Post by siobhan on Apr 1, 2016 15:11:41 GMT -5
I swore I was going to pare down to one fish tank when my last betta died. I moved the snails in with the guppies and Darty Fish (algae eater, so named because of the way he darts around, LOL) and took down the second tank and put it away. I even managed to leave it put away for a month or more. But I have to go into Petsmart and Walmart's pet department with regularity to buy stuff for the rest of the zoo, and last weekend, I couldn't walk past the bettas. They always look so sad in those little cups. I grabbed one at random and wagged him home (as my mom would have said) and he sat in his cup on the dryer while I hurried around and set up the second tank again. It's a lot better to let a tank cycle before you put a fish in it, and if I had PLANNED to wag home a betta, I would have done that. But, well, I didn't. So I was a little worried how he'd do.
He's perfectly fine. He was terrified the first day. He started exploring cautiously the second day. And now he's zooming all over his tank, enjoying himself thoroughly in all that space just for him. I moved some snails back in there with him to handle algae and they're doing fine, too. I expect them to start having babies pretty immediately. Snails are very thoughtful about self-regulation and never have more babies than there's room for (contrary to what my friend said when he gave me the first four; he said they'd "take over"). Cyril, so named because Hubby was watching "Archer" when I brought Cyril home and I heard Archer yelling at the character Cyril while I was setting up the tank -- Archer was yelling, "Cyril! Cyril! CYRIL!!!!" so ... I named the fish Cyril. LOL He took to his floating log and his two castles and he doesn't mind having snail roommates and he eats heartily and his color has gotten noticeably brighter since I brought him home. His body is blue and his fins are red.
All the adult guppies died, but they left behind six babies. They left more but some of them died. These six seem to be doing well and if they survive to adulthood, will probably make babies, too. One is misshapen and I was absolutely certain she would die, but I've thought that since she was born in January, and she's still zooming around eating and pooping like a champ. I hesitated to name them because I was losing guppies at such a rate, so for now they're just "the guppies." The birds don't care about the guppies, but Freddie likes to look at Cyril. Clyde will sit on my shoulder in front of Cyril's tank but if he thinks I'm paying more attention to Cyril than to him, he chomps me.
He's perfectly fine. He was terrified the first day. He started exploring cautiously the second day. And now he's zooming all over his tank, enjoying himself thoroughly in all that space just for him. I moved some snails back in there with him to handle algae and they're doing fine, too. I expect them to start having babies pretty immediately. Snails are very thoughtful about self-regulation and never have more babies than there's room for (contrary to what my friend said when he gave me the first four; he said they'd "take over"). Cyril, so named because Hubby was watching "Archer" when I brought Cyril home and I heard Archer yelling at the character Cyril while I was setting up the tank -- Archer was yelling, "Cyril! Cyril! CYRIL!!!!" so ... I named the fish Cyril. LOL He took to his floating log and his two castles and he doesn't mind having snail roommates and he eats heartily and his color has gotten noticeably brighter since I brought him home. His body is blue and his fins are red.
All the adult guppies died, but they left behind six babies. They left more but some of them died. These six seem to be doing well and if they survive to adulthood, will probably make babies, too. One is misshapen and I was absolutely certain she would die, but I've thought that since she was born in January, and she's still zooming around eating and pooping like a champ. I hesitated to name them because I was losing guppies at such a rate, so for now they're just "the guppies." The birds don't care about the guppies, but Freddie likes to look at Cyril. Clyde will sit on my shoulder in front of Cyril's tank but if he thinks I'm paying more attention to Cyril than to him, he chomps me.
Whereas the time I've watched this process at Walmart, and again it might have only been that one employee, she very carefully drained out all but the last bit of water, and gently dipped fresh (treated) water in, and the fish didn't seem distressed at all. Also, the Walmart fish always seem to have clean water, and the Petsmart fish often look like their water hasn't been changed for days. Mind you, I still buy them from Petsmart, to save them not only from the cups but from the rough treatment. It depends on which store I'm at on a day when that little voice says "Buy a betta!!!!!" This time it was Walmart. They were in the midst of water changes, and I almost chose one on the shelf, whose water level was too low, and then I realized they were doing water changes and his situation would be corrected shortly. So I went to look at the ones on the sink, whose water had already been changed, and Cyril saw me and flipped around to get a better look, and I chose him. I never decide which betta to get based on "oh, this one's the prettiest." I let them choose me. Whichever one seems most interested in me is the one I pick up. Another thing about Walmart is that they have a sign by the bettas describing how to take care of them, and another sign directing their employees (and the public, I presume) to NOT stack the cups on top of one another. Bettas need air and that opening in the lid is how they get it. People slam Walmart, and it may only be our local one that does this sort of thing, and that may be due to one caring employee who is trying to do her best by the fish (they don't have any other live creatures for sale), but I think that's why my Walmart bettas have always done well. 
