Saturday, January 26, 2008

That smells vaguely like vanilla... and wet sheep

So, not much to blog about today. Just cleaning and all that happy crappy, as they say. Who says that? Hmm... maybe my sister... lol anyway I decided to go ahead and do my next abc-along entry, so here goes.

B is for......

Betta fish! This is my betta, his name is Jack. Actually, that's not right. His name is Captain Jack Sparrow. That's not a good picture but it's really hard to get an accurate picture of him without the use of like, an underwater camera or something... Here are some interesting facts about bettas.

  • The ones sold in the US are actually called The Siamese fighting fish.

  • The betta originally made it's home in rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles, as well as other places, because of their ability to breath atmospheric air. Those places typically do not have as much oxygen in the water, but the bettas don't actually need it. The can come to the surface for air.

  • Males create "bubble nests" at the surface, and takes care of the eggs and the newborn babies. They will build bubble nests at the surface even in the absence of a female if their water conditions are suitable for breeding.

  • In the wild, bettas only show their coloring when they're agitated. They're colored in captivity because breeders have managed to capture that color. Females are typically duller in color if they have color at all, and their fins are a lot less showy than the males' color.

My betta is very friendly, but I've had some in the past that were extremely aggressive. He is in there right now, happily building his bubble nest. Here's a picture of one that I found on the internet, he's so beautiful... but kinda creepy. I'm not sure why I feel that way, but there ya go.

Anyone else finding him creepy? It's something about his fins... they look almost like spikes. Weird.

Have a great weekend!!

1 comment:

Heather said...

Chicken says Thanks for the birthday wishes. Chicken also has a beta fish, altho hers isn't as lively as yours. Rainbow mostly hangs out at the bottom of the tank. Any tips to make it more lively?