Snail Deterrence = Epic Fail

There are a few things you should know about our Betta fish, Theodore.  First of all, he lives by himself in a tall fish tank in Ian's office.  He is not a neighbourly fish and likes his solitude so he can run his tank by his rules.

Theodore in his tank.

Second, Theodore's favourite times of the day are feeding time when he gets five to seven floating Betta fish pellets and anytime I come to visit him.  I know this because he always swims towards me when I talk to him and wags his tail happily.

Theodore.

Lastly, Theodore is quite the comedian; though, I don't think he means to be. Theodore's comic tendencies stem from the fact that he HATES snails - with a vengeance   While Theodore's tank is free from other fish, there are approximately seven tiny snails that inhabit the space with him.  They pre-date Theodore's arrival to the tank but that doesn't seem to matter a lick to Theodore.  He still absolutely hates them.  

The snails are tiny.

Ian and I were chatting in his office the other day when I noticed that Theodore was especially agitated.  It seems that two snails had crawled part way up the tank walls and he was not pleased about it.  He had got himself all worked up and was doing his darndest to scare the snails down to the bottom of the tank where he had decided that they belong.  

When Betta fish get angry they "flare".  That is to say, they push their gills out into the water from inside their gill slits (where they normally are) to form a sort of lion's mane around their face.  This is supposed to make them look scary.  Then the Betta fish charges whatever is annoying them.  You can usually make them do this by showing them their reflection in a mirror.  But in this case, it was very clear that Theodore's irritation was directed at the snails. 

Betta fish flaring.

Poor Theodore seemed a bit overwhelmed though; I think perhaps two snails was too much for him to handle all at once.  He was all flared up and would dive bomb one snail and then regroup and then dive bomb the other snail and then repeat over and over and over.  Sadly for him, neither snail paid him the least bit of attention.  They just slimed along the wall on their merry way.  Don't tell Theodore but it was hilarious.  The poor fish kept up his offensive attack for a good 10 minutes until I think he was completely exhausted and absolutely no further ahead.  Can't we all just get along?