# Betta from petco/ petsmart?



## Princebetta (Feb 28, 2011)

Ok so I live in a small town with only a walmart. The bettas there are in terrible condition and arent that pretty to be quite honest. Im making an hour trip to the closest petco and petsmart, for the most part, do they have healthy looking bettas? Are they real pretty? Will the bettas be ok on the road for an hour?


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Go straight to Petco!
If you're able, call and ask when they get their betta shipment and go d day or two afterwards... that way avoid shelves full of dead fish which happens depending on the store. 
They should be ok to travel for an hour but take sometthing to place your cup in so its dark, like a paper bag. Make sure you will have a place to keep your cup from spilling and temparature to fluctuate too much. 
Lastly, grab you camera and show us your fish!!


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## Princebetta (Feb 28, 2011)

vilmarisv said:


> Go straight to Petco!
> If you're able, call and ask when they get their betta shipment and go d day or two afterwards... that way avoid shelves full of dead fish which happens depending on the store.
> They should be ok to travel for an hour but take sometthing to place your cup in so its dark, like a paper bag. Make sure you will have a place to keep your cup from spilling and temparature to fluctuate too much.
> Lastly, grab you camera and show us your fish!!


Thank u for the quick reply! Any reason why its good to have the fish in a dark place? BTW im hoping for a beautiful fish, just like yours!!


I recently just lost my 2 babies


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

Maybe it's to keep them from becoming stressed? I plan on taking a box with me to steady the cups and seperating them with another line of cardboard so they can't flare and stress each other out. If I have to I'll bring dish towels to keep them from sliding around. A paper bag would also keep the sun off of them.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

By us, Petco > Petsmart when it comes to betta's. I have stopped by Petsmart numerous times for sale items and I always take a drive by the betta section to see if things have improved, sadly they have not. Their tropical fish section as a whole however is kept clean and the fishes all look healthy but the Betta's are definitely neglected.


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## Luliyuhrouwn (Feb 11, 2011)

I work at Petsmart, but I'll tell you for selection, Petco hands down. Petsmart's (at least mine) are healthy, but they only off male veil and crowntails, and females veiltales, occasionally a femail crown. Petco have literally every variety of betta, ranging from about $5 for female or male veiltails so about $24 for king bettas (in my area, at least). And I agree with above, try to go a day after shipment arrives, you'll get the best selection and the least depression. 
I got my halfmoon doubletail there, $15, he's young but he was 100% healthy.


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## Princebetta (Feb 28, 2011)

Petco had nothing. I bought 2 gorgeous crowntails from petsmart. I hope theyre ok on the 60mile drive home.... My tanks at home are set up do i just dump the fish in when I get home?


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## wildmagic713 (Sep 6, 2010)

You need to acclimate.

I'd say take about an hour. You float them in their tanks in the cups they come in, and every five to ten minutes take out some of the water from their cups and add tank water in its place (Dump the water from the cup that you take out somewhere else, like a sink). In the end you'll want to net them carefully and put them into their tanks.

You don't want to dump them straight in because, one, it could cause a temperature shock, and two, you don't want to get the nasty water from their cups into their tanks.


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

No! Float the cups or bags in the water for at least ten minutes. My fish had a water change when I arrived (as soon as he was found the employee -bless her- changed his water.) So he only went for a float for about five minutes before I netted him and set him loose. Kaida still being in his petstore water floated for nine and he's the most activev. (We just placed a mirror infront of him and he began flaring beautifully. He's an amazing veiltail. Kalona is a wuss...We still have the mirror infront of his tank behind the bamboo to see if he'll flare. For exercise and because if he exercises he might finally nom more then one pellet!)


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## PhilipPhish (Mar 6, 2011)

Petco has the best! lots of different kinds and colors! I'm getting 2 bettas from there this summer


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## Goomba3 (Jan 20, 2011)

The PetCo near me has a better selection, but the cups are smaller and the bettas are in less water. Plus the bettas themselves are extremely tiny, so they are very young. I've seen a lot more dead ones at PetCo than PetSmart. All the ones I've bought at PetSmart have lasted at least 4 months. Cheep-Cheep has been with me for almost a year, now.


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