Betta Fish: My Story of Getting a Betta

I've been a shrimp mom for exactly a month now, the colony is expanding and everyone is quite happy. I initially planned this aquarium as a betta + shrimp + snail co-living space, so to reduce the chance of the betta attacking the shrimp, I got the shrimp and snails first. However, I was so fascinated by the shrimp that the possibility of a betta attacking them was very upsetting, so I gave up on buying betta and decided to just grow my shrimp colony.

Until….

Yesterday, I went to a famous pet shop in my city, the only place I could find boraras species that can live with shrimp. Yes, those fish are fascinating, yes they look quite beautiful in a school, and yes the fact that they give almost 100% confidence for shrimp is great, but… LOOK AT HIM. It was love at first sight. I used to read stories about cats and dogs choosing people at shelters, but I never thought I'd experience that with a fish. Honestly, if I hadn't bought him, I would have thought about it for the rest of my life. The pet shop was quite clean, offered good conditions for the fish, and was a trustworthy place, so I don't even care that I paid double the market price. (The second pic is his tank in the shop. Almost all the bettas had tanks of at least 10 liters, but his was the biggest and most beautiful, and he seemed to be the most colorful and happiest one)

The most exciting part for me was when I brought him home after a two-hour bus ride (rush hour sucks). While waiting to acclimate to the water in his plastic bag, he looked so ready to commit the shrimp genocide that I felt a pang of regret. Because I genuinely love my shrimp to the point where I can tell which is which. And when I put him in the aquarium… He didn't do anything?? Like a curious puppy, he explored every corner of the aquarium, biting anything he found suspicious (mostly shrimp poop and bladder snail babies on the glass) and simply glancing at the shrimp before moving on. The shrimp didn't disappear either, contrary to my expectations.

24 hours have passed and everyone is fine, even the tiny 2-week-old baby shrimp are still visible. I know he might attack when he is hungry, so I'll keep a close eye on them, but things are going much, much better than I expected so far.

So meet Sushi, who will live in the 30-liter underwater jungle with his weird siblings with funny eyes and long antennae from now on.