DAY ONE: What Was I Thinking?

At a community event today, my son Alec was given a certificate for a free betta fish from a local fish store. This kid, like everyone other 2 1/2-year-old, is fascinated by aquariums, and has that penchant for calling all clownfish "Nemo" that probably makes fish experts cringe.
So, before I decided to cash in on our finned windfall, I searched the Internet for betta fish and Siamese fighting fish to get a sense of what we were getting ourselves into. (First, a little history: As a child, I always had goldfish. "Zoom" and "Spot" probably stand out as favorites. What I did not love was cleaning their slimy bowls, nor eventually finding them belly-up in the bowl. It is with mixed feelings that I remember the pleasure and pain of these not-so-cuddly species.) The Internet, in its infinite wisdom, revealed enough for me to decide I'd be OK with bringing home a betta.
It's been about four hours and the betta remains alive. We bought Tetra brand betta food by the name of BettaMin Tropical Medley, some chlorine remover by Seachem, some gravel and an affordable tiny, lidded (because of the cat) tank called the Betta Bow-Front Kit made by Penn Plax. So far, we're into this betta adventure less than $10.

I started this blog (which I intially wanted to call "Betta Blogger," but that was taken) because I thought it might be fun to keep track of what we learn about bettas along the way. There's a huge community of betta-lovers out there that is interested in making sure people know how to care for these fish. And my philosophy is, if we're going to do something, let's do it right. I want to raise a humane child with respect for all living creatures.
I must admit, however, that I was slightly disturbed when Alec shook the bag a little bit saying, "Fishy, wake UP," until I realized that was a scene from Finding Nemo. The fish as yet has no name, but Alec has suggested "Greenie" (the fish is blue), "Yellow," and what we at first thought was "Poo Poo," but turns out he was saying "Purple." First order of business: Test Alec for color blindness. Second: Name fish.