My first pet

[Gala]

So, ive been living alone for quite some time now, and could never really afford a pet. I finally got my own betta fish today (thanks to my gf). I decided to name him Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Once i get my hands on a camera or something I will put some pictures up.

Yay!

[Saturo]

Ooh, rare choice. Sounds delicious too...

[Vephriel]

Hooray!

Betta are hardy little things, they're definitely great starter pets. xD

[Mania]

I don't know what it is about bettas, but they always inspire the best names. I have a little red, white and blue betta named Winston.

[Saturo]

Is this a betta?


If it is, I was thinking about something ENTIRELY different...

[Vephriel]

Yes, that is a Betta fish Saturo.

[Saturo]

Ah, I was thinking about a snake.

Gratz on the fish!

[Emowin]

YIPPY congrats on your new "baby"

[Mania]

Saturo, were you thinking of a woma? I'm just curious.

Regardless, that's a gorgeous betta you found a pic of. Mine's just a pet store mutt.

Galadrael -- you need to get a picture of your betta!

[Ryno]

I had a Betta for a pet when I was seven. I named him Pickles. I had him for a loooong time I remember. He eventually died. I buried him at my Great Grandparents under a tree.

[Tahlian]

I too had a Betta in the past. I named mine after a Monty Python sketch, so he was Eric The Fish. The sketch in question was "Fish Licence."

[Karathyriel]

Way back in time, about 25 or so years ago, I used to have a very large fish tank.
I had a lot of little fishes in there, I just don't know the names of in english.
The betta is called "Kampffisch" in german, which means "fighting fish" as the males attack each other on sight, if I remember correctly.

I had fishes like these:


and lots more!

It was my dads old fish tank with about 500 litres (= 132 gallons or 528 US quarts). It was huge and after I put about 30 fishes in, it still looked empty.

Congratulations to your first pet. Take good care of him, he deserves no less. Some people think fishes are boring but I like 'em.
At least, you don't have to go on a walk in the rain and it doesn't bark all night!

[Mania]

Bettas are often called Siamese Fighting Fish in English, although these days I think most people don't know where Siam was so it has less impact. Also, 'betta' is a lot shorter to put on signs at the pet store.

Starting at the top and going left to right, the English common names for the fish in your pictures are: neon tetra, angelfish (or occasionally scalare), tiger barb, red-tailed shark, cory cat (or corydora).

Where did you find those middle two images -- the tiger barb and shark? I could swear that they are exactly the same as the 'color plates' in an old fish book my father gave me, which was printed in 1966.

[Bulletdance]

Grats that's a great name too. Just remember if you ever get a second one to keep them apart...they're like angry gladiators if you don't.

[VelkynKarma]

Aaah bettas. It was my first pet ever, when I was like...6. Only apparently I wasn't very good at caring for it, and my parents forgot to keep an eye out. So my one betta that I was soooo proud of myself for caring for so well--THREE years old!--was in fact like...twelve bettas.

More recently my college roomie and I got some bettas to liven up the room. Mine was a red one with some white tips on his fins. His name was Xelkyr Elkamaren Varsuuvius the Third, Lord of the Abyss. Whenever I stopped doing my homework he would swim to the side of his little tank and stare at me until I did it again. X_X Sadly, he passed away last year, but he lasted about two years so he had a good long betta life.

~VelkynKarma

[Vephriel]

The one I have at my work desk has so much personality. He gets ridiculously excited when I sit down in the morning, and he usually just sort of floats there and looks at me all day. He knows when he's getting food, he'll see me reach for his little container of flakes and start dancing around and waiting at the one side of the tank where I drop them in. :3 He also entertains me by flaring up his gills if I hold a pen near the side of the glass and sort of roll it around.

[VelkynKarma]

Haha, yeah, mine did the fin-flare if I went near him with a pencil. When I got him from the petstore he was VERY energetic too, and would randomly dart around his tank and flare up over nothing. My roomie and I joked that he was super-aggressive and we would wake up one day to find he killed us (yes you read that right). That's why he was the Lord of the Abyss.

~VelkynKarma

[Skyshot]

Lol I had one a long while back that would flare and challenge his own reflection in the glass. He didn't do it often but when ever he did, it was sure to amuse.



Quite the shiny blue tank-world your little fish friend lives in, Veph. xD

[Epicfail]

Congrats on getting a betta! You have reached level 2 as a pet owner.

I would have started with sea monkeys... but... the only one you name that matters is the last one standing after all the others got eaten...

Once you hit level 3 or 4 you should try a turtle. Best to save cats and dogs for higher levels and infants are out till level 25... After raising one of those, you might prefer going back to just a cat or dog to become a "casual" pet owner again .

[Mania]

Once you hit level 3 or 4 you should try a turtle.

Depends on the turtle. (Beware the sulcata!) I think a nice corn snake would be safer.