I'm a Sucker...

Yes I said it, SUCKER. I may as well have it tattooed on my forehead. It would certainly save these fish the hassle of trying to figure me out when I walk into the pet stores! I don't know if it's a need to save everything I can, or a bleeding heart that wants every Betta to have what mine do, or the fact that I have 11 empty tanks and enough food to feed an army of Bettas for 10 years. There has to be a reason why I cannot, for the life of me, stop bringing home another sad little case that needs help.

Meet the two newest additions to our home. Upon watching them being scooped into their little bags, I laughed as I thought of "Thing 1 and Thing 2". Surely they would need better names than that. After struggling with the inner voice, come to think of it... arguing with the inner voice, I decided I could not leave them there. Could I make them better and find them suitable homes? I mean, I do this with other small animals and sometimes the random homeless cat or dog... I can do it with a Betta right? How about two?

Both boys are/were suffering with Swim Bladder Disease. Very common in pet store fish, as they as usually fed freeze dried blood worms. These freeze dried worms are great as snacks, but should never be fed as a main staple in a Bettas diet. It's preferred they get a variety of foods, pellet and live/frozen. But most pet stores choose to feed them these freeze dried worms, and most Bettas end up with Swim Bladder Disease. The first boy, whom we named Jack (as in Jack Frost) had a mild case. He was able to swim, but only at the top of the tank. He would be easier to treat. The second boy, named Kris (Kris Kringle) has a more severe case which has left him stuck at the top of his tank, and rolling belly up. Both fish risk starving to death, and total and utter exhaustion.

After 3 hours in Epsom Salts (1tsp per gallon of dechlorinated water changed 100% daily) Jack was swimming freely. After 3 days for Kris, he's was able to swim today, but has resorted back to floating after I gave him a single pellet. Looks like he will be on frozen foods only for a while. I suspect he'll make a 100% recovery as well.

So, that's my good deed this holiday season, taking these two boys in and  making them better. I do hope to find them homes locally, but I do expect the best for them. Should the best not be available with another home, we'll gladly keep them. In our home we celebrate Christmas... and with that...

Merry Christmas Jack and Kris.

Jack