Last night, something horrible happened. A black moor goldfish I had in quarantine finally died. Of course, being two in the morning and added to the fact that I was dead tired, there was no funeral service. But I still felt sad. I still have three beautiful fish, a gold fantail goldfish, a calico fantail, and a red (crimson, maroon? I don't know, I'm colorblind) crowntail betta, but I got a little scared.
When I woke up this morning, I had this unexplainable urge to spoil my betta, Mr. Quinn Fishy. So I gave him a bloodworm before I left for college. Quinn didn't appreciate the wake-up call, but he thanked me for the snack before slinking down to his favorite rock. Now, I've spent most of the day looking for a bigger tank for him.
Quinn has been a bit of an oddball to me. I've owned several bettas before him, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But Quinn is... engaging. There's no other way to describe it. He's the first betta I've owned that even acknowledges my existence outside of feeding time. Hell, he wasn't in my house for more than a month before he developed an attitude. He demands nothing less than the best I can give him, and he makes sure to remind me that he is my favorite "child."
I got Quinn after I moved to my grandparents so I could attend college. I wanted to start fishkeeping again, now that the grasping fingers and clumsy minds of my siblings weren't an issue. I was walking through Wal-Mart's pet supplies to buy a bag of dog food and I decided to look at the fish. They didn't have a lot, but they had a few betta cups on display. I picked some of the cups up, looking for curious, reactive fish. I picked up a curious looking creature with what looked like frayed fins. I almost put him down and walked away when I saw the "crowntail" sticker on his cup. I realized that the fraying was supposed to happen and I looked at him again.
Anyone that has looked a betta in the eyes and seen that pouty look has to agree that bettas can show Labrador puppies a thing or two about looking cute. He was responsive, bright-colored, and had no obvious signs of infection or illness. I ran back, got a cart, loaded up my dog food, the betta, a 1.5 gallon tank, some gravel, and a container of betta pellets, and escaped with my prize.
I got home and put the betta, which by now I had decided firmly that he looked like a Quinn, into a temporary betta bowl from my younger fishkeeping days. It was late, so I decided to set up the tank in the morning. The next day, on top of cleaning and preparing the tank, I had to constantly watch Quinn. He HATED that bowl, and kept trying to jump out. I also had to keep an eye on my cat as well. Finally, I got him in the tank and acclimated. (Thankfully, we draw our water from a natural well, so I just had to wait a few hours for the mineral equalizer to work.) Finally, he calmed down and began acting in a civilized manner.
But not for long. Quinn soon began to develop a very distinct personality, one that somewhat complemented my own. He acts like a diva or a toddler, demanding attention, and throwing temper-tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. I managed to get him to accept one major feeding per day and one day a week with little to no food to give his system a slight resting period. He is very demanding for his food, and even attempts to splash me when I don't feed him fast enough.
When he's not eating or hungry, he either takes naps, swims lazily around his tank, or spontaneously flares up and "flexes" to catch my attention (which usually works, because he flares are especially flashy. His body is red but his fins are violet, which makes for a pretty display, let me tell you.) He also gets into fights with the cat, when he taunts her into swatting at the tank, when I promptly shoo her away. He then smugly wiggles his tail and puffs up for a few seconds in his "victory dance."
That's the story of Mr. Quinn Fishy, the spoiled little crowntail betta raised by a college boy. Just remember that all animals, even fish can develop personalities that are unique and memorable, so be sure to take care of them properly.
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