Got a pair of female Betta fish today.

[NaBarney]

Didn't go in for em but they didn't have the right species of cory catfish that I wanted more of and I mentioned wanting a top level fish. Turned out the fish dept lady is a betta nut with like ten tanks and dozens of em at home, she even said she was taking two more home with her that night, to "rescue" them...from the pet store she works at. So after a long back and forth, and her probably lying about their guppies having fungus, she finally talked me into getting two. I mentioned reading online that some people complained about them eating out the eyes of corys but she told me that's nonsense and definitely won't happen with females...  Tbd

I love them already though. I haven't had a betta in years. Can't wait to bring in some mosquito larvae from the yard for them to go wild on. 

No pics, maybe later, maybe never. 

@GunStarHero @God-Says-No @ whoever else has fish.

Fish thread I guess 

[NaBarney]

9 minutes ago, Nabloom said:

@God-Says-No 

I've really been wanting an African Butterfly Fish like what you have, but ultimately couldn't allow myself to cram one in my 20 gallon. 

But it was very close.

Also did GSN get banned or something, haven't seen dude in like a year 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Nabloom
Nvm it says he logged in last week

[Vamped]

I had my Betta for 3 years

 

[NaBarney]

17 minutes ago, Vamped said:

I had my Betta for 3 years

 

Oooooooooooooooh! Do you love it? Tell me about it

Is it by itself? That's probably for the best. The lady told me to get two of very different sizes so that they'll establish a hierarchy easier, but I like the littler one more and watching the big ugly one chase her around occasionally is making me upset even though I know it's harmless 

[Vamped]

31 minutes ago, Nabloom said:

Oooooooooooooooh! Do you love it? Tell me about it

Is it by itself? That's probably for the best. The lady told me to get two of very different sizes so that they'll establish a hierarchy easier, but I like the littler one more and watching the big ugly one chase her around occasionally is making me upset even though I know it's harmless 

I always thought you were supposed to keep them seperate so they wont be stressed. I just kept his tank warm and got him a little fish apartment with Windows because he liked popping in and out things. He was a chill little fish. He made some nice bubble nests too. 

[NaBarney]

3 minutes ago, Vamped said:

I always thought you were supposed to keep them seperate so they wont be stressed. I just kept his tank warm and got him a little fish apartment with Windows because he liked popping in and out things. He was a chill little fish. He made some nice bubble nests too. 

Oh shit my bad, I just now picked up on why you had a sad face... RIP VAMPED'S BEAUTIFUL BETTA. Have you thought about getting another one? 

I thought they did better alone too but she was telling me that I had room for two since my tank is so big (for them) and I have a lot of plants, and said it would be fine since she had so many sororities that got along well...but there's a big difference between having six fish and just two, so I'm a little worried that she was just trying to "rescue" an extra fish via me. We'll see. So far so good, but they're still just exploring all the caves and everything. 

I would've preferred a lone male just because of their showiness, and the bubble nests, but she said they were more likely to be mean to my peaceful bottom feeding babies. I'm thinking that mightve been part of the ploy to get me to take more than one though, since I know two males together is bad news. 

[Still Me]

I always thought betta fish were the “fighting fish” and you could only have one in a tank...that no matter what they fight to the death

Edited May 8, 2018 by Still Me

[PhilosipherStoned]

Bettafish are territorial though two females may not fight as much as two males would. I had a bettafish for a few years as a kid before one of my family cats finally found a way to break the aquarium. They are really easy to care for..

They usually go for each others fins anyway and that tissue regenerates over time. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by PhilosipherStoned

[GunStarHero]

I have kept betta fish since 1998. My longest living one was 10 years old when he passed away. Had a couple reach 5 years, as well. One of my 5 year olds was super smart. I like to teach them tricks and have had one that was able to communicate with me via me making a motion that signified a question and him swimming back and forth in 1 of 2 directions. I miss him dearly. 

Sororities are cool. Never done one myself. I usually keep one animal per tank, plus a marimo. But I have done ghost shrimp before. Bettas can be mean to them. Depends on the individual fish. 

 

If you have any questions, ask away! Currently have 3 water babies. 

[PhilosipherStoned]

Honestly as long as you have a big enough aquarium bettafish are pretty chill.. Just make sure they have room to make their own little area..They will hold down the fort in that area. I've never actually seen Bettas kill or injure anything. I think I've seen them take out bits of fin from other species that can't really bounce back from that as well, but usually it's because the aquarium was to small.

[Vamped]

10 hours ago, Nabloom said:

Oh shit my bad, I just now picked up on why you had a sad face... RIP VAMPED'S BEAUTIFUL BETTA. Have you thought about getting another one? 

I thought they did better alone too but she was telling me that I had room for two since my tank is so big (for them) and I have a lot of plants, and said it would be fine since she had so many sororities that got along well...but there's a big difference between having six fish and just two, so I'm a little worried that she was just trying to "rescue" an extra fish via me. We'll see. So far so good, but they're still just exploring all the caves and everything. 

I would've preferred a lone male just because of their showiness, and the bubble nests, but she said they were more likely to be mean to my peaceful bottom feeding babies. I'm thinking that mightve been part of the ploy to get me to take more than one though, since I know two males together is bad news. 

I was really upset when he died. I might get another one but it won't be for a good while.

[SlappyKincaid]

Stealing my friend's joke, but 

 

"Betta fish?  I only like alpha fish"

 

bettas are purty though

[God-Says-No]

aye the day i came back to lurk;

if you want an african butterfly fish upgrade the tank to about a 40breeder and they will eat larvae along with live mosquitoes and crickets
dont do corys with bettas in a 20gal youll get more use out of autocats or raphs

currently im working on a 500 gallon saltwater tank for a friend and a 250 freshwater tank for either alligator gars/arrowanas/discus

[ghostrek]

they are know has figthing fish becarefull

[NaBarney]

Well, ghostrek was right.

Ended up getting a third female betta to try to break the tension between the designated asshole and the beta betta, bc apparently 20 heavily planted gallons is not enough space for two to get along immediately. It didn't really work though since the new one just acts like a cory and ignored the other two for the most part. I assume it would've worked eventually once they got used to each other, all fins are intact and everything, but I just couldn't stand all the constant chasing, too stressful. 

Ultimately couldn't bring myself to commit to adding a few more and going for the full sorority bc I am a coward, so instead I cleaned out the porch tank that's been empty ever since the unspeakably dark conclusion to last summer's tadpole nursery and threw together a divided ten gallon. 

Obvs got a ways to go as far as planting and scaping em, this is just what I could throw together quicky. The betta in the 20 gallon won her spot there because of how she spends so much time on the bottom hanging out with the corys and exploring all the caves and stuff, whereas the other two would mostly hang out at the top all the time. 

Might eventually throw the asshole back in the big tank, I just want it to go in as an underdog. Also might throw it out in the pond for the summer bc that's a thing I've read that people do, but I don't want it to overeat on tadpoles or come back in the Fall with some awful bird shit disease or something. So we'll see

[GunStarHero]

Since you're doing all females just be aware that they can become egg bound when they are younger and it is sometimes fatal. Typically if they make it past 6 months in your care then you're in the clear. 

[NaBarney]

41 minutes ago, GunStarHero said:

Since you're doing all females just be aware that they can become egg bound when they are younger and it is sometimes fatal. Typically if they make it past 6 months in your care then you're in the clear. 

Thanks, I didn't know this. I did read that a male and female shouldn't be kept in a divided tank bc the female could become egg bound, but assumed it was confined to that situation. 

Usually I do way more research before getting a pet but betta lady's Save the Fish appeals and me assuming I already knew everything about em led to an impulse buy. Kinda loving em tho, I like how aware they are of my presence/in grneral and how they explore every inch of their tank and perch on stuff. 

So far I've mostly been feeding them ant eggs from a huge ant nest in the yard and they been loving em. Trying not to overfeeding em but it's hard, they're straight ravenous with food and also seem to like the corys' sinking foods. Hoping the one in with them doesn't explode from gluttony

[Guest The Hound]

I've kept fish for a lot of my life, but not recently.

Always fresh water for me.

One of my friends had a tank setup and after seeing his struggles, I'm pretty sure his issues and most people's issues with big tanks are not keeping live plants.

Ups and downs with his tanks the entire time. He was a maniac with his tank and kept oscars, eels, and redtails. Poor eels.

 

[CutieQuesadilla]

They are cute.

[NaBarney]

I like small tanks because they are easy to refill just by catching shower water as i wait for it to get warm, but they are easier to mess up. Plants give the fish a huge buffer to survive my occasional negligence. I hate doing water changes and vacuuming the substrate and doing anything nice for them, plants and dirt can take care of most of the worst maintenance. 

I'm at least as much in it for the plants and moving water as I am the fish themselves. 

[Guest The Hound]

5 minutes ago, Nabloom said:

I like small tanks because they are easy to refill just by catching shower water as i wait for it to get warm, but they are easier to mess up. Plants give the fish a huge buffer to survive my occasional negligence. I hate doing water changes and vacuuming the substrate and doing anything nice for them, plants and dirt can take care of most of the worst maintenance. 

I'm at least as much in it for the plants and moving water as I am the fish themselves. 

ugh

now i want to setup a tank again

[NaBarney]

8 minutes ago, The Hound said:

ugh

now i want to setup a tank again

You probably stopped for a very  valid reason that you should try to remember, but it's a pretty ok waste of time and at least gives you something to stare at

[Guest The Hound]

4 minutes ago, Nabloom said:

You probably stopped for a very  valid reason that you should try to remember, but it's a pretty ok waste of time and at least gives you something to stare at

I stopped because it was 10 years ago and I was busy with college and partying.

Now i'd smoke weed in front of it and stare at it for hours.

I like gouramis. So many and they're all dope asf looking

[NaBarney]

7 minutes ago, The Hound said:

Now i'd smoke weed in front of it and stare at it for hours.

This is what I do. 

I've had a few gouramis and all were great, I originally started this tank for honey gouramis specifically but then bailed on them for some reason

[Guest The Hound]

Just now, Nabloom said:

This is what I do. 

I've had a few gouramis and all were great, I originally started this tank for honey gouramis specifically but then bailed on them for some reason

oh shit so there is a difference between them and golds

 

 

 

anyway

if i do it again ill prob do a gouramis tank

i want a tank with like, every fucking breed of them

[NaBarney]

Ive had a gold gourami that was huge, like a three spotted blue one that lived a long time, and a dwarf gourami that was kind of an asshole to other fish, but on its own was awesome. I think I saw a yt vid where someone had a small school of honey gouramis and it was great 

[GunStarHero]

6 hours ago, Nabloom said:

Thanks, I didn't know this. I did read that a male and female shouldn't be kept in a divided tank bc the female could become egg bound, but assumed it was confined to that situation. 

Usually I do way more research before getting a pet but betta lady's Save the Fish appeals and me assuming I already knew everything about em led to an impulse buy. Kinda loving em tho, I like how aware they are of my presence/in grneral and how they explore every inch of their tank and perch on stuff. 

So far I've mostly been feeding them ant eggs from a huge ant nest in the yard and they been loving em. Trying not to overfeeding em but it's hard, they're straight ravenous with food and also seem to like the corys' sinking foods. Hoping the one in with them doesn't explode from gluttony

Yea they can get egg bound even when totally isolated. There are ways to save them, though. Domesticated bettas mate by having the male wrap around the female and squeezing her, pushing her eggs out. It temporarily paralyzes her to prevent her from eating all the eggs, which she is accustomed to doing since they are not fertilized. Basically if a girl gets egg bound you have to apply gentle pressure to her to mimic the male's role, otherwise she will swell up and die. 

 

As for food, I'm sure you know not to over feed them but whatever feeding schedule you give them you should keep to as well. 

I run my tanks with marimos and ghost shrimp to keep it extra clean, if you're looking for maintenance ideas. Your betta may or may not bully the shrimp. 

 

[//>wagz./]

//>  tom got a beta fish for the old community 90g is didnt last the night with a clown in the tank  ./