I know I promised I'd never do anything to this new betta fish. Well, I kind of went back on that today a little, right now. Because of my new job and all the stress I am feeling and the allergies and what seems to happen to me every spring/summer with the bad air here and my anxiety, and the fish jerking in the tank, I thought I needed to calm him down some. He was practically climbing the walls of the bowl when I moved him from the tank to the bowl, and I don't know why.
So, I chased him with a spoon and took him out of the tank a couple of times. The second time, I poked his eye with a toothpick and he immediately flipped back into the bowl. Now he is moving around, but much more calmly. Could this be because he's tired now?
The first time I took him out with the spoon, he flipped onto my desk, my mouse, and even the keyboard. Finally I was able to pick him back up with the spoon and put him back in the bowl.
This fish used to have no fear of me. It didn't know what I did to the other betta fish. Now, it's definitely fearful. I don't know if I'll be able to get this fish to eat ever again. Well, of course, we all know that there's an answer for that, don't we?
So, we'll see how it goes. I like the way the fish is swimming around much better now that I chased it around with the spoon and took it out of the bowl twice. I didn't really do much else to it, so there should be no permanent damage to the fish.
Now, I'm considering taking the fish out a third and maybe fourth time. Once I start it's hard to stop. I'll keep you posted. Hey, the fish made it one month, that's about the longest time of any fish I've had in awhile.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well, the fish is swimming around, although slower, now. It won't eat any food, but that's not necessarily forever. He's not hanging against the side of the bowl, which is a good sign. I'm thinking about taking him out of the bowl one more time, just for old time's sake. Of course, I still want to be able to watch him move around, and if I take him out too much, he may not do that.
ReplyDeleteOK, I got him out. He fought me for it, which was good. He's still got his strength. He's laying on the spoon, breathing every so often. Maybe I'll poke him again with the toothpick above the bowl, and he will flip back in.
ReplyDeleteOh, he just flipped twice. Is that blood on his gill? I got him back on the spoon. He's still breathing, but I think he needs to go back in the water. There we go. I poked him on the spoon above the water, and he flipped back in. I might take him out just one more time, then leave him alone for awhile.
Uh-oh. Now he's leaning more against the side of the tank. Wait, here he goes, swimming around a little. He's only using one of his front fins. Could the other one be damaged now?
He's definitely lost control of his other fin. He's still swimming around though. That's pretty amazing. I don't know if I want to finish him off and have to get another fish tomorrow (or tonight). Or just see what he does, swimming like this. He's definitely partially disabled now. Do you think he could apply for disability? Maybe he should put in an application.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't know is, how did that fin get damaged? I've never had a fish loose use of his fin by taking him out of the water. Especially because, I've never actually poked him internally or anything like that. I wonder how it happened.
Anyway, the fish is not complaining. It's still moving around with one fin, and more slowly.
I wonder what would happen if I took the fish out one more time?
I took him out again. He's getting slower each time I take him out. But the fish is still moving along. I wonder what he's thinking now... The fish is breathing a little bit heavy through the gills. I know he's been really running around trying to escape me taking him out. But of course in the end I always get him. I saw him move his other fin slightly, but then he stopped moving it. I wonder if it's just too painful for the fish to move it?
ReplyDeleteHe's a one-finned fish, but for now, he seems to be getting by.
I took him out one more time. And poked him a couple of times with the toothpick (not internally). So, now he's not swimming around anymore. He's at the bottom of the tank, breathing a little heavy, and not moving too much. He just came up for air, I saw him move his other fin a little. Now he's staying more toward the bottom. Still moving around a little bit. More info to follow. He's really afraid of me now. When I put my finger against the side of the bowl, he gets out of there as fast as he possibly can.
ReplyDeleteNow he's moving very slowly. I guess I should give him some recovery time before I take him out again. Or, I could take him out and put him in the big tank? I'm curious to know what he would do in there. Probably not too much.
In the condition he's in now, it's probably best to keep in the bowl, that way it's easier for him to come up for air.
Overall I think he's pretty tired, and worn out from trying to escape being taken out of the bowl.
I took him out a few more times. I poked him a little, no internal poke. I put the toothpick in his mouth, trying to get him to spit it out. Now I put him back in. He's moving slowly on the top, with one fin. I would think he would be pretty tired. But at least he won't swim so erratically now. At least, until he is further injured.
ReplyDeleteHe's back in the tank. The fish is moving around really slowly, like in slow motion. He goes around the tank slowly, then he makes his way back to the heater and seems to stay there for an indefinite period of time.
ReplyDeleteIf I put my hand at the top now with food he runs away. I guess he's scared now. I don't know how I'm going to get him to eat. I'll try again tomorrow with the food.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete