Lurch

Lurch was olive gray with lavender- purple on his sides and yellow and purple fins--a color I have heard called "mustard gas". I love this color. He was a very strange-looking fish, and seemed to be very old when I got him.He went peacefully.

RIP

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Died of old age Dec 2003

Apollo

My first Betta. Deep red-all-over male. He was the one  who started it all, he was a great fish, full of personality, always ready with  a dance.

RIP

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Died of dropsy Easter 2004

Santini

I got this  gorgeous red-white-and-blue male right after Apollo's death, and who succumbed to a horrid fungal infection two weeks later.

From my journal:

RIP

Thank you, beautiful boy.

no picture

Annette

I barely had Annette for 6 hours. I rescued her from WalMart,where she was in her cup,twirling around upside-down on her face.She was a pinkish female betta with red fins.

Full story on the Rescues page.

Shoeless Joe

Shoeless Joe was a fighter, but there was just too little of him left to fight. He died three days after I bought him.

May 2004

Full story on the Rescues page.

Lazarus

Full story on the Rescues page.

RIP June 2004

Iris, Indigo and India

June 2004

RIP

Full story on the Rescues page.

Pogo

July 2004

Full story on the Rescues page.

Boomerang, as found at Walmart

Boomerang

August 2004

Full story on the Rescues page.

Chernabog, as found at Walmart

Chernabog

August 2004

Full story on the Rescues page.

Sirius Black

From my journal, Aug 5, 2004:

Today at work I went next door to PetCo to buy Sherman's new big bowl, and took a peek at the bettas..all seemed fine.
And then I nearly passed OUT.
A BLACK ONE.

Oh, holy grail (for me)of bettas!! A black one! A little black male!!! A CROWNTAIL! Wow, he was neat. Bought him,took him back to work with me, where he sat by my register the rest of the day.

Sirius died In November, 2004.

I have no idea what Sirius died from, but he lost his color one day and was dead the next. Bettamax helped him the second day,he perked up, but still died.

Ghiradelli

RESCUE

You can read Ghiradelli's story on the Rescues-successes page.

Chocolate brown/burgundy male betta with blue eyes.Ghiradelli was always a bit thin,and forever sickly, but given his prior condition, this is to be expected. He was also a bit spoiled and a real attention-addict, as I spent a lot of time fussing over him.He gradually got punier and punier until one day I simply found him dead.

Godiva

Another chocolate brown male betta, had blue eyes,probably a sibling or close relative to Ghiradelli.Came from the same store and therefore probably the same supplier. Again, I like unusual, different betta colors, that's why I seek out bettas like this. He was a pure impulse purchase, I had no intention of buying a fish the day I went to PetCo in Lawrenceville to buy supplies.

Godiva and Ghiradelli just never seemed to be the healthiest fish in the world, despite excellent food, frequent water maintenance,etc...he died a few days after I got back from a vacation,July 2004.

Daphne

In this picture, she was a tiny, tiny white female from WalMart.I actually named her after the character Daphne, played by Jack Lemmon in Some like it Hot.

In late summer 2004, she began to swell up like a balloon, although not like dropsy,and she didn't seem to be full of eggs. Finally her spine began to bend under the pressure, and no treatment I tried helped her. I finally humanely euthanized her to end he suffering.She will be deeply missed.

Athena

But he didn't say anything.

Athena died of unrelated causes in late summer 2004,the main symptom was dropsy.