Now That's Just SWELL: Flittery Finds

About two weeks ago now, my beloved betta, Albert, said goodbye in a quiet manner. As much as I tried to talk myself out of a moment or two of sorrow by telling myself it was only a fish, those feelings surfaced regardless of my attempts to ignore them. He was one of my favorite colors (bright turquoise-blue). He was my first pet, my first betta of my own, and my birthday present from Fred. I left him in the tank for a few hours with hopes that he would get a kick of life.... but I gave up before I went to bed that night, and down the toilet he went.

After discussing what might have gone wrong with Fred, he encourage me to not give up on bettas. [ Hush those nappy thoughts of yours! ] My only concern was that I did not want to get another betta to watch it die. Fred researched some things and found a fish tank for me that would hold two bettas.... and thus the search for another "Albert" became a goal of mine and Fred's.

Last weekend, we looked went to Petsmart after church on Sunday morning. I saw one betta that I was impressed with the span of his fins and his color; but his body was kind of bland, so I put him back. A few moments later, Frederick picked the little guy up and "oooo"d at him. We decided to go to our beloved B&B Petstop and check out what bettas they had before making a purchase at Petsmart. B&B's selection was poor, and that one betta from Petsmart was still on my mind. Later that night, we went back to Petsmart. And thus Betta #1 was marked off of the check list.

Fred was persistent on me coming up with a name... and I honestly had to do better than Albert/Alberto. [ Shut it! I came up with the name on my own, and that's a big accomplishment... thank you very much. ] I thought all day Monday with the little time that I had to think, and I had determined that I wanted something oceanic, something fluid, something unique and perhaps eloquent. When Fred questioned later that night, I told him of my thoughts... then said that I might want to name him something in Hawaiian. I asked for different Hawaiian words for "water." The only one that I liked was "Liko," meaning "water crest," but it I wasn't sold on it. After Frederick looked up numerous words, he said, "How about Nalu. It means surf." "DONE DEAL! Why didn't I think of that??" So Nalu it was.

Needing a friend for Nalu, Frederick went to Petsmart in Spanish Fort this most recent Saturday (while Jessica and I were in PCB) to check out a bright, green beta that he had seen the weekend prior. He took a picture of it with a message "Is this Liko?", sent it to me, and I gave the go-ahead for him the get it. Later that afternoon, that handsome guy texted me, "He's yours. It was challenging though. He was in the display, and I initially was told I couldn't get him. I gave my baby browns and told them my girlfriend really liked him." So Liko was found!!

Now there are not one but two bettas in my place. I keep wanting to call them Albert, but Nalu and Liko are pretty awesome names as well.