How old are the bettas in the pet stores?

[Xiuhcoati]

Most of the bettas I've gotten at petsmart or petco have been ancient...full grown and then some. This abruptly changed last shipment with over half of them barely out of the grow out tank. I've seen tetras larger!

[LadyVictorian]

Really? Wow at my petco every time I go they are always young baby fish. The females this week were so small I was afraid they could have misgendered some of them.

[Hallyx]

Betta are bred from 3 to 6months. By 9+ they are full length but are still putting on weight. At 1 year, they're full grown and too old to breed. Their fins continue to grow, however slowly, throughout their lives.

If a petstore fish is older than 4 months, the breeder has lost money by feeding it, housing it and keeping it too long. That's why they try to ship as soon as they can....including the pernicious "baby" Betta trend.

Yes, there is a "stunting hormone" excreted by fish trying to keep other fry small and uncompetitive.

[Onlyonagoodday]

Pretty young. My betta was in a cup labeled female veiltail and he has grown into a male CT. So young enough that he could be mistaken for a she. So IMO they are not always fully grown.

[magnum]

At my LPS they sell their betta's at 9 months old, which is a pretty good age.

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Originally Posted by Hallyx

At 1 year, they're full grown and too old to breed.

Curious where you heard this, I've bred successfully bettas that I had had for at least 1 1/2-2 years

[CandiceMM]

My friend that is head of aquatics at Petco says majority of the Betta's that they get are around 3-4 months old. I myself have seen some that look way younger and way older.

[Hallyx]

Originally Posted by WashingtonCowgirl

Curious where you heard this, I've bred successfully bettas that I had had for at least 1 1/2-2 years

I'm sure you have. But many breeders, commercial and hobby, start them a lot younger. I got this info in the breeders section of this forum.

Nice avatar. Did you do that?

[aokashi]

I think the reason they begin breeding at 3mo is to keep the breeding process at a compressed time frame. it may take many generations to achieve their perfect fish... if it takes 12 generations... at 3 mnths it will only take 3 years of breeding as opposed to 12 years at 1 year old...