The Changeling -

[aitchvee]

After leaving my girls in charge of a friend for a week, the second smallest girl had gone from this:

to this:

She had also lacerated the previous top dog to such an extent that I had to put her down and now she certainly rules the roost. She's not a boy, is she? She's doing a lot of flaring but the others are nimble enough to give her the slip. I've never had a young betta before which is why I wasn't expecting it!

 

[devon_charm]

Thats a male you have there hun, and a very pretty one at that. He really shoud be seperated from the girls otherwise he will do more damage. I'm sorry to hear about your other girl

 

[helterskelter]

Thats a cheep way to get fish, in tanks of females i keep spoting males of late in the last year or so.

Seen some stunning males as well, only last week a saw a mustard gas PK in southampton with females for sale at £2!!!!

 

[devon_charm]

Oooh OOooh MGPK, what was the shop called, i get up that way quite a bit

 

[helterskelter]

Creature Comforts in totton, Southampton, but i must of sold by now!!!!

But if your over this way got DPfishways in Bournemouth they have loads of betta's now.

 

[aitchvee]

Thanks for that. I've separated him. Looks like I'm after another tank! Is he a superdelta?

 

[devon_charm]

I'm not totally sure as the flaring pic is a lil to fuzzy but he seems to have a very wide spread and could be a HM, tho a clearer pic would tell for sure

 

[aitchvee]

Here he is flaring at my new red OHM boy. They hate each other.

He doesn't quite look HM, or am I being picky? Also, would you say his colour is black butterfly? (The pic doesn't show the turquoise iridescence in his tail but it's very lovely).

 

[devon_charm]

He is SD tho not that far from HM, i'm not sure on what you would class his colour as, he sure is purdy tho

 

[double-trouble]

can I just clarify you say this betta has grown from the first pic to the one furhter down the thread ( the others dont show) in a week?
This isn't physically possible nothing can ever grow that fast I am detecting lying or at least extreme exaggerattion.

If he has grown that fast then I'm thinking growth hormones have been used.

 

[modaz]

He is SD tho not that far from HM, i'm not sure on what you would class his colour as, he sure is purdy tho

the bottom fish is a 3/4 black celophane not a butterfly as the edging to the colour change is too uneven

 

[aitchvee]

can I just clarify you say this betta has grown from the first pic to the one furhter down the thread ( the others dont show) in a week?
This isn't physically possible nothing can ever grow that fast I am detecting lying or at least extreme exaggerattion.

If he has grown that fast then I'm thinking growth hormones have been used.

You're right - it wasn't a week, it was 9 days. Please excuse my extreme exaggeration. (How does one acquire growth hormones?)

Thanks for the colour/ tail clarification.

 

[jennybugs]

I am wondering if your 'female' that was being looked after by friends, died while you were away and they replaced it with a different one that turned out to be a rather lovely male! I'm not casting aspersions on your friends, but that male looks completely different from your original female and that's one heck of alot of growing of finnage done in 9 days

 

[devon_charm]

The betta in the first pic, the "female" is a male for sure, the ventral fins are too long for a female and the dorsal is too big, so regardless if its the same fish or not, it was/is still male just in the first pic he was young and still colouring up. I do agree that the change in that amount of time is suspect. Did you take the first pic right before you left, or is it older, because some times we don't notice any change till we have been away for a while

 

[aitchvee]

Lol! I'm positive that my friend wouldn't even know how/ where to buy a replacement fish! The pic was from a couple of weeks before, so you're probably right about me not noticing gradual changes from before.

My bf and I were both amazed on seeing him when we got back, though - it did happen very quickly and it crossed my mind that he'd been replaced.