a stinker. Maybe I should've named him that instead. Natalie

 

Well I put RJ in the 5 gallon with Fred and Barney. He was a stinker trying to catch though. It took me 45 minutes to get him. He really didn't want to be caught. He's been in there since I think Saturday. My memory fails me on that. He seems to like it, but he's back to eating wafer again and he got himself a bit constipated from it. Not too bad though. I fed him pea yesterday morning and last night for dinner and again this morning. I'll probably feed him it again tonight and then he should be good to go. I don't think I'm going to feed then the wafer anymore since RJ eats them. I think I might just stick with fresh green veggies for them. I can feed them little pieces of broccolI can't I? It in the brussel sprout family. I I'll probably feed them peas and cucumbers too. RJ is finally eating th peas w/o a problem now. He seems to love them now. Now if I can only get him to eat the HikarI Baby pellets. ??? He truly is a stinker. Maybe I should've named him that instead. Natalie

LOL.. Natalie, you sure got yourself a character this time, huh? What's with Bettas and algae wafers? Our finicky Sora - who only eats bloodworms and peas decided last night (right before we fly out for 2 weeks) that he's going to eat the algae wafers for his 4 cory cat buddies all of the sudden.. we think he ate almost the whole 1/2 of a wafer that we'd dropped in.. Fed him a pea this morning before we had to leave and my mom will feed him pea tom am & pm, but says his tummy's gone down. Fortunately a neighbor with a 29 gallon could take the 4 cory cats while we're gone as we have no tanks to put them in now so we might not get them back, but they have a good home at least.

Do you think that Sora & RJ were the star pupils in the class at Betta school called: "how to drive your human nuts at feeding time".

I don't know about BroccolI for Fred & Barney, but I'd try it myself. Slices of cucumbers or green beans sound good for them too. Maybe if you got green pellets and said "RJ - do NOT eat these", then he would.

 

Well I put RJ in the 5 gallon with Fred and Barney. He was a stinker trying to catch though. It took me 45 minutes to get him. He really didn't want to be caught. He's been in there since I think Saturday. My memory fails me on that. He seems to like it, but he's back to eating wafer again and he got himself a bit constipated from it. Not too bad though. I fed him pea yesterday morning and last night for dinner and again this morning. I'll probably feed him it again tonight and then he should be good to go. I don't think I'm going to feed then the wafer anymore since RJ eats them. I think I might just stick with fresh green veggies for them. I can feed them little pieces of broccolI can't I? It in the brussel sprout family. I I'll probably feed them peas and cucumbers too. RJ is finally eating th peas w/o a problem now. He seems to love them now. Now if I can only get him to eat the HikarI Baby pellets. ??? He truly is a stinker. Maybe I should've named him that instead. Natalie

LOL.. Natalie, you sure got yourself a character this time, huh? What's with Bettas and algae wafers? Our finicky Sora - who only eats bloodworms and peas decided last night (right before we fly out for 2 weeks) that he's going to eat the algae wafers for his 4 cory cat buddies all of the sudden.. we think he ate almost the whole 1/2 of a wafer that we'd dropped in.. Fed him a pea this morning before we had to leave and my mom will feed him pea tom am & pm, but says his tummy's gone down. Fortunately a neighbor with a 29 gallon could take the 4 cory cats while we're gone as we have no tanks to put them in now so we might not get them back, but they have a good home at least.

Do you think that Sora & RJ were the star pupils in the class at Betta school called: "how to drive your human nuts at feeding time".

I don't know about BroccolI for Fred & Barney, but I'd try it myself. Slices of cucumbers or green beans sound good for them too. Maybe if you got green pellets and said "RJ - do NOT eat these", then he would.

I think RJ was the star pupil for " How to drive your Betta parent any way you can" I'll try bit's of broccolI with them and green beans. I don't have any cucumber right now anyway. Anything that will make RJ have a hard time picking them up. Natalie

 

I think RJ was the star pupil for " How to drive your Betta parent any way you can" I'll try bit's of broccolI with them and green beans. I don't have any cucumber right now anyway. Anything that will make RJ have a hard time picking them up. Natalie

I just hope RJ doesn't convince Fred & Barney to help him pick them up.. I can just hear RJ saying "Help me with this food or you'll be swimming with the humans!"

Sounds like a good plan really, let us know how it turns out.

 

I will do that. His tummy has gone down quite a bit, so I think the 2 days of peas are starting to work, thank goodness. I finally have a healthy Betta to take care of and I surely don't need him to develop a constipation problem. I gave him some bloodworms this morning with the vita-chem soaked in and he chowed them down real fast. Natalie

 

I will do that. His tummy has gone down quite a bit, so I think the 2 days of peas are starting to work, thank goodness. I finally have a healthy Betta to take care of and I surely don't need him to develop a constipation problem. I gave him some bloodworms this morning with the vita-chem soaked in and he chowed them down real fast. Natalie

LOL.. I bet! I'm glad he's doing well and being 100% Betta.

 

Ha Ha ( devilish laugh) Guess who one the battle of the great pellet war? Your's truly of course, muaw. I fed RJ the pellets tonight and he decided he was going to start eating them after all. I think he knows that I can be just as stubborn as he can if not more.So he finally said to himself " Ah, I guess I'll given in to her and eat them. There not so bad after all." I said " Yeah I thought so RJ. You finally came to realize that I'm the boss not you." So, I can finally givce hima balanced diet and not worry so much about him getting constipated because all he eats is bloodworms. Natalie ;D

 

LOL.. I'm glad to see you got him to go along with the pellets. Want to come over & teach Sora?

 

Sounds suspiciously like what Marty JR is putting me through right now....do you suppose it is in the water???

Rose


Enjoy him Natalie, you certainly deserve the stinker!

If he wasn't healthy he wouldn't be giving you such a time so let us count our blessings.

 

Hehehe RJ sounds exactly like Dorado. Took a while to convince him pellets were good, but he sure loves those catfish wafers. Just be glad you only have Otos, so you can feed them veggies instead. Of course I would put Cories with my Betta, and they won't eat veggies, so I HAVE to feed wafers....grrrrrrr. I've never seen such a fat Betta in my life... :
Have fun with RJ, sounds like he's won you over already. ;D

 

I'm glad that your are having so much fun with RJ. He is definitely a stinker though.

CherryRose

 

Hehehe RJ sounds exactly like Dorado. Took a while to convince him pellets were good, but he sure loves those catfish wafers. Just be glad you only have Otos, so you can feed them veggies instead. Of course I would put Cories with my Betta, and they won't eat veggies, so I HAVE to feed wafers....grrrrrrr. I've never seen such a fat Betta in my life... :
Have fun with RJ, sounds like he's won you over already. ;D

We might get Otos for our Bettas since they just got too much into the wafers.. even Sora (who has refused anything but bloodworms & peas) has developed a love of the algae wafers and we had to (at least temporarily) let a friend keep our corys in her tank.

Do you think Bettas like RJ learn to be stinkers from watching us or do we learn to be stinkers from watching them?

 

Sounds suspiciously like what Marty JR is putting me through right now....do you suppose it is in the water???

Rose


Enjoy him Natalie, you certainly deserve the stinker!

If he wasn't healthy he wouldn't be giving you such a time so let us count our blessings.

To be honest Rose I think that the people that run Miami Aquariums have a such a strong love for the Betta's they raise that they treat them like princes and princesses and then when they are given to their new owners they are adjusting to a whole new way of life and even though are still getting pampered it's in a much different way then what they are used to. So, I think that's why Marty Jr. and RJ are giving us such a hard time because they don't want to change their ways. He is coming around though and is realizing that I am his new Betta mommy and he needs to comply with what I want him to do to keep him healthy.

His colors have changed considerably from when he first came. Before he was pretty much all purple with maybe a tint of red on his rays, but now the tips going half way up his rays are red. He look so much like Royell now, it's scary. He has Royells vibrant attitude too, though he is more of a stinker then Royell was. Royell pretty much ate anything I gave him and I pretty much had to train RJ to eat what I want him to eat.

I think my husband is starting to take a liking to him now too. The last 2 days he's been playing with him. So, maybe down the road once we sell our Condo and get a house ( which hopefully will be within the year, putting it up on the market at the end of the month) he'll let me get another Betta. Well really whether he let's me or not doesn't really matter. If I have the extra space which I will when we get the house we want I will be getting another one. He'll just have to deal, but by then I think he'll be pretty attached to RJ, so I don't think he'll mind. I just have to work him a little. Natalie

 

LOL.. the way RJ is working on him, you might not only get another Betta for yourself, but he might end up with his own.

 

Can you see the difference in the health of their bettas? Javier's wife takes care of them herself and she is such a gentle person that she really almost wants to know your life story before she sends them to you (not seriously, but they do REALLY care about their customers and their fish).

I talk to them at least once a week and sometimes they call just to see how I am. Very nice people. Very nice Bettas.

Rose

 

Can you see the difference in the health of their bettas? Javier's wife takes care of them herself and she is such a gentle person that she really almost wants to know your life story before she sends them to you (not seriously, but they do REALLY care about their customers and their fish).

I talk to them at least once a week and sometimes they call just to see how I am. Very nice people. Very nice Bettas.

Rose

They sound like it. I hope we can be like that when/if we get to start a Betta shop one day. It's great to find people selling Bettas who care about them with all these places that couldn't care less.

 

Yeah I can definitely see a difference in health. He is also very social. Not afraid of us at all. He ate right from my finger the one time because I was having trouble getting it off my finger and he came right up and snatched from me. He scared the out of me. LOL I didn't expect him to do that. Javier and his wife are very nice people to deal with and I will definitely buy from them from now on. Natalie