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hi everyone

well, the other day i saw a mistreated betta at my awful lfs (while there for supplies). it was in a plastic bag, half of it hanging off of a shelf, with only a tiny bit of water. i went back today and bought it. poor thing, it was just looking right at me in the store

anyway, i think what i thought was a "he" is actually a "she" because the tail, in a sort of crown shape, is quite small in proportion to the rest of the body. poor little betta girl. this was kind of a random buy for me, but the sight of that little abused fish was just too much this time. she seems to be doing ok... she hasnt eaten anything, but she's exploring every part of her new tank (all 46 gallons of it...) and she's been flaring at her reflection. and she's a lot prettier than she looked in that little bag bluish-purple with flashes of red in her fins and tail.

so, i guess there's no real point to this - i don't really have any questions about betta care. just sharing my experience of doing what i could for a poor fishie.. who'll hopeuflly be doing much better in a few days

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Back in the saddle!

if it is flaring it is probably a male. Tail length isn't really diagnostic. Anyway I'm glad you saved him! Good luck with the little guy!

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Welcome to the club nowherman
I do this sort of thing too often myself but I can't help it. I bought 2 girls that were in a container and the water was brown and there was another girl in there too but she was dead The girls have coloured up nicely and love their new home
Oh, and I've found myself that the girls I have seem to have more attitude than the boys, flaring and nipping at anything and everything

i guess whether it's a boy or girl is still open to debate... i can't really tell because this is my first betta. it just doesnt look like most of the males i've seen. i'll try to get some pics over the weekend and post in the betta forum to see what everyone thinks.

it really was quite amazing. there were three other bags on the same shelf as this one, and the fish in those were, sadly, all just lying motionless on the bottom. but not this one - not the one i had moved yesterday. when i looked into this one this fish looked right back at me, tail wagging and all. i couldnt not bring him/ her home

i guess it's a pretty common thing to do, though. i'm sure there are a lot of stories out there that i'd like to hear.

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Back in the saddle!

Is it is a 46 gal all by itself? That would be one spoiled betta!

I have 4 females in my community tank, and I have seen them flare. Not nearly as often as the males, but they do do it. So I guess that doesn't really help figure out what it is huh?

-Dennis

hehe, no it's not 46 gallons all for the betta...
he/ she's got a few roommates - big school of harleys, a few yo-yo loaches and a BN. i was originally worried about the yo-yos, but as he/ she was exploring the loaches' favorite piece of driftwood, he/ she flared at one and it zipped across the tank i dont think there will be any problems with tankmates.

the only thing i worry about is whether or not that's too big of a tank. i've heard some bettas dont do well in large tanks.. for whatever reason. i guess i can always set up a 5 gallon, but i'd rather not. anyway, we'll see

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Back in the saddle!

my money is on girl my girl flair all the time, but thats because i am breeding her but heres how i tell, females just push up their gill flaps, maleshave another part that comes out too, so they look bigger

Large tanks can be a problem for bettas with long fins because strong filtration current will push them around. I wouldn't move your betta until you notice it's a problem.

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Maybe you haven't seen the way bettas are shipped... They come in really tiny bags with only a few tablespoons of water in them. They are all shipped that way (or in equally small platic containers), no matter how good or bad the store is.

They probably just had not finished unpacking the bettas at that store...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

CoryAddict, I understand how fish are shipped - and I certainly wouldnt hold it against a store for the way fish are shipped to them. I dont like this place because of the condition of their display tanks, the condition of the fish they sell, and the complete disregard for the condition of their fish as evidenced in both the way they treat the fish in house, and the people to whom they sell unsuitable fish (knowingly selling fish too large for a tank, not knowing proper information about a fish, selling sick fish etc.)

I've seen bettas in that store before too - and they're almost always in little plastic bags without air in them - in the front of the store on the display shelves. I understand if that's the way they're shipped, but you'd think if they gave a hoot about the condition of them they'd put them in some sort of small bowl or plastic cup with fresh water at some reasonable point after arrival. The betta I took home was in the same spot for at least two days, between when I first saw it and when I bought it. I'm not an ideologue and I know you can't save them all, but for whatever reason this little one got to me

Sorry, i guess that was a rant. Didn't mean anyone any offense.

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Back in the saddle!

but you'd think if they gave a hoot about the condition of them they'd put them in some sort of small bowl or plastic cup with fresh water at some reasonable point after arrival.

That was my point to my LFS after being told that they've left them in the same shipping bags for up to 2 weeks at a time

I've seen the big bag of small bags with the bettas in them that these fish are shipped in and actually found one that the bag had busted and maybe half a teaspoon of water left, with the poor betta stuck in the squashed part of the top of the bag and he was quite stressed but alive.
Obviously I grabbed the poor little guy out of there and put him in a cup and he seemed to be alright thankfully.

I then pointed out that whether he cared about the fish or not, he was losing money by not taking the 5 or 10 minutes to take them out of the bags and put them on display :%)
Another thing that stumps me with these type of stores is why not keep them in clean water and at least a glass? The fish will be happier, therefor will show it's full colours and attract MANY more buyers rather than a sick looking fish that looks like something you'd find in your local creek?
It's a business and I understand that, then why aren't these fish shown for their full poitential like a grocery store that sprays their fruit to make them look more enticing? Or a butcher with special lights to make the meat look more appetising. Business means attracting the customer with their goods and a half dead fish in a bag or a dirty cup is only going to attract those of us that take pity on these poor little guys

Not all stores are like this thankfully and the one store around here that keeps them in clean water and decent sized containers and tanks can't keep up with the demand