Age Of Bettas

[laceypup]

I have a few questions about betta's ages...

(1) how old are the bettas that you buy in pet stores, usually?

(2) how long will bettas live, on average?

(3) is there any way to estimate a betta's age based on his appearance?

Thanks!

 

[Styx]

(1) how old are the bettas that you buy in pet stores, usually? About a year. Bigger bettas sell better or something like that.

(2) how long will bettas live, on average? About 3 years.

(3) is there any way to estimate a betta's age based on his appearance? Yes. Ruffling and curling of fins, size of body, length of fins, color of face.

 

[GuppyDude]

(1) like styx said the fish from your local supplier will typically be between 6 months and 1 year old, im not sure if bigger fish sell better, but most fish stores are supplied by commercial breeders who will ship off the oldest stock first.

(2) at most 3-4 years idealy, but most of your lfs stock is so imbred and poorly cared for that this shaves off a good portion of their life span. fish that are well off genetically and have been well cared for throghout their lives will generally live much longer lives.

(3) as bettas age they change alot. they will continue to grow throgh out their entire lives, so you can expect older fish to be larger. bettas also will begin to fade in coloration and sometimes take on whole new appearances, their heads are particularly prone to this kind of change. their finage will also become a little curly and sometimes scared from normal wear and tear throghout the fishe's life.

 

[l.michelle]

So that means, then that my betta is over 3 years old. I got him 2 years ago, before that he was living with my now ex-boyfriend (he didn't want him and was going to kill him. Bettas were used as a centre piece for his cousin's wedding)

Mortimer looks very old, and can no longer swim all the way to the surface in his 5 gallon tank, so he is in a bowl now. he has lost a lot of his colour and is going pale.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what will make him more comfortable?

 

[afireinside]

I'd get some Indian Almond Leaf and feed him foods high in protein, like bloodworms.

 

[laceypup]

Can anyone estimate Chance's age? He's the betta in my avatar photo Thanks!

 

[afireinside]

I'd say 2 years. He doesn't look that old.

 

[laceypup]

I'd say 2 years. He doesn't look that old.

I like that! Thanks