Meet Reginald!

We do have another recent addition to the homestead, his name is Reginald and the is a Half Moon Double Tail Betta fish (well, according to the pet store).

Betta is actually a name for more than 70 species of fish, Betta Splendins is actually what we're talking about here and are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish.

This type of fish is very popular as pets because they're very easy to take care of. They are known as a labyrinth fish because they have the labyrinth organ. The labyrinth organ allows them to breathe atmospheric oxygen, meaning, they can breath just air - they can also breathe through their gills as well. They're very adaptable. This is why they can live in very small brackish type water bodies. They can also survive out of water for short periods of time, as long as they are kept moist, all because of their labyrinth organ.

Our roommate really wanted a betta a little while back, and of course, I wanted to go with to help pick them out. We saw too many we wanted, so we ended up getting this spare tank, so that we could have more than one! Bettas are fighting fish, and two males should not be put together because they will fight to the death - they're really picky about what other creatures they can be put alongside.

This is his tank. It's a 3 gallon tank, with a filter, and it's got a cool LED light that I can choose a different color any time I feel like. It's pretty cool how the bubbles rise in the middle tube to the surface of the water. We also got a real live plant to put in the tank and it's doing really well.

There was just something about Reginald that made me think that I needed him when we were at the big box pet store. He was the most unique, to me, of all the male betta.

When we first got him set up in his tank, things seemed to be a little touch and go at first. I wasn't sure if he was going to make it. We decided that we needed to buy a heater for the water, and since then, he seems to be doing much better. Bettas like to be in water that is 76-82 degrees f. I would have been really upset if he didn't make it - I was so excited to get him.

I am surprised at how much I enjoy watching Reginald. Feeding him is one of my favorite things to do. He also seems to get really excited about it. He really enjoys his water plant and I often find him lounging around in and on it.

We're doing some research to see if we can get him a friend. Though, there was a little surprise in his water plant! A tiny snail. We wanted to get him a snail, but I am happy to see I got one for free! Haha. But we are still doing some research on what we might be able to add with him.

My roommate currently has his male and female betta with some guppies, a few large snails, and a plecostomus (sucker fish, as I like to call them). I'm hoping I can give Reginald a really cool goldfish or something, and a female betta.

In other news in the area, there is yet another large wildfire not very far away from where we live. Thankfully this is considerably further away than the last three (those were within 5 miles from us). It's still concerning on how this happens so often and is pretty scary overall. The fire is within the National Grasslands of which we live, so it feels like it's really close. The smoke spreads everywhere quickly and our property was pretty consumed by it. My friend sent a video to me, and it just looked bad. Please be responsible!

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Blog Series

Nature on the Farmstead - These posts will be educational and informative about the nature that happens on my farmstead. Look forward to posts about wild animals, birds, wildflowers and plants, insects, and more!

As always @farmstead here blogging from FarmsteadSmith!

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... Ehm, still have itchies on my face. Very annoying. Going to have to investigate further. :/

Photos by me using my iPhone 6s, unless stated otherwise!

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