I've always been pet crazy. I looked into every possible pet choice from bugs to birds, lizards to lemmings, rabbits to rhinoceroses. (Alright, that last one was a joke.) But I didn't consider fish.
Why was that? Well, here's a list for you:
1) Because one day my 11-year-old-self walked out of the local pet store with a notebook detailing over a hundred dollars in expenses the store owner had listed for buying, stocking, and maintaining an aquarium. I concluded that the price was unthinkable considering these pets could never be touched or played with.
2) Because it took me a while to realize that I could never convince my mother to accept a rodent or a reptile and even longer to stop dreaming.
3) Because I didn't know about the magical fish know as Betta splendens. Yes, magical is a corny word. What can I say? I want to keep you interested (you should be).
When I finally discovered the Betta in a library book (animal literature was all I ever borrowed) I was intrigued. This fish was appealing to me for several reasons.
1) This fish could be kept in a bowl! For most fish, the only source of oxygen is what has been dissolved in the water, hence they require a certain volume of water not only to swim around in but also to allow them to breathe. The Betta, however, possesses not only gills but also a labyrinth organ (which is basically a lung) that allows it to take air from above water.
2) It is a solitary fish. Many of the more interesting fish I'd come across were schooling fish, but not the Betta. In fact, they're aggressive and extremely territorial. Under most conditions, two male Bettas will fight to the death. They didn't earn the nickname Siamese Fighting Fish for nothing! The fact that this fish is happier by itself means you don't need a huge tank to show it off in.
3) The Betta is absolutely positively G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S.
So, I purchased my first Betta at the same local pet store where I had sworn never to enter the fish hobby. Talk about irony.
I owned five Bettas in as many years, and I housed all of them in glass fish bowls. I never had more than two at a time. However, I had a slight problem. They kept dying on me.
Dragon (a plakat dragon-scale Betta, possibly a delta tail):
Dreamer (long-fin red veil tail):
Warrior (long-fin royal blue veil tail):
Night Wing (long-fin steel blue double tail):
I'll show you the fifth fish in a second.
Dragon got swim bladder. Dreamer and Warrior died after about a year as well. Night Wing developed fin rot which slowly turned him from what you see above into this sad little nightmare (it's also interesting how he went from steel blue to royal blue):
I had no idea how to treat them. I didn't want to invest in medications for a fish, and I'd read that flushing a fish down the toilet would kill it by simultaneously poisoning and suffocating it (which makes sense when you think about the water quality down there). So, I researched the most humane method of euthanasia. I read that freezing a fish was best because the cold sends them into a coma and, in theory, they die peacefully. That's what I did with my sick fish. I didn't know what else to do.
I was frustrated when my fifth fish, Flicker, developed fin rot. I didn't see the point in keeping Bettas anymore if the best they did under my care was waste away and die prematurely. At the same time, I'd been watching a lot of videos about why Betta fish do better in heated tanks than in colder water. I became convinced that owning these fish could be far more successful and satisfying if only I changed some key factors.
Flicker, my fifth fish (he was a long-finned half moon before the rot made him look more like a crown tail):
I wanted a good heater (preferably one that wouldn't explode) and decided that the kind I was looking for would fit better in a tank. So, for my birthday this year, I went shopping for my current fish instead of hunting for a new one.
Flicker in his 3.5 gallon tank:
My fish changed! He became active instead of lethargic and I think his fin rot is starting to disappear (this picture is not recent though).
Things I've learned:
1) Betta fish can live in colder water, but there is a difference between a fish that survives and a fish that thrives. Fish that are in a harsh environment endure greater physical stress and tend to end up with a compromised immune system This has definitely been my experience! All of the fish I've kept in bowls became susceptible to a disease that may not have appeared in a healthy fish living in a better environment.
2) Water quality is key to a fish's health. Technically, you can keep a betta in a gallon, half-gallon, or even a little cup of water. But the smaller space, the more frequently water changes must be performed. This is because built-up waste and uneaten food eventually make the water toxic: as they break down, dangerous chemicals will increase and an ammonia spike will eventually occur and kill your fish. This is a common problem fish keepers face when they put too many fish in a tank to small to house them. A smaller body of water implies a smaller margin of error for the aquarist.
3) Healthy fish are worthwhile. They are far more fun to keep and watch!
4) I've become obsessed with Betta fish. I purchased my second 3.5 tank recently and can't wait to stock it! (I did have an unfortunate experience with the first Betta I bought for it. I plan to discuss this in a later post on fish disease and prevention...although I need to do more research first!)
I plan to purchase another Betta and possibly a couple nerite snails to keep algae growth at bay and to add more action to my tanks. I'm also experimenting with live plants. I've had success keeping marimo moss balls and recently got some water wisteria. Live plants are riskier than fake plants because they can die on you, but they also draw nitrates from the water and benefit the animals in the tank that would suffer from high nitrate levels.
In summary, Betta fish are amazing. They are lovely, have awesome personalities and unique physiologies, and they're just plain fun to keep, watch, and learn about! There's just something about them that I love, and I think they're endearing qualities are most eloquently expressed in what I once heard a Betta fish keeper and breeder say: "they look like grumpy dragons!"
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