Other pets (pics and discussions)

[chris-uk]

Cohan-IMAG0144.jpg

Cohan, our Siamese Fighting Fish. He hand feeds. And comes to the front of the tank whenever you stop to check the fish, not only does he come to the front he does it and then flits back and forth to make sure he's the centre of your attention and aren't looking at the other fish.
Another example of an animal that isn't supposed to have a personality, having a real personality.

[kibakiba]

Wow, he's really pretty!

[chris-uk]

Wow, he's really pretty!

And he doesn't photograph well, his colours and iridescence is even better in the scale. He's a stunning fish is Cohan. It's the fish that started us on the garter slippery slope because Char saw Binky when we were looking for fish.

[kibakiba]

Hehe.

I had a beta for 3 years I think... And then our pet rat escaped and ate him.... Ugh. He was kind of like Cohan, only blue with a whitish tipped tail.

[katach]

We have a Betta. He is lavender and light pink. I'll get pic of him up. His name is Odellaus, Odie for short. I need to clean his bowl though. Kaylee has been feeding him and puts too much in at a time. The water gets cloudy pretty fast.

[chris-uk]

We have a Betta. He is lavender and light pink. I'll get pic of him up. His name is Odellaus, Odie for short. I need to clean his bowl though. Kaylee has been feeding him and puts too much in at a time. The water gets cloudy pretty fast.

Try what I discovered a few days ago - Cohan takes dried blood worms from our fingers. Interesting feeling when he misses the blood worm and has a nibble at my finger instead. It would be difficult to overfeed if we just hand fed the fish. Fortunately with the tetras and corys in there as well not much goes uneaten, still got to be careful not to overfeed them as the tetras will probably eat themselves to death. I doubled up the filters which helps keep my water clear.

[katach]

I need to get a small filtered tank for him. Right now he's just in a glass bowl. Kaylee is only here every other weekend so no worries on overfeeding. When I feed him I only drop one food pellet in at a time and wait for him to eat it before giving another. It doesn't help the bowl that he keeps trying to make a mating bubble nest either.

[chris-uk]

I need to get a small filtered tank for him. Right now he's just in a glass bowl. Kaylee is only here every other weekend so no worries on overfeeding. When I feed him I only drop one food pellet in at a time and wait for him to eat it before giving another. It doesn't help the bowl that he keeps trying to make a mating bubble nest either.

They survive in a glass bowl, but ideally need something like a 40 litre tank. A, small filtered tank will cut down the number of times you need to change the water, what are you on at the moment? 50% a week or more frequently than that? In a small filtered tank you may have capacity for a few other fish as well as the betta.
The thing that annoys me about bettas is that shops sell them saying that they can be kept in ridiculously small bowls, I've heard of them being sold to be kept in bowls the size of a pint glass. They'll survive for a while but you wouldn't expect them to thrive. A bit like keeping a garter in a tiny viv.

[katach]

what are you on at the moment? 50% a week or more frequently than that?

What do you mean?

[tress29]

Chris was asking you how often you do water changes, and what percentage you change. In an unfiltered tank, you have to replace some of the water with fresh, to remove the gunk that fish create! Just adding water when it gets low isn't enough.

I have a female betta at work. Her body is a light reddish tan, with darker red fins. She's in a 2.5 gallon tank with a sponge filter in the corner. No heater needed, as her tank sits on the desk above my two cpus! It stays right around 80F! I named her once, but I've long forgotten her name...