# Going to petsmart.. Hoping I don't come home with...



## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

We have to go to petsmart to get dog food. It's 100% impossible for me to not look at the bettas... I am cycling my 10 gal and I don't plan on getting another female for at least 2 weeks (I have 1 female and I'm getting another since the tank will be divided)

How can I ensure I dot bring one home?? I have to put both bettas in a 2.5 divided until the 10 finishes cycling. But the newbie will have to be in a cup that floats in the 2.5 that only holds 4 cups of water for "quarantine" for at least 2 weeks. I could change the water everyday so she will be comfortable but.. Idk.

HOW DO I NOT BRING ONE HOME? xD


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

You just make up your mind before you walk in the store. Try not to even look at the bettas and if you do tell yourself that even if that fish is beautiful you are still not ready to adopt another. 
Just remind yourself that once your current fish are in their tanks, if you want to bring another home, you will get their tank ready before going out to buy one.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

I just talked to OFL and she said since my tank will have a very low bio load that she recommends I do a fish-in cycle instead.

It looks like I might bring one home today! I can move Teeney back in the 10 and QT the newbie in a heated 2.5.

xD


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## Knitterly (Jun 3, 2012)

Teeney? What happened to the sorority? Did I miss something?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Knitterly said:


> Teeney? What happened to the sorority? Did I miss something?


Yeah... I didn't put it out there cos it was pretty depressing, especially right after it happened...

I took the girls out of quarantine and put them in. The usual nipping and chasing happened...
Then I noticed the newbies had popeye. Monet was pineconing.
It happened VERY sudden. I removed everybody.. The newbies didn't make it. It happened SO FAST.

Teeney showed no signs of illness but I went and got maracyn 2 and treated her for 5 days in case...

She is doing well now... Idk why the newbies didn't have signs IN QT.. but I don't feel comfortable going through that again.

I'm thankful Teeney made it out okay (I still have no clue how she didn't get the parasites). I feel that it will be easier to handle just one more to divide the 10 with Teeney. This time my QT tank has a heater so I feel more comfortable in this situation.


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## Catfish Billy (Jun 27, 2012)

I'm so sorry Teeney for all that.  On the plus side, at least one betta made it out...

I hope it doesn't put you off sororities!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Catfish Billy said:


> I'm so sorry Teeney for all that.  On the plus side, at least one betta made it out...
> 
> I hope it doesn't put you off sororities!


I'm not done with sororities. But I know I will have one eventually- probably when I'm older, have my own house- so that I have the space for QT tanks and heaters.


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## Knitterly (Jun 3, 2012)

I'm sorry that happened! That's a bummer.

We had to yank one of the females from my sorority bec she was bullying all the others. Amazingly, they all suddenly get along now that she's out. But now I have a bowl and a tank. :S


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## Catfish Billy (Jun 27, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> I'm not done with sororities. But I know I will have one eventually- probably when I'm older, have my own house- so that I have the space for QT tanks and heaters.


When I'm older I'll have a WHOLE room for fishies! Yay! XD


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Knitterly said:


> I'm sorry that happened! That's a bummer.
> 
> We had to yank one of the females from my sorority bec she was bullying all the others. Amazingly, they all suddenly get along now that she's out. But now I have a bowl and a tank. :S


Oh that sucks! Sororities are very stressful to handle.

ANYWAYS, I'm off to walmart to hopefully get tiny.


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## tara41192 (Jul 19, 2012)

*Similar case but worse.....*

I have the same problem too! I brought home a sick betta two days ago and my parents don't know about it. The reason why I didn't tell them is because I already had 3 bettas and I'm a college student juggling them back and forth from Florida. Then I promised my dad that I wouldn't get another betta after I got a third one. I broke the promise when I saw this little bubbie on his tummy not swimming around much and its a baby. I'm trying to figure out a way to explain it to him so A) I don't have to return the fish to the store or B) Flush him.:blueshake:


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## Knitterly (Jun 3, 2012)

good luck!!!!!!


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## tara41192 (Jul 19, 2012)

Thank you!


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## ZubinBetta (May 9, 2012)

Hi Teeney! I'm sorry about your gals in sorority. Trips to Wal-mart are so much nicer when you know you have a space for "just one more." (And the diabolical voice whispers into the ear, "Isn't there always room for 'just one more'?") I never really solved the "trip to fish store" dilemma for myself. I can't say I try to avoid betta purveyors, because I don't, despite the best of intentions. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I think it's true that trips to pet stores and visits to Aquabid are like instant betta shows, put on just for you right now. Who can--and should--say no to that? Although the advice is very good, to know what you can support at home and *then* go investigate the aisles of bettas.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Thank you to everybody!!

I got to walmart and she was still there! She is a very pale yellow, so you can slightly see her insides (its not as gross looking as it sounds) and I noticed red dots on her insides... I didnt want to risk getting a sick betta... so I didnt buy her.. The other female bettas were either half dead or had dropsy. 

Although I was dissappointed that I couldn't get her, I went to petsmart. Over half of the females showed signs of dropsy :shock:
So the only healthy looking ones were 2 cambodians and this little girl! I named her Tiny. Poor thing, she was very hungry, trying to eat the scum on the bottom of her cup :shock: .. I posted in the disease & emergencies section hoping I can figure out why she has that red spot on her gill flap... I can't wait to see her colors brighten up, she is very pretty and really appreciating her temporary 2.5 heated tank!!


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## toad (Jul 17, 2012)

Aww congrats on your new baby, Teeney! She is adorable  I love her little pink fins.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

toad said:


> Aww congrats on your new baby, Teeney! She is adorable  I love her little pink fins.


Aww thanks! She sure is a cutie


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

My PS has a good selection, most don't seem ill like what you described. But the employees are quick to respond to most issues.

My PS still has the female bettas on sale for $1 till 7/21


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

MSG said:


> My PS has a good selection, most don't seem ill like what you described. But the employees are quick to respond to most issues.
> 
> My PS still has the female bettas on sale for $1 till 7/21


Yep... She was on sale for $0.99... Obviously they receie poor care. I was told the red on her gills is ammonia burns. Poor thing. I'm going to get her some AQ salt and stress coat..


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

You don't need to use stress coat/aquarium salt that often.
 
I would SAVE that for real emergencies. Also check in your kitchen to see if you have any NON-IODIZED salt. 



 Aquarium salts is just is plain salt without all the extra filler.
 
I think by adding salt/stress coat, it'll just stress out your new rescue. 

I applaud you for buying fish from Walmart & PSmart if they're showing so many signs of illness. I personally would not RISK it. 

However if you cannot resist bringing a potentially sick fish home, then you DEFINITELY have to quarantine & make sure you don't cross contaminate any of the equipment you use on your fishies.

Your 10gallon tank looks GREAT in my opinion. It has all these betta type toys & decorations that my tank in cycle is missing. 

I have maybe 1 betta type cave & the fake plants were just extras I had laying around. 

Good luck with the new one. 



I can see why you want to go the divided tank route instead of the sorority after ordeal with your betta crew.

Another note = vinegar is a good sanitizer if it's NOT diluted. That's why I prefer to use bleach instead. I use a 2%-5% solution of bleach in the kitchen, but I haven't used it on any of the active tanks/decorations.

I'm pretty sure for vinegar, you will need to use 100% vinegar. White vinegar should be the cheapest. 

I save the bleach for sever cases of disease.


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

What what I do with my NEW bettas is place them in a slightly larger tank, I don't put them in a full gallon tank immediately. 



Give them 1 hiding spot & a plant for some cover.
 Give them 1 pellet to see if they're hungry.
 Leave them alone for an hour or two to relax. Watch a tv show or watch them.
If they're just laying there, no a good sign.
Actively exploring the tank, looking around, displaying their ventral fins = very good
 Check in, give them another pellet to see if they'll eat it.
 Take pictures of them when they first arrive. 

Mine have changed drastically since I first brought them home. 




 If the betta is eating without hesitation and they are exploring their new tank, when you're not around and checking out the decorations, then that means they're not freaking out and are happy.



 Keep their new temporary quarantine tank free of gravel, so you can monitor what goes in & comes out.

I HIGHLY recommend this!!

As long as the betta is not storing food inside her/bloating. You should be good. 



 I think this is better routine than the aquarium salt. You can also OVERDOSE with salt, and when using salt, make sure it's COMPLETELY dissolved & the salt/water ratio for your treatment tank are accurate.
Too much salt can burn the fish as well.
 

Any food or pellets that don't get eaten within 30 mins get removed & fed to the other fish. I know I may give them a disease by doing this, but my fish are strong & immune systems are healthy. 

The only time I dispose of food is when it's moldy or decomposed.

Good luck with your new one.

If I gave any bad advice, feel free to correct me.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Thank you, MSG. She is actively swimming and dropping her ventrals down.Shes eating fine, no bloating. Other than the ammonia burns, she shows no sign of illness or disease. I'm thinking quarantining her for 3 weeks to be safe... she is very "social" if you will, she isn't hiding at all or acting scared. She's got 1 hidey and 1 silk plant in her tank.

Thanks for the advice.


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## Knitterly (Jun 3, 2012)

both of my Cambodians as well as boomer show those red stripes son the gills as a daily coloring thing. I never worry about it

TOday's crappy ipod pics:

















and better, previous pics:


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Knitterly- what pretty girls!
Now I'm very confused LOL. The others told me it was definitely ammonia burns... Would it be unsafe to treat her with AQ salt in case? I just bought the AQ salt but noe I'm doubting wether or not I should use it...


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## Knitterly (Jun 3, 2012)

AQ salts will not hurt her. Go ahead.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Tiny is doing well today! She is getting more and more active. She loves feeding time  I dont blame her though, I would love food too if a pet store starved me in a dirty cup.


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> Knitterly- what pretty girls!
> Now I'm very confused LOL. The others told me it was definitely ammonia burns... Would it be unsafe to treat her with AQ salt in case? I just bought the AQ salt but noe I'm doubting wether or not I should use it...


_You know when I was treating Sapphire, that is waht I thought as well, but I found out, it was just his color comeing out, and I posted a thread about it, cannot find it now, in regards to the *red in the face*, around the gill area, I was soo worried, now I am seeing just the color coming out, for some reason it shows more in the face and around the gill areas first..then spreads along the face, and fins and body..Now I see all the red in Sapphire..so that looks normal to me, now that I know what I am seeing in a lot of other fish, just coloring coming out;-)_


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

lelei said:


> _You know when I was treating Sapphire, that is waht I thought as well, but I found out, it was just his color comeing out, and I posted a thread about it, cannot find it now, in regards to the *red in the face*, around the gill area, I was soo worried, now I am seeing just the color coming out, for some reason it shows more in the face and around the gill areas first..then spreads along the face, and fins and body..Now I see all the red in Sapphire..so that looks normal to me, now that I know what I am seeing in a lot of other fish, just coloring coming out;-)_


Thanks! I'm hoping it is just her coloring, if not I'm sure the 100% daily water changes,warm water & AQ salt will help her out


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Tiny's first photoshoot : http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1171245#post1171245


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