# 5 Baby Bettas



## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

So yesterday, after seeing the PetCo Black Friday ad, I decided to make the journey into town to see what bargains were to be had. I arrived late in the evening and hardly anyone was in the store. After perusing the dog and cat sections I made my way to the fish. 50% off all tropical fish was a sale I knew was going to be hard to resist but I HAD to get another box of bloodworms before my 'lotls started to revolt. Of course, on my way to the frozen foods I saw one of the two racks of sad clamped up bettas in their cups. I will say this about our PetCo, they carry some beautiful fish. Right off the bat I saw a halfmoon elephant ear that was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately his cup was right next to three red veils I know don't stand a chance. I could feel the heartstrings starting to pull so I quickly walked to the freezer grabbed some beef heart and bloodworms and made my way the opposite direction. Big. Mistake! Right next to all the tiny "betta tanks" were the betta babies. In the past I've been able to avoid the 2 to 3 cups sitting on that rack. Not that day. Probably 20 cups were sitting there, most with brown algae coating the bottom. I picked up the first cup, nothing. Literally NOTHING was in the cup. I took the cup up to the clerk and he laughed it off. I went back to the rack and stacked up every dead betta on it and brought THOSE to him. He wasn't laughing then. His only response was to say "Yeah, theyre supposed to check them every morning but they never do...". I walked back. Left on the rack were only 6 cups. Of them. 5 looked stressed but reasonably healthy, the 6th not so much. I had to tip his cup all the way to the side to see any gill movement at all. I took him back to the clerk and told him he needed fresh water and medicine. I doubt it will happen but it was the best I could do. I took the other five and paid my whopping $4.99+tax.

Now that it has been a day I feel safe in naming and describing the new babies. SO here's what I ended up with!:

1. Arya- My largest, it has salmon colring I believe... Very feisty! Has been released into her 1.5 gallon and is zooming around and trying to flare. I believe I see ovaries so I am thinking girl. Also has egg spot.

2.Barbie-My smallest, is VERY pale still and is clamped up. Has a pretty good appetite though and is pretty active. Not sure if this is a boy or girl because she is maybe .5" without fins

3.Cleo- Long and skinny, very pretty teal coloring, good appetite and activity. May actually be a boy LOL

4.Diva- 2nd smallest, brilliant blue coloring <--- nicest coloring I'd say <3 Was very active but has clamped up since and is less active. Again, pretty sure I see ovaries so I'm thinking girl.

5.Fancy- Only one that I don't THINK is VT. I can't tell if she is DT or has just taken a huge chunk out of the middle of her tail because she is still pretty clamped up. Is also salmon coloring but may turn more red.

In case you didn't notice their names are alphabetical A,B,C,D...F! Wondering where the E is?! No worries that's my boy Esteban an adult VT boy! Pics to follow!!!!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Can't wait to see the pictures!


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*In the cups when we got home last night*

Pardon the lighting... Hopefully the pics load. This is the sapphire girl, diva.


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Cool journal. I'm very interested in seeing how these fish turn out, so I've subscribed to the thread. Can't wait to see more pics


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## AlwaysAnimals (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi! I'm very interested in reading about them, seeing pics, and following their journey! Two of my bettas were Petco babies also. I'm about a month and a half in, and they are doing great. (I have a journal of them, too, if you want to "meet" them! Link in my siggy). And FIVE, wow! What a great deal on them, too!


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*Arya 11/30*

Arya is already becoming a favorite. She's just so darn spunky. For those of you that are interested here is a pic. of her today in her tank. I have also included a picture of the tank she is living in for now until I can set up a sorority or divided tank. A few stats on her tank:

Size: 1.5 gallon tank
Age: Ancient: Probably my 2nd oldest tank I still have so I'm gonna go with 7 years+ hence the foggy acrylic
Temp: ranging between 77-78 degrees this will change once I get my order of heaters.
Equipment: Right now none. It have a light built in but I haven't been using it. I have a big desk lamp I am using over all the babies tanks right now to keep them warmer. I will also be adding a sponge filter.
Routine: 50%water change every other day, fed bloodworms once a day and crushed pellets once a day.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*A Quick Tribute to my boy Adam *

After loading the pics of the babies I stumbled on some pics of my recently departed Adam. He was one of my most beloved fish and even my friends said they were sorry to see him go. I got Adam in 2010 and he passed in September. He was one of the most massive bettas I've ever seen which was shocking because I got him from Walmart. If I had to guess I'd say his body alone was 3 inches? plus that gorgeous VT.

Adam had a beautiful smaller tank when I first bought him but eventually moved up and spent the last 2 years of his life in a planted 10 gallon.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*Barbie 11/30*

Barbie is SO TEENY! She isn't clamped any more so that's encouraging but she is still almost completely color-less. I wonder if she is yellow? or translucent? I suppose we shall see. Here are some pictures of Barbie and her tank today. What do you think? Boy or girl? If she is a girl she will be joining my soon-to-be-setup sorority otherwise he will get my biggest tank not used. I know I have an old five somewhere around here..... And a few stats on Barbie's tank:

Size: 1 gallon triangular (I know, I know but she's so tiny I really don't think she minds LOL
Age: Who knows... I have atleast 3 of these stacked up in storage.
Temp: A steady 78 degrees. This tank is located directly under the lamp to try and avoid temp. fluctuation.
Equipment: Again, none until my package from PetCo comes in and I make a sponge filter. Anyone know of a good tutorial? 
Routine:50-75% water change every other day, fed bloodworms once a day and crushed pellets once a day.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*Cleo 11/30-ish*

Cleo is named after the fish from Pinocchio  My grandmother named her and has taken a special liking to her. She has been ranging in color anywhere from a beautiful teal shown in the pictures to a royal blue like Diva. Besides Arya, Cleo is the only baby who never clamped up. She has stayed very perky and alert and her only signs of stress were color change and stripes. I've included a pic on Cleo and her tank. Here are her tank stats:

Size: 2 gallons 
Age: My OLDEST TANK. This thing has been through it all. I'd say it is about 15 years old and I've had to make a lid by cutting an older poster frame so Cleo can't make an escape.
Temp: Because this tank is a little larger it's stayed pretty steady at 77
Equipment: None but she does have a piece of driftwood with some live plant growing on it.
Routine: 50%water change every other day, bloodworms once a day and crushed pellets once a day.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*R.I.P Barbie*

I'm not sure what happened, but I lost one  I woke up this morning to find her wedged upside down in the glass pebbles, it looks like she nose dived... Was it the water temperature? Did she try and get a piece of food and get stuck? Or was she just too small and weak to begin with? I guess I'll never know but luckily the other babies seem to be thriving and I hope this is the last of my losses.

Updates on Diva and Fancy to come today


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## AlwaysAnimals (Oct 21, 2014)

Veerie said:


> I'm not sure what happened, but I lost one  I woke up this morning to find her wedged upside down in the glass pebbles, it looks like she nose dived... Was it the water temperature? Did she try and get a piece of food and get stuck? Or was she just too small and weak to begin with? I guess I'll never know but luckily the other babies seem to be thriving and I hope this is the last of my losses.
> 
> Updates on Diva and Fancy to come today


 
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Barbie  It is tough to lose one, but these poor little babies have a harder time than the adult ones so just take comfort in knowing you gave her/him a great home instead of just living in a pet store cup. SIP Barbie!


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Veerie said:


> I'm not sure what happened, but I lost one  I woke up this morning to find her wedged upside down in the glass pebbles, it looks like she nose dived... Was it the water temperature? Did she try and get a piece of food and get stuck? Or was she just too small and weak to begin with? I guess I'll never know but luckily the other babies seem to be thriving and I hope this is the last of my losses.
> 
> Updates on Diva and Fancy to come today


Sorry for the loss, but if she was wedged in the plebes she might have died because of the substrate. Some bettas are very aggressive in their exploration, and can get themselves stuck in places you'd not think. They can kill themselves trying to break loos (or the stress of trying to) or 'drown' from not being able to get fresh air. I'd personally never use those large pebbles as a substrate for this reason.
If she was not wedged but just dead _on _the pebbles.. she might have been starved to death by the time you got her (most stores put in adult size pellets for babies, which they cannot eat, and won't want to by the time its melted and soft enough to peck apart). Though adult fish can go a long time without food, babies cannot tolerate long periods without a meal as they NEED the food to grow.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*Cause of Death*

You may be right about the substrate. She definitely did not starve lol she ate bloodworms like nobodies business and had had 4 or 5 good meals before death.


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*12/1 Diva*

Diva my pretty blue girl is doing much better. I have switched her to the tank Barbie was in which is the little triangular 1 gallon. I took out the glass pebbles and I'm leaving it bare bottom for now with a plant hanging from the top. She likes chilling in the leaves lol Here's some pics for now


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*12/1-ish Fancy*

Can anyone guess what Fancy is named after? Hint: It has nothing to do with Iggy Izalea and more to do with Reba  Anywhooo Fancy is doing great! She is currently in a Tupperware that holds a little over a gallon with some gravel and a plastic plant. I no longer think that she is a DT just a VT with a huge chunk ripped out. I'm also pretty clueless about her color. She started with red/orange fins but it is changing every time I look at her! She will definitely be one to watch! So without further adieu! Fancy!

P.S sorry about her picture it is hard to photograph through!


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## Magickarp05 (Nov 26, 2014)

Veerie said:


> I'm not sure what happened, but I lost one  I woke up this morning to find her wedged upside down in the glass pebbles, it looks like she nose dived... Was it the water temperature? Did she try and get a piece of food and get stuck? Or was she just too small and weak to begin with? I guess I'll never know but luckily the other babies seem to be thriving and I hope this is the last of my losses.
> 
> Updates on Diva and Fancy to come today


I'm so sorry for your loss. The other bettas will help keep her memory alive. R.I.P. Barbie <3


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

Thank you Magickarp!


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

Picture Updates!


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

1. Fancy
2.Cleo
3. Diva
4. Diva


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

5. Cleo
6. Arya


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## Veerie (Nov 29, 2014)

*New Homes!*

Well, Fancy and Diva got an upgrade today! They finally got to move into a heated, filtered 10 gallon with Gui one of my new men. In case you haven't read about him, Gui is a gorgeous yellow VT with almost a metallic blue/turquoise sheen. The ends of all his fins are aqua. I bought Gui at Walmart along with Simon a red VT. The 10 gallon is not cycled but does have some live plants and I am doing 50% water changes every other day anyway to keep down the growth stunting hormone. Arya and Cleo are also doing well and will probably ugrade to a 10 gallon when Petco has a sale and my finances are better. For now, Cleo has a 2 gallon hexagon, Arya a 2.5 gallon cube and Simon has a 3 gallon sterilite bin. IF I get up the energy next weekend, I may see about finding my 5 gallon and dividing it between Arya and Cleo and let Simon keep his tub which he loves


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