A Betta Story

        So I've mentioned how I started small in the lead up to my 75 gallon tank. Namely with a couple years of betta fish. So I'll tell a story about them. But first.
        
FUN FACTS:
Betta fish: aka, Siamese Fighting Fish: can be found Thailand, Malaysia, and a few other South Asian countries. The kinds you find in those little pet store cups are actually the products of select breeding processes meant to bring out bright colors beautiful tail shapes.
   Bettas make their homes in shallow streams and rice paddies, they actually have what's known as an labyrinth organ, which allows them to take oxygen from the air, rather than just the water, which is why they can survive in the muddy, and often stagnant waters of their natural homes... or those tiny cups they're so often kept in.
   In my experience, bettas seem to be fine in shallow waters so long as they have a large surface area of water so they have plenty of space to get oxygen from.
   Male bettas are known for being aggressive, flaring and attacking any other fish they come in contact with... this is not entirely true. Bettas can be kept with other fish, mainly the female bettas, but males can be kept with other fish as well, so long as they don't have too bright colors or flowy tails and fins... this I am pretty certain is totally a jealousy thing, because a male betta must be the prettiest around to get laid and he's willing to defend that. He's also violent if he gets turned down, so watch female bettas too if trying to breed them.
END OF FACTS:

Now that the learning is over I'll tell you about some of my bettas.
    My first betta was actually a gift, in one of those, vase bowls... that one didn't last too long unfortunately, but a while after it died, I decided to go pick out my own betta. I choose a nice veiltailed, blue betta, with a black face and green and red highlights. His name was Leviathan, and he was awesome.
    He was much more active than my previous betta, and liked to hide in the roots of the vase plant. Leviathan had a couple close calls with my cats, managing to get the plant out of the vase, but he was smart enough to swim to the bottom and they soon lost interest all together.
    When I first moved out, he was the only pet I took with me... He may have wished I didn't. My roommates cats were not as easily distracted from him as mine and we had to chase them away from him all the time... and one night they finally succeeded in knocking the vase from the table he was on.
    This one night... I was not as light a sleeper as I usually was, and missed the whole thing... my two roommates however, were woken by the loud crash. I was told by one that when she got out to the living room she came upon this scene...

Roommate in the middle of the room, clad only in boxers, staring uncomprehending at the fallen vase, the water pooling on the floor, and Leviathan flopping about helplessly.
       Thankfully she was more capable, and moved into action, refilling the vase, saving the betta, and putting the vase (thankfully unbroken) on a higher shelf.
       Leviathan went through a couple more close calls (those cats were determined) but he made it another year, and I moved back home, he made that move too.
       Leviathan would meet his end a couple months later... I don't know who did it or what happened, but I came home from a horrible day at work, only to find a more horrible scene when I got home. The vase, shattered on the floor, Leviathan's little fishy body curled up in a puddle that had soaked into my carpet.
      I was so upset, I picked him up, I set him in the base of the bowl, with the little bit of water that was left, and set to picking up the glass and stones. I brought it all to the kitchen, threw out the glass, went to rinse the stones... and noticed that Leviathan was staring at me... and swimming. Oh. My. God. What???? This fish... This fish was immortal.

That was my fish. (yes, his face did look like he had stubble, what) I found a little bowl, set him in it and hoped for the best.
       Leviathan lasted three more days... he had a good run, he was awesome. That was one bad ass betta.

My next betta is a red veiltail (who I swear was purple when I got him, but who knows) named Bubba, and he's still going strong. He's in a nice 5 gallon tank (upgraded from the fishbowl scorpion bowl he originally was in) and hopefully at no risk of being pushed off the table.