The Bettas You Look Past

[Piti]

Everyone goes for the perfect prettiest most unique colourful strong betta right? My question is the not so impressive ones, do they stand a chance of becomeing the ugly duckling turning into the beauityful swan or is it all just a matter of personal prefrence. Like the bettas on thier sides barley breathing just waiting to be picked up... i feel bad and im sorry for sounding kind of colourist or whatever but... really what happens to them all?

 

[Katty]

That is a good question. I have no clue what happens to the bettas no one buys, I'd be interested to hear if anyone on this forum works at a fish store or department store with fish, what they do with bettas that won't sell. I wouldn't say ugly ducklings because I've never seen an ugly (IMO) betta, and everyone has different tastes so a drab little female might catch someone's eye. Not everyone likes super giant halfmoon bettas with extra sparkles, for instance my mom went for a rather plain red veiltail.

I have heard, several times, of people "rescuing" bettas and buying dying ones or ones in cups that stores refuse to clean or even look at. I have also heard of people buying ugly bettas because they liked the ugliness of them.

 

[BethK]

i brought a male betta, wasn't in the best condition and i ended up spending loads on meds for a constant finrot battle, until he died

 

[MewMew42]

At the store I work at all of the bettas get sold

I think it's all down to taste, I personally like white coloured bettas or paler ones whereas some people will pick one that I wouldnt pick myself

If a betta is left there for a while and it has never sold then I guess it will just eventually pass on

Ive never rescued a betta, but in out store if it looks like a betta os on its last "fins" then we will put it to sleep

 

[keithp]

Yes they can! This thin female

Turned into this stunning male! And most bettas at pet stores who lost finnage grow them back nice and long, and their color improves.

 

[Piti]

Um... that female turning into a male... might it have been a juvi sold as a female? Wowzers did it ever change. Hmmph... and my puberty i got achne...

...im sorry, i have to ask... you are not pulling my leg are you?

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

My male and 2 of my females were some of those bettas that just weren't selling. I admired them in the shop for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. I think they are gorgeous .

The male....orange butterfly; the girls: a really timid gentle red cambodian; and a purple cambodian(I have more girls but these are the two that were there for weeks)

 

[keithp]

Um... that female turning into a male... might it have been a juvi sold as a female? Wowzers did it ever change. Hmmph... and my puberty i got achne...

...im sorry, i have to ask... you are not pulling my leg are you?

Yeah, they labeled it Female even though it was a very young male. My point is people turned away from adopting him because he was so drab and ill, but with my help he became the handsome boy he was destined to be!

I'm not pulling your leg, here is my thread with his growth. http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/320338-smallest-betta-i-have-ever-seen-and-purchased-with-pictures/

 

[Piti]

Thanks man, i really enjoyed that. It's just wild!

 

[Katty]

@keithp

That's really amazing! That betta is a real life ugly duckling story

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

GRR for some reason the pics aren't loading for me in this thread or your grow thread

 

[Zip]

When ever I see a Sickly, not to impressive betta I scoop him up fast, I just can't stand the idea of a poor animal thats done nothing to anyone, speding it's whole live in a pet store, without the attention and love it deserves, and I've always felt this way toward any animal... I'd risk my life for them.
The first betta I've ever owned was a little blue Viel-Tail who with time grew into a big bright boy, and dispite having heard that Viel-Tails are sickly and weak, all of my veil-tails have outlived any Crown-tail, halfmoons, double-tails or scissor-tails I've had.

Luckily, around here the only stores allowed to keep live fish are ones that specialize in fish becaue of the poor living conditions the places like walmart keep there fish in. I haven't seen any sick looking bettas in almost 2 years

 

[Assaye]

I sometimes buy the unwanted and unloved. I used to work at a pet shop and we never 'got rid' of any fish because it didn't sell, although some of the older 'inmates' did waste away from lack of species specific care and inappropriate tank-mates (and I got yelled at if I suggested the manager wasn't 100% right).

As for how they get that way - ugly ones are usually the throw-backs or runts, or they are products of careless breeding programs. The sickly ones are sometimes just weak and sickly fish but more often they are badly bred and badly treated prior to sale.

Um... that female turning into a male... might it have been a juvi sold as a female? Wowzers did it ever change. Hmmph... and my puberty i got achne...

...im sorry, i have to ask... you are not pulling my leg are you?

Yeah, they labeled it Female even though it was a very young male. My point is people turned away from adopting him because he was so drab and ill, but with my help he became the handsome boy he was destined to be!

I'm not pulling your leg, here is my thread with his growth. http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/320338-smallest-betta-i-have-ever-seen-and-purchased-with-pictures/

I remember that thread, amazing little fish!

 

[aly_starh]

Yes they can! This thin female

Turned into this stunning male! And most bettas at pet stores who lost finnage grow them back nice and long, and their color improves.

omg, thats brilliant

 

[starrynightxxi]

There's no very shocking answer to the question. Fish stay in the store until they sell, or until they die. Which, regardless, is not typically a very long time considering the stress they are under. Customers are worse than a lot of pet stores when it comes to handling the bettas, they take no care shoving and jostling their cups around, stacking them all so the holes are covered, dropping them.

If the fish is sick it's removed from the floor and treated as best we can, then returned to the floor to try its luck again if it recovers. Unfortunately, they frequently are sad and drab from stress and not from any illness, and, for a pet store, there isn't too much that can be done about the stress. Once they succumb to that they aren't going to sell except to the betta lovers who may look beyond that.