Think Fish Keepers Daily News. [2016-2019]

Thank you both.

Bettas are not long lived fish, the oldest I ever heard of was 5 years but that was exceptional. And I do wonder if the varieties with the biggest tails die earlier having worn themselves out through carrying all that weight.

They have personality so we become attached to them. They are pets rather than 'just fish'. I will be sad to see him go.

A film is on and, predictably, I'm distracted by the fishtank in it (supposed to be a background feature), attempting to identify its dimensions, brand and whether there are actually any fish in it at all (I don't see any)...

Today is our ruby wedding anniversary and yesterday evening our son and daughter-in-law took us for a meal in a local pub-restaurant. We had to walk past a fish tank to get to our table, and once again when we left. I wasn't allowed to stop and look at it properly 

It must have been about 100 litres, and 45cm tall, if that, and it contained 2 angelfish, the orange black and white blotchy type, one penguin tetra and one albino cory.

Terrarium anyone...?

My latest creation for our kitchen... not quite fish related but I thought it might be of interest to some.

Lol no idea I threw the label away already... wait... bin tells me it's a Sansevieria.  Good plant knowledge Sue!

Basically, my wife isnt allowing any additional fish tanks just yet (dont worry im working on it...) so I've started making "plant tanks" instead.

 

My peach coloured betta passed away on Sunday evening. He had spent the previous few days just lying on his side on the bottom of the tank and after we'd washed up the evening meal I noticed he was no longer breathing. I'd had him 29 and a half months, a good age for a betta.

Because the betta was so weak I had been only scooping water out and replacing it with new instead of doing a proper water change so I cleaned it properly yesterday. I knew I could only wait a week-ish so this morning we caught the bus to the Maidenhead Aquatics I got the peach betta from.
I narrowed it down to 4 quite quickly, then it took ages to finally decide. I finally decided that the black and white betta had the marble gene so would change colour; the pale orange with see through fins was a bit lethargic; and the bright red with blue edges was a double tail, so a lot of fin to carry round. That left the little orange chap with pale blue iridescence. I think he's a veiltail, I'll find out when he's grown a bit more.
He has been swimming round the tank since lunchtime, generally exploring his new territory. This MA keeps the bettas in a rack of individual tiny tanks - bigger than the cups a lot of shops use, but not in a tank with other fish - so my 26 litre tank must seem enormous. The chap in the shop said that the bettas are delivered in plastic bags the size of a teabag  so even those tiny tanks must seem huge to the fish when they first arrive.


Photos when he's settled in 

 Sorry to hear about your Betta Sue, but equally excited to see your new addition! I hope he settles in well to his spacious abode overnight.
 

I saw some wild type Bettas on a recent trip to MA. The wild type can be kept together I believe as they were in the shop.  They dont have the colour or finnage of the splendens type but retain the personality.  They were clearly tired at the end of the day and had nearly all settled into a suitable resting place on the plant in the tank for the night.  Looked like a betta Christmas tree 

I was very tempted... but also under strict instructions!!...

If you do go for some wild types remember they require very different water than the splendens.  I would like some betta foerschi.

Here are a couple of photos of my new betta. He won't keep still! When the light catches him, the tail half of his body also has a blue sheen to it.
He is still small, and I think his fins will grow some more. His tail is a bit split, probably damage during transit as he hadn't been in the shop long.

I'm hoping he doesn't lose the blue as he gets older. My last betta did have green iridescent streaks in his tail, and they didn't fade, so I'm optimistic