Students came to the Student Programming Board’s (SPB) Fish Night looking for a pet they can bring back and take care of in their dorms and the perfect pet to share with their roommates.

[media-credit name=”Photo Courtesy of @Dvortygirl/ Wikimedia Commons” align=”alignright” width=”500″][/media-credit]Fish Night took place on Friday Sept. 21, 2018 and was located in the Carl Hansen Student Center. There was a big turnout with over 200 fish given out to those who wanted a new friend.

“Adopt a fish is an annual event that the Student Programming Board presents. We get about 200 fish and let people get a bowl, name certificate, food and a picture of the fish and student,” sophomore film television and media arts major Jordan Wasylak said. “It’s a night that provides students with a little friend for their dorm.”

A long line stretched down the hall and one by one each student picked out a pet male betta fish. Each student was able to pick out the rock color and decorate their new pets bowl with the colors they wanted.

“One thing that I love about this event is not everyone is allowed to bring pets and fish are the only exceptions,” Wasylak said. “It’s really nice for people to take of something else other than themselves and to keep them accompany while in school.”

Many attended this event out of curiosity and most of them went because they saw it being advertised on posters around campus or heard it through friends or their resident assistant.

“We got emails about it from our RA and we wanted to do something fun that the university was hosting,” freshman occupational theory major JooEun Lim said. “It’s part of the college experience and why not go and make good memories. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s a nice event they have for us.”

Students who attended the event had to be informed that male betta fish could not be put with or other bettas since they are extremely aggressive towards other. Male betta fish can live up to three years and are known for their bright colors and striking fins.

“I found out through a bulletin and it has event listed for the next 6 months on it, so I circled this one because I was interested in getting a fish,” freshman undeclared health science major Colin Scinto said. “My roommate has a fish and I wanted to get a one too.”  

While having your betta as a pet there are many responsibilities you need to remember and establish. As a new pet owner you should be feeding your betta every day and you should space out what times you feed your fish so that you don’t end up overfeeding it.

“You should be making sure that you are feeding them the right fish food and you have to make sure they are eating a well-balanced diet of flakes, pellets or freeze-dried bloodworms,” according to the Petco’s website said.

Since your betta is living in a small environment you have to make sure that you keep its bowl or fish tank clean. Now that you have the responsibilities of owning a betta you have to make sure you maintain its habitat. If you don’t it might result in your betta having a short life span. Students should be checking and changing the water in your bowl every week.

“Avoid overcrowded conditions, which are a major cause of stress and disease,” Petco’s website said. “Maintain good water quality with regular water changes and adequate filtration if you are dealing with a tank.”

If you are taking care of your betta fish correctly they should be in good condition health wise, but if you aren’t, the health of your betta will physically show red flags.

“The sign of a health betta fish are active and alert, eats regularly, has vibrant colors and reacts aggressively,” Petco’s website said. “If you are not taking care of your betta fish they will appear less colorful and won’t have the loss of appetite, they will have frayed fins and will swim erratically.”

The Student Programming Board has hosted a memorable and crowded fish night, many students were excited to receive their new pets and now the bettas have a home to go back to. It has been a great turnout and since it’s annually we hope those who now have a fish take care of them and come back next time.