Betta Updates =D

[bckrazy]

yesss ^_~! I hope everyone's Bettas (and other pets for that matter) are doing good. My little crew is awesome! Maui and Kula did super-well during the move from my Mom's house (stayed there for 1 month this summer) to my Dad's... thank GOD Maui didnt decide to tear his tail anymore, he's been a good boy.

Maui finally got a new big tank!! with a heater :D! He's a happy little guy... I wanted to get a 5g Minibow, but I went to Petco and the Minibows were $50, so I just decided to get a $12 plain aquarium instead. The $40 I saved can go to better stuff, like heaters and plants and fry equiptment. And I think the $12 tank is cute ;)... here's a few Maui pics for everyone to compare ~ I think he's made a lot of progress since he blew his tail, I'm proud of him. I've been treating him with Meracyn I + II, and aquarium salt and plenty of water changes. I was changing his 1gal 3-4 times a week, with this 4gal I'll probably be doing 50% water changes every couple days and siphoning out the gravel.

(1) when I first got Maui
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/bettas061.jpg

(2) approx 2 weeks later, when he blew his tail -.-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/herding030.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/herding029.jpg

(3) 1 month after blowing his tail
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas129.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas127.jpg

(4) from today. its very hard to take pics of the regrowth because the newest part is cellophane atm. that part should get color in a week or so... as you can tell comparing to the pics from last week, most of the white that he had then is now green/turquoise! (*g* you can count his rays!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/bettas142.jpg

here's his new crib ~_~.. its super bare, because I want him to have plenty of swimming room
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/bettas139.jpg

[bckrazy]

Now, for Bonzai... he is like the polar opposite of Maui. His tail is about double the length it was when I first got him! He is turning out to have a REALLY pretty Super-Delta tail, and awesome coloring. I'm actually getting an irridescent green female Plakat, that *might* be paired with him!! He has insane bubblenests going constantly... I need to get a few pics of the one he has now (2 days after a WC!)

He loves his 2.5g Minibow, and I just got a heater for it so his temp is constantly 78* and he's very happy ^-^


(1) About 1-2 weeks after Bonzai arrived, his tail was actually worse than this when he first came because he got extremely stressed while travelling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/bettas068.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/bettas088.jpg

(2) 1 month later!!! he's such a good boy! He has only been treated with a little bit of Meracyn II and salt and lots of WC's!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas120.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas115.jpg


meh. I cant forget Kula! she's perfect, as always... to anyone here who only has boy Bettas, I HIGHLY suggest girls (and even a female community)! They are soooo much easier, they eat anything and everything, and they're pretty. This is my new favorite pic of Kula, from today... you can count her rays :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/gonzoo/bettas/kula.jpg

[chocolatepuppy]

Your bettas are gorgeous! I hope they continue to be well! I've had bettas for years and always have at least one female! ;)

[flamepony12]

Aww, they are as gorgeous as ever... ^_^ Julius has a lei on his tank too! hehe =]

[jesse_3]

I love your betta's! They are gorgeous!!!!!

Steph and Jes

[Giselle]

Erica, those bettas are gawgeous!!!

I can't believe all the knowledge you've accumulated and have to applaud you for taking such greyt care of your bettas! I *adore* the first pic of Maui. He's so beautiful!

[Lexi_Lover]

Oh wow Erica! You weren't kidding, when you told me his tail was almost all gone! :eek: :( Hes looking better!

Kula is so pretty, how big is she compared to the boys, body size?

Bonzai is "THE HOTNESS" ;) I love his colouring! GORGEOUS! I CAN NOT WAIT! I'm jumping up and down in my seat right now! ;)

[bckrazy]

thanks, you guys!! the Betta babies thank ya too... even though its been kinda tough at times, they're happy little fishies ~_^

thanks a lot Sophie! thats so nice :)! I really miss when Maui looked like that too, hopefully he'll grow back with the same color and an ever fuller tail. I have learned a lot in the past month just taking care of Maui, I honestly had no idea that HM's routinely blow they tails (not usually THIS badly though), especially when you make a sudden change in their environment... which I did! I totally regret adding an Indian Almond Leaf into his tank -.- bleh. Ya know, you can always have a Maui son (or two, or daughters) when I spawn them, since you like him so much ;)... I expect a LOT of the fry to look just like mommy & daddy and a high occurence of HM's, since Maui and Kula are siblings.

[bckrazy]

heh, thanks Paula! :) I didnt see your reply, we posted at the same time... we're always online at the same time!!

Yes, I was not kidding 0_o.. he's such a little brat boy. I added a small piece of IAL to help his tail, then I checked on him a few minutes later and it was like a different fish in there. It looks better IRL then it does in the pics now.. I'm just waiting for it to be nice and full before I spawn, even though there's absolutely no fin rot or infection. Advice for your future HM babies ~ try not to freak them out too much, or change their homes around!! they'll make you verrrry sorry for it! lol.

Kula is actually the exact size of Maui! She's a big girl, which is goood. I need a big girl to be able to handle Maui's flarey, aggressive temperament. Bonzai is my good little boy :)! Did I tell you I'll be spawning him (MAYBE, atm) with an irridescent green Plakat girl? yess, that will be awesome. I NEED some HM Plakats, that has to be my favorite tail type ever ;) for those of you who have not seen a HMPlak, here's one (and I will most-likely get this color, too...)


http://www.aquabid.com/uploads/fwbettashmp1124683590.jpg

[Suki Wingy]

OMG! Gorgeous, every single picture in this thread is amazing! I'm drooling

[CagneyDog]

You have gorgeous betta's! There names are awesome! I love Kula, she is such a beauty!

[IRescue452]

I love your pictures! I've yet to get one good pic of my fish. I Love the short tails best. I think my female has more personalty and has bonded to me much quicker than my boy. She can distinguish me as the giver of food and cleaner of tank and the one who spoils fishes while he doesn't seem to understand much outside of his own little world. I can't wait to see the babies that your beauties produce. Btw, I was wondering if the color would come back on new tail growth, Clarence always tears it up playing in his plants, I'm glad to hear it won't stay cellophane.

[GoldenRetrLuver]

WOW! They're sooo gorgeous, Erica! :eek:

I haven't had a Betta in such a long time.. I missing having one (or two ;)). Hmm..

[bckrazy]

^_^ thanks Eva, Cagney, Irescue, and Julie!!

IRescue, yep, the color should come back fine! In some cases of really bad finrot, there is color loss... but hopefully your Betta is ok. Is he swimming through plastic plants and getting torn? If he is, try silk plants or even better ~ Java Ferns! Plastic is too rough for Bettas, Bonzai had one tinsey plastic flower on his driftwood cave and that put a hole in his dorsal -.- their tails are soo delicate. You might also try adding a little bit of Bettafix or Meracyn II to his water, to aid healing along :)

aw, thanks Julie! Bettas are awesome to have around, theyre really pretty and calming. heh.. just LMK and you'll be on the Betta baby list!! =0) you know you want one (or two. or three.)

[IRescue452]

Yes he has two branches from a plastic plant floating on his water for him to make bubble nests in. He loves to swim through them rather than around them when I feed him and he's on the other side as he food. I'll try softer plants.

[Giselle]

Aww, I would like a Maui baby, but I'm not a big fish person. I love their different colors and I *adore* their nice big tail fins (erm...deltas?), but I like animals I can interact with :p And from what I heard and am reading on this forum, fish are pretty high maintenance! I barely keep up with my birds' weekly cage cleaning. I couldn't imagine cleaning bowls, chlorinating (or was it de-chlorinating?), and adding all these water supplements. Yeah...I'm lazy, aren't I? LOL, Kula's gorgeous, by the way! I love her coloring.

[bckrazy]

LOL... Bettas seem like nothing compared to dogs and cats and birds, though! I actually only have to change Bonzai's 2.5g once a week (and he would be fine going 2 weeks) and you can basically use just Stress Coat (like $3 for several months of water changes) to de-chlorinate (heh, you DONT want to chlorinate them!) and reduce heavy metals and everything. I'm sure you could totally become a Betta addict ;).. they're food literally costs $2 a month, and they can use one tank and the same decorations for years. Insanely different than birds or dogs :) they have personalities, too!

aanyway, I'm done trying to turn you into a Bettaholic. ~_~ just tell me if you change your mind! And, Maui and Kula are Halfmoons, which is part of the Delta tail type... a HM has to have a 180* tail span. Any Deltas with tails over 180* are called Over-Halfmoons. Halfmoons also dont breed true, they're rare and only occur with really good conditions, so I'll probably have a huge majority of Deltas and Super-Deltas (which are close to HM's, but not quite) in the spawn. Bettatalk.com , which is where my Bettas are from, has a TON of info on everything about Bettas xD

[Suki Wingy]

The thing with bettas is that it is so insanley easy to care for them and they look so happy swimming around in their tanks that you just can't help but have more, and more, and MORE! I am watching a veil named Dan for the week and I just see him gliding through the water from across the room and get this urge to go out and get more to put all over your room!

[RobiLee]

Wow, you have gorgeous bettas! I love their coloring. You seem to know lots about them too. I don't think my betta boys have changed a bit since I got them. I only feed and change their water. Should I be doing more?

[bckrazy]

thanks Robin! :) I know you take awesome care of your boys, and give them more than they could ever want!! No changes = good, as long as they're happy and healthy you are doing *everything* right. I really don't know that much, I'm a TOTAL newb and there are soooo, SO many people on Bettas boards like fishforums.net that know 1000% more than me. :D I've had Bettas almost constantly for 5 years (always wonderful VT's before these 3) and I have tons more to learn. Hopefully I'll be able to have at least a few Bettas for the rest of my life ;)... they have so much more personality than any Goldfish or Guppies in the world ~ not to mention they're waay prettier. ^_~!

How do your handsome boys like their big tanks?... I think we need pics!