The Life of a Beta Fish

Ever since I was young, I always wanted a pet, preferably a dog, but my parents never let me have one. I'm not sure if it was a build up of not being able to have pets as a child that led me to surround myself now with a mini zoo - my dog, my rabbit and 2 living beta fish. If I could, I'd get another dog too :)

Beta Fish. Had no idea this type of fish existed until my lovely

ex-coworker and current friend told me that we should get a fish

for the office and that beta fish are very pretty to look at.

So we bought our first beta 2 years ago, he was mainly blue and we named him 'Ph'atty. He was a strong one, living through all the stress we put him through, from weekly bowl cleanings to monthly bowl cleanings, children poking at him, and moving him from a martini bowl to a vase to a 'real' fish bowl. Then, he passed away one day before the holidays. We definitely missed him, so we decided to go get another one (not to replace him of course!).

This is Spike, and he is happily living in the office fish bowl.

Thinking I was pro at maintaining beta fish, I decided to get one for home. Boomkin, a vibrant blue beta, turned out to be not as susceptible to stress. In the 2 1/2 weeks of his life with me, he developed 'ich' (white spots all over the body and fins) and 'fin rot'. Medication didn't cure him, and soon he started to do this all day:

Goodbye Boomkin, you are definitely missed.

I wasn't ready to give up, so I decided to go out and buy yet another beta, in hopes that it would at least outlive Boomkin. Instead of getting one, I ended up getting 2. See, male beta fishes cannot coexist in the same tank. They would kill each other. I felt one fish in the bowl seemed sort of lonely, so I spoke to the 'fish' expert at the pet store and found out that you could have 2 or more female beta fishes in the same tank. I was

skeptical about it, but thought I would try it out. The first night, I could not take my eyes off of the 2 females fishes I bought. The red one, named Puffy totally bullied and picked on the white one, Huffy. They started flaring at each other and Puffy would open her mouth, trying to bite Huffy. However, the tables turned a week later. While Puffy was too busy chasing after Huffy, Huffy decided she would eat all of the food, even Puffy's. She grew so much stronger and was able to fight back, going from victim to bully.

I think they have gotten over the phase of who owns the tank and have become friends. I've had them for over 2 months now and they are doing just fine.