I got this guy last week from a person at work who just didn't want to take care of him anymore. Being such a softy I could not turn a betta away. The guy said he got this old betta in 2004 maybe early 2005.

I set him up in an old 5g tank and added a heater and left over fabric plants and a cave. He is so active you would never guess he would be so old. He makes so many nests.

Say hello to Darsha the Old.

The setup


The man(fish)





And I gave up on photos he wouldn't sit still

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seEdPNa0jRo

Well, he certainly looks like he is happy to be out of a bowl, and in a tank.
He is saying, I can stretch my fins, and die happy..
Though he looks like he is no where near kicking the biucket, lool.

It's pretty cool that that guy at your work was willing to admit he wasn't able to take care of him any more and be responsible enough to find a place where Darsha would be cared for. I don't think that happens enough. I've had bettas live for darn near 6 years. I've heard of them living even longer. Darsha might just be a middle aged fellow in hopes of finding his true love.

Darsha is doing very wel. His color is filling in nicely and he is as spry as a 6 month old. Today he actually jumped for his dinner. What an amazing recovery for a neglected fish.

I love it! Sad story, happy ending, great looking fish! *two thumbs up* :WOW: He may be old but still can put on one heck of a show. And he knows who to thank for it every tim he jumps for his food. :congratulationtoyou

Thanks for the update.
You go with yo bad self Darsha!!

I'm so glad you were there to take him:) How big is your set up? But if indeed he was bought in 2004 remember VTs in pet stores are 1-2 years alredy so that would make him 4-5 years old right??

You know, every one says that, but it doesn't make economic sense.
Think about it, they are sold for about 50 cent a piece to the batchers who then sell them out..
If they are indeed 1-2 years old at that point in time, the breeders may as well forget it, because they have lost all profit margin by holding them for that long.
They don't even have that great a profit margin by selling them at 6 months.
Think about how much it would cost to hold, feed, water change and labor a bunch of fish for 1-2 years, and then factor that by having a new bunch ready to go every 2 weeks or so,... VTs would cost 10-20 dollars
Now, go to Aquabid, and take a look at those halfmoons..
You mean to tell me, they can't get a VT to full size in 3 months.. with a VT, they don't even have to worry about carding them and training the HM tail.
So, no, I do not believe that most VTs are 1-2 years old.
I don't even believe most of them are 6 months.
I firmly believe they are 3-4 months of age when they are brought and sold here, all you have to do is think about the ecomonics of it, and look at their far more fragile cousins, and think, hmmm... something isn't right.

I always heard bettas in pet stores were 6-9 months old.

Darsha Flared at me for the 1st time today :)

Palor, a lot of people say that, but the economics do not make sense.
It is safer to assume, IMO, that pet store bettas are between 3 and 5 months old, for the reasons I mentioned.

Well even if they 3-5 months old, by the time somebody buys them they may as well be a year old from all the stress and poor pet store conditions.

Oh, that is for sure the stress they go through certainly is aging n them, which is why so few live very long, even when brought home, and put in ideal conditions.
They have just been compromised in far too many ways.

Glad to hear Darsha is doing so well! That's so cool that he's spunky enough to be jumping for his food! It's great he's showing off for you by flaring too. Little Mr Macho!

Wow glad to see him doing so well. I had a male that was 3 years old when I got him- Zeke, from someone on craigslist. he was a rescue too. The college girls who had him had a managery going ( I am not kidding they had 7 animals) and they realized he was getting neglected. He had awful case of fin rot when I got him. He is about 4 years old now.

Sadly Darsha has moved on. I have found him lying motionless on the bottom of his tank tonight when I came home from work.

He will be missed, always such a spunky and feisty old fish.

RIP Darsha

I am sorry to hear that, but the last months of his life were spent in well deserved comfort, and he did appreciate what you did for him.
Sadly, we can't keep these finned friends with us forever, sooner or later they are called home.

Im so sory. I know he was happy with you.

I am sorry you lost Darsha Palor. It is hard to lose any fish but especially hard to lose one you have had so long and grown attached to . sorry

Hi Palor, so sorry about your losing Darsha. Just wanted to let you know, Hart can now see my monitor.
I played the Darsha vid and he was captivated, like OMG I'm toast. hehe