New Addition to My Betta Family

     A few weeks ago I introduced you guys to my betta Oliver while I was writing about treating his fin rot with triple-sulfa. Since then I have added another betta to my little betta family. Her name is Cinderella and I couldn't leave the pet store that day without saving her from the cup. I want to tell you all her story as well as just introduce her since she is my baby.

     The story of finding Cinderella begins with me going over to Petsmart with one of my friends to return an air stone that he had bought for his betta tank that had exploded before it even made it into the water to turn it on. I had tossed around the idea while I was in there of buying another betta because I had really wanted one but I knew that I would feel bad putting it into a one gallon bowl when Oliver gets a 5 gallon tank. So rather than pick out everything for a new bowl I decided to see if I could find a fish first. In my mind I was thinking that if I would't find a betta that I couldn't live without that was withing the price range I wanted to spend. As much as I love bettas I was not going to spend almost $20 on one like my friend did for his dumbo betta. There was a pink dumbo betta though for $10 and I almost bought it and it's name would have been pinky. Then the friend I was with picked up a female crown tail betta from the back of a display and goes "You have to look at this. It is Cinderella colors." Now I wasn't planning on getting a female because they are not usually as pretty as the males and I love the personalities that my Oliver has. I walked around the corner anyway to look at it and I instantly fell in love. Se was so tiny and just so pretty. She was irridesent in color with a pinkish red color koi pattern on her head and the pinkish red colored fins. I knew I had to get her. I couldn't just leave her there.

This is Cinderella after I got her home from the store and put her in her bowl.

     As you guys can see she is tiny. I mean a one gallon bowl is big enough for her at this moment. I am only keeping her in the gallon bowl until I get home from school at the end of the semester though. Then she is going to go into a divided 10-gallon with Oliver on one side and her on the other. Until then I think she is just enjoying being out of the cup.

     Some of you may be wondering why I got another betta and how I could possibly be obsessed with a fish that pretty much as to live by itself. The answer to that is rather simple, they have so much personality that it is hard not to love them and want as many of them as you can afford to buy. Oliver started an obsession with me, and it can be pretty expensive. The thing is though that you connect with one of these fish and they connect with you. Oliver knows when I come back from class or come back from going out. He sops tormenting and chasing around the ghost shrimp in the tank and always comes to the top and swims around waiting for my to come and say hello. He swims upside down sometimes too, which freaked me out at first because I thought something was wrong but it is him just doing little tricks to catch peoples attention. He also knows which people to show off for when they come into the room. He almost always shows off for the girls when they come in, but when the friend that bought him with me comes in he always swims to the side of the tank to say high and then torments the ghost shrimp more than normal, as if to try to show how big and bad he is.

     On the other hand Cinderellas is still pretty shy around most people. She stops and sticks all of her fins up whenever she hears a loud noise but she is always active when it is just me around. She knows who feeds her and who she needs to be nice too, lol. The one thing I have noticed is that if I come up to the tank she will come say high then go to the top like she thinks she is going to get food, and then when she doesn't she goes and hides behind the leaves of the plant in her tank and tried to play hide and seek. At first I thought she just did that because she was upset with me, but then I realized it was a game to her. She hides in the leaves, waits for me to look around for her, then moves again. I think at first it was here being scared, but now if she is scared of something or someone she just goes and hides in her little pineapple house that I got her. 

     If you are thinking about getting a fish I would recommend getting a betta, because they do have personalities and they are really fun to watch and play with once they get to know you. Yes they do play with you, its just not like a dog or cat would. The only thing I caution against is getting them if you do not have time for them. Bettas can live in bowls without filtration or air stones because they are labyrinth fish, but that doesn't mean they enjoy small spaces. The smaller the space you put them in, the faster the ammonia in the tank builds up and the faster you can kill your fish. That is why I keep Oliver in a 5 gallon tank, because he loves having all the space to show off, but he generally only stays in one corner because the tank is a hexagon and he thinks there is a fish there all the time because he can always see himself. Oliver also has ghost shrimp and a snail to help me out with eating things that are at the bottom of the tank. If you do not have the time to clean a gallon betta bowl everyday or every other day then please do not get one. You may feel you are doing it a favor but bettas need attention and need someone that will spend the time to give them that attention. If you do have the time though then I think a betta would be great, they always need saving from the cups at the pet stores and sometimes you can find some real jewels when you go in to get them. 

If you have bettas at home let me know in the comments. I would love to hear all about their personalities, what they are living in, and their favorite food.