The Different View.

Mellowmoon has been a little strange lately. These couple days I've been home I've realized Mellowmoon is more still when I'm around him taking pictures or when I'm a couple feet away from his tank. When I first started observing Mellowmoon he was an intimidated fish that would swim away when he would see my presence but now it's different. I realized that his eyes are so different to how our eyes are and I wonder if they see the same as we do. Dogs see in black and white and we see life with such color but a fish is normally color blind but they can determine shadows and light. Whenever I take a picture of Mellowmoon he stays still and just stares at my phone. I'm always afraid that the flash will effect his vision because I know it hurts my eyes when flash is given off. According to Eric Paton, betta fishes tend to know when you get close to their tank. They can see our shadows from a distance away.(Paton) Which explains a lot to when Mellowmoon would swim away when I would try to get near him.

(Photo Taken by Edith Gonzalez)

This past week it's been a little hard to observe Mellowmoon on the daily basis because I've been spending my days in the hospital taking care of my nephew. When it's time to take my nephew around to go for a walk, we always makes a stop at the front desk to look at the fishes they have. It amazes me how much light and happiness a fish can bring. These past days havent been the brightest for my nephew but whenever I'm around him looking that fishes, he just talks and talks about how pretty they are. His favorite is the purple starfish that doesn't do much, he tells me it remind him of me which is a complete lie. They have several other small and big fishes that are so bright and colorful. I asked one of the nurses if she has ever heard of a betta fish, and she replied saying, "We got one a year ago because of its beautiful colors, but we weren't aware that those fishes are vicious little creatures and killed two of our smaller fishes, so unfortunately we got rid of it." A betta fish may fool someone because they are so beautiful but killers. I thought that by now a lot of people would know that betta fishes are fighting fishes but not a lot of people know. There are so many beautiful fishes that can make a child smile. Even though they don't do much, they sure do bring a lot of life in a room.

(The purple starfish. Photo taken by Edith Gonzalez)

(Zack The Purple Fishy. Photo Taken by Edith Gonzalez)

Work Cited.

Paton, Eric. "Betta Fish Vision - Your Betta Fish's Vision Watches Your Every Move." ezinearticles.com. N.p. 04 Apr. 2008. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

One of the Five Senses.

"My mom always told me to never tap on a fish's tank because the sound is so loud it scares them. But how? Do fishes even have ears or do they just feel the vibration of the water while tapping the tank?" (Field Notes: 10/30)

While watching the movie Nemo with my nephew, the little girl at dentist kept tapping the fishes tank and the vibrant sound of the tapping on the tank bothers fishes and it tends to hurt them. It brought back memories of my old fish when my mom used to tell me to never tap on his tank because it scares them. But how if they don't have ears? This week of observation I wanted to find out how betta fishes can hear noises. While observing Mellowmoon, close to his fins I saw that by his head something moves in and out. It some what looks like his head is disconnected from his body but I have a feeling those are his ears. But how do I know for sure if those are his ears?

I did some research and in the article, "Betta Senses," by Adam Short he explains how betta fishes do have ears that is "consisting of a single inner chamber." The vibrations of the water is a way the betta fish can ditinguish sounds and the swim bladder (internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy) is also a big role for better fishes to distinguish different sounds.

I wanted to see the reactions of Mellowmoon while tapping on his tank to see if he would act a certain way and nothing seemed to happen. I was expecting Mellowmoon to swim away or act a certain way but he didn't. The only thing I did notice is that his "ears" open up wider every time I do that and I wonder if it's because the vibration of the water is wider. It creeps me out looking at Mellowmoon and realizing that there is something by his head opening up but in reality it's just his ears. I didn't even know fishes had ears.

In the video below is a small clip of Mellowmoon swimming but it shows how his ears work. While looking closely you can see that by his fins are his ears that open up. It's a bit weird but cool!

(Video By Edith Gonzalez)

Work Cited.

Short, Adam. "Betta Senses." www.bettafishcenter.com. N.p. 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

The Uniqueness of Being a Male.

While convincing myself that Mellowmoon was a simple fish that just swam around and didn't do much, I knew judging without completely knowing him was wrong. Male betta fishes are actually one of the most unique fishes. Not only are they fighting fishes but they are also intelligent, curious fishes with lots of potential and personality. This week of observation has got me a little more closer to Mellowmoon and has made me realized how amazing my fish is. I noticed that Mellowmoon changes color depending on his mood. When he is intimidated he's more of a green color and his tale is a dark red, when he is calm and not scared he is his natural colors which are blue and purple. He is also more comfortable with my presence now and swims in circles as if he loves the fact that I am around.

I've been wanting to get Mellowmoon a female betta fish so they can mate and have eggs and to see how that would impact his life. After reading the article "How Do Betta Fish Mate And When?" by Michelle A. Rivera, I'm not so sure if I want to get Mellowmoon some company. Male betta fishes are territorial fishes and having two betta fishes together is life or death for them even if the fish is a female. The only time it's acceptable to have a female betta fish and a male betta fish together is when mating time is near.A way to know when it is mating season for a betta fish is by their colors. Once it's close to mating season, the female fish will get strips on her fish symbolizing mating season. Male betta fishes take a lot of responsibility when it comes to mating time. They create a bubble nest for the female fish to lay her eggs and when its time to give birth, the male fish does this thing where he hugs the female fish to squeeze her eggs out. It amazes me how much responsibility male fishes seem to take.

A male betta fish may bring a lot of curiosity but they sure do have a lot of talent. Little did I know a male betta fish can be trained to eat off our hands or possibly do tricks underwater. They also lay upside down. Which explains a lot that day my mom almost flushed Mellowmoon down the toilet because she though he was dead. They are also intimidated fishes that like to hide a lot and love plants because it makes them feel more like home and love to hide inbetween them.
One night as I was walking in the bathroom I saw my mom starring at Mellowmoon close to the toilet seat. As I asked her what was wrong she had said, "I think this fish is dead." I took a close look and I saw Mellowmoon upside down near the plant I had put in his tank. For a second I was sure that my fish was dead as well too but as a flashed my light on him, his eyes were moving and his fins were still moving too. "Its not dead mom! Its not dead!" I was yelling at my mom while pulling her arm down so she wouldn't flush Mellowmoon down the toilet. For a second my mom thought I just wanted to keep Mellowmoon at home but the next day while feeding him she saw he was swimming around but was close to his plant. He must really love his plant just like I love him.

(Picture by Edith Gonzalez)

Work Cited.

Rivera, Michelle A. “How Do Betta Fish Mate & When?” Animals.Pawnation.com. N.p. n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.



Not close enough.

After reading "Am I Blue?" by Alice Walker, I feel as if I have no idea who my fish truly is. It makes me kind of sad knowing that I've had this fish for a while now and all I truly know about Mellowmoon is the type of food he likes, his colors, and how he's always mellow. Mellowmoon is always intimidated by my presence and I have a feeling it's because he's not used to getting any attention so when he does it freaks him out. I wish I can get to know my fish a little more so I know what bothers him and his likes and dislikes. Alice Walker in her essay claims that all animals are humans, and I totally agree, reason why I want to know more about Mellowmoon but I just find it difficult to get close to him.
I have two dogs and I know my dogs from head to paw and their likes and dislikes. My dogs when they feel scared or intimidated they will either bark or stay away from anything that makes them feel that way. When they truly like something they wag their tail faster than a speed racing car racing to the finish line. I can tell when my dogs are sad or sick because the look in their eyes is like a humans look when they are going through the same stage, and because they don't act the same way they usually do on their daily life routine. But a fish...how is a fish going to show me signs of his likes and dislikes when all he does is swim away? I wish I can see things from his point of view so he wouldn't feel so lonely. If Mellowmoon was to swim in circles as a way of showing me that's a sign of him liking something I feel like I would know him better than anything or anyone. But he's always intimidated when I get near his tank. Maybe that's just his personality? I wonder.

(Picture taken by: Edith Gonzalez)

Fighting Fish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdwBMdbOwoQ&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20Syntax%20error%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXdwBMdbOwoQ)

During this break I wanted to get Mellowmoon some company so he wouldn't be so lonely but one of the Petco workers had told me how beta fishes aren't so friendly. I went online and researched why can't two male beta fishes be together and it turns out to be that beta fishes are fighting fishes. In some places like Japan and in the United States there are beta fish competitions where they put two male beta fishes together and let them fight till death. Judges watch the whole fight and then pick which fish did the best. Pretty insane!

Life above the water.

While observing Mellowmoon outside on my porch I saw the differnt ways other creatures live their life's. I own two dogs and two birds and of course my beta fish, Mellowmoon. Mellowmoon is a fish that is intimidated by his surroundings as well as my birds. But why? Why are we so terrifying to other creatures? When I get close to my birds they tend to fly to the opposite side of where I am observing them, same with Mellowmoon I can't be near him without him swimming away. I sometimes wonder if it's because we are 100 times bigger then them but my dogs didn't act that way when they were puppies.

I have two birds that I've had for about a year now and they never really seemed to want to have a family. I always thought they were mean birds because we got another bird to join them and they killed the bird by pecking his head till he was dead. This week of observation wile observing Mellowmoon outside I noticed my birds were acting a little more romantic than the usual so I went to go check on them. I noticed they had layed an egg on their food! My mom grabbed the egg to put it on their nest and unfortunately the birds didn't want their egg anymore. I guess once a human has any contact with a bird or a birds egg the other birds would disown it. That made me question if fishes are the same?

Mellowmoon

This observation is based on a beta fish that is labeled as something boring to others. Its been about two weeks since I've started observing my pet fish on four daily basis and as boring as it sounds just watching a fish swim around I've been able to discover new things that happen with nature. While observing Mellowmoon he seems to live a flowingly and calm life underwater, although he seems to fear and have reactions to certain things surrounding his habitat. Mellowmoon is a male beta fish and is a mixture of the colors blue and purple, but in the light his colors become a beautiful turquoise and blue mixture and something even more interesting is that his food is what keeps his colors alive and enhanced. On the second week of observing I decided to add more to his habitat to make this observation a little more interesting so I bought him a house and put some plants. Fishes are creatures that fear almost everything about a human and every time I get near Mellowmoon he hides in his house. At night he uses the plant as a bed and is around the plan most of the time. This has been a slow observation for me but everyday it's something new.