Aquarium spa
Couldn’t resist a beta splendens in a fish bowl yesterday (March 6, 2017). Watching this fish is so relaxing. He simply moves around so slowly and has such a beautiful blue iridescent color. I’ve kept them alive like this for years. Soon as I introduced them to community aquatics (30 gallon) they got bullied to death by other small species. Funny thing about it, folks think they need heaters for the small tanks. Sure, go ahead and cook ’em alive or don’t. If the water is that cold, a small lamp will heat it up. I have a lava lamp near by mainly for the aesthetics. A glass of water comes near to room temperature fairly quickly. The best thing, I’ve learned, is cooler water holds oxygenation better. Not cold! Cool.
The water looks cloudy. It gets siphoned off twice a week and settles back down. The fish get fed twice a day, three to five nibbles each. It’s therapeutic to watch ’em eat those tiny morsels. They follow my fingers and eat from the surface. The male has a fine bubble nest but I can’t imagine how difficult it’d be to raise betta babies. Males are awfully aggressive. The lava lamp works as a heat source.
These fish lasted only three months. Blame it on the fish bowls, stress, or being tantalized by cats. My daughter left her 10 gallon with a neon glo fish. A lone survivor, it’s thriving with two gold fish today.
This experiment was fun while it lasted. Both fish bowl beta’s died last month. My daughter’s 10 gallon aquarium is doing okay. The blue crayfish was my favorite character. It was too destructive though. My other daughter’s 25 gallon is splendid. That one is full of live plants. I’m impressed with all the love she’s put into it.
Furry pets are keeping me busy. Two ferrets, three cats, and two dogs are simpler and more lovable. My beta’s were trained and hardy. It was interesting to see something so tiny (2″) that responded so well to feeding schedules.
I’ve added a female betta to the mix. She lives separately in another bowl. A vivid blue, same color as the stud, she’s thriving while I’m enjoying their company. I have large pebbles instead of tiny gravel and change 20% of the water twice a week.