Betta than Goldfish
Written By Jennifer King Lindley
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Mo' Betta Blues
I was about to put the kibosh on any further fish-owning when I recalled the Betta fish I had long ago acquired as a wedding-guest favor which lived for at least a year on benign neglect. Back we trooped to the pet store.
There we spotted 30 Bettas, jewel-colored and flowing-finned, displayed in row after row in their own yogurt-sized containers. Hannah and Ethan both coveted the same blue one. "Is it a boy?" Ethan asked. "I want a boy." (I was hard pressed to judge this, but eventually learned that males are flashier and have much longer finsm, so are more commonly sold at commercial pet stores.) For less than $25, we purchased two Bettas, food, water conditioner, and a special divided Betta tank to prevent them from living up to their other name: Siamese fighting fish.
Almost immediately, our Bettas impressed us. Surface breathers native to decaying, oxygen-deficient swamps in Asia, they're not finicky about a pristine tank — no filters or pumps required. Our fish demonstrated their hardiness by, day after day, week after week, not dying. In the first few weeks after their homecoming, Ethan would pass by, study them, and report with happy surprise, "They're alive!" Unlike our goldfish, these lived long enough to acquire names: Hannah named hers Lyra (this was before we figured out it was a boy), and Ethan named his Ethan, which I think is a high compliment.
The kids have also found that Bettas make interesting viewing. In the first few weeks, our fish adopted dramatic tough-guy poses with their gill covers and fins when they caught sight of each other through the plastic tank divider. (These displays are how males defend their territory in the wild. I've been assured that this arrangement does not drive the fish insane.) "They look like superheroes!" said Ethan, impressed. My kids were also intrigued by the Bettas' practice of making elaborate bubble-nests on the water's surface. Intended to harbor fertilized eggs, males can make these nests even without a lady Betta around. As my husban said, "Hope springs eternal."
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