All good advice - THANKS!
I separated the Bennie from the Barbs as soon as I learned they weren't compatible. I like to know exactly what I'm getting into with pets and glad I read up on the subject as soon as I did. They were together for less than an hour. Bennie is my favorite - he's got a lot of personality for a fish.
Bennie has done the bubbles show you mentioned. I'd put a plant in with him a while back and he nested all around it. He's the second betta we've had - the first one was Jerry Batfish and the oldest boy brought him home from Wal-Mart. Jerry always looked a little "off"... never really healthy. He lived almost a year. I sealed his fate one day when I dropped him as I was cleaning his bowl. He lived for three days and then was belly-up. I felt horrible.... the kids weren't too happy. Needless to say, I'm uber careful with Bennie...