Ahh!

Things have been so hectic! Buddy has been acting strange so i asked the people on my forum and they said it is probably just his personality coming out now and I should just get used to it. He is super territorial now that he knows that's his turf. he will flare at my fingers when I fut them next to the glass. he seems to be ding okay other then the swollen belly which comes and goes. I stopped feeding him for 3 days because I thought he had something. He eats like a pig! he just will not stop eating. I bought him a live plant which he loves to rest in and hang around. I am just praying I don't kill it because then a whole bunch of waste will go into the tank. he doesn't try to swim up and down the tank that much but sometimes he does, the people on the forum told me it was normal. I fed him peas the other day which he gobbled up, its supposed to help with constipation (which I think he has) but I am still not seeing any waste. I love to let him come up to my finger and nibble on it or he will chase my finger around, which by that way if he wants to be he is really fast! I have been stressed beyond comprehension these day because I thought Buddy was sick, but its better now because I am pretty sure I am way too paranoid. I know they say "well he is just a fish there is nothing you can do with them" I really feel like we connected, i already live him a lot and talk to him and he looks at me like" what???" But he is a good fish even though I sometime drive him crazy and he drives me crazy. I really hope we get to spend years together.

Arrival of Buddy and his first week

Everything has been so hectic I couldn't write! So Buddy arrived last Tuesday at about 1 pm, he was very energetic and looked happy. It took me all day to finally acclimate him but finally I did. He was very gorgeous and he was swimming around checking stuff out, but then he started to press against the signs of tank almost like he was looking for a way out and he would swim up and down frantically and then just stop and swim around for a bit and start again. I thought that he was just not used to being in the tank. But to this day he continues to do it. Anyways, I decided to join a forum and after posting and saying hi I scrolled over a thread talking about ammonia poisoning, I had never heard of it and i thought my water conditioner had gotten rid of it, apparently not. So i started a thread and asked questions I was really worried about the little guy. They told me for the first month I would have to do 50% water changes everyday, buy something called prime that would act as a water conditioner but also get rid of ammonia and render nitrate and nirate harmless, and get a very good water test kit. So now I am doing all that I can to get the cycle started which produces the good bacteria that kill the ammonia and and neutralize nitrate nirate. This is the process in a nutshell(thanks to basbonediva for the help).....

If not, here it is in a nutshell...your fish produce ammonia through their waste. Ammonia is also produced by decaying organic matter, such as food. Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish. The presence of ammonia jump-starts the life cycle of a beneficial aquatic bacteria which feeds on the ammonia and turns it into slightly less toxic nitrite. The presence of nitrite jump-starts the life cycle of another beneficial aquatic bacteria which feeds on the nitrite and turns it into nitrate, which is only toxic in very high levels (in the range of 60ppm or higher).

So now here are some blurry pictures of my  Betta(sorry couldn't get the stinking camera to focus). And if you want to see my thread click here.

Getting Ready

Yesterday I stopped at walmart and petco to go pick up the things I need for my fish. I got everything besides the heater at walmart because they did not have the small size I needed. I bought a 5 gal. tank(filter came with), water conditioner(made tap water safe for my betta), gravel, heater(petco), silk plants, freeze dried blood worms, and a net. The filter is a little strong but I adjusted it so that the flow isn't too strong. If you were wondering what the stringy looking stuff was it was just the filter dumping water. You can see in the back the heater. I bought 3 silk plants so they would be soft on his scales but I am planning on buying lots more plants for the tank.

Hello!

I am very exited to be getting a new Betta and being able to take care and pamper it! I will be posting from beginning to end of my time with this Betta. I am committed to making this fish as home as possible! This can also be helpful for you people new to Bettas so you can learn from my accomplishments and failures. I hope it will help you to better understand Bettas. And maybe in the future I will start breeding! I added some websites I found very helpful in teaching me how my Betta should be cared for.
Betta Talk
Luv My Betta (this is the lady that I am buying my betta)
Betta Splendens