44 - if I could thumb you up 100 times I would.

My best friend is my cat :3 I get lonely sometimes too because he can't talk to me

Thanks 101 that made my day. :D

This was stupid

I'm confused...possibly not enough info!

That just show the string connection between you and your fish :)

Well, as a fish you know he won't sleep with any of your fri-- oh, that's right. Sorry OP

One of my betta's has mild fin rot, so I tap on the glass to see if he is still alive since I lost a few to it

Ok firstly , OP - Don't tap the glass. To a fish that's the equivalent of someone putting a metal drum on your head and belting it repeatedly with a big stick. It's loud and frightening to them. And Swtcherrypie is correct, it can cause a great deal of stress if done repeatedly, and can kill them. If your fish was on it's side after being in a dark room overnight, it was most likely resting ( they don't exactly sleep as such ) many fish do indeed keel over on one side and rest that way, some face head down, some wedge themselves inbetween plants and ornaments. It's normal. If your fish frequently tilts onto his side during the course of the day and appears to have trouble swimming straight, this is almost certainly swim bladder disease. This is not curable, However it is also not directly fatal. Most fish who suffer this problem die of starvation and stress through exhaustion ( usually from trying to swim to food and not being able to eat it ) The one thing that is known amongst fishkeepers who have battled this, is that feeding cooked de-shelled peas, can help flush the fishes guts by providing coarse vegetable matter, and this will briefly relieve pressure on the swim bladder. Many goldfish and betta keepers have reported some alleviation of symptoms by feeding peas Most aquatic fish diseases are caused by three things. Parasites from unquarrantined new additions to the tank, and the big two killers are stress and bad water quality. The last two kill roughly 3/4 of pet fish. Most people kill their fish by being cruel to them because they have not done an ounce of proper research on what their chosen species needs to live correctly. GOLDFISH- They are a LARGE species of fish and are SUPPOSED to be large, by which I mean the body alone should be as big as an average hand. To be able to do this they need a tank AT LEAST 5 feet long for TWO FISH ONLY. They need a tank that large from the very first day they are bought. The tank requires heavy filtration by external filters. Goldfish eat a lot and make a LOT of waste. They also need large water changes every single week. They are a FAR more high maintenence fish than most people think, and when kept correctly, are a long term pet as their actual lifespan is usually at least 20 years, and can be up to 40 years. Sadly most goldfish are kept in indescribably cruel confinement, to small bowls and small tanks with inadequate or usually no filtration. The build up of their own pee and poo poisons them very quickly. That is why almost all people who keep them incorrectly find them floating and bloated on the surface after a couple of months ( or years if the poor beast is very unlucky )

BETTAS are another species that is almost always kept wrongly. These fish DO NOT, I mean absolutely and categorically do NOT live 24/7 in puddles. They live in shallow waters, often rice paddies. And while the water is shallow, the paddies and slow moving streams they inhabit in the wild contain thousands if not millions of gallons of water. In the dry season these dry up and the fish are trapped. They can survive ( this is not the same as living and breeding happily ) for some time in low oxygen by use of their labyrinth organ, and by literally throwing themselves across the ground from one puddle to another ( if lucky enough to be near enough to one ) Vast numbers of these fish die in their tiny puddle due to the build up of their own waste having nowhgere to drain off and no extra water to dilute it. When people keep bettas in vases and 1 gallon pots of death, the situation I described above is basically what they are re-creating in their homes. Bettas are NOT for show. They are not pretty baubles or table decorations. They are intelligent fish, and have more personality than you would imagine for something so small. When kept correctly they can live easily for 5 years. Most bowl making companies and those who make those appalling betta vases, do so to make money from you. They are fully aware their products cannot keep fish alive . Bettas DO NOT eat the roots of the plants sold with the vases. They are carnivorous fish and eat insects. They require a betta specific pellet and live bloodworm or other live food to thrive. Please don't support those companies by buying those gimmicky unsuitable cruel vases and bowls. For any species of fish. Bettas also require FAR more than a gallon of water to live healthily and correctly. They NEED, as a BARE MINIMUM, 5 GALLONS ( 30 litres ) . 10 gallons ( 60 litres ) is ideal for a single male betta. A common myth spread by disreputable breeders and the misinformed, is that they don't like big spaces which is why they keep them in tiny pots. ALSO NOT TRUE. They actually dislike OPEN spaces. this can easily be solved in a home aquarium by use of thick planting. Silk plants are safe to use and cheap to buy if real prove too hard. By lots I mean all the sides, lower sections and back of the tank should be covered in plants. They like to hide and stalk their tank, Also contrary to popular myth, they also NEED filtration just as every other fish. Bettas are not strong swimmers, so a gentle sponge filter is the best sort to use. They also NEED HEAT. 27 degrees Celcius to be precise. Many houses in hot places have air con, if you have this then you WILL need a heater. A 25 or 50 watt is perfect.