Is this true?

[bball4life]

I have heard that the bettas that you find in pet stores, such as petsmart, are very old and I wanted to know if this was true?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I wouldn't have thought so, all breeders want to do when they have raised the fry to a suitable size is get it on the lfs shelf to sell and not spend loads of money raising it further when the fish is sellable anyways.

 

[Whiskerz]

I think bettas in petstores are 6months - a year old

edit - spelling

 

[FalconStorm]

I would think it depends on how long they've been there. They probably get there fairly young, but if they are well taken care of, but don't sell, they could conceivably get old there. I don't think they start out that way, though.

 

[eudielynn]

From what I understand most pet store bettas are at least 6 months old when they receive them because it takes that long for their fins to develop and for them to show their colors. I have had Batista for about 4 months now, but I am pretty sure he is at least a year old by now. They keep growing as long as they live and he is HUGE. No, he's not a giant. He's just a big old fat prima donna.

 

[wwestar2000]

Yeah I agree I think there are some on the shelves that are old but they have been there a long time and started off in the store young.

 

[Styx]

Yes they are old and they start off old. How do I know? I worked at Wal-Mart for two weeks, and I've been calling LFS to sell my babies to. They only buy fish that are "adult sized". Meaning 6 months to a year old sometimes.

Several of them told me that he would not even pay full price for a smaller betta. I was irritated. I was like, "Just because it's half the size doesn't mean you're getting half the fish so you shouldn't insist on paying half the price."

 

[mlee0332]

I heard they are atleast 1 yr old. Since they only live 2 yrs on average, they have no sex drive, so they aren't good for breeding, but other than that they're good to go!

 

[Styx]

Exsactly.

 

[Synirr]

I heard they are atleast 1 yr old. Since they only live 2 yrs on average, they have no sex drive, so they aren't good for breeding, but other than that they're good to go!

Pffft, no sex drive? You obviously haven't seen my boys
They flirt like mad... all except the ones I've had for a year or more. Those guys are just lazy and monsterously large.
I'd say most pet store bettas are between 6 months and a year old, and usually closer to 6 months. The suppliers just wait until they are adult size to sell them off; it doesn't make any sense for them to keep them longer than they have to, since it costs them money to feed the fish and keep their water clean.
Most of the pet store and Walmart bettas I've bought were obviously pretty young when they came home with me... there's a Petsmart a couple of hours from here that gets them in when they aren't adult size, too. Probably around 3-4 months.

So yes, pet store bettas are usually older than bettas you'd get from a breeder, but they're not ancient

 

[wuvmybetta]

I have heard that the bettas that you find in pet stores, such as petsmart, are very old and I wanted to know if this was true?

Most are around a year old, since everyone wants big bettas. Your best bet ,if you want a young one to raise,is to contact a breeder.