Selecting my betta

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extremenewb

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
91
Location
Australia
After about 1 and a bit months of fishless cycling, I'm finally ready to introduce a betta to my small tank :) (and every1 by now has been asking "where's your fish?? where's ur fish??" oblivious to cycling.. hehe)

I was about to head off to some fish stores and find I betta I like. However, I was hoping if some1 could give me a couple of pointers of what to look out for?

I've read around and ppl have mentioned stuff like "healthy fins", but no1 has focused on anything really specific. To make it harder, everywhere I look, it has bettas in those tiny box containers, so I don't see if they can actually move or not. :( Also read that bettas don't survive very long, so I also don't want one of his last legs (tried to make that sound as nice as possible).

So yea, could some1 suggests some tips? :D Thanks.
 
Well, look for anything like clamped fins, fins that have white around the edges, frayed or "holy" fins, annything that looks like fungus anywhere on the body - things like that.

Bettas live an average of around 4 years. I believe (not 100% sure) that the bettas arrive at the lfs around 6months-1year in age, so you should not have to worry about getting one that is aged.
 
I've read they only live to be around 2 years and that up to 4 was the exception. Who knows, there is so much conflicting information. I think with good care, your betta will not be short lived.

Look for bubbles around the top of the cup. A healthy betta will blow bubble nests. I've never seen one at walmart, but my LFS has bettas in cups and some of them like to blow bubble nests. Also, get a feel for when new shipments come in. If you can wait a few days to a week, you'll get a betta who is strong enough to survive shipping and should be a good fish. OR you can do what I did and wait until all the fish are taken and there is always one or two that aren't wanted. That is what I did with my females and they looked horrible when I got them, but once they settled in, their color came out beautiful and they have been extremely healthy. I still stayed away from anyone with clamped fins though (like lmw80 said).

HTH!! Goodluck.
 
Look for ich also (little white spots that look like grains of salt on the body and fins). The chain pet store in my area has their bettas in the cruel little cups and some of them have noticeable ich. :x Good luck finding one and post a pic when you get it!
 
I'm no expert, but I've read that idealy you want a betta who, when completely flared, makes a complete circle with its fins.
 
SpaceButler said:
I'm no expert, but I've read that idealy you want a betta who, when completely flared, makes a complete circle with its fins.

That is probably a very expensive show betta! I get my bettas at a hatchery, and it takes me a while to decide because they are all so gorgeous! (the owner doesn't actually hatch the bettas, but I believe he gets them from an importer. )

First, I decide what color I want, then I look for one with no signs of disease -- fins with holes, fraying or "fuzzy" stuff, ich (white spots) clamped fins (fins held close to the body) although in the cup that may be hard to tell, but you should still be able to see if the fins are very limp.

Crowntail bettas do have a different look to their fins -- they have lots of "strings" at the fin edges, not to be confused with a disease. Look in my gallery for a picture of the crowntail that I used to have. Some bettas may have a white margin on their fins -- if it's a part of their coloring rather than disease, you'll be able to tell the difference.

The betta that you get will show more beautiful colors when you get him out of the cup and begin taking good care of him. I just got a betta that has some crowntail traits, and he was a dark red with white fin margins. Now after about a week, he's showing a purplish glow, both in his body and fin tips.

Four years is a rather long lifespan for a betta. They could live that long, but it's usually closer to two years. The longest that I've had a betta was a year and 10 months. They are at least 6 months old when they arrive at a store.

Good luck with finding your betta -- although I couldn't go wrong with any at the hatchery, I usually find one that steals my heart!
 
An t-iasg said:
Some bettas may have a white margin on their fins -- if it's a part of their coloring rather than disease, you'll be able to tell the difference.
The last betta that I had was purple with yellow and had white edged fins, quite pretty.
 
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