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.