How My Aquarium is Progressing So Far

So far, my aquarium is in great shape. The first time I tested my water, I had 0 ppm of ammonia and 0 ppm of nitrate. I pleased to see that my water was in perfect condition. However, the level of nitrate had gone up to almost 10 ppm the second time I tested the water quality (a week later), but there were still no traces of ammonia, and the overall water condition was fair enough for me to feel confident that Benson is safe.

In addition to maintaining a secure freshwater ecosystem, I have discovered just how remarkable Benson truly is. Within the past couple of weeks in which I have been observing him, I have been amazed by his intelligence and attentiveness. For example, he seems to recognize me. The moment I walk towards his tank, he zips to the front of the tank and starts flitting around and dancing excitedly, swimming from left to right and in circles. When I open up the little hatch at the top of his tank to feed him, he zooms to the top of the tank as if he is aware that when I am opening the tank, it means I am going to feed him. I find it endearing how he always rushes to the front of the tank and does a little happy dance whenever he sees me. Usually, after I feed him and continue to observe him, he alternates between swimming from left to right at the front of the tank and stopping to stare and wave at me. Not only does he seem to love attention, but he seems as eager to observe me as I am to observe him. In addition, he is quite curious. For example, whenever I was testing the temperature of his water today, he rushed to the thermometer and stared at it for a long time until I moved it out of the way. I have been so astounded by how intelligent and affectionate Benson seems that I decided to do some research on the behavior of bettas.

It turns out that I was not delusional for sensing that Benson actually recognizes me. According to my research, I found that bettas are actually quite mentally and socially advanced, more so than most people realize. Bettas have excellent memories. As a result, they are able to recognize and form a relationship with their primary caregiver; they even express their gratitude in ways such as doing a little happy dance like Benson. Not only are they able to recognize familiar people and situations, but they also recognize a change in their environment. Bettas enjoy being mentally stimulated, so it is good to change things up every now and then by switching out and rearranging the decorations in their tank. They also enjoy games such as chasing after a stick/finger in the water and can even be taught tricks such as learning to jump for food. With all of the research I have done in mind, I have been thinking of fun games to play with Benson and have been looking at stuff to buy for him.