Friday, February 1, 2013

Damn you Petco!

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day I go to Petco. The animals cheer me up, and I like to shop for presents for my lovely cat Luna. Today I was feeling like I needed a little pick me up so I headed over after work. I was mainly going to look at the birds. I just started a new job at a school, and we have finches in the classroom, and I love watching them. So I was walking around Petco, texting my lovely boyfriend about wanting to get pet finches when I saw a display about bettas with prices. The lowest priced one was a baby betta. I had never seen baby bettas for sale before so I went on a quest to find them. When I finally did I immediately was disappointed to find one was dead, and another on it's way out. I realized maybe Petco shouldn't be selling these poor little creatures, so I needed to do something, and I did something very stupid. I bought one.

I also bought a little beta tank, that said it was the "perfect into to fish keeping" and came with "BONUS: Betta Food, and Water Conditioner". As soon as I got all of this home and did some research I realized this tiny little container was not going to cut it. Also one thing Petco doesn't tell people, is that bettas should really have a HEATED tank. So I picked up my boyfriend from work, broke the news that I bought a damned fish, and went to town to get supplies. I came home with a 2.5 gallon tank, a new heater, some lovely decorative rocks, two LIVE plants, frozen brine shrimp, baby tropical fish food, and some dried blood worms. OH and my own real bottle of water conditioner since I'm returning the crap betta tank kit I bought in the first place.

The tank I'll be returning:

And the tank that I set up on my own, because Petco are liars:

So I've got my tank all set up, and my heater is in there, and I've got my little baby betta all settled in. I fed him a couple baby fish pellets and he has literally come to life, just in the last few hours. He was pretty lethargic in his tiny Petco cup, but now in a warmer, bigger container with some food he is thriving.

Everything I've read online says this little guy is going to die, but after shelling out over $40 to provide him with a proper habitat and food, I'm determined to fight the odds.

(also for the record I don't really know the fishes sex, but I'm going with male for now, we'll see)

Here he is! He is so tiny it was hard to get these pictures! (Also don't mind the bubbles, new tanks tend to be really bubbly for a few days)

6 comments:

  1. Hi Natalia, this is Viva from the bettafish forums. Your setup looks great and you picked out what looks to be a healthy baby betta. The only other thing I would suggest for the tank is a thermometer and a cave-like structure for the baby to hide in. Other than that, the tank is perfect. No need for a filter in a 2.5 gallon because you cannot hold a stable cycle and it will only cause more water current which bettas hate! Babies need to be fed more often, so feed yours about 3-4 times per day and feed frozen foods once per day. Eventually you should feed frozen foods only as a treat twice per week and have pellets be the betta's staple diet when it gets a bit bigger. Keep the temperature a little warmer than an adult betta likes it, I kept mine between 82-86F. Also babies need their tank cleaned more often because they produce a growth-stunting hormone which stays in the water. Do at least one 50% water change every other day and once your baby is grown you should do two water changes per week for a 2.5 gallon tank. Some people do two 50% water changes per week while others do one 50% and one 100%.

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    1. Thanks! I actually did get a thermometer yesterday, and I got a better heater. I also got a very small filter, but it hasn't seemed to cause a problem for the little guy, as he swims right up to it. He is doing so well so far, so I'm very hopeful he'll grow up into a beautiful betta!

      Also I plan on getting a cave once I find a good one!

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  2. How did your baby betta do? I'm thinking about taking in a baby betta from petco .... Poor little guys

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  3. I loooove my baby betta. I could spend all day watching him putter around. He has a great personality and is full of life. He's been home a week and has already made himself a giant bubble nest. Now I can watch him grow up and be surprised by what type he will be. (Although my bet is on veil tail.) Also, I went with a lighter color for his body with dark red fins, and I can see his little face so good, it's great. Plus his body is see thru which is fun.

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  4. I bought a baby betta random last night! I have him in a smaller tank right now, just until he gets a little bit bigger, my other bettas are in 3.5 gallon tanks. Even though it's only been about 24 hours with him, he's become so much more active and seems to be pretty happy. I picked a little guy with a white body with red fins and a red line down the center of his body. I can't wait to see what he grows to be!

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  5. I just bought one today from a little shop in my town and from what I can tell he is already an adult and thriving in his new big tank!!!

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