Jose Gaspar, Pirate Fish

Ahoy ye Matey’s!

Well, blow me down we have us a visitor. Who might ye be? No matter. We need all the hands we can get.

I, Jose Gaspar, the last buccaneer of the pirate ship Gasparilla, and here’s me first mate, Roderigo Lopez.

The Real Jose Gaspar, The Last Buccaneer

Avast ye, we set sail for Tampa! Lot’s of booty to be had. Aargh!

So baten down the hatches, bring a spring upon her, heave ho me hearties, for a bounty await us allllll!!!!!

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Now that the introductions are out of the way, meet our Jose Gaspar.

Jose Gaspar

He is our betta fish and a bit battered, too many battles I presume.

(Actually, he belonged to my daughter and her boyfriend who kept him in a tank that had a lot of rocks and coral and he scratched a lot of his fins off. They also kept another betta fish in a tank near our Jose, sometimes they would spot each other and get all stressed out. Betta’s are fighting fish after all.)

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Seeing as how we were in the market for a new betta, sadly our Greek sponge diving Tasso died.

Tasso’s Bubbles

So we decided to take their betta into our home. It was my idea to name him Jose and retire all the Greek sponge diving things and adopt a new theme, to go along with our new fish.

Jose’s Tank

Jose Gaspar’s Sunken Pirate Ship and Booty

(We are probably the only people that place “fish tank accessories” on the outside of the bowl.)

We have a “fin friendly” tank with lots of sand, instead of rocks, and little hiding places that won’t scratch off and damage his fins. Jose does like to dive into his cave sometimes, and he even will sleep on the bottom on the sand. This environment will help his fins to grow back and be beautiful again.

Jose Gaspar’s Pirate Battle Scars

Normally bettas are beautiful fish with lovely flowing fins. And they will grow back. But we like to think that our Jose Gaspar has been in way too many battles and these are his scars.

The Gasparilla

The Gasparilla was the name of Jose Gaspar’s ship. Every year in January, a re-creation is done where pirates invade Tampa and hold the mayor of Tampa hostage for 24 hours. Just like Jose Gaspar did in 1821. It is our Mardi Gras.

A celebration with lots of pirates, wenches, ale, etc. Lots of parades, beads being thrown, and just lots of fun!

Florida does love it’s pirate history!