Rescue's

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I recently brought home a lady betta who was given to me free. She developed pop-eye within days of being home and became seriously ill. Happily she has made a dramatic recovery with the aid of some internal bacteria meds and a great deal of care. She is now permanently blind but doing incredibly well.
A few days ago I again went into rescue mode for a male that was stupidly in the same tank as another male. He's lost some of his pectoral fins and part of his tail. Swimming is very hard for him and he currently resides in a breeding net in what will be his own 5g tank. He's slowly getting stronger but spends most of his day resting on the base of the net.
Why do we fall for the poorly, ill, sad looking bettas? How many here can truly say they've never taken in or wanted to take in one?
Hugs,
P.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well i suppose its because we're people, and most people won't ignore another creature, no matter how small or insignificant, when in great distress if we can help it.
I want to say more on this subject though than just that, if i may.
Wether we help the root cause of the issue that made the creature suffer is another matter and highly controversal topic. I don't think theres anything wrong in saving individual bettas, its even admirable at times i believe, but i refuse to buy lots of sick and dying bettas myself from lfs's as i wouldnt want to,
a. End up in the situation where i have so many i can no longer look after them or my other fish to my best ability, or
b. Buy a dying betta from a lfs only to pay for more in its place.
I see alot of sick and dying bettas a lfs i sometimes go to, but i generally ignore them and just preach to the staff a bit about keeping them instead- i not insensitive or an ogre, and i do care a huge amount about fish, but theres little you can do about bad petshop bettas apart from educate people about them.
Theres nothing wrong with taking unhealthy bettas off friends or people you know in general, and its even better if you know for sure they are not going to buy a replacement fish in its place that will suffer a similar unhappy fate, and/or that you tell the other person where they went wrong with the last betta .

In my honest opinion though, if you are just saving a petshop betta because its not well cared for, and you don't tell anyone about keeping the fish properly there and then however you do it, and you take that betta home...I honestly don't think theres anything wrong with that, but you must take into consideration that the money you gave for that betta will only pay for more who will suffer a similar fate, and that them creates little point in saving th single fish if you are concerned about other bettas in the same situation.
Most people don't think about this when they buy bettas though...I know plenty of excellant and knowlegable betta keepers here, who have done just this, and i am sure they didn't buy that dying betta because they wanted more in its place to suffer the fate it shared before they bought it, but because they cannot stand the thought of it just dying there before anything can be done, and that their heart wont let them leave it there to do this, because well, they are people with good hearts...
There is also great reward in getting sick bettas back to good health, and when you have done this you have made a big difference to that betta. But only that betta(if that makes sense, not that makes it any less important though).

I only have one betta myself, a male VT betta who was a rescue case(starving and had septicemia). I did pay money for him and i did try to educate the staff at the lfs. I think though...He will be the only betta i will be getting for now, until the day he dies. I bought him because i already wanted a betta before i saw him, and i guess i thought i might as well rescue him since he came from such an unreliable lfs- the guy who i talked to about keeping bettas, was very grateful for the info i gave him, he said that he hated seeing the bettas die all the time but before i told him the info on caring for them, he just didn't know what to do.
So i guess we all came off a bit better that day .
Anyhoo, thats just my story and opinions, Good Luck with your new bettas Mis Dib Dabs and hope they recover to full health .

 

[catxx]

Well said!

I've never brought home a sick betta, have thought about it.

Rescued 2 in the last 3 days by getting them moved though. One from being in with 30+ male guppies in a 5 gal tank and today one with near-no fins left eaten by the large honey gourami and krib it was in with. I will make this lfs dread my visits until they get it right!

 

[MegTheFish]

If I were to walk into a horrible store that was keeping their bettas in horid conditions, of course I would want to take one home, but I wouldn't let myself. If I wasn't so shy, I would talk to an employee or the manager and complain, and tell them I don't like the conditions their bettas are kept in, and make it VERY CLEAR the only reasen I am bringing one (or two or three) home was because I wanted to nurse them back to health, and I would make sure to get them for free as I wouldn't want to support that store money-wise. Maybe THEN I would take one home. But thankfully I don't have to face those situations as I work at the only petstore in this whole city (of 16000 people) and we keep our bettas in great condition. I did once, however, take two boys home, when the other teenager that was working there, brought them in and said she didn't want them any more. They were in those stupid double hex things, the water was brown, it was gross. My boss and I didn't know what to do with them, she said feel free to take them, and we were about to close, so I did. Both will never be in great condition again, the blue CT is always pale and doesn't swim around much, the other guy is a little bit better, he looks like a plakat though, don't know what happened to his fins. Both have been constanly fighting fungus that they got once they were placed in clean water But I think I've gotten rid of it finally. So thats my story

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Nice reply Tokis. Like I said I was given the girl because they knew they couldn't save her. The boy I paid a small amount for but they knew their stuff. It had been one of the newer less betta knowledgable persons who was to blame and I suspect he got a right talking to. I am guilty of getting one from a larger chain place as a rescue and that was due to my daughter crying pitifully at me for half an hour. After which I had plenty to say to the staff too!
I hate seeing any fish sick and/or dieing at the hands of idiots in stores that really don't care. I'm guilty of getting fish moved in a fair few local places. Am sure they hate the sight of me. I cannot imagine what it's like for those that see how they're kept in America. I know you have the Walmart chain that I have heard so much about.
It just seems to be more likely Bettas that ppl rescue rather then other breeds. I can't say for sure this is true but it just seems that way.
I can fully appreciate what you mean about not buying them when all that will happen is they'll be replaced by another poor fish to put in it's place. Truth is Bettas locally are selling like hotcakes. I wonder if it's because ppl think they can give them as presents over Xmas, which just saddens me all the more to realise that so many will suffer a pitiful fate in much the same way so many puppies and kittens do at this time of the year.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Durbkat]

I've wanted to rescue bettas that were sick but I don't always have alot of money and when I do I want to get healthy fish or another tank and I also don't know alot about how to treat diseases and what not but if I could afford the medcince for a new betta I was getting I would rescue them but since I can't I go for the healthy bettas that have nice color.

 

[SRC]

I feel bad for the ones who I see that are in bad condition..but I do not purchase them (I even feel bad for the ones who aren't in bad condition...just sitting there in their little cups). But the truth of the matter is, I can't buy them all or afford to treat them all; and I just don't know how to justify with myself choosing which one(s) gets help and which one(s) don't? So I choose to not bring any of them home.

I don't go to my LPS very often, and even when I do they usually keep their fish in those barrack systems behind the other tanks..so theirs are generally in "ok" condition..it's the Walmarts that will generally have a few ratty looking bettas sitting around (them and Pet Supplies Plus, who I do not use anymore).
Telling a Walmart employee about the care of fish is like trying to instruct a wall on how to paint itself..it does nothing but cause a useless scene; because tommorrow there will be a new, stupid, uneducated person in the fish department...and personally...I'm not wasting my breathe 365 days a year talking, bascially, to the floor.

I just try to stay away from that isle, although inevitably I will peek around the corner at times....but I don't buy them. I've only had 3 bettas (2 for myself and 1 for my office mate) other then from Aquabid, Synnir, and Kelly's bettas..and I intend for it to stay that way. I just don't feel right promoting the shameless abuse and mis-care of these fish.

They say 1 person cannot/will not make a difference in the lives of animals or a specific cause..but it does in my mind...because "I" know "I" haven't contributed to the mal-treatment problem.

 

[Synirr]

I usually don't rescue sickies, just gripe at staff for neglecting them... however, if the betta strikes my fancy for other reasons I've been known to "rescue" )
Here's a blonde betta I picked up at Walmart after he sat on the shelves for 2 weeks... I consider him a rescue because not many people want an "ugly" grey betta like him, and I doubt he would have been bought before becoming ill if I hadn't taken him home. Shame on me, shame!

 

[Durbkat]

Well I like it and I would have gotten if it if I saw it to because I've never seen that color on a betta before.

 

[severina]

I just wanted to say that I work in the pet department of Walmart. And we do our best to take care of the fish. As for the bettas being in small containers...I clean each container out several times a week...yes it sucks that they are in such a small space, but they are usually only there for a very short period of time. The longest we've ever kept one single betta was a week and 2 days.
Also...about instructing us on how to take care of our fish....we, as Walmart employees, are extremely jaded to customers chewing us out, especially about the fish. Believe me, right as you leave after getting up on your soapbox, a few minutes later someone else comes along and does the same thing as you. If I stopped everytime someone wanted to yell at me/talk to a manager about the bettas being too crowded, and sat there and explained to them what I'm explaining to you, my work would never get done, and I would be fired. Then the fish would be in serious trouble, because they would have to send someone from another department who probably doesn't know/give a crap about the fish to take my place. So yes, when I'm approached by customers and instructed how to do my job 50 times a day, I will roll my eyes, sigh and huff, maybe play dumb "Oh? They aren't supposed to live in cups that small?" and sometimes I'll pretend to be very concerned for 2 seconds "Oh! You're right...I'm gonna tell a manager about that right away."

All day, everyday, 5 days a week. I'm tired of it. I hope someone doesn't take this to mean that I don't care about the fish because I do, I feed them, clean their bowls/tanks, medicate them when they are sick, cry when one happens to die, and stop and educate customers who are walking off with a betta and one of those stupid one gallon vases.

I'm especially tired of the little jerk offs that sit there and mix the bettas together to see if they fight. I would love to catch a customer doing that. I would beat them. Sadly, I have yet to catch them in the act.

So yeah...there's my 2 cents, take it for what its worth.

BTW, thats a beautiful betta, Synirr! I have yet to see one like it

 

[Synirr]

severina, if employees at all Walmarts did as good a job as you do there'd be no need to gripe! At my local store the cups never get changed ever, for example. I certainly don't complain about the cups themselves because I understand the necessity, but they do need to be cared for a bit... your store is lucky to move fish so quickly too, the fish I posted was in the store for exactly two weeks and the batch that's still there now has been there almost 3.

 

[soritan]

I generally want to rescue a betta when I see it in a bad spot. I usually don't, though. I know all the intellectual arguments against purchasing a sicky, and I also know my limits as a fish keeper. I can't keep that many bowls, it takes all the joy out of it for me.

Ughn. I typed out 3 of my horrible, long, wordy paragraphs in reply to you, severina, before I stopped myself.

I understand the frustrations of work. But please realize that when you play games with people like that, you're not excercising the best work skills you can. I appreciate your commitment to keeping the fish alive and healthy, and I definately appreciate the "kill all customers" sentiment (I appreciate it very much), but what does lying to a customer accomplish, but to lose their business when you innocently say, "but all bettas live in mud holes! "?

I have gone to shops where the care is horrid, and shops where the care is grand. All these shops range from small pet stores and large chain stores. Honestly, you may see one or two people flippantly bash a chain store here on the forum, but generally, 2 posts down, you'll see someone else exclaim, "But they aren't all like that! My [___]mart is beatutiful, everything is healthy, and the staff is knowledgable!" It's a demographic thing, and a fair percentage of us know that. Honest.


*edit: Heck, the moderators even lock threads specifically created to bash a [____]mart. We discourage it. It's just, occasionally, someone will go rolly-eyed and vent, and that's just human nature.

I'm doing it right now.

 

[thelastbetta]

Man, if I saw a silver betta in my LFS it'd be mine in a heart beat, sick or not.

 

[severina]

Oh I totally understand that not all stores are like mine. I just wanted to explain that some of us employees get chewed out all day. I think instead of preaching to us like we don't know anything (some people don't, I understand that) you might want to go "Ma'am, I noticed this betta cup was a little bit dirty...I just wanted to let you know!" (We miss a couple sometimes, we're only human) or "Ma'am, I think this fish is sick" Instead of "YOU ARE NOT KEEPING THESE FISH IN PROPER CONDITIONS! RAAAAAAAWR! I'M GOING TO REPORT YOU!" You'd get a better reaction out of the person, and they'll be more open actually learning proper care if they dont already know it. Also, instead of seeing a sick fish and just walking away and writing the store off, point it out to someone like I suggested. I mean...we have alot of bettas, its hard to notice a sick fish in a sea of cups. The morning person feeds them, and unless they weren't there that day I don't get the chance to inspect every cup except the ones I notice that need to be cleaned.

"I appreciate your commitment to keeping the fish alive and healthy, and I definately appreciate the "kill all customers" sentiment (I appreciate it very much), but what does lying to a customer accomplish, but to lose their business when you innocently say, "but all bettas live in mud holes!"?"

It gets those preachy screamers away from me. Thats all that counts. I don't say those kinds of things to nice people that notice a dirty cup or a floater....just those that come up to me in preach mode. It seems to defuse them. As for losing their business, with those types of people they've already shown that they aren't going to buy our bettas, so we haven't lost anything. I'm very careful which types of customers I use those lines with. I'm a pro

Synirr, thats awful! They should only order the amount of fish they can sell in a week. 3 weeks has got to have stunted their growth

 

[Synirr]

Synirr, thats awful! They should only order the amount of fish they can sell in a week. 3 weeks has got to have stunted their growth

Yeah, but try telling them that, hah. Places like that is why customers complain. Usually the fish that don't get bought within 2.5-3 weeks look horrible and then just "magically" disappear one day...
I do my best to just let them know that they need to care for the animals, but when I personally move some African clawed frogs with empty, bloody eyesockets out of a tank filled with green spotted puffers and leave a note with the manager about it, then return the next week to find frogs in the same tank again, it gets frustrating. I had to move them myself again because I couldn't get any employees to come to the fish aisle within the 15 minutes I was willing to wait around for them.

But uh... yeah... enough griping about "that store", I wouldn't want this thread to take a turn for the worse