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My little friends - pet fish.

I wrote this first part on my "About Me" page, but I moved it onto this page.

Here is a picture of my two fish, taken on September 11, 2006, and I've had them for at least three months at this point. They are bettas, both males (also called "Siamese fighting fish", which is why they're kept in two different containers) that live in their "homes" next to each other. They can see each other (I think) through the clear plastic, so they're not totally alone. Male (and even some females) bettas are known for fighting each other, so that's why they're not in the same container. (I just repeated myself, didn't I? LOL) Shades is the blue one on the left (called that because he's two different shades of blue - his head/body is dark and his tail/fins are light). Jumper is the red one on the right (he tends to swim along slowly, then kind of "jump" ahead in his swimming path.

Update December 7th(2006): Shades passed away last evening. He was beautiful and seemed like a gentle fish, and I had him for 6 months. He was active up until his last few days, and I think he lived a happy life with a family that cared about him. Rest In Peace in the tank in the sky!

Update February 28th(2007): Jumper passed away this morning, and we buried him already. He had not eaten in a month and a half, and had been laying around on the bottom of his "home" for about 2 weeks. I saw him laying on his side, and he was still trying to move a little bit up until he was gone. Such a tough and brave little guy.    We had him for 9 months. Any time I put another fish in with him, he chased right after it! Independent and protective of his territory, haha! Rest In Peace in the tank in the sky!

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This is Wiggles (a Black Moor, the bigger black fish more on the right) and Flitter (a Calico Fantail, the smaller fish with some brown colors on the left). I got them in late November 2006. They're less aggressive fish, so they can be in the same "home" together. In the picture, you can see a cut-up soda cup for them to swim through (the fish caves at Wal-Mart had holes too small) and the plastic flower-rock that was previously in Shades' home. Flitter is quick and flits around from one area to another, and Wiggles wiggles when he swims.

Update January 14, 2007: Sadly, two days ago, Wiggles and Flitter passed away, and I have to soon bury them. I was out of the house for a few hours, and when I came home, they were dead. They seemed to be fine when I had last seen them, so I don't know what happened to them. (update from later on in February: I had poured water in that I had warmed up in the microwave into their "home" the day before, so I think maybe radiation or something had a bad effect on the water? I boil (and let cool to the warm temperature, of course!) all their water to heat it up now.)    They seemed to get along together, so at least they had a family and a friend in the same "home". They were pretty quick swimmers and always seemed to have energy. Once in a while, Wiggles would see his own reflection on the wall and chase it, and Flitter would run into him to try and get him to stop, as if he was trying to tell him that it wasn't another fish and that he was only chasing himself, LOL. Hope they Rest In Peace in the Tank in the sky!

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This is Slider, and I got him sometime in mid-to-late January. He's a male betta. I named him Slider because when he swims, it kind of looks like he's sliding through the water. He's mostly blue, but has some red streaks in his tail fins.    In this picture, I had put food in; he was eating it as I took the picture.    Update July 30th 2007: Slider is still alive, but I don't know how well he is. A month or so ago, he would swim over to me when I went to feed him, and sometimes he would even wiggle around to try and get attention if he wanted food. Smart little guy. But one day about a month ago, I had to change the water, and I had to chase him around with the net for a few minutes, and that traumatized him. He swims away when I get near him, and he stayed in his cave for a while. Now he's been staying in one corner on his home and hasn't been eating lately. Hopefully I'll see signs of improvement, especially since he is/was an intelligent fish. Update December 2, 2007: Slider passed away in early October. He wasn't well for a few months, but he kept on sticking around. He was an intelligent and strong fish that fought until the very end. Rest in peace in the Tank in the Sky!

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This is Contact, and I got him the day after Easter (early April). He is a red male betta. (and yes, the water is dirty in that picture, I changed the water soon after that)I named him Contact because when I picked up the little cup he was in when I bought him, he made eye contact with me. Maybe that scared him, because he stays in his fish cave all the time since I got him. It took him about TWO MONTHS to come out (I tried the first week or two to take the cave out, but he just went into one area and didn't move, so I just put it back in and let him stay there) after I got him to eat. I don't know if he ate during that time, but I didn't see him come and eat until sometime in early June. Now, he stays mostly in his cave, but comes out occasionally to eat. This picture, he came out and I quickly got the camera to take a picture of him. He must just be shy, I guess, but he's unique! Update December 2, 2007: Contact suddenly passed away in early October. He was actually starting to come out of his cave once in a while during his last few weeks. He was an interesting friend, so Rest In Peace in the Tank In The Sky!

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This is Invisible, a yellow (a bit of a rarer color!) male betta. He's a little hard to see (which is why I named him Invisible), but he showed up well in this picture. I got him in late April, early May, somewhere around there. One of unique things about him is that he almost lets me pet him - most fish run (well, swim) away when your fingers get to almost touching them, but I can touch him sometimes and he'll just wiggle away a little. Update December 2, 2007: Poor Vizzy (I called him that for short) passed away in early November. He wasn't well for a while, and one day he finally went. He was a friendly fish that I had for about 6 months, and he was a nice member of our family. Rest In Peace in the Tank in the sky!

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(Written January 3rd, 2008)Here are a group of fish (above) that I have living in the same container together. They would be called roomates, but I call them the fish family, LOL. They have an oxygen pump (the long blue thing in the lower right corner), since they need more oxygen than the bettas. Bouncy (Gourami) mostly stays in the cave or in the corner and keeps to himself (I don't know if any of these guys are male or female, but I'll just use "him", since it's nicer than "it"), but he's friendly enough with the other fish and will sometimes bounce forwards and backwards, hence his name. Major and Minor are Black Moors, Major named for being larger and Minor the smaller of the two. They swim around almost constantly and poke at food on the bottom. Tiny is a small gold fantail that swims all over and seems to be on good terms with the big guys!

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(Written January 3rd, 2008)These guys are all male bettas. Points (blue) is the newest that I got a week or two ago, and he mostly hangs in his cave so far. He got brave and stuck his head out for the camera, though! He has pointy fins, hence his name. Kisser (yellow with blue tail) has a mouth that looks like it's poking out when you get up close and look at him, hence his name. In this shot, he's laying on the bush, where he likes to hang out sometimes. Bloody got his name from being reddish brown, and me getting him a week before Halloween. He's the most active of the three.