RIP Red Licorice

Yesterday morning, to my shock, I discovered my son's rescued betta, Red Licorice, lying dead on the floor of the tank. He had shown no signs of illness and was swimming and eating well only the day before.

I tested the water quality today and it was perfect. I guess he just died of old age. (I don't know how old he was when we got him, 18 months ago. Probably over a year since male bettas are typically sold in petstores when they are a year old. Bettas have a typical lifespan of 2 years.)

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Originally published in my journal at the late great Vegan Porn.

When the tank is ready, the betta will appear

I've had a divided 10 gallon tank set up for months now, in the hopes of rescuing another couple of bettas.

Today my landlord gave me her brother-in-law's betta, which she described as half dead because "he forgot to change the water" (the water was full of debris).

Nicky has named the new betta Red Licorice, because of his colour and because Nicky likes candy (our first betta is called Jellybean). Red Licorice is noticeably smaller than Jellybean, I don't know if he is a lot younger, or if it's because of the conditions he was living in.

Unfortunately my digital camera is not working tonight and in any case my site is down so I have nowhere to host the image. :(

Anyway, please join me in welcoming Red Licorice!

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Originally posted on the late great Vegan Porn.