Betta Fish: the story of kitty, my first ever betta

2 years ago today, i lost a dear pet. she was a koi crowntail betta named kitty. yes, SHE.

i got kitty in 2021 when she was anywhere from 6 months – 1 year old at a regular petsmart. little did this petsmart know they were holding one of the rarest bettas in history.

when i first got her, she looked like any other koi. not super colorful, but was developing pigment. short fins, clear belly full of eggs. very normal looking. one year later though? her fins grew SO much and not only that, but started showing signs of crowntail genes. her colors were also much bolder. the picture i have up is a good representation of what she looked like for her last year. i have truly NEVER seen such a drastic transformation in a fish, ESPECIALLY in a female. she transformed so much that i actually had a hard time trying to determine if she had somehow turned male??? but nope! i could still see her egg spot, AND eggs in her stomach clear as day. she was just a rare, long finned lady 🙂

kitty and i were very close and she definitely got more attention than my other bettas. she was incredibly intelligent even for a betta, truly something special. such a bond to the point she almost felt like a dog or cat to me. sadly, her last few months weren’t great for her :/

about 3 months before she died, i noticed over time she slowly started to swim not as smoothly as she used to. but it wasn’t odd swimming like swim bladder issues. it looked like her fins were literally weighing her down, almost like her body couldn’t compensate for the insane growth she had gone through over her years. she was not at all bloated or pineconing, and looked completely normal when she was resting. also keep in mind this was in 2023, 2 years ago. i wasn’t completely new to fish at that point, but definitely not as experienced and confident as i am now. so for her last months, i did the best i could and decided to move her into a solo 10 gallon with a lot of resting places near the surface, and try to make her remaining time as comfortable as possible. i think she appreciated that. 2 years ago today, i found her lifeless at the bottom of her tank, and i was completely devastated. i had lost bettas before her and i was upset about them too, no doubt. but she was special. and i’ll always miss her

rest in peace kitty, i truly wish you could’ve lived at least another happy 2 years with me. but i’m very grateful for you teaching me how special and important fish are❤️