BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish update

hi everyone i know i havent been around in a while. Some of you may remember my betta Crimson. Well, he developed a tumor in his belly area and about a month ago i had to humanely euthanize him. Vet said (yes i actually took my fish to a vet, people tell me im crazy) that there as nothing that could be done for him except make him comfortable as possible. Whenever the tumor got so big that he was having a hard time getting to the surface for air i felt at that point it would have been cruel to keep him alive. Hardest thing i have ever done. Never intentionally killed any animal before.

I decided to get another betta, yall are going to laugh at me but i named him Red. Not after Crimson though. Whenever i brought Red home, i could not get him to eat betta pellets. A week later (i know sometimes it can be a few days before bettas will eat after being stressed) he still wasnt eating. At this point i still hadent named him either. So i went ahead and tried some flake food that i use for my community tank and he flared at it. Funniest thing i have ever seen. Finally i got him to eat some bloodworms, and he wont eat nothing but bloodworms. It got me thinking about Red Forman from "That 70's Show" with how aggressive, picky, and stubborn he is. So i decided that was the perfect name for him.

He is comfortably situated in a 5 gallon tank with all the silk plants he could want and a rock looking hidey hole. Hopefully he will be happy and healthy for a long time.

So sorry to hear about crimson. I do remember him. I had Gideon. Then I had a betta explosion and got up to 7. I am now down to 5. 4 females and 1 male. I love the name Red for your fish. Sounds like it fits him very well! Good luck with Red!

I have a question about Red. At first the only thing I could get him to eat was bloodworms. I noticed that I had to keep fighting finrot with him. Did some research and found that feeding him only bloodworms was probably causing the finrot because of poor nutrition.

well, after a few days of not eating because i switched to pellets, i now have him eating pellets just fine. i have noticed some behavior changes in him though.

i notice that he swims at least twice as fast around his tank, is seldom stationary. Will come to the front of the tank at the slightest hint of movement in the room acting like he is just starving to death. Is this an indication of an increase in appitite? Should i be feeding him more than 4-5 pellets a day? Also, it used to take me putting a mirror or leaving my finger on the tank for extended periods of time to get him to flare. Now it is not uncommon for him to flare when i walk up to the tank. Should i be concerned?

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Red does sound like the perfect name for him! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm not sure you should be concerned about the increased activity. What is the temperature of your tank? If it is a higher temp (above 78) it can stimilate your male to want to mate, or in general it makes beta fish more active. This would explain the increansed movement and flaring.

How is his fin rot doing?

Your feeding habits seem fine -it's the amount I give my beta. Perhaps if he seems really hungry make it a sure 5 instead of 4-5.

He sounds like a great fish. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

He also may simply have more energy. Imagine how you would feel eating steak for every meal. (assuming your not vegetarian or vegan, lol). Then suddenly got a nice salad. It would be refreshing. I think the better nutrition has simply caused him to have more energy. I dont think you have anything to worry about.

Sounds like a happy fish to me!

the fin rot is doing well.... got some good fin re-growth.

I also forgot to mention that he has a bubble nest up.... could that effect his attitude also. If so could the tendancy to flare on a dime be causeing him stress?

Knowing that he has a bubble nest means that he has been flaring and having increased activity because he is wanting to mate. It shouldn't be a problem. If it carries on too long, more than a week then I would try lowering the temperature a little, since the raised temperatures increase this desire in beta fish. He should be fine though. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Fantails and Betas

Glad to hear he's doing well. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />