Every time I get a betta within 6 months he ends up sick. Yesterday I noticed my betta with shreded fins, stringy stuff and acting very listless. He is in a tank with 3 little cories, they aren't sick. The ammonia is 0 the ph is 7.4 and the nitrites 0. I don't get it. The only thing different in the last week for this fish was that he ate a little feeder guppy.
bettas always get sick for me.
- Thread starter goozy
- Start date
platy can be nippers i think, i saw them harass a goldfish before.
make sure you have soft deco or rounded deco in your tank or else those nice fins will be torn.
make sure you have soft deco or rounded deco in your tank or else those nice fins will be torn.
I actually was hoping to hear something like that.
Rather then it being something I was doing. I usually get them from a petsmart or some place like that because I always feel compelled to save one of those in the little cup. Poor little guys.
Rather then it being something I was doing. I usually get them from a petsmart or some place like that because I always feel compelled to save one of those in the little cup. Poor little guys.
Also, it's kind of hard to determine exactly how old many bettas are when they come into the pet stores. If I understand it right, bettas are not the longest-lived fish out there, just a few years is all I've ever gotten from one. If the fish you get is fully-grown when you take it home, you might be getting a two-year-old fish and not know it....I've always tried to get the smallest one I could find, without the "frilly, spiky" fins that are so pretty, because the big guys with the pointy fins are usually old and only live for a few months once you get home with them.
It's really sad, most people see goldfish and bettas as "throw-away" fish, and they're really some of the best pet fish out there.
If it were any other type of fish, I would suspect a compatibility issue, but unfortunately, my experience has been very similar to yours, and it drove me away from keeping bettas for a very long time. I've only just started keeping them again (after having some very good luck with gourami. I figure if one member of the family likes my tanks, maybe the others will, too... I got my first betta in years last month...)
It's really sad, most people see goldfish and bettas as "throw-away" fish, and they're really some of the best pet fish out there.
If it were any other type of fish, I would suspect a compatibility issue, but unfortunately, my experience has been very similar to yours, and it drove me away from keeping bettas for a very long time. I've only just started keeping them again (after having some very good luck with gourami. I figure if one member of the family likes my tanks, maybe the others will, too... I got my first betta in years last month...)
Hey Orion Girl, (or anyone else)
I'm a touch confused by something. You say that bettas are very inbred, and that they're better off being bought from a breeder.
Aren't breeders the ones doing the most selective breeding (i.e. inbreeding) to create these fish of the most uniform color?
Wouldn't the typical petstore bettas be more heterozygous, as one can see from their typically variable color patterns, and red front bottom fins?
While I certainly don't dispute that the bulk of most fish stores house bettas in some rather poor conditions, and that the water conditions of private breeders is likely to be better, I'd think that the purebred bettas are the more inbred of any...
Can anyone clear this up?
I'm a touch confused by something. You say that bettas are very inbred, and that they're better off being bought from a breeder.
Aren't breeders the ones doing the most selective breeding (i.e. inbreeding) to create these fish of the most uniform color?
Wouldn't the typical petstore bettas be more heterozygous, as one can see from their typically variable color patterns, and red front bottom fins?
While I certainly don't dispute that the bulk of most fish stores house bettas in some rather poor conditions, and that the water conditions of private breeders is likely to be better, I'd think that the purebred bettas are the more inbred of any...
Can anyone clear this up?
Breeders tend to be careful about the level of inbreeding, and careully monitor the conditions of the fish. If the fish begins to display unhealthy traits, they infuse some new stock. Breeders won't sell bad stock--their reputation depends on satisfied customers. If the bettas die before reproducing, the line is obviously not worth maintaining.
The bettas sold at PetSmart/PetCo tend to be from tropical fish farms, and there isn't as much attention paid to the individual traits of the fish. If the fry die before maturity, they don't even know--the fish have long been shipped off. Many LFS have the same issues. If you can find one that buys locally bred fish, and doesn't keep them in poor conditions, you're better off.
With fish, it's usually not a matter of genetic diversity as it is line-bred hardiness.
The bettas sold at PetSmart/PetCo tend to be from tropical fish farms, and there isn't as much attention paid to the individual traits of the fish. If the fry die before maturity, they don't even know--the fish have long been shipped off. Many LFS have the same issues. If you can find one that buys locally bred fish, and doesn't keep them in poor conditions, you're better off.
With fish, it's usually not a matter of genetic diversity as it is line-bred hardiness.
