Sigh...not sure

I really want another betta. I have been getting over my sense of loss of Rusty. I feel almost embarassed to admit it but I could barely look at one or read about one for a while after he died. But I miss having one. Having a gourami is not the same. I still have a smaller tank and I'm seriously thinking about what to put in it...

 

I've always felt the best way to honor the pet I've lost, be it dog, cat, fish, Etc, was to get another. We all know the unconditional love they give us, well I feel they are just begging us to give the love we have to another. There are oh so many pet in need, be it in shelters or plastic cups. I say go for it, you are not replacing Rusty, just sharing your love with another who though not Rusty will surely endure himself to you in his own way.

Lisa

 

Poe, you know I have always felt you are one really good betta parent and I love you having another little one. It would be very fortunate to have you for his daddy. Give it some thought if you want to and go shopping and let one choose you. You will love it, I promise.

Rose

 

I say go for it Poe. I just bought another off of Aquabid and will have him in a day or 2. I can't wait. He will be Royell's namesake as I am naming him RJ, Royell Junior. He is also his twin believe it or not. I swear to god he looks just like him. So, Ithink you should get another one. It's been ahile since Rusty has past and I'm sure he would be very happy if you got another to care for. Like Lisa said you are not replacing him. He will always be in your heart. Natalie

 

If you have the space and the means, why not get another Betta? You love Bettas, so don't withhold from getting one If Bettas make you happy, what else can you do except for getting one?

Lisab53, I agree with you very much. A while ago, my young female kitty was stolen from me I had 2 cats - her and another adult cat. After we've lost her, the house just wasn't the same without her anymore. And my adult cat missed her too - he would walk around the house at night and meow (I am 99% sure he was calling her). After waiting a long while in hopes that she would be found (and unfortunately she never was :'(), we got another kitty. Now everything seems so much better. Although we'll NEVER forget the other kitty

 

You have said the stores have been selling them younger now so see if you can find a young one and you know there is nothing like the love a betta gives. No other fish gives of itself the same way and loves you the same way and loves and cares for you and interacts with you the same way and wants to have you interact with them. I know you are hooked and just need a bit of a push. Well consider yourself pushed my friend.

Rose

 

Thank you Rose and all. I'm giving serious thought to getting a female this time--they generally sell them younger and in better condition around here than males I find--though they have begun putting males in larger containers at my store so I may consider it.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement.

 

Ask your lfs when they get their shipment of bettas in. If you get yours on the day they come in, it won't have spent too much time at the store and should be healthier. Even a few days in those cups can make them sick. I've gotten all of mine from Petsmart, which doesn't take good care of their Bettas. One female was near death when I brought her home. All survived and thrived. I lost Phlox 6 months after buying him but it had nothing to do with anything he caught at the store. It probably wouldn't hurt to give some mild treatment for finrot/fungus etc. when arriving at home just to zap anything the fish may have had. I don't think you need to worry about losing another fish shortly after bringing it home. In spite of the bad conditions at the store, they are tough little fish and given a clean healthy tank they do recover most of the time. One of the main things you'll see shortly after bringing them home is finrot. This is usually caused by stress from shipping, and can happen even to a fish you buy online. It's generally easy to cure.
If you decide to get a female you'll notice one major difference in personality... Females are VERY energetic and playful. They don't sleep as much as the males and sometimes it seems they don't sleep at all! It's usually much easier to tell if a female is sick as you will notice her behaviour changing and she sleeps or floats more. With males sometimes you just assume they're okay because they always do that. When I got my females at the store all of them were quietly floating at the top of the cup, fins clamped, dull colors and looking sick. As soon as I brought them home and put them in their big warm tank they came to life and their colors brightened right away. Only one, Karma, was very sick and needed treatment. I don't know if I've just been lucky or what, but it seems to me that females seem to be less prone to finrot than the males. None of mine have ever had finrot even after having torn, chewed fins and getting no treatment. With clean water their fins healed quickly.
Whatever Betta you choose will be lucky to have you. 

 

Well consider yourself pushed my friend.

LOL Yup, well said.

 

YES! It would be awesome for you to get a new betta. I didn't want to get another betta when my Bessie died, but BambI stole my heart when I first saw her. I love her so much. She will never replace Bessie as she has her own personality and I will never regret getting her. ;D


CherryRose

 

When I first started keeping bettas, I did the stupid thing and put them in little cups while I was cleaning their (gallon size) jars (it didn't take me long to move up in the world and get my 10g). Anyway, they jump, and one of them died. I felt HORRIBLE and could hardly stand to look at the others for about a week. It just made me sick to know that I was so stupid and I was responsible for their LIVES. My little K-k (now deceased of unknown cause ) slapped me in the face, though, and said, "Learn from your mistake, stupid!" (btw I'm not trying to compare you to my stupid self) and I realized one very important thing:

If you try the best you can, and learn from your mistakes, and keep trying harder and improving their environment... you're a million times better than most people who buy bettas and put them in tiny bowls and overfeed or starve them and so forth... and what is the best thing you can do with those skills? Keep learning, and buy more bettas! If you have the room, your old buddy would be proud of you giving a great home to a new friend. and girls are great, my Trey is such a cute sweetheart.

 

Thank you again for encouragement and advice. I am probably going to take a look this Sunday and see if there is anyone that I take a liking to. They don't always have females in there but I'll keep an eye out for one.

Having a gourami is really not the same--they are curious enough fish but they are not really interested the way a betta is.

 

I know how you feel.. I got my wife a betta for Christmas and unfortunately (we later learned) he had finrot when we got him. He finally got over it but died of dropsy just a little over a week ago. My wife cried for him & still misses him, so do I - funny how fast those little characters win your hearts, huh? I told her no more bettas after our other 3 pass on someday, but I'm starting to change my mind. I'll feel like you do when we lose one, but deep down I think we'll have bettas for the rest of our lives. We love the others and love caring for them, watching their characters develop and the silly things each one does. I prefer female bettas myself, but my wife is hooked on the males.. our little Angel might be changing that, though.

So many of them need a good home with someone who spends time on message boards like this so they can spoil their little betta babies - we understand they're not "just fish", they really have all the character of a "real" pet and are "real" pets, so it's natural I think to mourn a betta the way you would any beloved pet. We're sad our little Super Mario only had a couple months with us, but he was totally spoiled and cared for and happy.. I just wish we'd known more back in january and treated him sooner so he'd have been healthy enough to not have picked up dropsy. We're learning and probably will frequent our LFS whenever we have the money (and space) for another betta.. I hope to learn more about getting a sick Betta healthy and we may start bringing home those bettas that most people would pass up and nurse them back to health - maybe even give the ones we are successful with to good homes.

Sounds like you're a good Betta parent and have been bitten by the betta bug and I bet you'll be feeling that urge inside you that needs at least 1 Betta. When you decide to get a new Betta, good luck and may she/he live to be a very old & happy betta.

 

I am glad you are considering getting another Betta. I say definitely go for it if you see one you like.

 

Well I'm crossing my fingers...I'm going to Petsmart tomorrow and we'll see how it goes.

 

Well I'm crossing my fingers...I'm going to Petsmart tomorrow and we'll see how it goes.

Good luck, my wife & I wish we could go Betta shopping with you - we love to shop for a new Betta, even if not for us.. I hope you find that one who knows he/she's yours and gives you the "take me home" look.