The Journey To Bringing My Imported Halfmoon Home

[Mamashack]

Wow!! That's a lot of purple!! Pistol is gorgeous!

 

[attibones]

It's interesting. Sometimes he is really purple, like the images above, and sometimes he is nice and steel color. He changes color depending on the light and such. He's so beautiful. He loves his snail friends.

I want to see him flare at me, like my other two betta fish do, but he won't do it. I've tried a small mirror, but he is more interested in hanging out near the dragon. I know the breeder kept him right next to another male so they would flare at each other, so I know he has it in him.

 

[Mamashack]

He's maybe still settling in. I've only seen Eragon flare his gill covers once at Buck when food was an issue! lol
He hasn't done it since - maybe Pistol is just chilled and doesn't feel threatened - which is a good thing I'd have thought!

 

[attibones]

Yeah, he does seem pretty chill. I was just expecting him to spread out all his fins and show off for me like King does. But he's doing really well, eating well and enjoying his plants and snails and sand. I think the dragon does provide him with some nice cover. He can fit in its mouth and under its chin and tail.

 

[attibones]

Pistol is dead.
 
I found his body in the intake tube. Couldn't find him a little while ago, so I took everything out of the tank. I smashed up the dragon which is hollow, thinking he had got stuck in there. I checked inside the filter. He wasn't there. I pulled out the intake tube as a last resort. He was right above the impeller guard. His spine was broken. I'm crying. I'm so upset. I just... I've never cried when I lost a fish. I ****ing loved that fish.

 

[Mamashack]

Awww atti, I am so sorry! Have you worked out what happened? How did he get inside the filter?

 

[attibones]

My guess is that he slipped up the intake tube. His fins were so heavy that he couldn't stop himself from getting sucked in. I had to remove the extra section of intake tube because it was sucking up all the sand. That removed end had the intake guard on it. I didn't realize that he would be able to get in. I feel so sick. It's all my fault. If I had just replaced the intake guard or even slipped some sort of mesh over the end he would still be alive.

 

[Wildbetta]

Oh I am sooo sorry to hear that !!  Don't beat yourself up over it too much.  Things like that happen to us all.  As long as I have kept them, I still lose them to jumping when I stupidly leave lids off for periods of time that shouldn't let them have much time to get out of the tank but they do.  I cry over a lot of mine that die so don't feel bad about that part either.

 

[attibones]

What kills me the most is that I didn't even have him for a whole week. I waited a month for him to be shipped. I spent sixty dollars on him. He was the best betta I had ever had. He had personality. He was special. I just can't stand that I lost him. I suppose I should clean out the little hitch hiker snails, replant my plants, and then get my filter back in order. I'm not going to buy another betta. I'll move one of my others into that tank and then I'll do something different with my ten gallon. I just really wish I didn't have to do it.

 

[Shelster]

Attibones I'm so sorry, my stomach turned over when I read what you wrote last night!

:'( so sad for you and pistol xxx

 

[RCA]

Pistol, I am so sorry for your loss attibones, we have all shared this journey with you both.
I know you will be devastated at this loss, but as others have said do not be too hard on yourself, and do not give up.
Thinking of you...

 

[TallTree01]

Call me a softy but this story made me cry a little as well.
pistol. You truly were unique.
He was beautiful and looked like quite a character.

 

[Shelster]

Respect TT love ya!

I want Atti to get another betta x

 

[attibones]

Atti isn't sure if he wants another betta right now. He certainly doesn't want to spend more money on another one. 
 
Thanks for your support, guys. I've been feeling really weird about this whole thing. I keep seeing his little body in the intake tube and it makes me want to puke every time I think about it. Of course, I can't stop thinking about it. It's just really strange for me. On top of that, I'm not sure if I killed all my bacteria yesterday or not. I sort of let the filter media dry while I was hunting through the filter for him. And then when I found him, I was too distraught to care about my bacteria colony.

 

[Mamashack]

Think it takes a while for them to die off atti - keep them going tho by adding ammonia and testing if you're not sure.