Getting to "Know You": Post your introduction here

[PetLover]

Hi there

I'm a Betta-holic..... I have 3 little guys at the moment but I'm trying to think of a way to convince my Hubby that we need a couple more

I've had Bettas for about 5 years now. My oldest is Little Henry who is about 18 months. He lives on my desk at work in a 2 gallon tank.

My Hubby surprised me with a tank for home at Christmas and that's how I found this website. I set up my home tank and promptly went out and got Nemo. A week later Nemo died of what I now know is fungus. Sadly it took me 3 more deaths before I finally got the right meds

I'm happy to report that after a bout of fungus Number 5 is alive and well and has a buddy in a new tank next to him named Spike. Spike is recovering nicely from fin rot.

Reading the posts on this site helped me figure out how to help the little guys. Now I'd like a couple more tanks so that I can help more

I look forward to getting to know everyone better.

Hugs,
Dawn

Mom to 2 humans, 2 dogs, 1 cat & 3 bettas

[hermit]

Hello. Never really thought I'd be communicating this way, but it's pretty fun when everybody's civil!

I live in N. Idaho, top of a mountain, miles away from other distressing humans; 12V solar electric, limited access in winter and limited water supply--very tough living, very beautiful place. I'm only recently in a position to take care of climate-sensitive friends, so not only am I a first-time B. splendens enthusiast, I'm also a first-time fish person.

In fact, I never cared much for fish, and didn't want to encourage the mistreatment of bettas that I saw, even though I longed to rescue them often! But I found a pet store with a startlingly active and healthy "stock", and found myself enchanted with one particular fish--I still can't stop staring at him sometimes.

Anyway, I'm glad to know there are other advocates of the veil-tail out there. While the genetics of the showfish interest me, I find the pet store betta to be the most beautiful in form and variety. Good to read everyone's thoughts.

sincerely,
hermit

p.s. Oh, I make math and build poems.

[Michele1975]

Hello hello!

I'm an old newbie, I used to visit HB a while back but I haven't had time to check in. The new place looks great!

I am 28, and happily married now for 4 years. No kids yet! We live in Houston, TX.

My love for bettas began 5 years ago, I rescued one from a family member that changed his water maybe once every 2 months if that. He came home with me and lived for almost 5 years! He died last week from a case of dropsy.

After I brought him home I decided to get him a friend, then after that I got him 2 more friends, and a coworker gave me yet another betta because his cat wouldn't leave him alone. So I had 5! All veiltails, All lined up in gallon sized vases on my kitchen counter. They all lived for quite a long time, at least 2 years.

I recently bought a beautiful black, blue and cello half moon from Aquabid, and he should be arriving next week! I think i'll name him Squish. (because it rhymes with fish )

I look forward to getting to know you all, and chatting about our betta babies!

[TheBreeder85]

Hi. I'm Adam and ive had bettas since i was somewhere between 9 and 13 lol (bad memory) . I am now 19 and i have 6 bettas or 8 including my girlfriend Jocelyne's bettas that i basically take care of lol. I would have 7 myself but my original betta, Bullet, which i got when i was younger was given away due to running out of space because of my iguana. I regret giving him away very much now especially when he was given to a co-worker of my mom which is not very caring (which makes me feel cruel) . My 6 bettas now are as follows. My two males are Ravenous who i've had for over 2 years now and Torch which i just got. My females are also just bought and their names are Rags, Metallic, Onslaught, and Torpedo. I am now starting to breed bettas and i just bought all different colors so i should get some cool mixes hopefully ;D. I also have an off-subject pet. My blue tongue skink Mocha is a big baby and i've had her for a few months now. I look forward to breeding my own colorful family of bettas and i look forward to hearing about the rest of your experiences down the road and hopefully i have some fun experiences of my own with my own bettas and their great personalities which match some of the names which were given due to characteristics and colors.

[SleepyHead]

Hi, I'm SleepyHead. I'm 40 years old, just celebrated my 17th anniversary, and we have 3 daughters, ages 14, 12-going on 13, and 9. We also just bought our very first home on New Year's Eve. This is the first real opportunity we've had to even consider having pets, primarily because we've always lived in apartments that didn't allow them, but also because the hubbit and the little sleepies are highly allergic to animal dander. We did make 2 attempts at adding a pet to our family - once we rented a house, and a stray puppy wandered into our yard and stuck around for about a week before someone liberated him Our second attempt was a cute little red-eared slider, but he was dreadfully sick and nonresponsive until he died less than 5 days after we got him. Zeus is our third attempt, and already I'm stressing more than he is, I think. I get so attached so easily that I'm afraid to even look too hard at him in case he doesn't make it - sad, ain't I?

[BettaLove]

Hi,
I had a betta as a child and I have always liked looking at them when I was in stores that had them.
Well, I just got my first betta since I have grown up and I recieved him under what I call very special circumstances.
See, my mom sprained her ankle really bad about a month ago and was put in a cast so she called me to see if I could help take care of her and my son that she has custody of. After talking to my hubby and my 17 yr old stepdaughter I decided to leave my family in Mississippi and stay with my mom over an hour away in Louisiana. Everyday I would take care of my son and once she was allowed to go back to work take her back and forth. One day I even worked with her in the store just so she didn't have to be on her feet so much.
Then one day I saw a betta in the fish area of the pet store where she worked and started talking about wanting to get one before I went back home. So she told me that since I had been such a big help that she would buy everything I need to get started with a betta. She bought the tank, the food, the decorations, everything I needed. Then I picked the betta I wanted and told her about him. The next day when I took her to work I went to take a look at him and there was a sold sign on his tank. When I asked my mom who bought she just told me you can bring him home tomorrow. She told me that I had grown up alot since she got custody of my son and that I had shown compassion for others by asking and making sure my stepdaughter thought she could handle my other three young daughters everyday till her dad got home from work so I could come help her, and that I had done more than she even expected me to while I was down here, that she decided to buy the fish for me instead of me waiting til my hubby's payday and taking a chance on someone else buying him first.
I brought him home last wednesday and have been trying to find a name for him. I wanted to name him for his colors. He is red and blue. Well, I had a list but just couldn't chose until this morning, when I put a mirror in front of him so he could get some exercise and show him off to my son. When he flared up, this deep red showed up even more and it was so overwhelming that I chose his name right then. I named him, Corcoran, and I call him Cori for short so my kids can say his name. Corcoran is Celtic word meaning "of reddish complexion" and I think it fits him perfectly. I have been enjoying my new friend so much and he has helped me relax and remember the simple things in life.
I also remember reading that bettas can be additive and you know what? It's true, two days after I got Cori, my mom's shop got a new group of bettas and I fell in with a dark royal blue male betta, just like I did when I saw Cori. I'm hoping to get that one for my daughter who's 4th bday is this thursday. I know she will love him just like I love my Cori cause she loves looking at the bettas at the stores back home and always wants to bring one home.
Sorry I took so long to explain myself and my new friend. Hope I didn't bore ya'll.

Take care,
BettaLove and Corcoran

[mandymarie]

Congrats on Cori!!!

[PassionateGray]

Hey guys,

I'm Elisha. I'm 23 and I go to college right now... just trying to finish up! I am getting married in Dec., which I am TOTALLY thrilled about!

My betta's name is Blueberry. He's just your standard Pet Warehouse betta. It was kind of funny, because he was light blue with an almost white head when I bought him, but now he has a lightish blue tail with a darker body and some red tinting on his fins and gills. I almost wonder if he changed to his normal color now, but he was mega-stressed in the pet store, so that's why he was so light-colored. He's a real character and he only lets me feed him and look at him (he hides from anyone else). I love him! He's my first betta and I have completely fallen in love. I've had him for about 3 months. Right now he's sleeping right near the surface on the side of his bowl closest to me. I told my fiance that if I could hug Blueberry, I would! Haha! I am such a nerd.

Well, it's great to be here at the boards! I look forward to gathering knowledge from all of you experienced betta owners and maybe some day becoming knowledgeable enough to help other people out myself!

[PassionateGray]

Rae said:

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.

Hey AWESOME! I'm a Christian too.

[Sqwee]

Hello. My name is Sam, and I'm from Eau Claire, WI. I've only owned a Betta for about a month and a half. He is a beutiful deep red all over. I'll get a picture of him soon.

I had some fish when I was young. They were "my fish", but my parents took care of them. When I was very young (4 or so), we had a 20 gal. tank.

When I was around 10, I got a Ninja Tutles 5 gal tank for christmas. I kept a few neons and things in there. Again, it was my parents taking care of it, not me.

About a month and a half ago, I was at Wal-Mart at about 2am, and I saw a 10 gal. tank with the filter and cover with lights and everything for only $30. I thought it sounded like a pretty good deal, so I picked it up. I had seen the Betta's in vases and felt sorry for them. I didn't realize how bad it was for them, but I thought it must be a boring exsistance to be stuck in this tiny container. So I started off with one betta in a 10 gallon tank. Overkill? Probably...but he loves being in there. he is constantly swimming all over the place and is very active.

My betta is currently having some problems, which led me to this site. So far, I really enjoy this site and have almost read all the articles already. (I found this site about 1am this morning).

[ickyfishywishy]

im a newbie so ill just start with the basics
im from lebanon and im just starting out at fishkeeping and the minute i thought of it iv been doing so much online research and buying so many books on how to take care of fish, iv never been so psyched abt something like this! even thought wev had a fish tank a long time ago when i was like... 4 or something dosent count i guess... then i purchased an 82 gallon tank and four goldies... i used to allways see bettas and stare at them and how beautifull they are! then after i read somewhere they r good comunity fish (which didnt turn out true for me ) i got my first betta ( bleu ) and it turns out he hates the big tank so i got him a huge bowl abt 2 gallons and hes as happy as can be in it. then i got some guppies and 2 platys and i havent finished decorating my tank yet.... ohyeah i have a crazy cat ( icky ) n she actualy enjoys staring at the tank 23 hours a day
i guess thats as much as i can say abt my self its great to meet u all and hope to chitchat with evry1 soon so ciao ciao for now

[amanichen]

Well my name is Brian, I'm 21 years old, and I don't actually have any bettas right now, just a few guppies.

I'm a college student, currently living in Virginia, and a 10 gallon tank with some guppies is all I can manage traveling between home and college. I plan to get more tanks once I get a permanent residence, but that's still a couple of semesters away.

And I like long walks on the beach and...no wait...nevermind

[Lucy]

Hi,
I am Lucy and I am new to this forum but I know I will learn so much from it. I currently have no bettas because I just moved house but I have been looking around for a couple of weeks for the perfect betta. However, I before I moved I had bettas but I have been keeping bettas for over 4 years. I also have 4 dogs: Sammy- American Eskimo, Bijoux- Affenpinscher/Chihuahau cross, Steve-Border Collie, and Hoddle- Terrier mix (all rescues.) I also have two dwarf hamsters, Bunny and Marshmellow, and a Russian Blue cat, Jasper.

I first got into the whole fish thing which led to bettas when I got an Aquab**ies kit which by the way are completely cruel and inhumane not to mention stupid. In the kit I got an African Dwarf Frog, Circus, and a pond snail, Mozzy, both of which are still alive today. After I got these guys we immediately found out how cruel they were my family went down to my LPS to upgrade Circus and Mozzy to a 5 gal tank. While we were down there however, my sister saw a striking purple betta and immediately decided that she had to have him. My father, feeling sorrow for the poor fish confined to a tiny cup, half filled with stagnent water, decided to buy him for my sister. We brought "Zelda" home and after about three weeks my sister lost interest in Zelda and she gave him to me. It basically snowballed from there and about two weeks later I was down at the LPS again buying bloodworms for Zelda and I saw Saria, a gorgeous Pastel male I just had to have. I had these two until they died about 3 months ago only a week apart, however I had 8 bettas which I accquired in a similar way that were given to my grandmother when my family moved.

So now I have one empty two gallon tank that hopefully this weekend will have a betta in it, because I am planning on making a special trip to a great specialty fish store that is about 2 hours from my house . Wish me Luck!

[Hannah]

Hey everyone, I've actually been here for a little bit but I finally decided that I should post my intro especially since I got a fish ;D. I live in the frigid north (meaning Canada though it really isn't that cold and for the past few years it's been raining on Christmas day . The snow season seems to last only two months in this area though in other parts it's worse, but enough about climate). I have one betta which I got about two weeks ago and he's a blue crowntail betta with a bit of red on the tips of his fins and his name is Aquila. I've never had a pet until this point in time which I think is good since I think I have a greater appreciation for my betta than I would have had if I had had a pet all my life (the other part of it is that my dad knows that I'm responsible enough to take care of my fish and he won't have to clean up after plus he won't have to pay anything for it since it all comes out of my pocket . I first found this website when my sister got a fish for her birthday and after a few weeks, he was loosing some scales. Being the kind, loving, older sister that I am (lol ) I decided to do some research on bettas to see what might be causing his problems. I found this forum and found that it gave a lot of info plus allowed me to ask questions without feeling really stupid. While helping my sister take care of her fish, I got caught up in the betta craze and now have a beautiful betta of my own to take care of. I think site is great and am really glad that I found it ;D!

[Flurry]

Hi, I'm Samantha and I'm from good 'ol Nova Scotia, Canada...

I've had my Betta now for 20 days, and I love him to death. He's got a neat body which is neatly divided with three different shades of purple, and he has white fins splotched with purple and blue. He's just a common veil tail but I'd love him if he had... no tale lol. Why a Betta though? Long story so I'll try to make it as short and as un-boring as possible...

Well, I decided I wanted some fish in December so I purchased a little on gallon tank, and no thanks to the LPS, they sold me two Zebra Danios and two White Cloud Mountain Minnows as my first fish I know, *shock shock horror horror* For some reason sometime in May, I decided that I wanted another tank, and some online research brought me to a forum where they told me that the fish I already had were WAY unsuitable for the tank I had, and that the only fish I could have in such a small tank was a Betta. So immediately I planned to give my fish away, and in the meantime, I researched the heck out of Bettas and some stories from owners about how unique their Bettas made it so I couldn't wait to get one. So, after I gave my fish to a friend with a proper tank, I prepared my tank for a Betta and after a trip to the LPS, they told me when their Bettas usually come in. I was the first one there when the Bettas arrived and got to choose between about 12 or so different kinds. Usually the LPS gets in a shipment of blue and red Bettas but the batch they got in that day were mixed, and I had a hard time choosing. Finally, I narrowed it down to a dark green one, a white one with green on it's fins, a dark pink one, a red and green one, and a bronzy greenish purply one, but, of course, I chose my little fellow, who I named Donatello, Don for short, after the purple ninja turtle, lol. It was hard to choose a name. I had it narrowed down to Donatello, Leonardo and Picasso, but Donatello just stuck. And now I am trying my best to provide Don with a good home, even though I've had a few problems along the way...

There's my story. By the way... this forum rocks ;D