# Unplanned Betta Parenthood. LPS is selling 'baby' bettas



## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

I was prepared to say 'no' to any more fish in Petco today, except this. They are selling 'baby' bettas. I asked the woman what they were. 

She said, "We can't tell if they're boys or girls." 

I said, "I know that, but are they veiltails or deltas, or . . .?" 

She said, "Veiltails are the girls, right? They are the ugliest." 

It went downhill from there. They had the 'baby betta' display right up front with about 12 cups on a shelf by themselves, like this was what they are promoting this week. 

As the woman stood with me, and I looked, I found four of them dead in their cups and handed them to her as I went. She blamed the truck driver saying they park the truck and they get cold sometimes. 

So um, if they were dead off the truck, why were they out on the shelf for sale?

I actually asked her, 'So don't you guys put the dead ones out here to make us feel like we have to rescue them? Do you sell more that way?'

I couldn't help it. I wish i could get them all. Maybe they're young enough to all go in one tank for a few more weeks? I have about 12 large vases. I know, I can't save them all. 

I know nothing about this little fishy, and it's fine, but I'm not even sure its old enough to eat regular food. The pellets I have are really tiny, but if he/she doesn't eat them I have flakes i can grind up little, and the bloodworms I can chop up [with gloves on, and a mask with breathing gear.]. 

And I have the BBS i was saving for if one of these old guys here already doesn't eat his eggs, just once. 
Just when i thought Petco was more conscientious.
But I will learn much from this little guy/gal too.
Ah, So. >.<))


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Could you take a picture of her beside something like a DVD case? I think our female bettas have always been this small  My Yuki, Suki and the new Cello girl are really tiny. She's cute!


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

O_O so tiny! now i REALLY wanna go save one or two. ;A; i have Zidane's sterilte bin.... a gallon bowl.... n'd a spare gallon tank. :/ wasn't wanting to use them(actually JUST NOW remembered that i even have the bowl and bin. xD i'd pushed them out of my mind!), but.... they're so teeny. ;A; not even gendered, i bet!


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## BeautifulBetta (Nov 12, 2011)

Holy frick, people are AWFUL!!! 
Can't believe she'd call them ugly, AND leave the dead ones on the shelf. Can't believe she'd blame the truck driver too...
so glad you managed to save at least one little fishy <3


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## irbyma7297 (Nov 23, 2011)

oh wow. i wouldn't even reconize one as a betta at this age. it looks more like a guppy.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> Could you take a picture of her beside something like a DVD case? I think our female bettas have always been this small  My Yuki, Suki and the new Cello girl are really tiny. She's cute!


A picture of her by some change is below. The DVD cases i have are all dark, and i thought she wouldnt show up. I think I just named him/her 'Nickel'. It could go for boys or girls, maybe better a boy name. idk.



Luimeril said:


> O_O so tiny! now i REALLY wanna go save one or two. ;A; i have Zidane's sterilte bin.... a gallon bowl.... n'd a spare gallon tank. :/ wasn't wanting to use them(actually JUST NOW remembered that i even have the bowl and bin. xD i'd pushed them out of my mind!), but.... they're so teeny. ;A; not even gendered, i bet!


not gendered, and they all looked the same color. I've seen some tiny girls, especially at petsmart, but they had some color to them, and someone along the commercial line took a guess at their gender. I'd think these would be too young. They were just marked 'baby'. I have containers, and extra heaters of a couple of different sizes - in case one heater stopped working or something. Now I have one less 'extra' one. lol 
I really can't help it, it'll be fun to see what he/she is as she gets older. If a girl she can go in the sorority. And if a boy I have an empty three gallon. I guess i could put Nickel in there, but I thought I'd lose him/her, it would be so big.

And I ordered up to 4 more today from my fav LPS, Crazy Critters. The same place I got Cocoa. if she finds the four types and colors i requested, I could be adding 4 more. oops XD
Well, that's it. I just don't have time to work. I have far too many fish to care for, so I'll quit looking. Mwahahaha!


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## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

thats TINY!! SOOOO CUTE!! good for you for rescuing him/her


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## Pewmew (Jul 30, 2011)

omg they are so tiny ... it's amazing how some of them survived the truck and all the stress from being moved around


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i raised my month-old surprise fry in my 3 gallon. i lost her often, but she turned out healthy and happy. i have Java moss i could put in there for them, and i could see if my BBS is still good (it's a year old), and i have New Life Spectrum grow.... i'm plotting to get to PetCo somehow(if they sell them) and buying a pair of them.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

peaches3221 said:


> thats TINY!! SOOOO CUTE!! good for you for rescuing him/her


Nickel is the tiniest one I've seen in person. He/she is sitting next to me while I type. I just put a glass thermometer and I'm giving it a while to be sure she doesn't get too hot, before I go to sleep. I know not all the fishies make it, and there are far worse things than irresponsible pet owners, and sellers, out there, but it's the ignorance that just astonishes and annoys me. 



Pewmew said:


> omg they are so tiny ... it's amazing how some of them survived the truck and all the stress from being moved around


It is amazing. 'baby bettas for Christmas' What won't they think of next? When i had a few acres, I used to wait for Easter and buy up all the baby chickens from the feed store that had been dyed colors like Easter eggs so that at least those chicks wouldn't have their feathers pulled out by some unsupervised human youngin'.



Luimeril said:


> i raised my month-old surprise fry in my 3 gallon. i lost her often, but she turned out healthy and happy. i have Java moss i could put in there for them, and i could see if my BBS is still good (it's a year old), and i have New Life Spectrum grow.... i'm plotting to get to PetCo somehow(if they sell them) and buying a pair of them.


You had surprise fry? I think that would be fun, I hope it was. So you say she/he is young enough i should feed baby food? I have some hikari and frozen bbs too. For once I planned ahead and am ready! If you lived near me, I'd take you and get another one too.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

she was mailed to me from a user on another betta forum. she kept on my struggle to help my first white HMPK, Weiss. she knew how upset i was when he passed away, so when she mailed me some Red Cherry Shrimp i'd bought from her, she snuck a month-old HMPK fry in there. i about cried when i saw Chappy peeking out at me. with those big ol' eyes.

i fed Chappy BBS and NLS Grow pellets up until she was about.... three months old? she ignored them after a while, so i stuck with the NLP Grow. i feed all my bettas that, mixed with some other pellets.

sadly, i live states away. D:


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

BeautifulBetta said:


> Holy frick, people are AWFUL!!!
> Can't believe she'd call them ugly, AND leave the dead ones on the shelf. Can't believe she'd blame the truck driver too...
> so glad you managed to save at least one little fishy <3


She was nasty. When she walked away carrying the dead ones, she said "I'll take these, gonna go have me a fish fry." Now in another life, i might have laughed at that, a little, very little, but today it just annoyed me more. 



irbyma7297 said:


> oh wow. i wouldn't even recognize one as a betta at this age. it looks more like a guppy.


LOL I hadn't thought of that.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

Pewmew, it would be, but even more that breeding them, wouldnt it be fun to have a grant of mucho bucks to take in as many as you can to care for? and enough to hire others to help you do it! 

Ah yes, I dream. I worked for two different non-profit organizations that rescued donkeys and wild mustangs, and another that rescued dogs. That was great fun. Now I wanna start my own, for Bettas.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

Luimeril said:


> she was mailed to me from a user on another betta forum. she kept on my struggle to help my first white HMPK, Weiss. she knew how upset i was when he passed away, so when she mailed me some Red Cherry Shrimp i'd bought from her, she snuck a month-old HMPK fry in there. i about cried when i saw Chappy peeking out at me. with those big ol' eyes.
> 
> i fed Chappy BBS and NLS Grow pellets up until she was about.... three months old? she ignored them after a while, so i stuck with the NLP Grow. i feed all my bettas that, mixed with some other pellets.
> 
> sadly, i live states away. D:


I thought you probably did, i didn't even check to see where you were from. There was one other from SD here though. 
So getting Chappy was a wonderful surprise! I bid on cherry shrimp from Aquabid recently, [and won] and the description said 2 endlers livebearers. I thought it had something to do with the shrimp, so i was surprised and pleased to find two pretty little fishies in another bag in the box. I got 5 sample cuttings of plants with them in the bags, including a freshwater seaweed that i think is really neat looking. The seller said the plants and shrimp would grow quickly. 
and thanks for sharing your feeding strategy with me. 
Mia


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i about cried. i was so surprised! something in the back of my head told me, "sterilize Weiss' tank, set it back up". i thought it was just me missing waking up and checking on him. i'd tore his tank down and left everything in the bath tub after he passed, so his spot was empty. x3 i had tons of fun raising her. it broke my heart when she passed away a few months ago. :< she was just over a year old, and i'd wanted to breed her.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Aww, poor little thing! I'd love to raise a baby betta.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

*I did it now. How can I feel so goood and so baaad all at the same time.*

I was sooo baad, in that i got more fish. I'm up to 23 now.

But it gave me a warm fuzzy in my hart to bring home the last 5 survivors from our local petco's display and put them in their warm water with their plants and all. 

I went by on my way home from meeting my hubby for lunch, and there were six left on the shelf. The first one I picked up to look at, was dead. I took it and sat it on the counter back in the fish area. On the way back to the front of the store. I looked again and their cups were soooo cold. I couldn't stand it and stacked them all up to go pay for them. 

Fortunately the guy who calls himself the 'go to fish guy', was there today. He saw me stacking them and said you're getting all those?

I said, "Yes I am, they're cold." 

He's probably sure I'm nuts now. 
I did what i could, and yes, I'm sure after i left, they brought out 25 more, some living, some not. At least the babies i brought home will be warm and fed and as happy as a betta can be. 

While the cashier was trying to figure out how to stack all those betta cups in a bag so they wouldn't tip over, the 'go to fish guy' disappeared, but came right back with a box. he took the box the fishes and me to another counter where he packed them with probably 20 bags under, between and over them. 

That one employee keeps me thinking it's okay to go in the store. 

More pics, and one of these babies is definitely a double tail


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

... maybe just me... but the first pic of your new gang looks like a double tail.... =0


They are all gorgeous  thank you for saving them!!!!


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## Anitax3x (Aug 26, 2011)

I agree, looks like a dt to me .. Aww you're lucky you have the means to take care of them. I am afraid to take one home because I have no live food. other than frozen bloodworms. Would that be good to take care of one of those baby betta's?


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

LittleBettas said:


> ... maybe just me... but the first pic of your new gang looks like a double tail.... =0
> They are all gorgeous  thank you for saving them!!!!


she/ or he is a doubletail, I'm sure! The only one. Out of the others, one has a dim, blue shimmer, and another has a red cast to her fins. The others all look like Nickel, the baby i brought home first. 




Anitax3x said:


> I agree, looks like a dt to me .. Aww you're lucky you have the means to take care of them. I am afraid to take one home because I have no live food. other than frozen bloodworms. Would that be good to take care of one of those baby betta's?


Petco staff or signs in the store dont say anthing about special feeding instructions. Nickel ate three small pieces of frozen bloodworm the night he/she came home. [I vacuumed out the rest, cause i over did it, by a lot.] This morning Nickel ate betta flakes, that the adults aren't interested in. This evennng she had two pellets, [they are tiny, like small grains of sand] and one bloodworm. Nickels belly is the biggest part of her. 
I was thinking if i put her in a big tank, i'd never see her/him. She is in a 2.5 gal hex, between two boys in their hex tanks and is always right up front, or swimming at the glass by one of the grownups. See her belly?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

roadplug, I applaud you for not shoving that employee's face into a pile of rat poo. I can't believe she said that fish fry line! Oooooh. :evil: People. *grits teeth*

Your new babies are gorgeous and I'm sure you'll raise them up to be lovely bettas. And it's like getting 12 bettas because you'll get 6 new bettas when they grow up and you find out what gender/tail they are. 

And thank you for the warning. I'm staying out of my Petco for as long as I can. I just can't bring any more bettas home and I know I wouldn't be able to resist if I saw those poor things in their little cups labeled "Baby Betta."


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Aw, he/she is cute! lol
Can't wait to see what they look like all grown up!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I got one of the baby's today too, since one of my girls died 
I hate one of petco's fish ladies. She saw my dog and acted all nice and sweet and then once she realized who he was (he always barks at her and she ALWAYS has something nasty to say) she got all snooty and was like "Oh. You. You bark." Not to mention this is the same lady who told me to put 3 females in a tank with my male and let him pick the one he wants to breed with. 

Anyways, They had a few babies and only VT male adults and 4 or so CT females. What makes me mad about the baby thing is right n the middle of their display, they have those tiny tiny triangle "tanks" and they are selling the baby, the tiny tank that's smaller then the cup and betta water for $10 :evil:.

I think mine may end up as a VT male, maybe? The tail fin is kinda longish.


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## tracyalexa (Mar 29, 2011)

I've been avoiding the petco/petsmarts lately but I had to run in for something Sat. I get to the Betta area and see a bunch from the new shipment. They keep them all on this one shelf and then stack them all over the top's of the other fish tanks, light blaring on them. The cups were SO DIRTY! 

So....me being me (along w/ my daughter & 2 nieces) start pretending we are going to buy them and asking if they could please change the cups so we can actually SEE them. They hate me in that store, but hey, if it gets the water changed I don't care. The dread to see me coming and although there is a big turn over in that store, they still seem to know me and my girls. They are the same ones who told me daughter the fish was hibernating (it was dead) and my daughter replied "Is it a bear?" She was MAD. lol. They seriously treat customers like we are morons.


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## PitGurl (Feb 22, 2011)

I can't believe their selling betta fry now. They can't even take care of the adults let alone babies. I'm going by petco tomorrow and I hope for my sake and the fish they don't have babies there or I'll probably come home with a box of bettas :roll:.


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

PitGurl said:


> ....I hope for my sake and the fish they don't have babies there or I'll probably come home with a box of bettas :roll:.


 Aw! take pictures! lol, good luck, I refuse to go to petco in fear of seeing baby bettas... I know I would be unable to refuse  luckily, the nearest petco is 3 hours away


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

I went by my Petco yesterday, didn't see any baby bettas. I only hope it's because the people at my Petco are smart enough not to sell baby bettas.


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## Leeniex (Aug 14, 2011)

Oh no. I have to go pick up some frozen bloodworms and if they have babies, I will be in trouble.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

He is so cute!! Nice boy/girl!


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

Tikibirds said:


> I got one of the baby's today too, since one of my girls died
> I hate one of petco's fish ladies. She saw my dog and acted all nice and sweet and then once she realized who he was (he always barks at her and she ALWAYS has something nasty to say) she got all snooty and was like "Oh. You. You bark." Not to mention this is the same lady who told me to put 3 females in a tank with my male and let him pick the one he wants to breed with.
> 
> Anyways, They had a few babies and only VT male adults and 4 or so CT females. What makes me mad about the baby thing is right n the middle of their display, they have those tiny tiny triangle "tanks" and they are selling the baby, the tiny tank that's smaller then the cup and betta water for $10 :evil:.
> ...


I don't understand the hiring policies for the big LPS. Some of the employees are actually evil, like the one you mention, and don't even seem to know what customer service is, let alone give good advice for the critters they sell to people. 
I have a little knowledge and experience, and a lot of customer care training, and yet they don't hire me. It might be a blessing in disguise though, I'm not sure i could take working in such an ignorant environment. there is that one guy in our Petco that i think i could learn from, but the rest, not. 
I didn't see any 'triangle tanks' in our lps. but they have other little plastic things. How come there is such concern over keeping them out of sunlight? They say it'll kill em. I can see if the water gets too hot sitting in the sun, and it would make algae, if you went to long without changing the water. 

Mine haven't fallen over dead after the sun touches their tanks on the way by. 

Its cool that you have an idea of what yours might be already. I don't know about mine at all, they don't seem to have particularly long tails. But so far all of them are doing great, and eating fine.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

tracyalexa said:


> They are the same ones who told me daughter the fish was hibernating (it was dead) and my daughter replied "Is it a bear?"  She was MAD. lol. They seriously treat customers like we are morons.


That's a great idea to get their water changed. I'll use that  And I love what your daughter said! That's great. It may seem like they treat customers like morons, but i wonder if its their own ignorance. They are the morons. :twisted:

petco and petsmart employees know me. I point out all the dead fish every time i go. I mean really, if you checked everyday, there wouldn't be multiple dead fish everywhere. Not just the bettas. I understand in the numbers they handle some will die, but shouldn't they make more of an effort to keep them from customer's view?
I told an employee about a sick fish, i think it was a large goldfish that was on its side and back, floating around the tank, and it moved its fins every now and then when other fish slammed into it, but it was definitely on it's way out. His answer was that " we are not allowed to dispose of fish that are still alive. Even sick ones." 

I told him, "I didn't say 'dispose', why can't you quarantine him in the back someplace where customers won't see him suffer - and wonder if he had something contagious? You would probably sell more fish." 
he had no answer.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I seriously agree with everything you're saying about keeping the dead fish from view. You would think it would be a good business practice to present your products in the best condition possible. I mean, florists don't stick a bunch of wilted flowers out on display, do they? Oh Petco/Petsmart, when will you ever learn???


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

They sell baby bettas now?! O.O That's the last thing they need to be doing! Good luck with your cute little guys can't wait to see more pics of them as they grow older!


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## SDragon (Sep 26, 2011)

I saw these at the petco near my town. They were about the size of a dime! I wanted one but i had no idea what to feed it as they rae so tiny. i ended up leaving them there.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Sadly my little one didn't make it. It was tinted blue but its tail fins and 1/2 its body looked like it was burnt brown kinda like that mystery illness some people's blue bettas got. 

I wont even talk to anyone there when they ask if i need anything. I know I will either get the wrong advice or get rude service. The same witch who yelled at my dog for barking also told another customer he was stupid, right before she told me "i can't pick the breeding pair, the male has to choose the female. Put 3 or 4 in his tank". Considering this female already beat the crap out of two of my males...Im sure that would of ended well...


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm so glad they don't have babies here. If I were to get a baby betta, I'd get it from a local breeder. I can't imagine how I could keep them alive.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'm so sorry, Tiki.  You're going through a bad spell with your bettas right now. Poor little guy/girl. At least it passed away surrounded by love and care with you.


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## Bim0513 (Dec 7, 2011)

So cute! haha I try to get the smallest ones possible cause I want them to be raised with me


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

one of my 'betta babies' from petco has developed red fins!
sry for the bad pic, but i had to get it fast before she/he went back into his javamoss.

Bim0513 - its great to watch what they become when the start shining in your home, in their new home isn't it? Idk how old the one i pictured is, but they prefer tearing up a worm to eating pellets ^.^)


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## gossipgirl1031 (Dec 7, 2011)

I was happy to find one CT in the mix of mostly dead babies. I'm raising 4 right now. A DT is a great find!


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## Krys (Jul 28, 2009)

The one you have is a female.
Looks like a veil tail.
Possibly going to be a dark blueish or brownish.

And flakes should be fine.
She's not too small for those.
Frozen blood worms are good too, just find a couple thin ones and let her eat them whole.
worse comes to worse, hard boil an egg and crush the yolk up, feed her a few crumbs of that, they love eggs.


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## gossipgirl1031 (Dec 7, 2011)

Baby pics are now up on my profile page. I can't figure out how to post them in the threads. Sorry. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks!


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