Getting to "Know You": Post your introduction here

[BettaBabe]

I think it's just great that I have found a commu ity that like this particular breed of fish as I do. I'd love to get to know you all better. So, I will start with an introduction.

I got a betta when my husband's great gran mother passed away. Her daughter wanted me to pick out somethings from her estate as my own as an inheritance of sorts. I felt a little strange being that I was an in-law. So, I chose Grannies plants. She got so much joy from living things. One of the plant I chose was in a water fill vase. A peace lilly in a gallon sized vase. It was thriving and had a bloom.

When I brought it home with in the week a friend suggested that I put a betta in the vase with the plant be/c she'd seen it at work on a very peoples desks and the arrangement seemed pleasant.

So, I went to the pet store and bought Bob George. He lived in the vase for 3 months. I always felt bad changing his water out evey week and scaring him so bad. After much research online I chose a two gallon aquarium with total 3-stage filtration, the Eclipse Explorer.

It's been a year and he's lived happily in his tank (or so I thought) until I noticed algae growing in the rocks. That started my web sluething into finding a "cure" for this problem. I found Healthy Betta!

Now, I have a clean tank and even added zebra danios to my tank. I plan to buy a larger tank in a few months.

BB

[Crystal]

Welcome to Healthy Betta. Sorry you came in on the middle of a message board change, but hey - I like the smilies LOL

Let's see. For me - I have 18 bettas, 6 are up for adoption, one possibly to be adopted out later this week to a coworker who is so excited to have a betta.

I started with my first betta when I was 9 and have enjoyed their company ever since. They are truly a special little species and bring me great joy.

I started Healthy Betta in sheesh.. when was that LOL In August of 2001 and we are quickly approaching our 2nd Birthday. I'm very excited about that. We have been running all this time and giving our information away free in an effort to help bettas that come into people's homes receive the best care possible.

I hope you find this to be a good community with a wealth of knowledge.

[Rae]

Hi, my name is Rae, and I am a bettaddict. ;D I got my first betta when I was eleven, (now 22), and up till I was about 18 I had at least one regularly. Then, I stopped for a couple years, because of graduating, moving out of state etc, then, I got Valentine, we got a new computer and internet, so I started researching, found HB, loved the idea of rescuing, and here I am today. I don't know how many I have. Somewhere in the 80s. But I'm looking to start thinning out the rescues and start breeding. ;D Oh, and I lost Valentine last month. Old age. And the biggest and best news of all? Last month, May 9th, I accepted Christ as my savior. ;D lol I went from an atheist that just KNEW there was no god to a Christian in a matter of months. It's great! ;D I just had to share that. Too happy to keep it to myself.

[Jenny]

My first introduction to bettas was seeing one in a vase last summer. I was with my mom in a farmers market, and we thought the vases were so pretty. She bought me one later as a gift (for 40$ - yikes ). He was my first betta, Mr. P J Humperdinkle, a beautiful dark blue with red stripes in his fins. Luckily I didn't fall completely into the idea of the total ecosystem. I did feed him and change the water, and the vase was nearly 1 gallon. Unfortunately, he soon developed fungus, and died soon after . After that I wanted to learn more about them so I could get another one, and this time keep it alive. I found HB, and learned how bad the plant vase was for the fish, as well as some other things like dechlorinator. I got a new set up for my new fish, a one gallon drum bowl, a silk plant, some rocks, and water treatments. I then tried to get my money back from the vase people, no luck, but they did give me a new fish to put in my vase, yeah right . He was a nice red and blue betta, and I named him Spazzy because he acted well, spazzy, when I first got him.

I soon was visiting a wal-mart and they had all their bettas in tiny dirty cups with airtight lids. I had to get at least one of them. I chose a pretty tourquiose with a brown head. He became Aquilo, my second betta. I then inherited two of a friends unwanted goldfish, one of which later died when he jumped out of the tank in the night.

Then a few months ago, I was in a pet store looking for a new plant. I looked at the male bettas and didn't see any that were especially nice looking or in need of rescue, but they did have a tank of females. Of course, I got one. She has a peachy pink body, and red and blue buttterfly fins, and is a crowntail. I never found a name that suited her, so I usually just call her my pwetty fishy girl.

Then, I somehow inherited my sister's betta Vittra, who is almost the same tourquiose as my Aquilo, but with a bit more green, and shorter fins. He had chronic fin rot when he was with her because she didn't change the water much, and because her cat stressed him out. He is doing much better with me, and I am hoping that she will forget about wanting him back.

[Brandi]

I'm Brandi, some of you know me, some of you probably don't yet. I've been MIA for awhile but am hopefully back now. I first discovered bettas on a visit trip to Oklahoma to see my family about a year and a half ago. My grandmother had one that had been given to her with the whole lily vase setup. She noticed the plant and the fish didn't seem to be a good combo as the plant kept rotting, so she tossed out the plant. Good move on her part I later learned. The little fish was by far, the coolest thing I'd ever seen. It was so interactive!! I HAD to have one! When I went home I started researching bettas online and that's how I ran across this site. Now I'm addicted. I still have the first betta I ever bought, Larry, and my husband still has his first, Moe. I also have 6 others. I can't imagine ever not having bettas now. ;D

[ana]

mine's not terribly romantic, i saw an episode or 'everybody loves raymond' where he gave his parents an aquarium and they found it calming and nice to watch. i needed something like that, so i asked for one for christmas this last year and got one. i went to the pet store to buy a bunch of fish for it and came home with one, he was the prettiest sweetest baby i loved him so quickly, i spent a couple of hours a day just playing with him, he'd dance for me when he wanted to play, he was amazing

the lfs guy said put this in his tank, i did, a couple of hours later he was covered in fuzzy stuff, his gills were filled with it, i knew he was dying and the stores were closed, i had no knowledge or meds. i sat with him til he was gone. he's buried in a special spot in my yard now

the next day i got uppity, i thought okay, i remembered them in their little cups, i wanted to save more of them from that. i went to the lfs and bought like a fiend. i got 5 bettas that day, i came here and learned everything i could, ive rescued 2, i had given 3 of the ones i bought to friends but they got sick and i have them now, they didnt want to worry about them being sick and i didnt mind taking in more

so i learned and i try to help whenever i can, i dont want people to cry like i did and still do, and i like helping so very much. the feeling you get when someone says 'he's okay now', its the most wonderful feeling. it makes me think of sam and smile

so now i have 8 bettas, 5 gouramis, 2 placos and 4 corys, and i love them all very much

i'll always miss sam though

[jedicat]

i've sorta told bits and pieces of my betta tales on the other board, but here goes.

last year, a guy was selling year-and-a-half old bettas on my campus. they were in quart vases with some gravel, and i noticed one that kept following me every time i moved. i'd had friends who keep bettas, so i knew how wonderful they are. i made the mistake of doing an impulse-buy, and that's how i got wedge. the guy also gave me a huge bag of freeze dried bloodworms, and told me to do water changes every week. my friends told me otherwise, so i scoured the web for a "definitive" answer, and i found HB. then i relocated wedge to a 2 gallon bowl with a hideyhole and a silk plant, and i purchased the essentials. the quart vase is now used for his water changes. wedge is still alive and happy there were a few months i had no housing, so he lived with my parents, and my mom fell in love with him! she calls him her "grandson" and phones me at school every once in a while to see how he's doing. i was considering getting her a betta as a pet, but the article on the site about bettas as gifts not being a good idea convinced me otherwise. watching someone's fish for a while is a very different thing than being totally responsible for the pet's well-being, and it would put a financial burden on her that i wouldn't want to give.

a few months ago, my housemate told me that there were bettas in the animal behavior lab who needed good homes, and she knew how much i love wedge. so one day after class, she brought home the admiral. when he got really sick suddenly a few weeks ago, i decided to sign up for the forum and ask questions. with the help of everyone here, the info on the HB site, and some good advice from an LPS, he's made a full recovery!

and about a week ago, when buying supplies for my two boys, i rescued two new guys from a petco. one's pretty much recovered and will be adopted by my ex-roomate who's also been bitten by the betta obsession. the other one, wicket, is touch and go, but he's definitely a fighter and he's really enhanced my respect for all bettas (as well as greatly increased my pissed-off-ness at anybody who would treat the fish so inhumanely.)

[Weishaupt]

My name is Chad and I'm a Capricorn. I like long walks on the.....

Just kidding. I've had my Bettas for about a year and half and have had my other non-betta fish for about 3 years. My fiancee' and I wanted to get bettas after watching an episode of "Trading Spaces". The one where Vern puts them in vases hanging from a wall. I found some good sized candle holders and voila!
The boys (Ron & Simon) got to big for their vases recently which led me to Healthy Betta to inquire about the odd ammonia smell coming from their new vases. I've been reading some of the older articles ever since. ;D

[shadow=black,left,300]A good group of folks here, that's for sure.[/shadow]

[Lindsay]

My name's Lindsay...i used to post on the boreds quite often...then with moving & dealing with a copmletely stupid computer, i have'nt been on much. I've had bettas since i was around 10, im now 20. Before i moved, i was owned by about 30 some bettas, both male & female. Since i had to move, i found good homes for most of them (thanks to ALOT of animal-loving family memebers!), the only one who came with me was my Herky (Hercules) who is now just over 1 year old ;D. SOOO, that's a lil bout me!

[texasprincess]

Hi everyone!

My name is Arnette.. I'm a college student in Texas!
I was living in university-owned housing which only permits "fully aquatic" pets, and since I didn't have a roomie, I thought it would be nice to have someone to greet me when I got back from a busy day of class!

I bought my first betta in late January and named him "Alpha". I'm in the greek system, and thought "betta" was close enough to "beta" and thought I would give my new little finned-friend a greek name! Since Alpha is also the first greek letter, I thought the name suited my betta well since he was my first little betta!

A couple of weeks later on Valentine's Day, it was in the afternoon and I was getting my oil changed. I walked to the Petsmart across the street to find some new 'toys' for Alpha, and came home with a new friend (another betta!) that I named "Gamma". I skipped the second letter in the Greek alphabet, since they were already "bettas" ;D

And in March, I was at Walmart, and by this time the fish section of *any* store magnetically attracted me. It was by chance that their fish dept. was right next to the health care items. I only went to buy some toothpaste, but that day I came home with a beautiful all-white male betta (#3!) which I named "Delta"

I have had Alpha for 4.5 months, Gamma 4 months, and Delta for about 3 months.

I would definately like to have more in the future, but right now, I think 3 is a good number as my little guys are a handful!

[Betta MVP]

Hi all my name is Dani and I'm a betta addict! What fun reading all of your betta stories!

I got a 29 gallon tank for Christmas 3 years ago and set it up as a community tank with rosy barbs, platys, corys, swordtails, tetras and a dwarf gourami. Then I saw this gorgeous red betta that I just had to have! He lived in my community tank for about year and he was just so much more lively than the other fish and had such a personality! He got along pretty good with the other fish in my tank, but he hid a lot and did get chased around a bit so I bought him a 5 gallon tank that he didn't have to share with anyone, boy did he love that!

Anyway, I lost most of my fish in my community tank due to a flex outbreak, I didn't know what was the problem or why my fish kept dying off at the time. Now I only have a few tetras left, so I took them out and nuked the tank and I'm re-cycling it now and it's now going to be a species tank with only female bettas. In addition to the 29 g and 5 g tanks, I was also given a 10 g hexagon tank which is now home to... you guessed it... a betta! I have 1 gallon pickle jars all over the house with bettas in them too.

In total, I have 8 female crowntails and 4 males, 3 of which are crowntails. I also have one little survivor from my very first spawning attempt but i'm not sure what sex he/she is because he is a little runt, but I refer to him as "he." I thought that the male had eaten all of the fry, so I hadn't been feeding and there was no heat on the tank. It had been sitting for about month since I was on vacation in another part of the country and didn't have time to get to it. I had decided to break down the tank and clean it out and when I swished the plant around to take it from the tank, out he swam! He's so cute and I'll keep him until the day he dies, his name is Frodo.

I also got my Mom addicted to bettas too. I believe she now has 8.

[luvmybettas]

Hey Everyone.. I am LUV and I am a betta addict too. LOL
It all started with my son. He asked us.. If I do good on my report card, can I have a goldfish. We said (His dad and me) yes if you do good. Well, guess what? He made the Honor Roll... so off we go to the pet store to pick out a goldfish. We get there and the girl says ok you need this and this and this and this for goldfish. I was like Finally, being a man.. my hubby cuts to the chase.. He says"Listen, We only want a fish that can stay in a bowl, no filter etc." Then the girl pointed us to the bettas. We looked at them. There they sat in there individual cups. She told us they were fairly easy to keep. So my son picked out his fish.. We got the bowl he was in... it was fairly larger than the rest. He was a big fish compared to the rest of the bettas. My son said that is the one I want... so we brought him home and my son went through a series of names. Every hour or so he changed the name. He finally decided on "Fishie". He was a beautiful boy!! Well, low and behold... guess what? Yep, Me and hubby got attached to him. We wanted one for us.... So we went back to the pet store about a week later and got 2 more!!! One for me and one for hubby. Now we had 3. Their names are Rainbow and Skyler. Well, later on i got another one.. named him Cream Puff.(that is another long story i will not go into it here) and he must have been really sick.. kept loosing fins... we had to go on vacation in the meantime.. when I got back.. he was dead.. man that really hurt. Well, it wasn't long before we got another one.. Named him Autumn (hubby named him) Well, you know how it goes....one thing leads to another.. I have 10 bettas now.
My oldest boy.. Fishie died June 9th of this year. He was a year old..or better. Well, since it was my son's fish and he was our first. We were so heartbroken.. We just cried.. I could not stand to look at my son with his little sad face any longer. We went to the petstore and came back with a new boy. His name is NEMO. He is my son's new fish. He named him because of the movie. ;D So there you have it... My betta story. Since I had bettas I have found this board and I love it. It is so helpful. I have meet a great friend on here and she has helped me tremendously. You all may know her as RAE.!! ;D ;D ;D I hope to be around more often.
Thanks HB.

[FishyYugi]

Ok....i just got my fist betta fish yesterday, and i named him Yugi. He is in a fish bowl in my room with gravel and a fake plant. I am in highschool and i love to play sports. I play softball and soccer. I also love animals: i have a betta fish, four guinea pigs, and a dog, Louie. I am looking for a friend on this site, since i just joined!!

[subo]

Much of my time online the past several weeks has been spent as a guest visitor on HB board(s) or cruising the site itself. Thanks to the wealth of knowledge/experience of the moderators, (and familiar tones of panic within my fellow "Eggs" postings), I have managed to remain sane whilst experiencing this newly acquired addiction! (I've been tempted several times, however, to post an "Urgent" question, "HOW TO STOP BRINGING BOYS HOME?!?" I'm out of control.

My addiction began in early May (yes, this year) when my 7-year old daughter caught me in a weak, "Walmart moment." We brought home our first betta, Dawg (daughter chose name), who, like the child, was red & flaring from the onset. I won't bore you with details, but a chain of events had me searching for betta answers than Walmart's experts could provide. So, I journeyed through aqua-cyberspace and landed here! Some other website(s), although interesting & informative, referred to our new Dawg as a "mutt!" - no pun intended. But HB folks just seemed to love their fish, even if they came home from a petstore pineconed, pop-eyed, fuzzy, or shredded! After a month or more of sleuthing HB's message board(s) and website I decided to register and say, "hey."

Well, Dawg had to have a buddy, so Dude came home (again, daughter chose name). . . "What up, Dawg?" and "Yo, Dude!" is extremely cool to a second grader. Newbie-Mom had to rescue ISO to make my office a betta place, and then ISO had to have Neo to make his work days even betta. Then, our kitchen needed some flavoring, so Butterscotch & Cayenne were rescued. Lastly, in the midst of the alpha male frenzy, we added the feminine touch with our most recent (3 days ago) rescues, Lady Violet & BigSis.

We live in a beautiful valley in West Virginia. The other "boy" in my life is my hubby of 14 years, an engineer & avid bicyclist (we all have our addictions). The daughter (one & only) that insisted on a fish, is now more interested in summer fun than eight weekly water changes - imagine that!

Anyway, I look forward to making your acquaintance(s)! I hope to become a worthy contributor in the future (with all of these fish, it's inevitable). Meanwhile, I will befriend PayPal & donate to the Pop-Up Free World...

[Denise]

Hi Everyone! I'm Denise and have been absent for a little while but used to talk a lot on the old HB message board. I've been so busy at work and at home that I just have not had much time at all lately to chat. Also, I think I went into a bit of a depression after my George lost his long battle with dropsy and I just didn't feel like talking much. A few weeks after George passed away, my Seamour passed away after living with SBD since January. I currently have ten male bettas. They are (in order of when I got them starting in March 2002): Twinkles, Sparkie, Buddie, Flutterbuns, Ruffles, Sweet Pea, Leroy, Bruce, Wilson, and Huckleberry. I am very thankful to all the good people at HB for teaching me so much about caring for these beautiful boys. I also have two fancy goldfish named Fluffy and Skippy, three cats named Barney, Zunny, and Rosie, and one doggie named Jessie June. I love ALL animals! I have a husband, and our animals are our only children. Welcome to all the new members! I hope to be around a little more often so I can get to know you and your bettas!