How to Have a Happy Betta fish?

Abe The Betta

This is a testimonial from one of our customers, Natalie, about her pet betta Abe. If you've been thinking about getting a fish this is a must read they really can be rewarding pets!

"I never had a pet fish before. They seemed like a great pet to have if you had a big, expensive tank filled with colorful, exotics, but I never thought about getting a betta. The appeal of having a single fish never occurred to me until I started shopping at Pet World. I saw the cool, half moon, wall mounted betta tanks, and realized it would actually be possible to protect a fishy from our four cats. I bought the tank, and took it home to prepare for the arrival of my new betta.

I planned where I would hang the tank, and read the betta fish guide. I got my tank prepared, and went back to Pet World to find my betta.

Some things are just meant to be, and I swear, once I saw "my" fish in his bowl, I knew that he would be mine. He gave me his patented "Jazz Hands" welcome, and we headed home. I immediately named him Abe Vigoda, and got him situated in his little tank.

The affection and love I felt for Abe were immediate. From the first day, he got very excited when I come into the room. ! We have our morning, and after work rituals, where we dance and give each other "Jazz Hands" to show how happy we are to see each other!! We have four cats, and sometimes, Abe’s greeting is the most enthusiastic pet I get upon returning home! He blows me kisses, and really gets happy when he sees me! My husband gets a lukewarm welcome from him, because Abe knows who butters his bread.

He is beautiful, and has brought me more joy than some furry friends I have had in my life. There was a time when he was very sick, and I thought he was going to die. Turns out, I was using tap water, which has a non-evaporating chemical. His beautiful fins rotted off, but just the tips. He had a white fungus over his right eye. I cried when I went to sleep, thinking he wouldn’t be there to greet me in the morning. I felt like a bit of an idiot, crying over my fish. But he is an important member of my family, and the thought of losing him just broke my heart.

But thanks to the help of the Pet World staff, who fielded several emergency calls from a frantic fish mom, I found that, even though I changed his water every week, I wasn’t using the kind of water that he could thrive in. But once I switched to the clean and fixed up water from PetWorld, he started making gorgeous bubble nests, waving at me, and generally being the most awesome fish in the world. He is fully recovered, except the tips of his fins, and as frisky as ever.

Abe has since been upgraded to a 2.5 gallon tank, with a rotating array of fresh water plants, and he has a new roommate….a hitchhiking snail named Wojo. They seem to get along, and Wojo makes for some fun new video opportunities!

I have been madly in love with my Abe for well over a year now. Knowing he is going to be there to greet me when I get home makes me happy! And I can tell I make him happy! Bettas are beautiful friends, easy to keep happy with minimum work, and bring so much joy to life! I think it's important to bond with your fish, and really let them know that you picked them because they are special. But I am just kind of a freak that way!"