Save an ugly betta campaign

[Ratlova30]

As I was reading posts of all the gorgeous bettas people buy I started wondering whether any of those ugly sickly looking bettas that make you cringe when you see them ever find homes. How many of those ugly bettas die in those cups because people such as I pass them up. So I decided when I get my next paycheck to go hunting for the ugliest half dead looking betta I can find.

Where I will put my future hideously ugly betta I don't know, but I'll figure something out. I will post pics once I find my super ugly betta. Please, join the campaign to save those ugly bettas...:help:

 

[Mikey5924]

I like that idea and when I go to purchase my betta in the future I will make sure I look for the sorriest looking one to buy. Kinda like getting the scruffiest dog from the pound... one of the best dogs I ever had.

 

[ele funk]

Count me in too. The LFS and Petsmart here have some seriously ugly bettas !

 

[Hooked Newbie]

Just bear in mind that by purchasing these fish it encourages the store to order more without regards to quality.

 

[Ratlova30]

Post pics when you get your ugly betta, even if it's months from now I wanna see. This will be betta #4 that will be coming into the family!

 

[H2Ogal]

Just bear in mind that by purchasing these fish it encourages the store to order more without regards to quality.

I think that buying any betta encourages the stores to order more. And the stores certainly aren't deliberately stocking ugly/sick fish. The reason ugly bettas look like that is because they are dying from ammonia poisoning, secondary infections, fin rot ... Go to the store on the day the fish come in, and they are all gorgeous.

To those of you going with the ugly bettas, good luck and godspeed! Just be aware that the odds are lower with them because they are already in bad shape. If they don't make it, it won't be your fault — and you should feel good about having given them even just a few hours/days of clean water and good food.

I'm not cut out for going through the grief of an unsuccessful save, and I know it, so I chose to do the opposite by bringing home the two healthiest girls. But, sadly, it wasn't the first time I looked in the cups, and now I can't forget two or three specific fish that I didn't bring home. (They were gorgeous and healthy, but I can't just keep getting bettas. Jokes about MTS aside, there is a limit. At least for me.) So, yes, I'm learning the hard way to not look at bettas unless I am prepared to bring one home. It's too difficult, knowing the fates they are likely to suffer.

 

[MidnightSkies]

With my last boy I did this to a certain extent. Just got him last weekend, and I had really been wanting a "king" betta, and to go in my 10 gallon with the cories. I knew exactly what I wanted him to look like. Of course they didn't have that "perfect" betta. They did have some VERY tempting halfmoons though. I ended up coming home with a pale turquoise boy in a filthy cup and some fin problems. He's not exactly the most pretty or colorful betta, but I like him and I couldn't leave him. Kings get passed up so much because of their short fins and how expensive they are.

He ended up not doing too well with the cories. Fine all day the first day, until lights out when he decided to cruise around the bottom until he found them and bit their fins. Nothing too bad, but he's just too big for me to trust him. Plus don't want to stress the cories out even more. Now he has his own tank, but I might try to add him to the 10 gallon again at a later date.

Haven't settled on a name yet, but either Rip Tide (aka Tide), or Poseidon.

Because of some of his injuries, I do believe he was put with another betta at one point.

 

[oowl]

I was at Pet Co last night and they had their "ugly bettas" in cups marked "Opps, our loss is your gain. . . " and then in the blank, it listed why the betta was marked down. The sad one I looked at said, "Missing right eye." He was marked down to $6.50. Awww! I cringed. I didn't buy though. I agree with the theory of not supporting stores that don't provide good care to their fish (and this was one of the way bad Pet Cos [and, no, they aren't all]).

 

[Ratlova30]

Midnightskies I think your betta is gorgeous, I'd name him Poseidon. I get what you mean H2Ogal, I try to have tunnel vision when walking past the betta shelves. I'm a complete sucker for the crowntails. I just want to give a betta that's close to death a chance at life.

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I feel bad for every single fish, but if you want to make an impact you have to draw a line. There are a lot of amazing bettas available through local breeders and betta clubs. I'll personally spend more to know that the conditions they've been bred and raised in are what I consider "humane". Just my .02.