Its beta fish day! These fish are very pretty, but did you know that it is the males that have all of this plumage? The females look much less pretty (still cute though!)
But today I wanted to talk about owning and care for these fish. The fish like the one in the picture are selectively bred for the bright colors and flowing fina and its actually a hinderence and health detriment to these fish. Think of the dogs that are bred with health issues.
Theyre also very territorial, so you should only keep one male at a time, and if you want females in the same tank, make aure to have multiple as a male can stress one female to death with its mating. Also, please, do not put it in a tiny fishbowl. Beta actually need a good amount of room, like 10+ gallons!
A lot of people see pretty fish (and other animals) and just want one without understanding how much effort it is to keep them happy and healthy. Maybe this cartoon trope of keeping fish in small fish bowls is part of the reason why this effort is underestimated. Whatever the reason may be, it’s really cool that you talk about serious stuff like that, too. Pretty photos and backstories are nice, but I always like a good reminder that they are living, feeling beings who aren’t here just to entertain us :3
Im glad to hear someone else care about our fish friends like I do :3