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Splenden
Sorority
By Amber Dougherty
All six . Sita, Sprite, Cecilia, Stormi, Spirit and
Sunni. Such hams, those girls!
Some people seem to think that bettas are like peacocks, and the
comparison seems reasonable.
When you think of peacocks, you think
of bright, beautiful colors, long and gorgeous. Bettas are the same
way, right? So it's a great comparison. Except people tend to think
that, like peacocks, it's only the males who have these bright,
beautiful colors. "Females are boring." "Females are dull." I hear
this from people who like bettas. In fact, I think I thought this
way once, too. I'd probably heard someone else say something to that
effect, and I took their word for it. For months, I had male bettas,
without any desire for females. Then something changed. And now I
have a dream come true: a tank full of bettas. They may not have the
long, flowing fins, but no one can rightly deny the fact that they
are absolutely beautiful. They're colorful, too, not dull. And
their personalities are every bit as outgoing and friendly as the
males. I'm completely smitten with my adorable little girls, and I'd
like to share some glimpses into the sisterhood. I'll let you make
up your own mind about female bettas.
This is my tank: "the Dorm."
And these are my girls.
(clockwise from left: Cecilia, Sprite,
SunniD, Spirit, and Sita)
Sprite (top) and Sita are my two biggest girls, and the leaders
of the pack. Sprite was alpha for the first few days before Sita
took over, but everything remains friendly between the two.
Sunni (left) and Stormi are my two smallest girls. They're
little, sweet and cute, but they don't get picked on my the big, bad
alpha girls at all.
Cecilia (top) and Spirit are somewhere in the middle, which may
get them in trouble. Cecilia gathered a couple nips in her anal fin
by questioning authority, and Spirit has a couple nips out of her
tail, what I assume to be retaliation from an attempt to bully the
smallest girls.
The occasional bit of tension aside, though, it seems that
everyone loves each other a whole lot. Right, Stormi and Cecilia? I
wonder if Sunni feels left out, over there.
This is Sprite (top) with Spirit. Sprite and Spirit were
purchased at the same time, though Spirit was pretty sick and I
didn't think she was going to survive. She pulled through, hence her
name.
Sometimes when I approach with the camera, the girls think it's
time for food. Stormi, Sprite, Cecilia and Sita wait patiently here.
I love taking pictures of these girls, can you tell? Sometimes
the pictures don't turn out perfectly, but when you get something as
cute as Storm and Cecilia seeming to look at their (oh so cute)
reflections, you're willing to excuse a bit of blurriness.
Now, anyone who can look at these girls and tell me that female
bettas are dull or boring. I'd seriously have to question their
sense. How many betta owners have wished for a tank full of
beautiful bettas, colors flashing everywhere, as pretty as they are
personable? Well, this is your chance. It may be tricky, and it may
take time and patience, but in the end, I think it's worth it, don't
you?
Sometimes there really is food. Can you see all six girls going
for bloodworms?
Spirit and Sunni. The color contrast is just amazing. You can
get anything from white to black in these gals, yellow to blue,
orange to green, red, white and blue. Anything and everything.
At times, I just can't help but be in awe of the displays of
sisterhood I see in this tank, such as this moment where little Sunni
decided to shadow then-alpha Sprite as a little sister tags along
with her idolized older sibling.
Not only are Sunni, Sita, and Cecilia good representations of
the big, small, and middle groups in my tank, they also give an
amazing example of the diversity of colors these gals can come in.
Sprite is named as a fairy, not a soft drink. When I think of
sprites, I think of mischievous fairies, which seems to fit Sprite
quite well. She doesn't make trouble for anyone, but she's very
outgoing, and if I ever need a good picture, I can count on her to
volunteer.
I can also count on her to defend her tank and her "sisters"
from suspicious looking wanderers.
Sometimes you think you've got the perfect shot, and then you
look close and realize Cecilia is missing.
Well, no one's perfect.
Amber Dougherty (aka AmberD in the forums)
psychedelicfish@healthybetta.com
There lives a psychedelic fish
He lives with just one wish
Sweetly he says "Please!"
That boy is such a tease!
Yes, bloodworms! - his favorite dish
Images and text for this page are © Amber Dougherty
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