Bettas do not impress me.

[patryuji]

Sure they are fully colored in deep solid colors which are pleasing to the eye and usually contrast with other fish.

Yet the droopy sad looking creatures sitting in a pint of their own filth never appealed to me. They always seem listless and the ones which have obviously been there the longest even begin to appear pale as they lose their colors. Even when someone recently posted a link detailing the livestock from a "show" betta breeder I was not impressed. The fish looked great but why spend such a large amount of money (including shipping animals) on a betta? The images on the website did not make me say "Yeah, I want to spend $100 on a betta".

Then today I saw a crown tail (I guess this is only the next step above the veil tails?). It's fins were much more upright and rigid. It even appeared healthier and more vibrant than all other's in the massive display. Constantly flaring its gills and proudly displaying its fins....I was impressed finally. I would have bought that fish if I did not already have a pair of rams in my QT. $4 seemed like a good price for such an apparently healthy and vigorous fish.

 

[TankGirl]

You would be surprised how they perk up when supplied with a healthier environment than the ubiquitous betta cup. They have a lot of personality, and are more rewarding than your average tetra (no offense to any tetra reading this thread!).

I have to agree with you about the money spent on them sometimes, especially when I look on Aquabid or Ebay and see what some of the fancier types will fetch at auction. Those fish are for serious breeders who are trying to create a color combination that will bring more $$ when they sell the offspring. Breeding them is a labor intensive enterprise, and knowing what I now know about breeding them I have to wonder how they sell for as cheaply as they do at the LFS.

 

[Raimeiken]

I agree with patryuji, i think Bettas just look lifeless to me.

 

[freshwatergal]

But as tankgirl said, they become livlier (spelling) when you get them home into a bigger space. I myself have 22 betta's and each one has it's own personality. Even after getting them home and leaving them in their cup for a few more mins before I get their new house set up, they come alive! They start swimming more because they know that you are going to take care of them. If I could have more then one in a community tank, I think my entire 46 gal tank would be full of them.

Give one a chance, you might just get bitten by the bug.

Tiff

 

[millipede]

bettas...

exactly... I bought a used tank at a yard sale, someone I knew though, with fish included.. it had a betta, a neon or two, and several other fish. They all got along really well. The person I bought the tank from had a mirror glued in one corner to "entertain" the betta I guess... at any rate, once they have room to swim, they actually do swim. If I was locked in my bathroom all day I wouldn't be too lively now would I? Let me loose outdoors and there's no stoppig me...
By the way freshwatergal... where in the world does one keep 22 bettas? I think that must be mbs, Multiple Betta Syndrome... sounds like you have it bad too...

 

[QTOFFER]

Gaaa! 22 bettas?! Wow! Ya got me beat!

As soon as I released my betta into the 10 gal Q-tank, he literally came alive. He explored every cubic inch, his fins opened up, and he started flaring at the heater light. I swear that fish was experiencing some kind of pleasure as he swam under the filter.

Bettas are pale, lifeless and morose in their tiny, cold, polluted retail storage receptacles - much like human workers in cubicles.
But put them in a 10 gal or even a 1 gal container full of fresh clean water and they come alive - like getting the corner office on the top floor!

 

[Christmasfish]

I don't think long tail betta were picked out by fanciers for being impressive per se

It was the possible color combos and floaty showiness they liked.
Pet store betta are rarely close to impressive.
They are cheap because most the stock comes from mass breeders in warm parts of asia. No strict laws and perfect climate and water already there..the breed em in jugs buckets and cisterns. And just pick out the survivors. And jar them in like powerade bottles til sale lot time. And make boocoo local money selling them in mass quantity. Back yard breeders always churn out he product that is pretty and looks right but has problems. Be it dog, cat, bird, or fish. Proper fanciers in Asia are just as worried over water quality and minimum healthy space as any other place.

Flaring is healthy to a point, but it dulls them after a while and the veil form loses a lot of vibrancy and has a shorter life because of the difficulty swimming compared to wild form. Some people have been breeding their veil tails to better stock they bought and got crowns and double tails. ( Henri Yin prolly shudders to see crowns in common pet stores) Veils cannot hold a halfmoon tail. It will blow off of drag them down to death as fry. The very people who worked hard to bring the he veiltail to the fishkeeping public are the same old guys trying to stamp out veil tails.

Add to that the cup betta s life...
bred in a crock pot raised in a jar that touches you on both sides as you stretch...put next to hundreds of hostile neighbors in a large shed structure.
You cannot escape if they are better fish. You must try too seem less hostile and display subjecative posture and hide as best you can. If lucky this breeder has a Almond leaf for parasite control and you can hid behind it. Or stay at a heightened state during all daylight hours. Then one day dumped and stuffed in a bag half your jar's size and shipped in box packed full with little protection and usually in transit a week or more. Suffering cold temps at the end of your journey then exposed suddenly to light (if you weer not one of the many, many dead) you are ignobly dumbed into a small cup of clean odd water with meds. No heat, no soft pH possibly over alkaline for your type.
Day one thru six...the water kills a good half of your brethren
the rest of you sit in your cold cups with whacked spectrum light. no sunlight to be seen. What time is it? Rest? or not? Other bettas now closer. Displays less fearsome (since they cant barely turn around). Store close sees casualties..many lids tight by unknowing "helpers". No good air equals dead betta (no hole in the lid except Wallyworld now). Week three stress has now made the unchosen even less likely to be chose. Color down, fins getting rot or blowing off pieces. Any parasites on board now make their move! Week 3, handful left after outbreak.

A little girl picks up my cup..."This one mommy!"
"Eww honey how about the pretty fish?" Noo.
"Might I suggest this easy 12 oz cup for her desk or bookshelf "says the clerk
"they don't ned heat and you only have to clean once a week or when it looks dirty" An dit is only 7 bucks...sold.

Now Mr. Betta is "happy"..new container allows movement and no other bettas to worry about right now.
Everyones bust..day 6 with no food......... the easy pet needs little care....
Day 15......second time water was bad enough to burn skin.......
Borrowed time luster fading now. misery sets in.

Now comes the crux of his life... do they think him sad and get him more space and clean more often?
Does it finally force a carpet dive of doom?
Does someone finally think...maybe I should ask...Susie sure has to do a lOT with her fish. Why are these different? maybe they come here..or buy a GOOD book.



maybe he dies unremembered in no time...as the stupid miserable looking fish " that we just couldn't keep alive though we tried everything"


And you want them to look vital! My ugly white fish that knocked his cup to my feet was actually bright shimmering PINK.
And there are show betta culls that run as cheap as 5 bucks....

and if you think bettas are naturaly leisurely and slow..get a plakat.

 

[CiRXSi]

I of course agree that once you get them in an environment, they are completely different creatures. I try not to judge them on their personality in the store because Chritmasfish's story is right on target. That's their life, until they come home with one of us. I feel sad now because I actually did judge a crowntail yesterday in the store. Multi-betta syndrome is easy to catch. I haven't had the variety of different types of fish in my life as some of you have, but still.......there are no words to describe the feeling you get when you see them respond to just your voice, the way they do.

 

[stoneydee]

And once they're in a decent environment, you get to see individual personalities. I have four males in two 10 subdivided tanks - one of them has taken to "reclining" in his favorite plant (I use live ones) during his breaks from patrolling his side of the tank and flaring. His tankmate is busy pretty much all the time, flaring at his own reflection, the DAFs in his side of the tank, and studiously working on his bubblenest (which he cheerfully starts over when I do water changes and destroy it).

 

[Kerrinne]

My betta is anything but listless or lifeless. He is so full of personality, that sometimes I forget he's a fish and not a person! He's the fish I dote on the most, because he has the most unique and engaging personality. He lets me feed him right out of my hand now, and if I stick my finger in the water and hold it there he will rub up against it a few times as if I were petting him. (make sure you have short fingernails and clean hands with no lotion if you do try this at home kids )

My betta does very well in his planted 5 gal...even interacts with the snails I have in there very well. I love him. If you go by appearance alone in the store, you are sorely missing out on the potential of the bettta as well as the fun and rewarding feeling of owning a betta.

 

[malkore]

bettas are not themselves when confined to a 6 oz. cup of mucky water. put one in a 10 gallon with live plants, and it's a totally difference fish

 

[patryuji]

Actually I was trying to remark upon what I normally see doesn't impress me but the lively Crown Tail I noticed in the store was almost nice enough to convince me of owning one.

 

[lreilly]

I was never impressed by bettas either. They all ways just looked so sad. One day at the lfs I was looking at the bettas in these tiny single flower glass vases. With there tail and face hitting glass. My heart dropped for these poor little fellows. I know pity is not a good reason to by a fish but I knew that I could give him a better home and a chance at a happy live. So I saved one from his thimble sized death bed. I first put him in a gallon tank and boy was he happy. You could see it. Since then he has really grown on me, he is now set up in a larger home on my night stand. Meets me for food follows me around he is really great. I think he is a Crown tail aswell.

 

[TankGirl]

I am really glad you started this thread, Patryuji. It is amazing all of the different opinions people have about these fish, and the different ways they keep them.

I never thought much about them until my daughter wanted one, and I set him up in a 3-gal Eclipse with some white clouds. I was sold after that! Watching them make their bubble nests and come over to visit or flare is fascinating, and they really do have personalities. I had him (er, my daughter had him, but let's face it, a child her age was not exactly queen of water changes) for about a year and lost him to bloat. Now I know to feed them a skinned, blanched pea once a week or so, and once we move I will probably get another one to put on my desk.

 

[bettacove]

I own 50+ bettas and I never have problems with them looking sad or dull, but then again they are not kept in tiny cups . (sure they do get sad like when i take daddy away from babies or jar a young fish but they are fine in a day or 2). Most of my guys are kept in 1/2-1 gal containers, that may seem small but they are constantly getting fresh water pumped into the containers, and they are as happy and lively (sp?) as can be.

Just think, if you were stuck in a tiny dirty cup would you be having a good time? (if it were me i'd be planing my escape )

How could you not be impressed by this cute face?!

ashley

 

[Kiko]

I have a couple of 20 gal tanks, densly planted, with a male Betta in one and a female in the other. They are cool! The female is very active, and eats the the fry that her tank mates - swordtails - are contantly producing. The Male relaxes in his tank in the Cabomba or Anachris. He likes to hide in the plants and ZOOMs out when I walk by.

I have another male betta who is currently banished to a 3 gal, planted bowl. This fish gets to eat mosquitos that I drop in there. We have had an awful, wet winter, and lots of mosquitos. The tanks are outdoors, so when I am out there I get eaten alive. I'll get bitten up a bit, and catch a few mosquitos for the betta in a bowl. His banishment from his 10 gal home came when he began to terrozie his tankmates, green cobra guppies.

I have noticed awesome growth in the anachris in the betta bowl.

 

[AdamsZoological]

Not really my type of fish, but I gotta say, I have seen some that are absolutely amazing, but, also carried an amazing pricetag. To anyone thats really interested in those guys though, check www.bcbetta.com one of the world's biggest breeders of high end Bettas.

 

[Christmasfish]

My daughter said as she was reading over my shoulder for her goodnight kiss, that Miss Marianne and Atison are some of the nicest people. (Not that any were not nice...but obviously they clicked to her lil 8 yr old self.
Those are the people behind atison bettas and BCBettas.
She has bought quite a few specialized colors from Bettatalk.
She has bettas that cost a lil and some that were a lot.She is Bettamad I tell you..MAD!

Had she been after pets I am sure they have many lovely culls that would fit in pet prices.
I am crazy about all labyrintyh fish..maybe becasue I grew up with so many and they are familiar. I like my handicapped ghost knife (an arm can't help a fish with so odd a propulsion) and totally love my weird and personable bichir.

If wild fin type bettas could be kept in shoals they would have been the most popular FW aquarium fish ever. Living jewels that can modify their color to mood. My daughter is wanting to post her fish...heh She nearly has her website finished.

 

[patryuji]

My daughter is wanting to post her fish...heh She nearly has her website finished.

Be sure to post up the link when it is ready.

Did you say she hardcodes all the HTML line by line or does she use a website construction program (such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage).

I did give the plakats a look today (They keep them in Quart size cups instead of pint size...). They did not understand the name "Plakat" but I am guessing that is what they were since they were listed as Vietnamese Fighting Fish, had short fins, and were listed for $30 each. I suppose with buying an expensive Betta atleast you know it will be easier to maintain as opposed to dropping $30 on a more sensitive fish (such as juvenile Discus).

 

[AdamsZoological]

If 30 bucks was all some of us have dropped on a single Discus...Personally I dropped $350 on a net caught Clown Trigger, died 3 months later.