"You Saved Your Betta's Life From the Pet Store's Tiny Cup. Now Learn How to Make Your Betta Into the Most Comfortable, Safe, and Cared-For Fish in the World!"
Alone in the bathroom, feeling helpless as my kids cried. I'd just had to flush Ruddy, our beloved betta fish, down the toilet.
On a cold, bleak winter day a few years ago, that was the final sad result of the first betta fish I'd bought.
It shouldn't have ended up that way. I remember the first time I went into a pet store and saw that majestic looking betta, bright red with flowing fins, crammed into a tiny little plastic cup.
There wasn't enough room for him to swim. Heck, he couldn't even move. Nor could he even spread out those amazing fins.
So I decided I had to buy that noble fish. I had to save his life and give him the happiness he deserved after being treated so cruelly by the pet store.
But only a few months after taking him home, I failed. It seemed like even though I did everything I thought I should, my betta still died.
I tried again with other bettas. They did okay (living average lifespans), but it seemed like there would always be something wrong with them. A betta would stop eating for days. The next week another betta's beautiful fins would split... and then never heal... no matter what I did.
Then there would be the persistent fin rot popping up on my fish.
I kept their water insanely clean. I treated them like pampered royalty, catering to all their wants. I followed all the instructions I could.
But still, there was always something. I got so tired of it. I'm a grown man -- which makes me ashamed to admit this -- but there were days I broke down and cried. I love bettas and want to do everything I can for them.
About the only thing I had going for me was my persistence -- my ability to do in-depth research and my drive to become a good "betta parent."
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