It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Siamese Fighter.  I had quite a few, one after the other – Kostya, Ali, Lionel and Clay – and they were amazing. But when Clay died I didn’t have it in me to get another.

Well now, in my new home, I dragged out my old tank and went looking for a new fish.  Caboolture Markets hosted the Betta Australis International Betta Show a few weeks back and I put my name down for 4 of the non-placers (assuming I’d be able to afford one of them).  Then, by-the-by my brother says he can make me a new tank – with compartments for a couple of fish.  DILEMMA!!!  Now I had to wait to see whether my ones were still available and if I got the call to give me their prices. As it turned out, I got the chance to buy up to 3 of the ones I’d liked, but could only afford 2, so I grabbed my favourites and have a third section in my new tank to use for water changes or maybe even a boudoir for a little lady.  *wink wink*

“Artie” is named after the late, great Artie Beetson.  He’s both NSW blue (where Beetson had to play to make a buck) but the Queensland Maroon surrounds him and shows through.  “Sith” has his name because he’s black and vibrant red and the first of the two to fire up.

If you’ve never kept fish, they can seem quite sedate, but they honestly have their own personality and attitude that you see in them.  It’s been a couple of days now and they are both settling in, starting to respond to feeding time and are not scared away from my hand at the top of the tank.

I think me and my boys will be just fine.