Yikes!

[BettaMomma]

My friend came into town tonight and I met her at a bar for a few drinks. We started talking about my fish - and how I take care of them, rescue them, etc... and she started talking about her betta. She said she was told to feed him once a month, about 3 pellets at a feeding. She said he's lived for over a year, and she has fed him probably a total of 15 times since she's had him.

How in the.....

???

I told her to read up on it and slowly start feeding him a little more - then when I told her how much bettas are supposed to be fed she was completely shocked. I can't believe he's even still alive.

 

[soritan]

Daaaamn, and I felt all guilty and stuff when I left Sori alone for 12 days...

It's physically possible, from what I've read, but that can't be good for the fish. Is she keeping him in a very small container, or something? Oo; That's the only reason I can think of that some random LFS might tell someone to feed less often. Not a terribly good reason, as 3 weeks is way different than 'every 3 days', but you get the right combination of good intentions, little knowledge, and guesswork....

 

[mm_simb]

I've never heard anyone keeping a fish for that long and only feeding them once a month. Mine looks like he's starving everyday and I feed him 3 twice a day

 

[soritan]

Well, our LPS told our store manager to feed our two new bettas "until they are full."

Oo

When are bettas *ever* full? They'd happily gorge until they popped if you let them. She fed them each 7-10 pellets before I finally said, "What on earth are you doing?" And she told me.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yeah, I have always been told that it's a stretch, although they could probably live through it, to go 3 weeks without food.

It was one of those "Well, he has lived that way for over a year" things.
Yeah, well if someone shoved me in a closet and fed me a teeny bit of crap every now and then I could probably live for a year, too. I woudln't be happy or healthy, but I'd be alive.

I'm not sure what kind of tank she has him in - I changed the subject before I got upset about it. I did convince her to research it more and she is going to start feeding him more, very gradually.

And, just fyi - I think she said it was her sister- or mother-in law who told her that.

 

[LuBear]

what on earth was she doing?

 

[Bettabelieveit]

Wow, that's one tough, yet very hungry fish! she should get him some good ol' worms for some nutrition that he's most likely lacking! that's nuts, that poor boy.

 

[BettaMomma]

I was in PetSmart one night when one of the girls was changing out betta water and feeding them. She had propped a net up over a 5 gallon bucket, and to dump the water, she slopped the fish into the net to get rid of the water. She then reached into the net, grabbed the fish, tossed him into a little cup w/clean water and sprinkled probably 20 pellets into the cup. I went over and very *politely* asked her what SHE was doing, too. She got a big lesson on how to take care of bettas. I saw her in the store again a few weeks later and she actually came up to me and thanked me for "Teaching her so much about bettas".

Funny how a customer had to teach an employee, eh?
I shoudl send them an invoice for employee training.

 

[mm_simb]

Funny how a customer had to teach an employee, eh?
I shoudl send them an invoice for employee training.

That wouldn't be such a bad idea

 

[Kiarra]

Yeek. And I felt bad for leaving all of my adults without food for the weekend because I was just too tired to feed them when I got home at night.

You know, Styx and I regularly educate both the fish departments, the store owners, and passing customers about various critters. Most of the time, it's Bettas. Today...it was snakes.

These stores owe us a bunch of money. So much that they may as well sign us up on the company payroll. I'm sure neither of us would complain about that.

 

[BettaMomma]

Maybe they could just give you free "stuff" as compensation.

OR.......
free bettas? lol

 

[Kiarra]

Just give me fish FOOD! That'd be good. Or store credit for anything I want. I could do with a few new, ridiculously large tanks.

 

[soritan]

I often go through the same thing. People stop me in stores and ask for advice on their plants and whatnot, because they know I'm good with them. Whenever anyone pokes a finger at the bettas at my shop, they get an instant lesson on betta care. Lesson one, "They do not live on the pothos roots. They are carnivores." Half the time, they get a blank look on their face and go, "Oh."

It's the mind of the hobbiest, honestly. We enjoy our bettas, and as such, desire to know more about them and care for them in the best way we are individually capable. Most people aren't willing to invest that much time into a 'stupid fish', or a 'stupid orchid', and are more than willing to blame the betta, or the orchid, when they keel over. I hear stories all the time about how orchids are too delicate to live indoors, when the truth is, they're really hardy plants and the owners can't be bothered to reasearch the care they need, and simply assume that 'wilt' means 'water more.'

It's the same with bettas. *sigh*

I generally tell people, if they're unwilling to learn, to please refrain from owning.

 

[mlee0332]

My walmart should pay us to take home their fish. You find a completely healthy fish about as often as you find a not pregnant livebearer.

I have never told an employee how to do it, but I have corrected a customer that just got info from an employee. I hope to one day work there so I can take care of those fish good! Did you know they don't quarantine at all! And all of their tanks are hooked to one filter system?!?! So if ones got ich in one tank, every fish has the poss of getting it! That pisses me off. I went one day and that was the case. When I saw that I left. I had planned to buy a guppy, well rescue a guppy, but 5/10-20 fish in the guppy tank were very badly infected.

 

[Synirr]

Good lord, it's hard to believe he survived!! I accidentally gave our cleaning lady (who comes by only once every two weeks,) a lesson on betta care when I wrote up a betta care sheet and printed a copy to see how it turned out. She found it on my desk and read it, and when I got home from class that day she was telling me all about how she was only told to feed hers once a week, etc. I'm happy to say she now feeds him daily and has switched from flakes to pellets