# Petco "Baby Betta" Labeled Cups



## Thunderloon

I discussed with local second best petco fish person and he said that the datasheet that came with the light blue "baby betta" labled cups states that they are "too young to be identified at time of shipping" and "could be male OR female roundtail, veiltail and crowntail" Their purpose is to be bought as a first fish or as a baby fish to raise.

So I'm assuming that its likely more are female than male and more are veiltail than crown or round. I was able to identify a few from stress lines and clear male pattern gill covers, but the rest are actually hard to determine.

If this info could be made sticky/faq I'd appreciate it.


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## Kytkattin

First fish?!? A few experienced members have purchased them and had them pass. The way most people will keep them, they are almost guaranteed to die.  

I would love to get one, but I don't have a spare heater right now.


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## Thunderloon

I'm reserving judgement, this IS the supplier who thought they could make halfmoon kings... I'm tempted to go get the few I ID'd as girls and feed them up a little.


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## betta lover1507

what the heck is the matter with petco? they freakin desperate 0-0 that explains....uhh katrina =[ poor girl


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## fishman12

Wow! So lame....


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## Brian10962001

They're barely out of the fry stage, they could be anything. Take a look at them and you can see what I'm talking about. I know one was a PK, I could tell by the fins but he was probably just a bit older than the rest of them.


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## wwendy104

So so so sad if only they understood the issues. I have been having a very hard time keeping mine alive. I end up going home everyday at lunch to check on him and do water changes in the QT tank. 

They really need to rethink this, its cruel. They are cute indeed but there is no way that these babies can live without proper care. I did have experience and still had to come here to get more because I had tried everything I knew. I think they are so stressed out from people poking at them and moving them that they just aren't making it even in proper care. Makes me sad!


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## Oldfishlady

The thought behind this might be..longevity....since Bettas are short lived to start...if you look at all the other species they sell...they are juvies/fry too or at least most are since some of them can get well over 2 feet and you buy them at 1 inch...lol......even most of the Neon are half grown...they get well into the 2 inch range as adults......anyway....

The lines on them doesn't always mean the young Betta is a female...young males can have them too...a lot of my dark body males will keep this camouflage line until they are about 3 months old and sometimes longer it varies.....just like the stripes don't always mean stress...its a form of communication and camouflage.....besides the ovoipositor which is still not the best way to tell sex since some young males can show one too and some even into adulthood...the fins is how I tell....the anal and ventral fins are usually much different in males than females and body shape....


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## xXGalaxyXx

Aw, poor little things. I don't even know why the suppliers would offer Petco a fish that can't even be identified yet - sure, they're adorable, but they also need more care than adults and I'm sure that most people that will get them will only buy them because 'aw so cute' instead of thinking it through and giving it the proper care.
Thank heavens my Petco is above this - I actually called the nearest stores manager when I learned of this and asked him about it, and he says that he won't sell them because he'd rather provide happy, healthy adults than cute little fry that probably won't make it longer than a few days. Happy news, that was. <3


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## mjoy79

xXGalaxyXx said:


> Aw, poor little things. I don't even know why the suppliers would offer Petco a fish that can't even be identified yet - sure, they're adorable, but they also need more care than adults and I'm sure that most people that will get them will only buy them because 'aw so cute' instead of thinking it through and giving it the proper care.
> Thank heavens my Petco is above this - I actually called the nearest stores manager when I learned of this and asked him about it, and he says that he won't sell them because he'd rather provide happy, healthy adults than cute little fry that probably won't make it longer than a few days. Happy news, that was. <3


 Good to hear that your Petco manager is taking that stand!


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## Thunderloon

My local where I discovered them has a girl who DOES care for them every day and the aquarium lead also is feeding them.


The problem with shipping fry is simple: the earlier in life you starve ANYTHING the worse off, slower growing and shorter lived it will be.
These tiny things are just at the stage where their growth becomes driven by hormones and if they aren't fed _real _food they will begin consuming their own calcium and protein sources. Someplace back in the records you can find where I tried to recover a male I named Flop. He didn't make it because there wasn't enough left of him to successfully digest food.

In my local store's case, I'm fairly certain the care they're given is enough that if the "baby betta" is given a warm clean safe tank with proper maintenance it will survive for much of its life expectancy. The problem with schemes like this is they're simply corner cuts and this one reminds me of a cartoon where the ice cream truck was handing out pints of heavy cream and tongue depressors. There are just some things very few people are prepared to do at home.


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## fishman12

^That's too bad. Poor Flop.
It might also be that puppies, kittens tend to sell better than full grown Maybe people will be like, "Awww! A baby! Let's get it!"


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## Thunderloon

fishman12 said:


> ^That's too bad. Poor Flop.
> It might also be that puppies, kittens tend to sell better than full grown Maybe people will be like, "Awww! A baby! Let's get it!"



Puppy farm puppies rarely live perfectly healthy lives, whereas ones you get from a show dog owner where the mother was helped out with a bottle often live longer than you can accommodate them.


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## gossipgirl1031

I purchased one from a local Petco this past Friday and learned AFTER I took it home how much care it would require. I have been trying to do some research on the internet and haven't found much. Any suggestions are welcome! So far, I have been trying to keep her (at least I think it's a girl) warm, but not too warm, feed more often than adults and water changes. She has a great appetite and seems to be happy swimming around in her tank. When she gets a little bigger and stronger I plan on moving her into a bigger tank. She makes #6 for me now. I have a King male, 2 male veil tails, 1 male crown tail and possibly now 2 female veil tails. Thanks!


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## kfryman

I think next time I go to my petco I will talk to them about keeping the baby bettas. I know they are cute but they are going to end up with a bad owner and suffer, instead of thrive because they are just simply too young. I am going to try to talk a manager or someone that will care.


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## Thunderloon

I bought the girl who cares for them at my local a bag of Marine-s to crack and feed them. 

We spent about an hour sexing them by startle to see which were definitely girls and I got a couple.


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## dramaqueen

gossipgirl1031 said:


> I purchased one from a local Petco this past Friday and learned AFTER I took it home how much care it would require. I have been trying to do some research on the internet and haven't found much. Any suggestions are welcome! So far, I have been trying to keep her (at least I think it's a girl) warm, but not too warm, feed more often than adults and water changes. She has a great appetite and seems to be happy swimming around in her tank. When she gets a little bigger and stronger I plan on moving her into a bigger tank. She makes #6 for me now. I have a King male, 2 male veil tails, 1 male crown tail and possibly now 2 female veil tails. Thanks!


Hi gossipgirl and welcome to the forum. I would keep it in a 1.5-2 gallon tank for now and change the water every 2-3 days. Keep the water temperature around 80-81 degrees. It should be fed 3 times a day and feed it frozen baby brine shrimp and some New Life Spectrum growth formula. That's the best advice I can think of right now. I'm sure some other members will give you some more advice. Good luck with your baby and if you can post some pics, that would be great.


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## Thunderloon

^^

I've been feeding my girls Marine-S Hikkari pellets, they soften up pretty quick and even the tiny little girl I got tonight was able to gnaw through one.

Most of the food choice depends on what you can get locally. I've used Hikkari Marine-S, Fancy Guppy and Micro Wafers. Of all the different freeze dried blood worms I prefer the Omega One but I avoid their flakes like the plague.

Easiest way to determine sex on a young betta is to startle it. Males will dart around and females will hide and show stress lines. The males cannot show stress lines tho they WILL usually display a youth stripe down their side that can look like one.

The regular little feedings and temperature of the water as well as the cleanliness of the handling are very important for the young ones. If you stop seeing fresh poo in the bowl, stop feeding and watch them closely, sometimes they grow quick enough that their guts simply don't need to dump as often.

The smallest girl I ever brought home was Emerald, she was also the only one that stayed green, at 18mm lip to fin tip. She had a visible ovipositor.


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## steftravels

I wonder if they are doing this so they can save the cost of having to raise them knowing how many die.. this way they can sell them while they are young and hopefully get rid of them before they put too much money and care into them and before anything happens.. I can see a lot of little kids wanting them because they want a baby fish. Parents would buy it not knowing how delicate the fish was.


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## Arashi Takamine

This is worse then that Killifish shipping company who was selling those things as dehydrated eggs. I really think I'll do some serious damage to someone if I see this. Trust me...I nearly offed a WalMart employee from a betta almost dying infront of me I flagged down the manager and told him I felt like I walked into hell. That got him scared looking and flagged down employee's to the section at least.


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## Thunderloon

steftravels said:


> I wonder if they are doing this so they can save the cost of having to raise them knowing how many die.. this way they can sell them while they are young and hopefully get rid of them before they put too much money and care into them and before anything happens.. I can see a lot of little kids wanting them because they want a baby fish. Parents would buy it not knowing how delicate the fish was.


Shipping them is too expensive for this concern to be real. A shipping box with $100.00 dead fish in it would be a major embarrassment to the supplier.

I was told that there are normally less than 5 dead in their deliveries and that most Petco stores REFUSE the large x-mass shipments many places normally get.

The main problem with the "baby betta" is simply that quite a few of them end up being physically retarded, literally underdeveloped because of mutation or sensitivity to exposure. When they make the bulk fish feed they do use processed fish and if the balance isn't right you can have too much of one or the other hormones polluting the tank. 

The other problem is quite simple... while the "domestic veil tail" is the majorly dominant trait, you do get throwback round-tail girls who are just terrors in a Sorority. They don't respect the order they themselves have established and might as well be a short fin male.

Round Tail males will even attack ornaments. Don't get me wrong, they're great pet fish and very attentive but on occasion when I was removing Martin from his 1.5g to clean it, I simply moved him while he was latched ONTO the net because getting him INTO the net was proving impossible from his willingness to bite it's "tail" off.

Without jumping up and down and screaming just mention to the fish people in the stores that the babies, while mostly viable, are not the best option for sales. They're still inexperienced and can easily disappoint the customer and shipment should be blocked.


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## DaveC

I did see some babies at the Petco today. Most fish there were adults and looked healthy. As cute as the babies were, I knew that with a n hour plus car ride home, and their delicate care needs they would not be a good idea.

The girl working the fish department seemed to know her stuff. She actually was taking time time to thoroughly explain tank comparability, heat and filtration needs, etc to a lady who had been given a tank and knew she wanted fish for it, but otherwise did not know where to start.

I hope that selling babies in the Petco does not continue, bad for the fish, and bad for business if the fish keep dying.


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## Arashi Takamine

And dangerous for the employee's if I walk in. It'll be dangerous when I'm in there for a dog bed and I may go ape on them if I see those babies.


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## gossipgirl1031

Thanks for tips everyone! She is still doing pretty good except for scaring me by jumping out of her tank when I was about to start a water change. I knew bettas jumped, but had never experienced it. Thankfully she wasn't out long, but the 3 foot fall seemed to daze her a bit. Almost a week later, she's been okay. I'll try and upload a picture soon (when I can figure it out from my Blackberry).


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## kbetta0998

*That is a good idea to talk to the manager. I recently saw the babies there also I will go and talk to the manager next time I stop in.*


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## Silverfang

I absolutely dread the thought of seeing baby bettas for sale here. Thankfully we don't have enough demand.


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## Cilenez

i purchased a baby betta from petco on 1-1-12.
he/she is doing well and has grown a bit over the past week.

how can i figure out if i have a male or female..?

also, any tips..?


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## fishman12

I believe you'll have to wait a bit on the sexing. Good luck and welcome to the forum...

I would be sure to feed well, to help with growth. Keep the water clean, and just take special care. Babies are growing, and a lot of things can upset that growth. Good luck!

(Also, please don't post on threads that are around or over a month since the last post.)


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## Tikibirds

I wonder if they get their fish from Thailand and if the breeders there came up with the baby idea. I know thailand got swampd with rain and I know alot of breeders lost many fish. Im thinking maybe the breeders wanted to sell the fry to try and recoup their losses.

I picked up one tonight. I think it may be a CT? I am hoping it can survive the journey to NY...


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## Thunderloon

the "babies" seem to be either late hatches that survived or the short batches from bad mated couples that need to be cleared from the breeder tanks so a new mating can occur.

These babies I've been getting speak north-american betta, the side to side up-down for food and the tail-curl-wave for "hi"

got two very pretty ones tonight, hope they stay girls.


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## Brian10962001

The first shipment that came in at the Petco I frequent were just normal juvenille betta's, all about 1/4 to 1/2in long. I got a baby betta from this batch who did great until she decided that living outside of the tank was better than inside :-(. The new ones they have are for SURE culls. They are TINY, 1/8th inch clear things with bent spines. Petco for sure gets these from Thailand or some overseas breeders. I have a post on my discussion with the Petco manager and employee in the breeding section or search my name, it's very interesting. I wish Petco would just start placing these guys in a heated tank then sorting them as they grow. They use tap water with conditioner to do water changes, they live a pretty hard life in these cups that's for sure.


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## Tikibirds

The ones I have seen seem to be OK..no bent spines or anything but they are TINY.

Mine is doing very well in "her" little cup. I was syphoning out dirty water with fresh via a syringe and she was floating in a heated tank. However I had to pack up all the fishies since I am leaving today and I am worried about "her" not getting enough heat on this trip. She is about as big as a thumbtack and transparent.


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## illustratz

*Baby betta thriving*

I recently picked up a baby Betta from Petco -- and the little thing is absolutely thriving. It certainly wasn't any more difficult than raising guppy fry -- heck, it was substantially EASIER. 

And, since I just want a "desk" companion, it didn't matter to me what variety or even what gender. It's just a cool, potentially pretty, inexpensive little Betta who's already doubled its size in two weeks, recognizes me instantly, and is developing nice rich colors. 

I think it's probably a female -- but the colors are still coming in rich and pleasant. I'm not at all disappointed that I took the chance.


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## michbelle

I have a friend who works for Petco and he says that they are all shipped from a company in san diego. Basically mass producers in SD, California. But I don't know if that goes for all Petcos, of course different areas get their fish from different places but I'm in SF so that's where ours come from.


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## PTG

I just rescued this one....I think he is way too young. Any advice on the best care would be so helpful. I feel I'm in over my head! They told me to crush up Betta Flakes, and I have but am I doing the right thing? He seems lethargic.


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## RussellTheShihTzu

Thread closed. Five years old. Betta Fish Rule #12.
*
12. Do not resurrect or bump threads without reason.*
Please do not post to a thread that has not received a reply in a long time that is not more appropriate in a new thread. Similarly, please use "bumps" sparingly and do not bump your thread unless a significant amount of time has passed without any response.


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