My baby Mango passed about a month ago on my birthday (that first picture isn’t him dead, he’s just chilling) and I’ve not been handling it very well. I never understood why people took pictures of their dead betta flopped over in their hand, but I get it now. it’s the last time I’ll ever get to see him. I always just wanted to hold him and pet him, he always felt like a puppy to me. He would come up to the front of the tank, it felt like he’d wag his tail, and he’d eat off of my finger. I loved this fish like anyone would love their dog.
I had him for about a year and a half, and I found him sick, in a cup, fully grown, with a spinal deformity (likely from laying in the cup for so long) he was a “boring” betta so I think he didn’t appeal to kids and was left in a cup for a long time.
He was a horrible swimmer and a grumpy boy, he loved to snuggle under leaves, an architect (as you can see by his lovely nest) and he was picky as can be- and yet he was the easiest fish you could ever imagine. Never a burden or a struggle.
I’m disabled and have long struggled with a sense of self acceptance. How could anyone love a burden, I often thought. But I realized right at the end of his life that he was disabled the entire time I had him, and that I loved him anyway. I never even noticed. He was just mango.
He was just a fish to some, but to me, he changed my world. My first pet as an adult.
Rest in peace babyfish. Thank you for letting me finally hold you and give your little head a kiss. It was the best birthday present you could’ve given me.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1ozb4fn
Posted by Valuable-Pay1813