shhhh. the fish is sleeping

[soup]

We've had this gorgeous red and black beta for well over a year, and I've never seen him lean up against his aquarium like a broom in the corner.

He must really be exhausted - didn't even move when I dropped in the pinch of Betta Bites.

I'm pretty sure he's been having trouble sleeping because of all the problems in the world and it's finally caught up with him.

He'd probably be more comfortable out in the flower bed. Hope I don't wake him up when I move him.

Rest well, Buck. *sniff*

emotional over a fish - jeesh - :eyes:

[Bertha Venation]

1. oh, soup, I'm sorry

Don't feel silly because you're crying over Buck. I just lost a betta and I feel the same way.

If you stir him and find he's not quite all gone, give him a nice quick bath in about three fingers of your favorite strong alcohol (i.e., vodka, tequila, scotch). He will go instantly and painlessly.

RIP, Buck.

[soup]

3. Thank you.

We (my son and I) were trying to make light of it...

A 'Boy, he's dead to the world' and 'he's sleeping with the fishes' kind of thing - After all, it's just a fish for heaven's sake -

But guess the darn thing managed to become part of our lives. Go figure.

[Bertha Venation]

4. they have a way of worming into our hearts

I think it's the happy dance we get when we look into the glass. The fish just wants food, but hey, I prefer he's really glad to see me!

Best fishes. --I mean, wishes.

[soup]

6. smiles n/t

[gator_in_Ontario]

2. what is it about beta's?

that we get so attatched to them?

[soup]

5. felt sorry for him in the store,

alone in this tiny little container. Guess that's how they live - in isolation - and a tiny pocket of space - but we got a small aquarium for him so he could move around if he wanted and put in a couple of water plants.

Drop a pinch of food in for him every morning - otherwise, he was 'just there'.

Sometimes I think I tend to project 'human-ness' for lack of a better word right now, onto animals - I sure wouldn't want to be in that tiny spot all alone for my whole life - and guess Buck was no exception.

Geeze Louise.

Thanks for the response...

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

7. They live in isolation by choice.

Bettas are among the most aggresive creatures on the planet. Give him a tankmate and he'll kill it on sight.

Actually, I think that might only apply to other fish. My mom's Betta used to share his tank with a snail, and there weren't any problems.

[OldSoldier]

18. Only if he might think it's another male betta

I used to keep bettas with clown loaches and they were fine. Now I keep them with red swordtails and they're fine.

Why the change? I put in a fish that I just found out was a red devil cichlid and...uhhh...red devils kill and eat bettas.

Oops.

[brainshrub]

8. Read this story!

The fish that threatened national security
"College student Lara Hayhurst was not prepared to let officials treat her little pet like Osama 'fin' Laden."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03362/255283.stm

I emailed the author of this story and she sent me a picture of her brave little Betta fish. (Sorry about the size)



This fish survived the TSA!

[soup]

9. What a Great story!

Long live X-Ray! gorgeous pic.

They really are beautiful creatures. Thanks for sharing that - loved it.

[Starlet300]

13. Thank You!

Hello! This is Lara Hayhurst, the author of the betta fish article. I just wanted to say hello and thanks for your kind words. I'm so sorry to hear about Buck. It's true, bettas are the only fish that can recognize their owners...like little puppies with fins. Anyways, thanks so much for reading...I can be reached at [e-mail].

Sincerely,
Lara

[GOPisEvil]

14. That's a great story!

Your boyfriend rocks! Hahaha! I hope those jerks had a merry f-ing Christmas.

[brainshrub]

15. Welcome to DU!

Hope you stick around. :toast:

[ronnykmarshall]

16. YEAH Lara!

Long live MJ/X-ray!!

How did you get him back to school?

[Bertha Venation]

19. Lara! Welcome to DU

:hi: Hope you stick around. I have two bettas: Boomer Fish and Ziggy Fish. Just lost Fishy Fish last week. :cry: I love these fishes!

[Bertha Venation]

11. He looks like our new Ziggy Fish!

Brave little bugger.

[BiggJawn]

10. Yeah, emotional over a fish...

big old hard-assed me cried for an hour when I had to put my goldfish down.
After almost 7 years you get attached to the "little" (he weighed 2 1/2 pounds) buggers...

Now I have a Betta, and once I got him inn a heated bowl with some room, the colours he shows and the way he runs around the tank...
Intersting fish, even thiough they're not supposed to live very long...

Oh, BTW, I named him "Masta"...:evilgrin:

[LynneSin]

12. I always thought Beta fish looked so lonely

I was at a pet store somewhere and there were dozens of plastic cups lined up each with a Beta Fish in them.

I felt sad for those little fishies living in such small containers and without a companion (although I've been told if you put 2 beta fish in the same container they will attack each other).

This is why I've never own a beta fish - they just look too sad for me.

[Bertha Venation]

21. they won't be sad once they've owned you for a few days.

really.

Although I'd guess your hands are full with Abbie. :D

[scarlet_owl]

17. They are easy to get attatched to. My husband called me

at work when our betta Stu died. I cried in front of my customers (I used to work at a seafood dept. and I was gutting a fish at the time of the call). We also had a snail named Lord Slimington who passed away. That was pretty hard on us, too. We kept his shell at the bottom of the tank. My heart goes out to you and yours. Rest well, Buck, and say "hi" to Stu and Lord Slimington.

[Liberal Veteran]

20. Sorry to hear about your loss...

I felt the same way when I had to put a big fancy goldfish down that got fin rot that we couldn't cure. it finally got to the point where he was swimming like a slow spinning bullet all the time and I decided it was time for him to go to the big pond in the sky. (I put him in a ziploc bag and had him visit our freezer for a few hours, it's much more humane than the old flush trick).

It was not a total waste however because a pump caught fire and caused the front of my other freshwater tank to burst a couple of days later and having an empty and cycled aquarium allowed me to save 95% of the fish that were in the big tank (thank God it wasn't the saltwater tank).

But anyhow, I felt awful having to put the poor fishy down. Guess we animal lovers just have big hearts for all God's creatures.