Lfs Wrong Or Right?

[sparklefuzz]

I just called my LFS to ask if they have any bettas in stock. They said they made the decision 2 years ago not to stock bettas as they found they couldn't keep them alive. They went on to say that people go to pet stores and buy a betta in a mini cube type thing and when they try to put them into a tank with other fish, they simply die. So I said, surely if they die it is more to do with the tankmates or conditions than the species themselves, and they told me that it is impossible to keep bettas alive unless they are USED to being in a community tank. They said you should ONLY buy them if they are in a tank with other fish, if you buy them alone, keep them alone.

I am confused because I've only ever seen them on their own in the LFS, never in a tank with others... that makes no sense, does it?

 

[Rediahs]

I don't think I quite understand. All I know is that bettas generally do better on their own, and you have to be very choosy if you are going to have tankmates.

 

[sparklefuzz]

I don't think I quite understand. All I know is that bettas generally do better on their own, and you have to be very choosy if you are going to have tankmates.

I didn't either. Sounds fishy to me. It was like, if we went into a store, we should only buy bettas if they are alrwady in a tank with other fish, otherwise they'll die. Needless to say I think I am losing faith in these people. They were the same people who told me that gouramis and angelfish made good tankmates for bettas. *sigh*

 

[pica_nuttalli]

bettas are just like any other fish: they can go in a community tank, provided that its the right sort of community. you can't just plop them in with anything.

 

[athao04]

They were the same people who told me that gouramis and angelfish made good tankmates for bettas. *sigh*

Oyyyy...from my experience, tank mates are very iffy. In the beginning I was able to keep bettas with my painted tetras, as my lfs said it would be okay. After my two males, yes they told me the metallic imbelled (hybrid breed??) I could do so since they kept about 20 males in one tank together, had died, I was replaced them with a male plakat because I was at school. Low and behold my betta had the crap ripped out of their fins and were nearly dead within a couple hours of being put into the tank. I went online to find out information, and it turns out that tetras are a no no with bettas, along with many many other fish such as Gouramis and Guppies.

Now you might be asking, what the heck is the point of this post? It would be...Dont always trust what your LFS has to say. Credible Online Sources are much more reliable. (In my experience).

Sorry for the long pointless post. Lol.



Edit:
This doesn't however mean they can't be kept in a community tank, you just have to watch the temperment of your betta (which is always different with each betta...*which make them awesome fish*) and the tank mates you have them with. From my experience they have worked with Neon Tetra's, Clown Loaches, Bala Sharks.

 

[Wisperian]

Um you mean metallic/copper imbellis. not imbelled

 

[Loko17]

Wow thats like the dumb people that say they like it better in those tiny bowls that they cant even turn around in. I'm glad my LFS guy Jim knows about most of the fish that he stocks. He keeps the bettas in the small bowls but has this young kid in there clean them out every day so they bettas are in good shape, the only betta I've seen in bad shape was a doubletail Halfmoon that they have right now who looks like he has a bad case of finrot and internal parasites, But one reason I know the bettas are in good shape is when I got my female crowntail they had 2 other female crowntails there, I got the female probably about a month ago and every time i go in there one of her sisters is still in there, I dont know why noone will buy her because she's pretty, I'm tempted to divide my 2.5 to 3 gallon with her sister in it and get her. I might get her if she's still in there next time I go.

 

[colorfulmusic]

So why don't they just keep the bettas in their own bowls or something? I'm confused.



This is kind of off-topic, but it's okay to keep females together, right?

 

[sparky_555]

Yeah, you can keep females together, as long as its a big enough tank in proportion to the amount of females you wish to put in

 

[Taridan]

Its also recomended that if you do go the female route to keep a minumum of 5 together to spread out the agression... I had 3 females in my 30 gallon before I knew better, thinking, oh, thats like 10 gallons each! there were okay for a few weeks then two of the girls ganged up on the other one and tore into her... I found her hiding behind the heater with a fingernail sized chunk of her back missing, and her fins in absolute shreds.

 

[athao04]

Yeah, I meant Imbellis. Just a typo.