Betta Fish: Still Holding My Breath

Last Thursday, I needed to go into Kroger for some items I couldn’t find anywhere else. The parking lot was pretty full, so I ended up parking closer to Petco than Kroger lol.

I don’t know what compelled me to go into Petco, but I found myself walking inside and suddenly I was greeted by a large display of betta fish that all looked.. horrible. I mean my heart instantly sank and if I had 50 aquariums I would have gone home with a lot of fish that day.

Maybe it was the bright colors that made this guy stand out, or maybe it was the fact that he looked so twisted in the cup and was spastically swimming on his side, but by the fourth time I picked him up I found myself walking to the register with a betta in one hand and a new bag of gravel rocks in the other. Sigh.

He is currently in the 3.5 hospital tank I usually keep drained and offline. I knew (and still know) I was taking a risk putting him in a non-cycled tank, but I figured anything had to be better than dying in that little cup. I know we aren’t out of the danger zone which is why I’m still holding my breath, but I’ve already seen a lot of improvement in his swimming and his fins seem to be less clamped from stress, plus he’s eating so I will take that as a positive.

On that note, I present to you: Flip Flop, brother of Tank Top. Photos are from day of purchase through today.