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Post by abm on Dec 16, 2003 0:24:55 GMT -5
Topic line says it all...insomniac that I am, I was just perusing different threads on the board and started wondering how all of us began keeping bettas? I won't get my feelings hurt if no one responds...but I am just curious!  I rescued my first betta from my boss, who is a minister and bought him to use as an object lesson with the children. She was taking perfectly good care of him and it was my ignorance about bettas that made me think she wasn't doing enough for him, but she was happy to have me take him home.  He lived with us for 7 months, then died suddenly. As I began to research what had happened to him, I realized that I really wanted another fish or several, so ... I currently have five males plus my daughter's male, home from college for the holidays. I'm not planning to breed or anything, but I don't plan to stop keeping bettas anytime soon!  What about you? |
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Post by Emerson on Dec 16, 2003 12:23:37 GMT -5
My husband and I had talked about getting a small aquarium; we live in an apartment and have limited space for pets (even more so now, with two guinea pigs, a hamster and three aquariums!) Anyway, we bought a 5 gallon tank with every intention of having tetras or white clouds, until I took hubby to the pet store to see what kind of fish we were getting -- then he spotted the Bettas. He wanted to know why we couldn't have those instead, and I explained that they are "solitary" fish and would do better being alone. So he said, "Then let's just get one!" We picked out a Betta who had been watching us the whole time and named him Horatio. He turned out to have so much personality that we immediately became hooked. Our friend Horatio died from a intestinal impaction only a month or so later, but we vowed afterwards that we would always have at least one Betta in the house. sef |
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Post by JulietV on Dec 16, 2003 12:38:36 GMT -5
I had a PetCo gift certificate from some survey I took, and they were having a sale on bettas. I missed having fish, and this seemed like a great pet for someone with limited space, so I went for one. Limited space, hah! Pretty soon I was scrambling for flat surfaces for one-gallons. And, as my brother said yesterday while helping me carry my new twenty-gallon setup to my room, "It's like living in the Belle Isle aquarium around here." (Six betta tanks, one 20Hgal, one 10gal, one filtered one-gallon which one of the bettas might get when I move one-eye into the ten gallon with some smaller fish. Actually, if I could be sure no one would eat anyone else or tear each other's fins apart, I might put a betta in the ten-gallon with one-eye.)
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Post by Doofusmom on Dec 16, 2003 19:58:03 GMT -5
Well, I am ashamed to admit this now giving what I know about Aquababies now but I bought a Aquababies cube with 3 zebra danios...I then read about how they were cruel on the internet and I wanted to get a bigger aquarium for my desk at work and I bought a Eclipse Explorer. I kept the zebras for a while...effectively setting off an aquarium "explosion" at my job...everyone was getting 'em... and then one of my friends bought a betta for her desk. I thought he was beautiful and so I bought another Eclipse Explorer for my desk and I bought a betta from aquariumfish.net...Doofus...now I have 10 bettas... |
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Post by Jenny on Dec 17, 2003 0:48:04 GMT -5
I first saw the betta in a lily vase at a craft fair and bought that, naming the fish Mr. P. J. Humperdinkle. I soon found that the lily vases weren't good for them, for so I took him out, but he died pretty soon after of some kind of fungus that I didn't know how to treat at the time. I got a new fish from the vase sellers as a replacement, and decided that I needed to learn how to better take care of them, so here I am.
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Post by palepinkvase on Dec 18, 2003 23:19:11 GMT -5
My husband and I live with 3 dogs and a herd of cats. Most were unwanted, neglected, or simply wandered into our yard. Yes, we are soft-hearted. Anyway, I never had any interest in keeping fish and then one day this summer I went down the fish aisle at WalMart. I saw the Bettas in their little cups in filthy water. I grabbed the one Betta who barely had enough water to cover him (and looked ready to die), then a bowl, some gravel, 2 jugs of spring water and water conditioner. Went thru the check-out, asked for and complained to the manager and brought the Betta home fully expecting him not to survive, but I figured that he could at least spend the rest of his life in better conditions instead of suffering in a nasty environment. I set up the bowl, dumped him in and named him Giovanni. Then I hit the internet and found this site. Sent out an emergency email and got great help/advice. Thanks to all for that Giovanni improved within days and he's doing great. I went to a different WalMart, found the same conditions and bought 3 more Bettas in bad shape, along with supplies. Complained to that manager. All my guys appear to be doing well. I dont think their fins will ever look as nice as some of the pics I have seen on the site, but they show no signs of illness. If I had known how pleasurable it was to keep Bettas I would have had one a long time ago. |
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Post by abm on Dec 18, 2003 23:55:48 GMT -5
palepinkvase, you and i must never meet in a walmart fish aisle...our husbands would disappear amid the dozens of fishbowls and discarded specimen cups thanks for the post! i am really enjoying hearing everyone's betta initiation stories... |
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Post by JulietV on Dec 19, 2003 11:30:55 GMT -5
Heh, and don't even bother writing to Wal-Mart corporate headquarters, even with a letter that includes citations. They don't read it, juding from their response. Next time I'll use outline format and small words. If I'm motivated to write them a complaint letter about their fish again I'm sending it certified mail to the CEO--if you annoy and inconvenience them, you usually get at least a halfway serious response. I rescued Haku out of about a half-inch of filthy water. Once I got him home and into his new tank, I discovered that I was actually wiping solid, caked-on waste out of the cup (I clean them and save them for use during water changes.) It was literally the worst cup I've ever seen.
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Post by Crystal on Dec 19, 2003 12:47:31 GMT -5
I got my first betta Big Red when I was 9 (he was blue, I was always the strange child).
I grew up around animals - have owned everything from horses cats dogs and goats to grounhogs, racoons, squirrels and ducks.
My mom wanted a fish tank in the house - when we went to get fish, I saw Big Red and I wanted him. Being I'm the baby - of course I got him.
Have kept them ever since... going on 19 years.
cfp
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Post by dyingagain1 on Oct 9, 2004 15:41:14 GMT -5
mine is a long story...one day i went to the nursing home w/ my great granny was (she died in 2001 i got my first betta in 2000) and this lady had a beautyful blackish blue betta in a vase (ya they are evil) and i loved it so i went to pets mart and bought zachary "lil smiley"(i name most my fish after people lmao im a stange kid) then i got home w/ him then about 6 days later i came home from school and i came into see him in his hex and he was dead the water was frezing cold and he looked like he had coton wool so i burried him in my garden in a pretty gold box....a week later i bought i beautiful red betta who i named Aaron "lil blue eyes" (i named him after aaron carter XD) he lived for a year n a half he was so pretty he had alot of fungal illnesses tho (he molted and his fins were fin rotied in the end) but now i have 3 bettas they are my lil babys !
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Post by SusanW on Oct 10, 2004 20:05:25 GMT -5
I got a betta for my little girl. He lasted 4 days and died. He had fungus. I got another and started looking on the internet to see how to take care of him. Soon I was buying sick fish to see if I could cure them. Then I started with other types of fish. People started giving me bettas that they didn't want anymore. Right now I have 28, 13 females and 15 males. 11 females live an a tank together, they are sisters...and were going to be culled  Two I have by themselves as they were getting picked on and the boys are all separate of course. My daughter wants to try breeding but I don't know what we would do with all the betta lol. |
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Flurry
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 213
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Post by Flurry on Oct 11, 2004 7:53:52 GMT -5
A while ago, for some reason I decided that I wanted fish. Not a big tank though... just a small one to gaze at. So, next time I was at Walmart, I picked up a one gallon tank. I couldn't wait to get it set up =P
A few days later I went and picked out some fish. Being enexperienced, the pet store sold me two zebra danios and two white clouds and told me to take change the water once every three weeks =P
Well, after having the fish for a while, I decided I wanted some more. My dad wanted me to get another filtered little tank, but since I didn't want two filters going in my my room, I decided to do some research and see what kind of fish I could keep in one of those critter keeper things.
Pretty soon I had realized that I was killing my fish by keeping them in such a small tank, so after battling with my dad over the issue, I handed off my fish to my friend's ten gallon tank (in case you are wondering, they are doing ten times better than they had been doing in my tank) so then I realized that I had an empty tank to fill =P
I went back to that forum, and someone said that I could either put shrimp or a betta in such a small tank, and since the pet store didn't sell shrimp, I decided that I wanted a Betta.
So, I researched the heck out of them (I didn't want to make any mistakes) and it came to the point where I couldn't wait to have one of my own. Then I finally purchased my first one in August. He's been through a lot since I had got him (popeye, which still isn't gone =P, battles with my dad, not having a lot of money, heating problems, ect) but I am learning and he is doing great. I had also learned from those mistakes. I'm hooked on fish, and I can't wait to get a bigger tank and properly care for it.
That's my story =)
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Post by mandymarie on Oct 11, 2004 10:08:03 GMT -5
I started out with Charlie, and was fairly ignorant in caring for him until I brought home Chester, it was then I noticed that poor Charlie didn't look the best. I found this place and now Charlie is 2 years old, but i grew an obsession. People would come to my house seeing all of my fish and just start giving me fishtanks or seeign one at a garge sale they would buy it for me, I now how a over 10 tanks(only bought one of them myself) filled with bettas, neonos, guppies, gaurami's, sharks, barbs, danios, goldfish, etc..... I have been banned form the fish isle in walmart by my boyfriend, lol!
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Post by ickyfishywishy on Oct 11, 2004 16:27:38 GMT -5
i have allways kept all sorts of pets.. cats, dog( who loved cats for some reason), turtles, ducks, chickens, a gazel who loved eating ciggarets, a goat, but mostly cats,,, i allways see bettas in stores and allways used to hate the state they were in,,, a small bowl with no filter or friends,,, i didnt know at that time that bettas breathed air and didnt like much company,,, then one day i bought a huge fish tank and started looking for some additions while it was cycling so i knew exactly what i wanted... then i saw these cute little bettas and this bright blue one caught my eye so i decided id get him b4 he dies all alone in a desgusting store... so i got little bleu and now im addicted to bettas! ;D then i got perrywinckles and they looove showing off to each other by building huge bubble nests infront of each other! i love um! |
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Post by ickyfishywishy on Oct 11, 2004 16:31:52 GMT -5
by the way this thread was a great idea i love reading everyones intrests in bettas! ;D
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He lived with us for 7 months, then died suddenly. As I began to research what had happened to him, I realized that I really wanted another fish or several, so ... I currently have five males plus my daughter's male, home from college for the holidays. I'm not planning to breed or anything, but I don't plan to stop keeping bettas anytime soon! 
Two I have by themselves as they were getting picked on and the boys are all separate of course.
