Bettas

I have loads of fish: corydoras, bettas, loaches, goldfishes, guppies, an anostamos and a Bumblee catfish...but of all of the fish my favorite would have to be my five bettas.
I feel so bad for them since it seems that they have gotten the 'short straw' in the fish world, given as gifts, usually kept in tiny bowls, and all but tortured at pet stores. True, it is pretty well known that it is nearly impossible to kill a betta it doesnt mean that they should be treated so. I go into pet stores and see them in their tiny little bottles looking so depressed, as soon as I put them in a bigger tank they become so full of life and personality...who could not love such wonderful little fish. They are the birds of paradise of Fresh Water Aquariums.

Dichro

I rescued Dichro from a pet store that was in the process of remodeling and was really neglecting their pets. This was the only betta there, alone swimming in a tiny jar of skunky water...I had to bring him home! Once I put him in his new home and fed him, he was so full of life. I named him dicho after his unusual dichroic properties (just like alexandrite) I didn't tweak this photo at all, that color play is all his.

Hydra

I have had Hydra for almost a year now, funny thing is, Hydra is a very odd fish. I swear he is a scorpio with his brooding fits and refusal to allow me to get a good picture of him. I tried having him in a tank by himself once...he literally just sat on the bottom looking depressed and refused to eat. Hydra is only happy when surrounded by other fish >.<

Ghost

I just bought Ghost today. No matter which angle I tried to get, I could not capture the brilliant iridescent blue color that seems to not be part of his scales...but seems to glow out of him. He is a very serene fish, content gliding around with the baby guppies that share his tank. A very ghostly Betta

Pepsi

Pepsi, cracks me up, my second 'oldest' fish Pepsi is...well for lack of a better term, an attention whore. As soon as anyone walks near his tank he will flare up and dance, flip and turn loops in the water like an acrobat. If you ignore him or he thinks you aren't giving him enough attention, he will retreat to the back of the tank and sulk like a spoiled baby. He was named Pepsi after his Pepsi can like colors and vibrancy

Squall

Squall was also just bought today, when I first saw him at the pet store I was going to name him Arioch after the god of Chaos in the Elric Saga...but he just does not have the right personality for a lord of entropy. So I named him squall, like a storm squall at sunset. He is a beautiful blend of red, blue, gray and pink. This has to be the most skittish Betta I have ever seen, he was even scared by baby guppies. I hope once he gets used to his surroundings he will relax.

So if you have read this fun tale of my fish and enjoyed this mini-encounter...go rescue a Betta from the evil pet stores that so often neglect them! They are not that difficult to take care of, just get a large fish bowl or small 2-5 gallon tank, fish food, water conditioner, and a live plant and there you go. Your fish will love you forever if you take them out of those tiny little jars or bottles.