Getting to "Know You": Post your introduction here

[Rekall13]

I just realized I never posted in this thread, so here I go.

My name is Tracey (but most people just call me Trace or Rekall because I've had that rekall13 user name for so long). Like the previous couple of posters in this thread I'm from Canada. Ottawa, Ontario to be exact.

It will be two years this Nov since I got my first betta. I was in my 2nd year of University at the time and now living off campus which meant I could have a pet again but I needed something that wasn't too hard, messy or loud to take care of.

After clearing it with my landlady (I have a room rented out of her townhouse) I decided to get a fish and decided on a betta because they always look so bright and colorful (plus I always felt sorry for them living in such a small space, looking back I don't know why I didn't get one before then). Therefore one weekend in Nov when my parents were visiting we went to the closest LPS where I got an entirely blue betta, which I named Zeeks (I got the name off of something but now I can't remember where). Unfortunately Zeeks lasted only 3 weeks because I got some bad advice from the LPS and by that time my 'rents were going to be visiting again until the new year (I don't have a car of my own and its too cold here to keep a betta out like that while taking a bus).

Jan evenutally rolled around and my parents were back so we went to a different LPS (where we got good help) this time where I found ZEEKS II (more can be read about him on my post for him on the memorial page). ZEEKS was also blue but he was two shades of blue and when he flared you could make out the smallest hints of red on his fins.

I kept ZEEKS for a year and a half until this summer when he passed away one night (we were expecting it). That day at work was very hard on me because whenever I was on my break I would start thinking about how I would never see him again (we had a lot of great memories which again can be read about on the memorial page). But luck would have it that we weren't busy that day and I was told to go home a half hour early. That game me enough time to get over to the LFS before it closed. My choice came down to two bettas. One with a purple body and red fins and one with a blue body and red fins. Both looked in great shape and flared like mad when their bowl was picked up (most LFS and LPS around here keeps their bettas in small bowls instead of cups except for WalMart and Petsmart). The purple one was bigger then the blue one (before then I could never see me getting a small betta) but the blue had a lot of spunk and I had originally wanted a betta like ZEEKS before I got to the store and saw they didn't have any ones who were completely blue. In the end I got the blue one with red fins which I named Ziegfried (the Z in ZEEKS stands for Ziegfried, I would give you his full name but I'm not sure how to spell some of them. Each letter in ZEEKS name stands for another name though).

That's my betta story.

Next week I move back to the city and plan on starting my search for another betta (because I just can't help it). I'm hoping to get a white one with some purple in him (with hopefully another color mixed into his fins). I already have a name picked out for a fish of that color so I'm hoping I can find one like that because I really like the name I've decided on. If I don't find one like that I'm sure I'm bound to fall in love with another betta. ;D

Oh I hope to get some pictures of Zieg up soon (and the new guy when I get him) but instead of getting a digital camera like I had planned this year I instead had to buy a new computer since my old one died on me. I'm going to try and find a way to get some pics though after I get back to school.

[SusanW]

Hi, My name is Susan...and I am a bettaholic Currently I have 28 bettas, 15 males and 13 females. My oldest betta will be 5 in October.

I don't breed bettas but people seem to find me when they have a sick or unwanted fish. I have really gotten into betta diseases and treatment.

I am a single working mom who spends all my time with my daughter, 1 cat, bettas and 7 other tanks.

I used to belong to HB a couple of years ago... I remember Crystal, Ruth, Rae and a few others.

[Rachel]

[glow=purple,2,300]Welcome to HB everyone![/glow]

Susan, wow, that's a lot of fish!! I'm going to send you a pm. Welcome back!

[Bean]

Hi I joined last night My name is Janine but people call me Bean, Beany, Beaners and hey you its not halloween yet lol. I only have two bettas Cheeks is my blue veil tail and Flare is my red and blue veil tail. flare is pretty old but Ive only had him for a month because my friend didnt want him anymore so naturely I took him in. Cheeks on the other hand I got at wally world he was in a tank with a lil common goldfish he was flaring all the time so I got him. I also have two goldfish ones a black moore named Panther and a black and white fantail named Sabor. My furry friends are Moxy my cat and Star my horse. Well thats me ;D

[dyingagain1]

Hi ....im Jen/Jennifer (eww i hate my name).....i have four bettas currently ...i have ani gus AmyII and flame....they all are sweet (except AmyII shes a lil jumpy) i love them all (i love gus right now becuase he is defintly dying and i want him to have a happy last few days/weeks/mabye a month) iv ahd betta fish since 4th grade (4 years...) im in 8th grade i have dark blonde/light brown hair glasses and contacts green eyes really fair skin...im pretty but noone else agrees....anyway ..i also have a hamster Named daisy (lil daisy doodles XD) and i also have a doggy anmed Pumpkin (she is a old teddy bear XD..she used to eat everything you put in her face) ..i like the shows NCIS,forensic files,clubhouse and 7th heaven....i liek singing ..forensics and social work.....im into crime investigation stuff due to in the future i wana find out about my friend in 1st grade's murder....i have alot of death in my life...im some what gothic and i love evanescence ...well iv somed myself up

[*~`m*u*p*p*e*t`~*]

hello, my name is muppet(weel, not my real name anyway), and i am glad to find this forum, and i am sure that you can help me with all my problems should i have any.

thank you ;D

[lambsservant]

Hi, We have always had bettas and other fish but the demands of work (I am a minister as well as working a 40 hr a week job) and school got to be too much so we sold everything. After 3 yrs we know entered back into the betta scene. I have a male named Lazarus and my wife has an unnamed male. She said she has to know him before she can name him. I look forward to getting to know you all.
Bruce

[Rainbowlightning]

Time for propper introduction.
My name is Nix, feel free to call me that way if you remember.
I am 23 years old.
I was born in the UK (Newcastle); Moved to Spain (Barcelona) when I was 8 and was raised there; Moved to Maine (USA) 6 months ago to marry my fiance.

My Betta story is very typical..... was in the pet store admiring the 'pretty fish'. Found a small tank in a yard sale a couple days later. Went back to the LPS and came home with my first betta.
Such a sweet guy, yet my inexperience lead to him having a very short life.
Shorlty after my husband decided to 'replace' him with a new betta. BIG mistake.... I'm fighting a battle to help him survive.
I WISH I'd informed myself on this fish before I'd gone out and bought one. Makes me want to go to my LPS and shoot the guy that sold me him!!! Grrrrrr.....

Anyway, as I have mentioned, I have 3 long haired cats that get into everything (except the fish tank... nah nah nah nah nah!).

Finding this site is the best thing I've ever achieved and I would like to personally thank all the people here that have such great advice, HUGE shoulders, MASSIVE hearts and so much pacience and dedication.

[amydough]

Hi! I'm Amy! I just found Healthy Betta and am very happy I did. I'm a military wife, husband's usually deployed lately LOL, so it's been mostly me and my 2 boys (4yrs and 2yrs). We cant have pets in our house so I wanted to get a fish for my oldest son to begin to teach him a little bit about responsibility. I had a betta in a little bowl when I was younger and he lived for a very long time and was very easy to take care of, so I thought that'd be a great choice. LOL!!

We went to a pet store, came home with a betta bowl and Fishy (that's his name). I, then started looking on the internet for more info on care. Low-and-behold I find out there's more to this than a bowl, a fish and some flakes. LOL The next day, BACK to the pet store for aquarium, filter, heater, etc etc etc. LOL I'm loving it! I've always wanted a "real" aquarium but was always intimdated by how complex it sounded. Fishy and I have become good friends.

[Rae]

SusanW said:

I used to belong to HB a couple of years ago... I remember Crystal, Ruth, Rae and a few others.

Hey Susan! Did you ever adopt a fish from me? You seem familiar along those lines...forgive me if you haven't. lol I've been MIA for a long time, too, have pretty much gotten out of bettas, into "real" tanks, (big tanks), and chickens. hehe I moved from Pennsylvania to Arkansas last November, a bit of a change. I lost alot of fish, but all of my bettas made the trip. ;D

[Minaku]

Wow, can't believe I've never posted on this thread.

I'm Minaku, as my username suggests, and I'm just fine being called Minaku or Mina. I've currently got two bettas, a petstore mutt named Boris (some of you might be familiar with him since I chronicled his epic bout with fungus) and a fish store steel blue veil tail named Neptune. My family dog is a yellow Lab named Sable.

I've had pets ever since I was ten because I'm an only child. Since then I've had three rabbits, three cats, two parakeets, a dog, and now my fishie boys. I still don't know too much about birds, since I adopted them from a family friend, but rabbits, cats, and dogs I can deal with. And I'm learning about fish now. After having birds I can safely say that I dislike them the most out of all the animals in the animal kingdom. I keep looking for birds that I won't hate, but so far, the tally is birds 3, me 0. (My boyfriend's roommate has a conure that is spoiled, misbehaved, and in general an obnoxious jerk.)

My dad wants to build a koi pond out back, so I'll probably be around for the long run with questions about both koi and bettas. It's nice to meet you all!

[74nny4]

Hello!! My name is Tanya and I am a betta newbie. I have always been fascinated by bettas, but never had the guts to get one because I've always had bad luck with fish (I had suicidal goldfish when I was little and it sort of traumatized me and I didn't want to kill any more fishies)... Anyway, whenever I go to the mall with my boyfriend I'd go and drag him into pet stores to look at all the animals, always spending extra time at the betta sections. I guess he took some sort of subliminal message or something and bought me a betta starter kit and betta for christmas. Sadly, the first one started to get sick before christmas so he had to take him back to the pet store. I ended up getting a tank for christmas (well there was other stuff as well, but the fish+tank was supposed to be the main thing) I was SOOOOOOO excited at getting a betta. A few weeks after christmas we went back to the pet store to get another fish (they had that 30-day guarantee thing). Sammy only lasted 2 weeks when all of a sudden there was fungus on him, it spread REALLY fast. I tired to treat him with "betta fix" but it just didn't work fast enough. He was dead 2 days after I first noticed little white floaty things on his tail (he was pretty active and healthy before that and he used to always yawn at me, it was so cute!).
Two days ago, we went in and got another fish. He started off a bit shaky but is doign really good now. I still haven't thought of a name for him yet, so.. someone come up with a cool name for me? He's got a red body, white head, and pink and purple fins.
Other than the new fishy, I also have a puppy (well ok, he's 4, but to me he's still a puppy because he's so small) named Oscar who is a really sweet little guy, but gets REALLY feisty and mean towards strangers It took him months to get used to my boyfriend hehe.
Anyway, that's about it. THis site is awsome, and the poeple on here seem reallly really awsome too... NICE TO MEET YOU ALL! ;D

[Nook]

Hello, I'm nook and I'm from alberta canada, I'm kinda a newbie when it comes to bettas, I bought my friend one for christmas... and I don't know how it happened but now I have three good lookin boys.

I've only had the resolution to name one, parrot. He's a light navy and black when he's a puffed out, and more green/blue with a grey head when he's veggin. I think his tails what you call a half moon though I'm not really absolutely sure. I believ I got him from (thinks) Walmart. He's the mellowest of the boys and is really fun to watch. He also really likes blowing bubbles, I don't think it mean anythings wrong, for the most part he seems happy.

I have a red and blue crown tail (I think thats what he is) well actually its more of a purple then a blue and the tips of his bottom fins are a really dark blue/black. his red is very brilliant and he has a black head. By far he's my most flash guy and he makes me think of spain for some reason. (though I've never been). I got him from Petmart. He;s very spasmatic if you give him lots of attention and he really seems to like flaring at the other two (are you spose to let them do it or does it stress them out?).

My last guy is really big, well compared to the other two. He's the first one I got and he's very good looking, he's a bluish/green that shimmers alot when he moves (could think of no better word) and he has a black head like my other two. He likes to watch you and know what your doing and he's the biggest piggy I've ever seen lol.

yeah since next weeks reading week, and I'm going home it'll be our first road trip and I'm a little anxious about it (its only a 2 and a half hour drive, but it will seem longer with them in the car cause I'll be worrying about them.) Generally all my boys are well behaved and don't get scared when I feed em, they usually come right to the top of their tanks and wait for me whn I take of the lids lol.

Yeah, my friend tonia can't have most animals because she has allergies, so for christmas I got her a betta (aptly named java after the plastic cup we bought him in) he's really shy and has almost all the colours on him. She has another betta named joey who's I think gettin on 5 years old, though I wouldn't quote myself on it. he lives in one of those vase plant things, with the plant removed of course, its a really big vase and she cleans it alot. Joey's mostly white/pink and he's getting old lol.

but yeah me, um slight diversion. I'm 18 and I'm a full time university student (I don't live at res though) and I have a good boyfriend and um two cats that live back home (hence why I got the fish, for company). I don't mind being called nook, you can call me Chinook, Alicia, Alima, prolly anything you want and I'll respond to it if I know its directed towards me but in general I like nook well enough. Besides the boys I also have 3 comets (all of which are nameless), and a goldfish (I'm not sure his type, it wasn't on or around his tank when I bought him) he's agot a big belly and no goggly eyes that alot of goldfish seem to have. He's aptly named goldie.

[FireStar]

Howdy, all, FireStar here!

For a long time I wanted to get a fish, just because, but mother said no. So, one summer I moved out, and the house I moved into had 2 dogs, 2 cats, a ferret and a variety of random children. Fake-mother didn't mind if I added one more to the zoo (certainly my 2 gallon fish tank is less obtrusive than her rottweiler) so I bought some guppies. They died. So I bought some platies. They died. So the guy suggested a coldwater fish, either a betta or a goldfish, and I decided on the betta. (I learned later that bettas aren't actually coldwater fish.)

Well, that was Pyrus, the red betta. I knew nothing about fish care, and I realize now that I took rotten care of him. Yet he lived without a problem for a year.

I currently have a 2 gallon hex with a silver female named Nefertari (she was mislabelled as a he, but I see an ovipositor, so I think she's a she), and a 5 gallon tank with a red and green male named Lancelot, and a black and white molly named Nefertiti.

I also have a dog named Benji. He's a bichon frise - cocker spaniel cross, and he gets very jealous over the attention the bettas get.

[BettasoftheGardens]

Hi everyone. Just came upon this site, and I'm glad to know some other betta lovers! My name is Raegan, but I've decided to use my website name and identity for login id. The website is still in the works if your wondering. I'm from the Dallas, TX area, and that is where I also grew up. I have always been an animal lover, and mainly a horse crazy woman, but life's road has turned me into bettas more recently. I have always enjoyed the fish keeping hobby, and admired and enjoyed bettas, but I hadn't had my own until spring of 2004 when I decided to put one at my office. I noticed how personable and enjoyable my little friend was, so I purchased another and a 2.5 gallon with divider within a week. These fish were more amazing than I originally thought, displaying personality and amazing intelligence I thought for a fish. They would watch me at work and follow my movements. I grew very fond of them quickly and bragged to my hubby how neat these bettas were. I decided to look bettas up on the web, and WOW! I saw not just petstore veil bettas, but the new varities, colors and patterns I saw were breathtaking.

Anyways, long to short, I had to have more. I joined a local IBC chapter in the north Texas area, Texas Betta Society, and attended a meeting. Oh, did I mention I found Aquabid while I researched bettas on the web. I wasn't able to find or aquire any bettas in the paticular varities I was wanting so I decided to purchase some off of Aquabid. Anyways, I got so addicted to these creatures, without knowing it I decided to fill up my house, my life, and all spare energy to breeding and raising them. I have always dreamed of breeding horses, but the cost to start and time investments are way to much for a working married woman at 25. Breeding and raising fancy variations of the betta, I could do a bit of my original dream with alot less money and time involved to see results. Well, the results thing was true.... I now have over 50 adults, and have around 30 of my own juvies that haven't left the betta garden yet, and growout tanks with lots of fry growing up and being little monster bettas. I have filled an entire room with bettas and items relating to them, without even meaning to stumble into this hobby. I wouldn't touch things before that I know grow in our extra bathroom, and spare time I had is now not enough it seems to balance all parts of my life. I have decided to invest time and money into my hobby and would like to quit my day job to change fish water permanaetly, or atleast for the mean time.

I want to enjoy my fish and allow others to enjoy and experience keeping and admiring such beautiful creatures too, so I am going to sell what I don't show or keep myself. I am now an IBC member and plan to start showing some of my fish this coming fall when the new season starts. I am currently the treasurer for my local IBC chapter, Texas Betta Society, and am participating (as a volunteer & producer of our award plaques) in our 2 upcoming(& 1st) shows in April & June. I am working on my website currently where I will sell my stock, and offer help and information to fellow betta lovers from a honest and sincere source, who is driven by love of the fish, not financial or competitive reasons. I look forward to meeting everyone, and feel free to contact me anytime, for whatever reason and I will answer as soon as I can with a honest answer, even if it is to tell you I don't know.