I have been given....a fish...

[Bokkapooh]

I do love FISH, they are trule relaxing. It is a dream to have a flight cage of finches again and a nice 30gallon long live plant/beta/tetra tank. They are trule relaxing, plus with the live plants and the flourescent bulbs, very peaceful. Add the gentle water pump thingy that runs water like a waterfall. Very relaxing.

I just dont have time for the extra work that a flight of finches or a tank of fish needs.

 

[Bokkapooh]

If I cannot rehome this betta fish, where would he like to live? Would near a computer be ok? A book shelf?

I have him in a small 3" diameter (I KNOW this is small, but I had nothing to transfer him into except this small vase that held my bamboo) near a window.

If I got him one of those nifty 3-5g tanks, where would I put it? Where would a fish be happiest?

My mom has her fish in her kitchen on the counters, they seem happy there in the semi-dark shadows of the kitchen. But my kitchen has no space.

 

[Tim]

I kept several small Betta tanks on a living room bookshelf. I did not put them where they would get direct sunlight, but filtered room and window light. Once you have it set up, it's the easiest to keep. A few Betta pellets twice a day. 1 gallon water change weekly, new filter monthly.

 

[Tim]

And when they're settled and happy, they make bubble nests at the surface! Very cool.

 

[Dartman]

We used to have fish for years as kids too. I bought a 30 gallon rounded front tank with a matching stand and some of the supplies it needed dirt chap at a garage sale a few years ago in case I ever felt like having fish again but it's out in the shed at our new house waiting till we ever decide on a spot or give up on the idea.
I used to keep tiny cray fish in our tanks and we have had the pig-me frogs and betas before too in the tiny little tanks. They did surprisingly well considering their small living space but never lasted as long as they would in a nice big dedicated tank with everything they should have had.
I even tried dwarf sea horses and finally got a pair going but my testing chemicals went bad unknown to me and they died a few years in

 

[camelotshadow]

Sorry this person did this to you. I really think you should explain to them that pets are not good gifts & you are at your limit with pets so that they don't do this again to you or maybe someone else.

You could possibly try taking him to a fish store maybe they could find a home for him?

You really can't put him in anything bigger until you age water or properly treat it to get rid of chlorine.
Your water source could add chloramine which may not be properly treated with some water conditioners. You might have to find out if this is in your water.

Chloramine can be safely neutralized through such products as Amquel

How to Take Care of a Betta Fish (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Good luck

 

[Jaguar]

No worries if you have to rehome him! You know your limits... if they included a fish you'd probably have had one already

 

[echobird]

Goldfish are one of the messiest fish, and they tend to get very large. They need big tanks with heavy filtration. A goldfish kept in a bowl will die very prematurely, probably of ammonia poisoning.

I agree. I had several goldfish in a giant tank. They were so messy! they lived well over 10 yrs before passing due to us not taking care of them too well because of a family tragedy.

 

[Debby S]

If it had been me and someone gave me a pet I had not asked for, I would have said thanks but no thanks. Even if i was so shocked i didnt say something immediately, after I had time to think i would bring it back and say I am regifting this to you.

 

[Shinobi]

I do agree that giving a animal has a gift is not what I would call a well thought through gift idea. Also just because you can put a fish in a bowl without a filter doesn't mean you should. I run a 1000 litre freshwater tank with a 250 watt UV filter and a sump filtration system and found this system required very little maintenance. Apart from replacing the active carbon every 6 weeks, I do maintenance work on the filter once every 3 - 4 months. This system works so well that my fish are breeding constantly.

 

[camelotshadow]

How is the lil guy?

 

[Bokkapooh]

He's alright. I have him in a large vase. But will get him a 5gal tank soon. We just needed to make space on a shelf area.

 

[Bokkapooh]

[QUOTE="Debby S, post: 2389770, member]If it had been me and someone gave me a pet I had not asked for, I would have said thanks but no thanks. Even if i was so shocked i didnt say something immediately, after I had time to think i would bring it back and say I am regifting this to you.[/QUOTE]
I guess I didnt want to see the fish neglected.

 

[macawpower58]

I hope you grow to like him. PHOTOS!!

I had a Betta fish about 15 years ago. I ended up loving that stupid thing. I think he was precocious to be honest, but he knew me and would follow me around his tank. He'd come and swim about my hand, gently nibbling when I was rearranging the plants/rocks in his tank. He'd swim to the surface when I approached and take food from my fingers. He'd even let me pet him (I know it's not good to). I bought him a 5 gallon also, and even eventually a heater and filter. He lived for a short time without either. But the filter and heater made me feel safer with him. I used to put rocks (for tanks) in different configurations for him, he'd swim all around exploring, and often would end up using them as a bed or hiding place.

I took him (in a big gulp cup) all the way from Utah to Nevada! He came into the restaurants to eat with us (didn't want him to freeze outside) on the trip. I was so sad when one day he managed to leap from his tank during a cleaning and broke his swim bladder. I really missed that fellow.

I've also had other Betta's that were just fish. Maybe you've got one like my special boy that will bring you peace and pleasure.

Keep him close to where you are a lot. I think they also enjoy our company.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Mercedez, that baby of yours is so darned cute and happy. We need new pictures of her. How old is she now?

 

[theocnoob]

Take the fish to a reputable aquarium shop and have them take it off your hands before it dies on you. Please tell this person they are a thoughtless idiot. They deserve it.

 

[Clueless]

I had a beta that lived for several years (family and friends didn't expect him to live long). He was in a wine glass that stood about 3 or 4 feet tall. Huge decorative glass. I had a water treatment (bottle) of some sort that was measured by drops.

I treated a separate container of water in the morning and at night transferred him to it while his tank was cleaned. Put him back in his tank after the water for room temperature the next day. I guess because his tank was so huge he didn't need it cleaned that often.

I received a dog for Christmas one year from my best friend. I had to decline and they found him another home. I was going to college 3 nights a week and working full time. My friend meant well, I just knew it wouldn't be a good life for the dog.

 

[nu2birds]

I hate how they line those male Betta's up in those tiny little bowls in the pet stores and let people think that it's OK to keep them in small enclosures like that. Thank you Sylvi...........yes a five gallon or 10 gallon with a filter, heater and plants would be so much more humane. It's like trying to keep those baby red eared slider turtles in one of those plastic habitats that are like two inches deep and ten inches long with a plastic palm tree in the middle of it. Are you kidding me........sheesh!

 

[theocnoob]

Honestly, there's a lot more to keeping a beta properly than most people realize. By the time you get the hang of it your fish will be long dead. If you want to keep fish you need to do a few months of research and preparation first. Please re-home the fish before it passes away unnecessarily.

 

[finchly]

The other awful thing was a few yrs ago when people put bettas in a vase with a bamboo plant and claimed they didnt need to be fed!

I bred many bettas, and despite the hype about not putting them with other fish I kept males and females with many other fish in a 125 gallon planted tank. They even did their bubble nest in there. It was awesome. They have personalities, they get to know you and come to the end to greet you. They are fun.

I bred for a black line around their tails, ended up giving my 6 breeders to a teenage violin student who wanted them. He put them in his pond where they were all dead within a week! Wish I'd kept them!

I hope your fish is ok, if you gave it away that's ok too. Animal gifts *suck.*