Cookie "Monster" Fish

So we had high hopes that Cookie Monster Fish (a betta) would get along with other community fish. We read a lot of accounts on the internet that said people had successfully put their bettas in with other fish so we thought we'd give it a try. The boys and I went to Petco yesterday and got 5 neon tetras. Connor was very excited and ran around Petco like it was a playground, but settled right down when I told him he could "hold it" as he says. He did a good job and they all made it home alive!

I floated the bag in the tank to let the water adjust and this was when I got my first glimpse of what was to come....Cookie Monster Fish spent the entire time circling the bag. I put them in and he went after a couple of them but didn't really get too close. So I thought maybe he was just curious....yeah, curious about how they tasted. I didn't have class so I went to Starbucks to do some work. When I got home I could only find 4 of them. Then I found the fifth one stuck to the filter breathing hard. I got Dave and he got him off the filter. He kind of started to swim a little so we just stood there and watched. That's when Cookie Monster swooped in and grabbed him by the tail and started swimming off with him. I, of course, started screaming, "Get him out!" Dave got him and he was dying. We noticed his tail fin had been chewed on, but we weren't sure if Cookie Monster had done that or he was just being opportunistic with a slower fish. We mixed the poor little neon a little vodka drink and sent him on his way.

This morning we got our answer. Two more neons were dead...one with a chewed fin again and one that looked a bit rougher. So we put Cookie Monster Fish in a different bowl and went back to Petco as soon as it opened. We got 5 more neons and a new tank for Cookie Monster Fish. I put Cookie Monster Fish's tank on the fireplace so Connor could see it better, but that also means that he can mess with it constantly. I'm hoping that he gets it out of his system and starts leaving it alone or I'll have to move it. (I think he just broke the light...crap!) One of Connor's little friend's Sawyer was here today and when he went to look at Cookie Monster Fish, Connor pushed him away. (I'm thinking maybe being a bully is a learned behavior from your fish.) There were lots of tears and time-outs while Sawyer was here because Connor was not up for sharing his fish!

Better go save Cookie Monster Fish from Connor!

Update: Apparently Cookie Monster Fish was just being opportunistic. We lost all 5 new neons last night. They are getting sucked into the filter. Maybe the water isn't quite right for them yet or their just too little. I think we'll go with bigger fish next trip.