fish on the brain

[distaff]

I got into goldfish several years ago because I was interested in aquaponics - growing veggies in clay ball/gravel beds using recirculating fish water. Finally decided the plumbing and electricity was going to be a hassle out in the back yard, and we don't live anywhere near a hardware store, so getting any fittings turns into an all day project. I also didn't like how the fish were treated in many of these set-ups in YouTube videos. It was sad. So, I kept the fish, but didn't bother with the grow beds. I still have those fish in a 300 gallon outdoor tub.

Then, I got interested in smaller guppy types simply because I've wanted garters for years, but needed a way to feed them. That led to binge watching strings of fish room videos while I knitted (a skill somewhat obsessively pursued). That led to a temporary infatuation with oscars (I am NOT getting into fish that require a 100gal tank heated into the mid 80'sF.), but the North American native Sunfish group looked promising, and ...no heat! Still, big tanks. Then, found Select Aquatics with small fish again, mostly from Mexico - mostly I like this guy's scientific approach and how he does things...but then ran into a Fluval video on bettas, and while I've never been that into the flashy flowey finned bettas, but they showed some wild bettas. These are, to my eye...amazing. Don't know why, but they are.

Yeah, bettas need heat, but the tank sizes are more manageable (and based on preliminary research, the 25 and 50W Jager brand heaters are less likely to "blow up." - heater disasters are another reason I'm reluctant to raise anything requiring one). These wild fish are reasonably priced on e-bay, even inc. shipping. The scientific names are hard to remember, not all are Betta splendens (spell?), three species of them were quite striking. Maybe I *need* a collection of 10 gallon tanks featuring wild bettas?

We'll see. Long term project.
I e-mailed a guy who had listed some lovely stock (and an excellent customer rating), and he said he expects he'll have more in the future.