So. . . my dh bought himself a new plasma TV and I got. . .

[MichelleCarmen]

a betta fish! lol Yes, a fish.

Maybe it sounds crazy that I'm totally excited about it. I asked DH last week if he'd be okay if I got one to keep on the dining room table and he said, "no way." Well, yesterday, I found a printout of a TV he is going to go get. . .and I said, "well, if you get the TV, then I get the fish and he said 'okay.'" Yippee!

Anyway, I brought my fish home a few hours ago. He's being acclimated to his bowl right now! I forgot to ask the gal what size the bowl is. . .2 gallon? (ETA - I think it's 1-gallon. Should be fine, I hope!)

My cats know something is up!

 

[monarch64]

Hahaha, MC...nice move! See, it doesn''t have to be equal financially when couples gift themselves! That''s great. I hope your beta fish brings you as much pleasure as your hubby''s new plasma brings him!

 

[Kaleigh]

Can we see a pic of the fish?? I think fish are great. I had a gold fish that lived for years... And he/ she seemed to have quite the personality...

 

[monarch64]

Lisa, how many years did your goldfish survive (sorry MC for the threadjack!)? When my dad took my brother and me fishing as kids, he used to sometimes get goldfish as bait. I remember keeping some of the leftover ones in a bowl in my room, but they always died within a few weeks. Very sad. Maybe some are heartier than others? Or maybe mine didn''t survive after being kept in a minnow bucket all day on a boat?

MC, best of luck with your beta. (Or is it spelled "betta?") Will you name the fish? I''d love to see a thread with a poll for names, cause I''m a nerd like that! LOL!

 

[Hera]

I wanna see a pic of your new fishy also!

 

[D&T]

lol...

I thought to myself...hmm I wonder if its some bling bling... but a beta fish works too...so where''s his photo shoot?

 

[Amethyste]

Date: 8/21/2009 8:34:34 PM
Author:MC
a betta fish! lol Yes, a fish.


Maybe it sounds crazy that I'm totally excited about it. I asked DH last week if he'd be okay if I got one to keep on the dining room table and he said, 'no way.' Well, yesterday, I found a printout of a TV he is going to go get. . .and I said, 'well, if you get the TV, then I get the fish and he said 'okay.' Yippee!


Anyway, I brought my fish home a few hours ago. He's being acclimated to his bowl right now! I forgot to ask the gal what size the bowl is. . .2 gallon? (ETA - I think it's 1-gallon. Should be fine, I hope!)


My cats know something is up!

YAY!!!! I am so happy for you!!! I have had my Betta Splendens for almost 3 years!!!! His name is "Sushi". lol
He's in a small bowl that is shaped in a fish hehe. They are so easy to care for. I change his water once a week and feed him 2 times a day. He's a gorgeous blue and red and so big! I am totally captivated by him. I am totally enamoured!

I'd like to see pictures!

 

[FrekeChild]

Betta Talk

 

[LGK]

Your kitties will think you got them a prezzie far more entertaining to watch than a boring ol'' TV!

 

[Gailey]

Enjoy your Beta MC. Although I can''t help thinking that you didn''t get quite as good a deal as Mr MC. Not unless you got the 30 gal to put him in that is!

 

[April20]

A friend of mine keeps one in her kitchen. His name is Fred. He''s blue and he''s soooo pretty.

Definitely post pics of your fish!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks everyone!

His name is Mandarin. The pet store has such dark lighting in aquarium section that I thought he had orange fins until after we walked over into the accessories section and by then we wanted to keep him! And we came up with the name on the way home in the car.

Lisa - it is funny that all fish had personalities. In a Tropical Fish book I read, it said that fish recognize who their caregivers are. Mandarin swam right up to me and was rolling his eyes around watching me. It was rather impressive!

Amethyste - I love your fish''s name. My friend had a hamster named "cat food." Eventually it disapeared. Wonder if the cat got it?

Gailey - no 30-gallon tank yet! I read a Tropical Fish book (one mentioned above) and it described bringing a garden hose in through the window to fill and empty the tank. That is beyond intimidating to me right now! lol I''m thinking 15-gallon next, but I promised my husband the Betta is the last for now. I''m terrible at keeping my word. . .DH is talking of getting a Blue Ray player, so well, maybe then! (My son wants a ghost shrimp really bad. Eh.)

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Congrats, MC!!!! I''m happy for your new addition to your family!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Here''s a couple photos. My camera has an "aquarium" setting, yet even with that the photos are blurry. Will try again later.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hopefully this doesn''t turn out too small. . .

He has a two back fins

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Another blurry photo! Gotta practice today.

Here is one of my Guppies, in a 3-gallon tank. His tale is amazingly beautiful. Can''t really see that from the photo.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Here''s one of my larger fish. Luckily he doesn''t eat fish, so my little ones are safe!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

If anyone has any photographic tips on how to take good pictures of fish, please share! Thanks.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/22/2009 12:03:21 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Betta Talk

Thanks. I've been poking around on fish forums. Everyone debates every aspect of fish care. For example whether or not to have a heater in their betta's microscopic bowls. Some stick other fish in with the Bettas in large aquariums as part of a "community tank." Others say that's a no-no. Stories are told of people waking up to all their fish gone and their Bettas looking a bit too please with themselves. lol

I have joined a few tropical fish forums and learned about plants. I took the plastic plants out of my guppy tank and stuck real ones in. I don't even think the guppies noticed. They still just swim up and watch me through the tank as if I'm their pet rather than vice versa.

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/22/2009 12:15:41 PM
Author: MC

Date: 8/22/2009 12:03:21 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Betta Talk

Thanks. I''ve been poking around on fish forums. Everyone debates every aspect of fish care. For example whether or not to have a heater in their betta''s microscopic bowls. Some stick other fish in with the Bettas in large aquariums as part of a ''community tank.'' Others say that''s a no-no. Stories are told of people waking up to all their fish gone and their Bettas looking a bit too please with themselves. lol

I have joined a few tropical fish forums and learned about plants. I took the plastic plants out of my guppy tank and stuck real ones in. I don''t even think the guppies noticed. They still just swim up and watch me through the tank as if I''m their pet rather than vice versa.

Yay - you go MC!

Gailey does the happy dance

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/22/2009 1:30:15 PM
Author: Gailey

Date: 8/22/2009 12:15:41 PM
Author: MC

Date: 8/22/2009 12:03:21 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Betta Talk

Thanks. I've been poking around on fish forums. Everyone debates every aspect of fish care. For example whether or not to have a heater in their betta's microscopic bowls. Some stick other fish in with the Bettas in large aquariums as part of a 'community tank.' Others say that's a no-no. Stories are told of people waking up to all their fish gone and their Bettas looking a bit too please with themselves. lol

I have joined a few tropical fish forums and learned about plants. I took the plastic plants out of my guppy tank and stuck real ones in. I don't even think the guppies noticed. They still just swim up and watch me through the tank as if I'm their pet rather than vice versa.

Yay - you go MC!

Gailey does the happy dance

Gailey - what kind of setting(s) are you using on your camera when photographing you fish? I've tried macro mode, kids & pets, and now the aquarium mode and still my pictures turn out blurred. Ugh, maybe I should read the manual? We bought the camera a few months back and it's not top-of-the-line, but is good quality. I only read the part on macro so I could take close up shots of my jewelry. lol

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/22/2009 11:52:53 AM
Author: MC
Thanks everyone!

His name is Mandarin. The pet store has such dark lighting in aquarium section that I thought he had orange fins until after we walked over into the accessories section and by then we wanted to keep him! And we came up with the name on the way home in the car.

Lisa - it is funny that all fish had personalities. In a Tropical Fish book I read, it said that fish recognize who their caregivers are. Mandarin swam right up to me and was rolling his eyes around watching me. It was rather impressive!

Amethyste - I love your fish''s name. My friend had a hamster named ''cat food.'' Eventually it disapeared. Wonder if the cat got it?

Gailey - no 30-gallon tank yet! I read a Tropical Fish book (one mentioned above) and it described bringing a garden hose in through the window to fill and empty the tank. That is beyond intimidating to me right now! lol I''m thinking 15-gallon next, but I promised my husband the Betta is the last for now. I''m terrible at keeping my word. . .DH is talking of getting a Blue Ray player, so well, maybe then! (My son wants a ghost shrimp really bad. Eh.)

Nah, nah, nah!

What you need is a Python. I''ll go snap some pictures of mine in a minute to show you how it works!

Meanwhile, Mandarin - meet George. the best way to take pictures is to turn off the flash and put your lens right on the tank.

You know MC, Mr MC is definitely getting the beta end of the deal (get it?). If your not careful this attitude will extend in to the world of diamonds and gems and then where will you be!

 

[Gailey]

That picture was taken sideways on to the tank and there is still a fair amount of glare. The next few are beta!

 

[Gailey]

See, when you put the lens right on the tank, no glare!

 

[Gailey]

Well there was a bit of glare on that one, but I had the kitchen lights on, I''ll take a few more in a few minutes. Last one for now

 

[MonkeyPie]

Yayyyy betta! I love those little fishies, they are so much fun and have tons of personality. I used to have one that I fed on the end of a long, thin stick, and he would leap out of the water to grap the stick and the food the moment it got near the surface. He was so much fun! And he lived AGES.

As for pictures, if you are using a point-and-shoot camera, try turning all the lights off in the room you''re photographing in, and then put one light source (a lamp works well if you take the shade off) on the opposite side of the tank from you. Then when you shoot, get pretty close to the glass and turn on the lamp. Don''t do it for too long as the lamp will heat up the water over time, but this gives you plenty of light with no glare, and less blur.

 

[Gailey]

OK, here''s a series of pics of the python in action. In case you are wondering why the hoisery over the end of the tube, that''s so I don''t suck up any small fishes when I do water changes.

 

[Gailey]

This piece you attach to your tap (faucet). You will need to unscrew the end of your faucet and get a replacement with an outer thread in order to attach it.

 

[Gailey]

Here it is screwed to the tap. The bottom of the green thingy has two settings, one for empty and one for fill. Basically it''s a syphon. You just turn your tap on. Making sure you get the right ambient temperature.

 

[Gailey]

George getting a water change