# I Got My Betta!!!



## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

I GOT MY BETTA TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hes doing great!!!! i got him (more along the lines of rescued him) from petsmart....he was in one of those tiny cups, in the backrow where no one could see him. he looked vigorous, so i figured, if i don't buy him, who will? so anyways, i put him in his tank, with lots of plants for cover. he loves it!!!! hes got the whole 5 gallon to himself. as soon as i put him in, he even ate!!!!! im so happy!! and his name is.....................drumroll please............................................Jimi Hendrix!


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Congrats! Hopefully he will thrive for you!


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## Jonno (May 22, 2005)

Good Luck On your new betta , i hate when people put them in such small things


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Good luck with him! I know you'll treat him right. What color is he?


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## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

i wanted a green one... he looked green in the cup at petsmart because they dye the water this unnatural blue color, so it looked green to me. He was very vigorous at the store, and kind of small, so i bought him. He turned out to be red though, but I don't care! he's still great!


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## Jonno (May 22, 2005)

wot they had him in a cup that is just wrong !!


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## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

yup..i think thats pretty mean too... but now he's got the whole 5 gallon to himself!!!

update: the betta is still doing good, i held up a mirror to his tank and he flares, so he seems very healthy. swimming around and the like. just did a 10% water change...


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## thatsfishy (Jan 18, 2005)

> because they dye the water this unnatural blue color


That's not dye per say (like food coloring) that just makes the water look "prettier" or something, it's methylene blue which is an active ingredient in a variety of meds as well as in some water treatments used during the shipping process (i. e. Bag Buddies), it helps to oxygenate the water and prevents fungi.


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## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

thanks for the enlightenment. lol. i did not know that. you learn something new everyday! :razz:


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

That's great! I'm sure you'll love him, they are wonderful fish.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

thatsfishy said:


> That's not dye per say (like food coloring) that just makes the water look "prettier" or something, it's methylene blue which is an active ingredient in a variety of meds as well as in some water treatments used during the shipping process (i. e. Bag Buddies), it helps to oxygenate the water and prevents fungi.


yes thats right, we usually put meds in ours too


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

I'm glad you got your betta and I hope he lives a long time for you. One thing for everyone to remember when buying any fish or equipment from a LFS is look for a store that does a good job with the fish. By buying from a store that doesn't take good care of their fish you are just helping them to buy more fish to not take care of. You are also helping to put the good stores out of business. We now have 3 local store within 15 miles of me (down from 5 a month ago), but all my extra Bettas that I don't cull are given to one store just because they do a better job of keeping there Bettas. It's my small way of helping the good LFS. I'll be droping off 8 males there tomorrow. I never do any business with the other stores because I don't like the way they keep their Bettas.


RC


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## Pac-Man (Mar 18, 2005)

I know...i ususally go to a different store, an lfs, but petsmart was closer and the equipment i needed at that moment was cheaper....


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

i want a 1 male betta or 2 female bettas for my 2.5 gallon so i'm gettin them at my lfs. They kept eack 1 in a 1/2 gallon bowls and keep the water clean which is better then an chain store and the females live in communities with mollies and other fish


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

How much cheaper ? If the price isn't a lot different your better off in the long run buying from the better store. Good stores may cost a little more, but if they dont get the business you will be stuck buying all your fish from the store that does a poor job with their stock when the good store goes broke. 


RC


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

Yo pac good luck with your betta i also go to pet smart and wal-mart and buy any fish that looks liek it is goign to die or is not gong with the other fish, but the tankes they have are so small that no matter were they are they will always be with the others.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

good luck! congrats on the new addition. my lfs has about a 20 ft long wall lined up with them on two shelves. As long as this wall. They just recently started this..


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

Hey pac did u have other bettas .


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

ALFA WOLF said:


> Yo pac good luck with your betta i also go to pet smart and wal-mart and buy any fish that looks liek it is goign to die or is not gong with the other fish, but the tankes they have are so small that no matter were they are they will always be with the others.


 All you are doing is help keep walmart and Petsmart buying fish. You are helping them turn a profit by doing poorly at keeping fish. The LFS that does do a good job at keeping stock could really use your business. 



RC


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

Never thought of it that way. but i just feel bad. and forgive me for asking LFS= ?


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

LFS=local fish store.

Secondly, buying fish equipment from a chain store isn't quite the same as buying fish in my book. (of course I might just be skewed in my opinions because my wallet is a bit slim)

And 3rd...the petsmart here was the only one that gave me the proper medication to treat my platy when it was developing white spots on it's head (ick I would assume). My platy is now happy and healthy as far as it's fins are concerned, and the other fish I bought from there are all quite well. Plus the couple times I've been concerned with my fish, they were more than willing to test the water, look at the fish, give reccommendations, and my fish are all doing great. (now petco here is a different story).

However I do agree with RC...if you find a store that's local and doing a GREAT job of caring for the fish, they would be my number one choice for all the products. In my case though, the local stores were doing a horrible job of it. It's hard to make a profit and have loyal customers in the pet business.

The thing with me is that if I find a store that's taking proper care of the animals, it doesn't matter if it's a chain store or a local store. I will pick the one with the healthiest fish.


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## mybabieshavefins (May 24, 2005)

Good luck with your new betta, and may he live long and prosper! Be careful though, they're addicting. I bought two from my LFS (one ct and one vt) and love them so much that I'm bidding on a third after only three weeks from my first adoption. I think you'll be quite happy with your fish. They're not only colorful and pleasing to look at but also easy to care for and have distinct personalities. As for the Petsmart/Walmart rescues, I admit that every time I walk into one of those stores now that the first thing I do is check on their bettas! It's always hard not to buy one, but the bettas in our walmart are always extremely well cared for and look comparatively happy and healthy considering being kept in cups. I know the whole argument about keeping bad stores in business, but just do what you feel is right! You can always save a few fish and report the store if they're really bad, and there are some serious horror stories posted here in the forums.
Ahem, anyway! Enjoy your betta! Take care of him and he'll be a good friend to you!


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

hey everyone appreciate your local fish store cause i odnt have one and yall are lucky to have one.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

If the best store in your area is a chain store then go there. I have nothing against chain stores. If they are doing a good job then they deserve your business.


RC


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

See thats the thing they dont do a good job everytime i go i see at least 1 dead fish gettign picked at be other fish in each tank. And no won ever works in the fish departmaent so they have to page for soeone and then u wiat logn time then they come and have no idea what fish u wnat then they mess up and give u wrong fish. IT happened to me at wal-mart i ended up walkign out with a free fish.


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## mybabieshavefins (May 24, 2005)

Gyaaaaaah, it sucks that you don't have a LFS! Are you absolutely sure there's none in your area? If not, I guess just make do with what you have! Waste not want not~


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

the only city i think might have one a good one is couprus but i cnat getmy parents to drive me a hour away to go look at fish.


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

my local pet store is worse than the chain stores. their fish are alright, but all their other animals.......ugh....the birds always have bald patches where other birds have picked at them, their hermit crabs have no humidity, it smells like urine, just really unpleasant.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

i dont blame them, with that much animals to have, but cmon forget busness if u cant take care of your animals then dont bother ordering them to sell.


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## bettaboi (Jan 29, 2005)

all my lfs look pretty nice compared to some of the storie i hear i have about 4-5 to chose from and they all keep happy healthy fish now as for my walmart and petsmart i cant say the same

and good luck with your new fish im sure hes much happier now


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Every time there is a thread like this, with people complaining about fish stores, I am reminded to be very thankful for my lfs. They take great care of their fish, and they always give great advice. There are people that drive two hours just to shop there. I don't buy fish or supplies anywhere else. The PetSmart in my area is really good too though.

ALFA WOLF, where do you live?


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## Hamm35924 (Jun 13, 2005)

i have a pretty good pet smart in my area.


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## awesome kid (Jun 10, 2005)

> Every time there is a thread like this, with people complaining about fish stores, I am reminded to be very thankful for my lfs. They take great care of their fish, and they always give great advice. There are people that drive two hours just to shop there. I don't buy fish or supplies anywhere else.


i agree that a lfs can make people either like, or completly hate fishkeeping. my freind had a bad experience that turned him away. i keep trying but its no use. all the stores like PETCO and PETSMART in my area have at least 2 dead fish in every tank (and some sick ones). i bug my parents to drive me 30-45 minutes to go to a good store that has tons of fish. im thankful that they understand that i rele like fish and want to see me interested in somthing because usually im a lazy person who does nothing. im glad i have something i like and a store thats pretty close that does a good job.


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

i don't believe you can make any judgement from one of the chain store in your local area. yes, maybe majority of them are bad, but there is some good ones out there. if you think the chain store near you is bad, then don't buy from them. some LFS can do a poor job too. my point is, buy from the good store whether it is a LFS or chain store. maybe when the company look at the record and see the good store doing better and they will start improving things. who knows? if you assume that all chain stores are bad, you are driving the one or two good toward the bad side because they don't feel like they have to work that hard to pick up the sale because there is no sale anyway.


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