most amazing fish I have ever owned.

[klawfran3]

So three and a half years ago I set up a grow out tank for my aquarium, so that any extra plants or clippings I had, I could grow and sell. Well, this tank was outdoors, and so I had a wonderful idea of getting a young betta to eat any West Nile Virus larvae that would be laid in the tank. This guy did an amazing job at keeping them out, and I never saw a single mosquito larvae in it. Well, even though this is LA, about a year ago the aquarium literally froze over with ice, leaving an unimaginably small area for him to even live or breathe. He somehow survived being frozen in the water (it was only about four inches deep to allow more light and less algea for the plants) by laying on his side in an extremely small cave that had a puny little air bubble in it that he breathed through. Then, a few months after the ice incident, the water dried up while I was on leave for Missouri. I get back, he is basically a dried out crispy crisp, completely dead. Well, I didn't want to lose this fish, so I tried something to save him. I stuck him in a bowl of warm water and let him rehydrate, while I got a D battery from my garage. I jolted him with it, and miraculously, he bent over with a quick shudder. I kept his mouth out of the water by laying him on a small rock in the bowl, and after hours of intensive care, HE WAS BACK ALIVE. Albeit, he has a bit of a crook in the way he swims, but this betta, who I purchased as a baby three an a half years ago, survived being completely frozen over, and even being dried out. well, needless to say, I have kept him indoors in his own little heated 25G now with a few tetras to keep him company. I am writing this now because he is on his last limbs and is looking pretty bad, and he may not be with me much longer. I just wanted people to know about how amazing this survivor is, and just show how much a fish can mean to someone. He is a part of my family now, and I really love him. Here are some pictures of this awesome little fish.

 

[DreamWeaver8]

Wow that truly is miraculous, he is a lucky guy to have a good owner like you. Ive always want to make a similar set up for fish as you described. Would it be too much trouble to ask for more pics haha.

 

[Najakeeper]

Holy...that's one tough fish!

I hope he pulls through.

 

[klawfran3]

Wow that truly is miraculous, he is a lucky guy to have a good owner like you. Ive always want to make a similar set up for fish as you described. Would it be too much trouble to ask for more pics haha.

no trouble at all. The tank is kinda gross though because I can't seem to get this BBA under control. If anyone has any tips on it they would be a life saver. Excel isn't working and its getting annoying.

 

[beetleman]

wow! awesome story,awesome fish! hope he does live alittle longer for ya,they are survivors,and yeah you can get attached to them,with the many bettas i own

 

[klawfran3]

Well, I thought an update was in order. He passed away last night after nearly four years. He was an amazingly smart and cool fish, and will be missed.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Aww. That sucks. He was definitely an amazing fish though.

 

[RzezniksRunAway]

Awesome story, it's amazing how tough a betta can be. For your BBA, turn the lights off a little bit earlier than usual for a while and find an American Flag Fish (Jordanella floridae). Absolutely awesome little algae eaters, and they'll eat BBA. 5 cleared a 150g tank of algae in about 2 weeks for me, and it was a safer bet than trying to deal with the Siamese algae eater/Flying Fox/Whatever and ending up with the wrong fish.