The betta fish conspiracy — if we cannot laugh at ourselves, who are we going to giggle at?

© 2017 Peter Free

 

05 December 2017

 

 

From small to large

 

A military friend gave me a $10 betta fish. A month later, I have way (waaaay) more invested in making a home for the little blue critter. That is ironic, given that we're a PCSing military family also and aquariums don't travel.

 

However, friendship's diplomacy argued against giving Betta back, or returning him to the pet store. And I was foolishly reluctant to mistreat him into permanently going away.

 

Most folks keep bettas in too-small bowls at minimal expense. The fish are hardy and can cope with miserable water and fluctuating temperatures. In "normal" hands, they become unhappy denizens of a non-aquarist's gulag.

 

That negligent avenue of pet-imprisoning did not accord with my sense of appropriate ethical behavior. So, I bought a 40 gallon aquarium. As well as the gizmos necessary to keep its watery environment healthy. (Larger aquariums are less prone to fish torture.)

 

Coming from a salt water aquarium of considerable size 30 years ago — that equipment now long gone — I knew what I was getting into. With the new betta house choice, I tried to maximize future options. Including the ability to convert from fresh to salt water. Or to stay with fresh, while venturing into aquascape — a peculiarly expensive way of adding carbon dioxide to exquisitely planted water.

 

 

Option-rich selections are generally expensive and not always sensible

 

I am, for example, concerned that the canister filter that I got for the new setup may move water too fast for the betta's stagnant water liking. But on the other hand, if the betta dies, the fish that I would replace him with do not like polluted or stillish water.

 

 

The moral? — I have become rationality's lunatic victim

 

Color me humorously exasperated.