What the heck even is this….

[Lynnzer]

It never ceases to amaze me on the comments about what to stock in a tank. The usual comments are, "there are too many fish for the tank" - " you need a bigger tank" etc, and bettas seem to be largely ignored. To be honest I would buy any at all. I prefer something more natural, even if it's not as pretty in colour or body shape.

 

[lnsaneM]

Interesting, I once bought two bettas and put them in my tank thinking it was going to hide in the plants, my datnoids were only 5 or 6 inches at the time. The next morning there were no traces of them... RIP poor little bettas, since then l avoid buying fish small enough to fit in their mouths.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

But if people do buy them, then the suppliers breed more. Ultimately, the solution is going to have to be more awareness so that people stop buying them and stop rewarding that kind of breeding. If there's no market, then the breeders stop.

Exactly, it’s an uphill, never ending battle.

 

[GaryE]

Interesting, I once bought two bettas and put them in my tank thinking it was going to hide in the plants, my datnoids were only 5 or 6 inches at the time. The next morning there were no traces of them... RIP poor little bettas, since then l avoid buying fish small enough to fit in their mouths.

These posts are disturbing. You are going to have to face it - you have a non community fish that grows to 16 inches, needs a tank of 120-180 gallons and that while calm, prefers to eat shrimp and live fish it can fit in its mouth. Even basic knowledge of these fish says you were buying bettas as feeders - no worse and no better than buying goldfish or guppies or any other feeder species, but certainly no surprise.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Went to petco the other day, saw these new bettas. It seems like petco is just breeding bettas and grasping at straws to come up with more expensive types. “Alien bettas” what a scam…more like greet common plakats…

Your thoughts

As mentioned ...supply and demand. As long as they're purchased breeders will produce them.

 

[sharkweek178]

Exactly, it’s an uphill, never ending battle.

And we're in the minority. Most people don't know any better and a lot don't really care. I've talked to a lot of casual fishkeepers who have no idea what cycling means. I've talked to people who's idea of a water change is to just top off the water that evaporated out of the tank. People think it's ok to keep bettas in a mason jar because they see how the stores keep them.
Think about it. How many 2.5 gallon tanks do you see for sale in big box stores? We know that those little tanks aren't suitable for any fish. But the general public, like the guy who just wants to buy a fish for his kid and thinks it's a low maintenance pet and doesn't take up much space, doesn't know any better. And the stores don't do much to teach them otherwise. If people walked into a pet store and saw shelves of dog torture devices, they would lose their minds. But when it's fish, they don't really care. I get it on a certain level. When I lose a dog or cat, I'm emotionally devastated for months. If I lose a fish, I feel bad about it for a few hours. I eat fish. But even with that in mind, I'm mindful that I've decided to be responsible for the welfare of another living being so I'm obligated to give it the best life possible.
I wish other people world see it that way. I mostly wish the big box stores would be more humane. I'm at the point where when I go to a pet store, I count the number of dead fish in their tanks before I decide if I want to do business with them or not.

 

[GaryE]

@sharkweek178 I was trained by pet store owners in the art of fishkeeping - mainly an elderly genetleman in his 80s who gave a teenager a lot of his time and generously passed along a lot of knowledge.

Rule one? Go to a new store in the morning, at opening if you can, and check for 'deads'. They tell you a lot about what you are buying, and what tanks you should run away from.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Interesting, I once bought two bettas and put them in my tank thinking it was going to hide in the plants, my datnoids were only 5 or 6 inches at the time. The next morning there were no traces of them... RIP poor little bettas, since then l avoid buying fish small enough to fit in their mouths.

Recipe for disaster....researching fish compatibility BEFORE purchasing them and adding to an already stocked tank is paramount

Any other method ("hiding in plants") is inhumane, cruel, and irresponsible

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Interesting, I once bought two bettas and put them in my tank thinking it was going to hide in the plants, my datnoids were only 5 or 6 inches at the time. The next morning there were no traces of them... RIP poor little bettas, since then l avoid buying fish small enough to fit in their mouths.

I thought I read that wrong that you put two bettas (who shouldn’t be kept together in the first place) in a tank with Datnoides. But no, I did read that correctly. So irresponsible, smh.

 

[sharkweek178]

Interesting, I once bought two bettas and put them in my tank thinking it was going to hide in the plants, my datnoids were only 5 or 6 inches at the time. The next morning there were no traces of them... RIP poor little bettas, since then l avoid buying fish small enough to fit in their mouths.

How well did you think that the brightly colored slow swimming fish with large fins was going to hide?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

When someone admits that they made a mistake at some undefined time in the past, and that they have learned from that mistake and won't make it again, it probably isn't necessary to ridicule them and beat them up for it.

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Petco is just bad. I went there once and will never return.

 

[Rocky998]

It also depends on location. There are some petco stores that have an amazing fish section because the person in charge of that section know what their doing... But still most all of the stores are bad

 

[FishandBirdLover]

It also depends on location. There are some petco stores that have an amazing fish section because the person in charge of that section know what their doing... But still most all of the stores are bad

The one I went to had dead corydoras in the tank, the alive ones had fungus and missing barbels. The platies were dead and a molly had given birth in the tank and the precious fry were being eaten up. Bettas were dying like mad, all of them were sick. Never again...

 

[Rocky998]

The one I went to had dead corydoras in the tank, the alive ones had fungus and missing barbels. The platies were dead and a molly had given birth in the tank and the precious fry were being eaten up. Bettas were dying like mad, all of them were sick. Never again...

Yah that one is a bad one... It's sad...