Quarantine was over.
I put my healthy female betta fish together in the betta sorority tank on Friday evening, so I could keep an eye on them over the weekend. I had saved the various plastic cups and bowls that they came in. They floated in the 10 gallon tank, little fish-filled cups clanking together as the water temperature acclimated to the temperature in the tank.
When the time came to release them, I had a friend standing by with a fish net. I didn't trust the big, aggressive red female in the slightest. In fact, I knew it was a bad idea to add her to the sorority tank, and did it anyway. As expected, she hit the water and attacked anything that moved. A nod to my friend and he scooped her right back out. Back into her cup she went, and back in her quarantine bowl.
The release and recapture took only moments, but one of the babies was completely shell shocked by her violent encounter. I kicked myself as she lay gasping on the gravel. All of the other bettas were in hiding, so she was able to recover. And dart into hiding.
I breathed a sigh of relief and surveyed my living room. Betta bowls were everywhere. Seven of them. I had seven female bettas. Five were now in the betta sorority tank, with the big red betta and the sickly black baby betta still in bowls, betta sorority tank rejects.
I decided to keep the sickly baby, Tadpole. She won my heart with her pitiful sweetness.
I had already made plans to give the red one to a coworker in case she didn't work out in the betta sorority tank.
The weekend passed with only minor skirmishes and a bit of chasing and hiding in the betta sorority tank. The younger girls bowed to the authority of the single adult fish, Guinevere, and she proved to be a benevolent queen, so things went well. I was pleased.
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| Guinevere |
Things went well for a long, long time.
The betta sorority tank was the coolest fish tank ever. It sparkled and flashed blue and pink bettas, lively and curious, excited as puppies to see my face in the glass.
The baby betta fish grew up. They changed in surprising ways. Which is half of the fun when buying baby betta fish, I suppose. You have no idea how they will look as adults.
The pink baby remained smallish, and developed blue mottling on her body and fins. Odd and lovely.
The three blue babies had been different shades of blue, ranging from blue-green to pale blue-purple. Two of them darkened to royal blue as they matured and looked like Guinevere. They looked too much like Guinevere. Nobody could tell them apart but me.
The third darkened to a brilliant turquoise blue. And grew into a big girl. Big Bertha. What a stunning beauty!
The betta sorority tank was healthy. It was interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The fish were so friendly and interactive that they made tank maintenance a tricky proposition. They were intrigued by the gravel vac
and seemed to try to get sucked up into it. Rearranging plants and aquarium decor was nearly impossible due to overly affectionate fish swimming into my hands.
and seemed to try to get sucked up into it. Rearranging plants and aquarium decor was nearly impossible due to overly affectionate fish swimming into my hands.
The betta sorority tank was a happy little world.
Until it wasn't.
