# Is your petco selling juvenile bettas these days?



## Connieconcon (Nov 15, 2010)

I went to petco last night with the intention of purchasing another fish and I noticed that a lot of their bettas were really teeny tiny! Is anyone else's petco selling juveniles? I think it would be fun to get one and watch him grow, but bf wouldn't let me bring home another fish yesterday.


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

Our petsmart Had two bettas that weren't more then a few weeks old, one was dead and we snagged the other. Still don't know it's sex or fin type but it's doing well now... And growing like crazy


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## fredythefish (Nov 29, 2010)

yes! now that I look at my recently bought betta, he looks awfully small. I guess it will be cool to watch him grow


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## heythatsme (Oct 12, 2010)

Yes. My sorority had one in it that was definitely a juvenile from petco and she got her tail fin torn to shreds and so I had to put hewr in her own tank for the last 2 or 3 weeks to let her grow and heal up enough to manage in the group tank. She's cute but in retrospect I wouldn't have gotten her if I had thought about it.


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## LikeDiscoSuperfly (Oct 18, 2010)

yes, when I was looking for a betta, there were definetly a lot of babies at petco.


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## Connieconcon (Nov 15, 2010)

Are juveniles harder to care for?


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## celine18 (Sep 25, 2010)

yes! i went in a few weeks ago and they had tiiiiiiny tiny betta babies! they were only a few mm thick, and not 3/4 of an inch big!!! i gotta pic with my phone, it was just too crazy!


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Yep, I'd say about 30-40% of the bettas at my local petco are juveniles. :/ I agree that it'd be cool to watch them grow, but it's just wrong that the breeder is letting them go that early.


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## AngelicScars (May 5, 2009)

My girl Solace was REALLY tiny when I got her from Petco. I haven't been there in awhile though.


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## JD3P (Oct 21, 2010)

The Petco near me is also selling really tiny females, some are still slightly clear because they aren't developed. I also noticed some really small males as well. I'm not so sure this is a good thing though. They are so young it seems they would need to be in a different environment at this stage, rather than a tiny cup =[


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## Feral (Sep 19, 2010)

Not Petco/Petsmart, but Walmart is selling some ridiculously small CT's- the VTs seem pretty well grown...


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## TRISHIESfishie (Nov 17, 2010)

Feral said:


> Not Petco/Petsmart, but Walmart is selling some ridiculously small CT's- the VTs seem pretty well grown...


 I got one! He is so small I should have only had to pay 1/2 price LOL


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

As long as they can eat regular food, is there a problem? At least you know you aren't purchasing an OLD betta.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Mew was TINY when I brought her home from Petco in September. The other females there were just babies too! She was so tiny that I had to crush her pellets to feed her. I was terrified of putting her in the sorority. So I waited... and waited... thankfully she's now close to her full adult size. I think. lol

As for problems, the only issue I had was feeding. Otherwise it was great to watch her grow!


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

Lion Mom said:


> As long as they can eat regular food, is there a problem? At least you know you aren't purchasing an OLD betta.


The one we got was too young for regular food at first. We had to wait for her to double in size before she could eat regular food


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## DormDrax (Dec 1, 2010)

... How can you tell if you have an old Betta? Girl who was involved with the giving out of the Betta's (See my Thread in Betta Care called 'Dorm Room Drax') and she called herself a Betta Mom and said Drax was probably 6months to a year old already... Is that ... good? Bad? Ok?


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

betta age is generally determined by size, brightness of colors, and fin development. the age she gave you is probably about right, and is fairly normal for bettas you get from stores. older bettas will loose some of the luster of their color and become sluggish, but these same things also occur in young bettas if they are stressed or sick so its not a perfect indicator


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## Feral (Sep 19, 2010)

Lion Mom said:


> As long as they can eat regular food, is there a problem? At least you know you aren't purchasing an OLD betta.


Not a problem really, except even the Tetra mini betta balls were too big for them (not that it mattered, they weren't interested) and rewarding in a way because my senior guy whom I've had for six months is literally almost twice the size he was when I got him. Just unreal how he's bulked up- looks like he's been on steroids!


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

I gotta say, I got Ariel at Petco and she was just barely an inch, and it's been fun to watch her grow. She's doubled in size, and come to find out she's a pink iridescent dalmatian as her little red spots are coming in on her fins. Her food used to have to be crushed, but she can nom with the best of them now.;-)


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

It might be a good thing though....after all they're younger and live longer...but if you stick them in a bowl it's not going to happen. They require a warm temp, and a humid enviorment...all my tanks are covered in plastic wrap.


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> It might be a good thing though....after all they're younger and live longer...but if you stick them in a bowl it's not going to happen. They require a warm temp, and a humid enviorment...all my tanks are covered in plastic wrap.


we have been keeping the little one we rescued at 86* like you said and she is doing awesome. she was sooo pathetic at first but she is really growing and is now super active and curious about everything. thanks


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

I just bought a female from Petco, and she is only 1 inch long! And all of the males were about half the size of the one I got from Walmart. I actually like the fact that she's so tiny. I'll get to watch her grow up!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

That's why I want young ones. It would be pretty cool to watch them grow and change.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Yes- My Petco had 2 tiny ones labeled "baby". Also, I was wondering if my new halfmoon male I got there yesterday is a juvenile, he is pretty small and naps a lot on leaves, more so than the other betta I have. He also seems a bit more shy.


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## Shiverdam (May 4, 2012)

My closest Petsmart put out several "females" the day I got Aristotle. Only one was evidently female, as she was an adult. All the others were WAY too small to have been able to tell the gender yet.


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

yes. they do. some of them are so teeny, I even asked the guy "Dude. Are you sure those are females? Because they look WAY too young to tell"


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Anyone know if you can tell if your new betta from Petco is very young? Mine is very small but not as small as the ones marked "baby". I am just wondering if he is a little guy or will grow. He is very cute but seems a little fragile compared to my other one.


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

If you post a picture, the people on here can tell you. =3


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

The petco in Fairbanks, Alaska had baby bettas and they were TINY. The one In queensburry, NY has small females that I think are still fry or at least are not adults yet but are labled as adult females. One of the ones i picked up was still transparent. I've had her a month or so and she is finally getting some color in her fins


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## True Indigo (Mar 22, 2012)

Babies at petco? Yup. Mine too.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

My 3 newest bettas are smaller than my tetras, and my older ones WERE but now are bigger, so yes


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