# "They're all boys," says Petco...new fish!



## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

...but I'm wondering how they got close enough to 'know' this one was a boy. :-D After pulling six dead adult bettas and a half-dozen nearly dead ones to show to the manager, I was feeling soft-hearted. So here's my new boy/girl. At least she doesn't have to try to eat the bloodworms they were feeding her anymore... *facepalm*


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

so cute!


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## Sceven (May 22, 2012)

Awwww! The only thing that would make them cuter is tiny binkis. Maybe he had a blue one! That must be how they know lol.


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

Sceven said:


> Awwww! The only thing that would make them cuter is tiny binkis. Maybe he had a blue one! That must be how they know lol.



Ha! When s/he let's me know, I'll pick out some pink or blue shorts... :lol:


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## betta lover1507 (Aug 6, 2011)

there is no way to tell the gender of a fish THAT young, it doesn't even have color pigments yet. well thats what i think


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## dbooknook (May 12, 2012)

I love baby bettas! They may be a pain to take care of, but watching them grow up is really cool.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Isn't that baby like a few weeks old?


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

xShainax said:


> Isn't that baby like a few weeks old?


I know...ridiculously young, isn't it? That's why I had to laugh when the guy at Petco said it was definitely a male. And the were feeding the babies bloodworms bigger than their heads! 
Luckily, I happened to have some cultures of microworms(very popular!) and bbs, as well as Hikari First Bites, and some micro pellets. So far, so good, but of anyone has other suggestions, I'd appreciate any extra help!:-D


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

betta lover1507 said:


> there is no way to tell the gender of a fish THAT young, it doesn't even have color pigments yet. well thats what i think


I totally agree, Betta lover...I don't even know why they're selling them this young. They must know 90% of them will meet an untimely demise at the hands of people who don't even know whEre to look for info on raising these tiny tykes.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

It looks like it still has an egg yolk. Hm...I still have Hikari First Bites. I never knew betta fry would eat it.


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

It will eat the first bites, but it seems to prefer the microworms over other foods right now, so I'll keep up with those


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## Timberland (Jan 30, 2012)

aww so cute!


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## Thomasdog (Jan 26, 2012)

dawwwww.. dumb pet store people... they told me Sparta was a female..... errrr, no he's not, he's from Thailand, trust me, he's a male! "Oh no! It's a girl! See how it doesn't flare bery big!!!" 

Yeah right....


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## BeckyFish97 (Apr 9, 2012)

OMG That baby must be what...3weeks old?"its definitely a boy?" and that employee was "definitely talking..."


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

Well, it's doing really well, whatever the age. I'm still giving it microworms and have started it on micropellets, which it does seem to eat. It was eating Hikari First Bites as well, but I want to make sure it gets enough protein and variety. So far, so good!
:-D


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

1.) I admire you and anyone else who complains and points out dead or nearly dead bettas to store employers or managers. I am pretty shy and hate complaining but you guys give me the inspiration to try to muster up some balls and do the same thing.

2.) My Petco had between 10 and 15 baby bettas the other day. I won't even go into my confusion as to why they already stock so many adult bettas at one time since they just freaking sit there for months. But who buys baby bettas from a Petco or Petsmart, and why? Is it because you like the surprise of seing what it will be?

3.) how do you take care of a tiny baby betta?

4.) Why do you think Petco stocks so many baby bettas?


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## Junglist (Feb 23, 2012)

I would say its a male, because the way how the back is shape on the dorsal there's more hump than a female or sometimes the you'll see the horizontal lines forming on the females. I'm guessing he looks like somewhere almost around 2months?


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

@Mursey- our Petco has close to 50 baby bettas at a time, all stacked in piles...it's sad, really. My friend has one as well, though it looks to be a bit older as it has marbled coloring showing as well as hints of being a crowntail. With some of the advice gleaned off this site, I'm feeding a few different foods, both live and processed, and it seems to be doing well. As for pointing out dead fish at the store, I usually try to be polite, yet stick to my point when I show them the dirty water and diseased fish. 

@Junglist- heh. Your guess is probably better than mine. It's about 3/4th of an inch, maybe a wee bit more. no color yet. Hopefully some home-cooking will encourage it to grow. And it would be my luck to get another boy. The last two females I bought turned out to be juvenile males...ah, nature. Six boys and counting...


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## Babydoll (May 16, 2012)

I was so mad at the petco I went to .. I got directly to the petco company.. not an employee or manager.. and they wrote me back and since that time every time I have went in the water was cleaner and the sick fish were qt( because they were trying to sell them as healthy before!)


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## Babydoll (May 16, 2012)

I was so mad at the petco I went to .. I got directly to the petco company.. not an employee or manager.. and they wrote me back and since that time every time I have went in the water was cleaner and the sick fish were qt( because they were trying to sell them as healthy before!) The first visit nearly over half were sick or dead and then now only a few..


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

So...I'm wondering if this little tyke is a 'stunt runt' since I was looking at other baby bettas that are 50% smaller than mine, and they have colors already. (it was hard not to buy the tiny red double tail!). mine is doing well, but is still completely void of color. It's probably a giant HMPK big ears...and it's only two weeks old...ha!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

It could be a cellophane betta


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## Marvel170 (Jan 2, 2012)

xShainax is probably right I mean it looks to me like the color of my caterville(flesh colored possibly a marble VT betta), at least it's a healthy little tyke


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

Hm, that could be fun. The see-through fish is not yet represented in my little town of bettas...heh. It does seem to be growing with the micropellet/Microworm diet, so it's all good. I'll post update pics soon!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I almost bought a cellophane VT male Thursday. He was so adorable


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## Ramble (Mar 13, 2012)

UPDATE: So, I'm leaning towards 'girl' ... little fishy has doubled in size in the last week! (it must like my cooking!) Still no color, but I can definitely see an egg spot and fishy is more round that the males - though that could just be breakfast- 
But my boy Rudis had an eggspot and he fooled me. It would be kind of nice to finally get a girl!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

xD Romeo is a he/she. It's a joke since he is effeminate but he is a boy


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

xShainax said:


> xD Romeo is a he/she. It's a joke since he is effeminate but he is a boy


My little boy tells me that "Chicory" (my mustard gas halfmoon) is a very girly sounding name. ...well, it is a flower, so I guess he has a point, but the boy bettas are...well, pretty boys!


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