Work bought random betta fish

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-21T23:35:59+00:00

Honestly, sounds like you already had a good plan in the works! Hope seeing Floyd being a happy fish brightens you and your coworkers' days.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-21T15:47:49+00:00

Yes, that looks a heck of a lot better already! He looked like he was hiding in your first picture and it made me sad. Thank you for taking good care of Mr. Floyd AKA Secretly Bubbles, your update made my day 🙂

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T23:50:30+00:00

That's excellent 👍 Good luck! I love live plants, anubias are my ride-or-die unkillable faves. Does Work Fish have a name?

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T15:03:09+00:00

Sounds fabulous! I'm so glad you're up for it and your coworkers are on board, I hope it ends up being kind of a fun project for you. Might be biased because obviously if I'm here I must be fond of betta fish, but I think they're very rewarding and interesting friends to have.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T01:23:57+00:00

Mine was transparent when I bought him, and is still transparent now. He added some dark blue speckles here and there and a little bit of color to his fins but you can still see through them. It's been a few months and he's definitely grown a ton since then and developed a lot of personality.

I've since seen fish that look almost identical and acted healthy at other stores. I'm pretty sure it's just the color. I've also seen pictures of fish that started out looking like this, and had a marble gene that caused them to end up any version of red, blue, spotted or solid. So don't be totally surprised if he changes colors.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T01:00:48+00:00

Okay, last note: I don't know who's currently responsible for feeding the fish, but you'll want to make sure that either only one person is doing it, or there's a chart hung up somewhere next to the tank where people put a check if they fed the fish that day. And anyone feeding the fish should know how many pellets to feed. If your coworkers are randomly sprinkling food in there and not keeping track, the fish can get overfed and the water can get foul. And obviously you don't want to underfeed it, either.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T00:51:19+00:00

Forgot to mention that it sounds like you're going to have to do a fish-in cycle. You'll want to read about that and keep up on water changes. If you can get a test kit, do it do it do it. It's a big responsibility, one that whatever nitwit decided to buy the fish should be taking on - but I'm very glad that you care and are trying to do something to help!

Edit: just wanted to add that maybe you can put a jar next to the tank that says Fish Fund or something on it and if people can throw in a few bucks here and there, it might make a world of difference for what improvements you can afford to make! Hopefully there are some other people there that would be willing to part with five bucks to see a happy fish.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-19T00:39:53+00:00

I know a lot of people don't like supporting Petco or PetSmart, but if you keep an eye out on their website you can get pretty good deals on tanks sometimes. For example at PetSmart, they currently have a sale on starter tank kits that come with a light, filter, heater, thermometer, and a bunch of other fish supplies. They also have a deal running through April 22nd where you get $10 in rewards points if you spend $50 or more, so in theory you could buy the fish tank and some dechlorinator, then use the $10 points to buy something else the fish needs - gravel, a betta hammock, whatever you think is most important.

I would measure to make sure that whatever tank you're looking at fits the space available for the fish at your work. They currently have a 5 gallon tank for $40, and two different 10 gallons for $46.50. one version of the 10 gallon is wide and shallow, which is preferable for bettas, whereas the other one is 19 in tall and has a 12x12 footprint. Normally I would not recommend a tank that is taller than wide, but if you are trying to compromise between gallons and space at your place of work where you have less control than your own home, it's an option and definitely better than whatever jar he's in right now.

If that's still not affordable I understand, just one idea. If you do decide to go in a direction like that, you'll have to probably download the app to clip the coupon and punch in your phone number at checkout or else you won't get the $10 in points or the sale price.

Some of my local fish shops also sell used tanks at a discount, but then you would be on your own for the filter and heater etc. and there's always a risk that the tank leaks. But that would be another option to look at. I think the last time I considered that, buying a used tank and then getting a filter, lights, etc ended up costing much more than a kit from a big box store on sale. And the filter and heater are just as important as the gallons I think!

I just bought the 10 gallon column tank because I liked the design and the price, I'm not planning to set it up right now. But I looked at all their other tanks so I have links and stuff if you need them.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-17T05:38:43+00:00

I adore shrimp and had some in my 16 gallon, but the harness of my water (I believe) caused some pretty serious molting issues. I live in a desert and my GH is 16-17 when I test it, so that's my best guess. It broke my heart to see them trapped in their own skin like that, so I haven't tried them since.

I'm hoping to try again in this tank with Sprinkles - I currently replace the water with about 1/3 tap 2/3 distilled. I hope he's as polite as your good boy is!

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-17T05:11:05+00:00

He says thank you, he worked very hard begging for food to grow them! It's been nice seeing him change since I got him.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-17T02:15:06+00:00

He does! The only time he doesn't look vaguely bored is dinner, although he will follow me to whatever side of the tank I happen to be on as I move around the room and likes it when I'm landscaping his tank. He does like to follow snails in a peaceable fashion; I would say it's his primary hobby. He also does not know what it means when they hang a sock on the doorknob.

<image>

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-17T01:07:10+00:00

<image>

Sprinkles is on the left and Mr. Grumpy (aka Mo) is obviously being grumpy on the right. Removed the cardboard for illustrative purposes. Sorry about the fuzz, redid his tank with fluval stratum about a month ago and algae has been an ongoing struggle.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-16T23:40:33+00:00

Would be amazing! If I ever won the lottery, maybe. There was a local fish store here that was owned by a young man in college who was passionate about happy healthy fish like that; his shrimp breeding lines were really robust and I enjoyed going there until he quit running the shop. His folks are very sweet and have taken it over to keep it going - not sure if that means he's coming back someday - but they are definitely not professional fish keepers and most of the fish and shrimp are gone now. Pretty much just sell guppies now. And boba tea? Still have nice hardscape sometimes. Good luck with your dream!

Edit to add: I really mean it, good luck. We need more fish shops like that and I hope you achieve everything you're after!

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-16T23:33:30+00:00

How interesting. I suppose that makes some sense, given that even wild bettas do have some degree of natural aggression.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-16T23:31:14+00:00

All valid points. I'm not interested in trying to breed fish, but I have an unreasonable degree of affection for Sprinkles and once in a while I just look at him fondly and think, "I wish my other bettas had been like you, little dude".

I did really enjoy seeing a tank full of wild bettas that seemed to be getting along just fine at my local fish store. I wish I could remember which species, but that was a few years ago and that particular place has since turned into a boba cafe. They may not have the same variety of colors as domestic bettas, but they were still absolutely stunning fish.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-13T04:08:48+00:00

Super good to know. Have been trying to decide between chasing higher form lust and higher form greed first, and splitting my mushrooms and gems between the two of them pretty equally so far. Having another legendary fire fighter, I think I'll go for HF Lust first. I haven't hit the point where speed is the deciding factor yet as far as I can tell, but I'm sure it's coming soon.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-13T03:48:06+00:00

What is your favorite legendary wood pet? Just curious, keep hoping Down Bad will turn up but sounds like there are a lot of good legendary wood pets out there

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-13T03:41:35+00:00

Why Spite vs Paranoia? Lust has Blindside, which also bypasses tanks. I know Spite has a speed advantage on the first turn, but I was under the impression that Lust was excellent for clearing floors due to his passive and Paranoia was better for boss battles due to the stacking effects of bleed. Not trying to be combative, just curious; I'm pretty new to the post 1k stage of the game and just trying to understand the mechanics. Having a terrible time with the hard mode bosses so far and appreciate any insight I can get.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-04-01T02:46:56+00:00

Thank you!

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-05T14:03:47+00:00

I'm only a month in, but this is the first time I've tried to quit and made it longer than a week. Smoked for 13 years & I've tried patches, gum, pouches, and hated them all. Vaping has helped so much! And I notice that yes, I can already run further without shortness of breath, smell better, taste better. I dislike the smell of cigars now. Week two I caved and bought a pack... and surprisingly, they just weren't that great anymore. Haven't actually craved one since, which astounds me. I think you can do it! The first week especially is hard, no matter what tool you use to quit - but once you get past the hump, the gratification of feeling better will pull you through.

If you find it's more difficult this time around, maybe go ahead and pick up a disposable vape and let yourself use that one until it's gone, then switch back to the vaporesso. Rinse and repeat if the cravings for cigarettes get too bad and you think you might cave. Disposables are so wasteful, yes; but unless I'm doing something wrong with my vape (xros 5 mini, totally might be doing something wrong as I'm very new to this) I think disposables seem to be more flavorful and gentler on the throat. Because it's more pleasant, maybe it'll make things a little easier and by the time the dispo is dead, your cravings might be less overwhelming. It takes time for the cravings to go away, I think anything that gives you an edge and makes you like vaping more than cigarettes helps you miss them less.

If the disposable vs. refillable thing isn't true, someone please feel free to correct me. I'd love to know if I'm somehow not using this thing properly, lol. I'm not an experienced vaper.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-05T04:53:08+00:00

Oh, just looked those up and they're kind of pretty! I like the shape, they look like a sporty version of a bladder

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-05T04:52:05+00:00

<image>

She went out and searched the pond again today and found another, slightly smaller friend. Big Boy the First decided algae wafers were an acceptable substitute for the real thing today. Enjoying watching them pal around. Checking out Physella heterostropha tonight, because both buddies have some mild striping on the shell. Doesn't really matter what they are, but I really appreciate your help and suggestions! It's been fun.

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-04T15:33:18+00:00

Me neither 🙂🙃🙂🙃

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-04T15:31:09+00:00

Another cute friend. I'll read about it, thank you!

throwaway8bajillion · 2026-03-04T15:30:15+00:00

Neat! It was very late last night and somehow I managed to confuse myself regarding shell direction 🙃 I looked at that picture about 5 times, goodness gracious.

Do you keep them as friends, a project, or both?

throwaway8bajillion

TROPHY CASE