Healthy/gorgeous bettas vs. dull/possibly sick

[DarthMaul]

ya, sadly that is true, the less "fancy" looking ones are normally left to die in their cups =[ My girl i bought last night was for the most part plain looking, but today she is starting to change colors and is beautiful!

Originally Posted by 1fish2fish

. None of the healthy bettas I ever bought had anything wrong with them. When checking betta I look for activity, color, consistency of the poop, cleanliness of the cup, I feed them to see if they are eating well, and I see if they'll flare.

Then you ARE the luckiest betta owner on the planet haha.. i have NEVER purchased a "healthy" and "active" looking betta that did not have at least one thing going wrong, most of the time minor, but a lot of cases died on me =[

How on earth do you study their poop consistency in a pet store cup? lol Also, i have purchased bettas that had bright and beautiful colors and where super active and croaked the next day =[

[1fish2fish]

Most store cups are bound to have poop in them unless the store is really good about their feeding/water change schedules. So if I see stringy or white poo in the cup.. thats not a healthy fish.

You also need to check the other bettas in the store. If one looks really healthy but all the others are really sick then chances are the healthy one is sick too. If you bought a fish from a petstore and had it die soon after then I wouldn't go back to that store.

[DarthMaul]

oh believe i stopped going to the local mom and pops petstore after losing so many in such a short time

[xswornxoffxjello]

I usually go with healthy fish. The last time I was at Petco though, I saw this sad-looking betta in a tiny, filthy bowl with glass rocks and a plastic plant. I felt so bad for him that I offered to buy him, but apparently he was the personal pet of one employee or another. All I can say is, he should take better care of him! Worse, they said that that betta was there as an "example" for how to "properly care for" bettas. *shudders*

[Romad]

Last time I came home with two boys.

One was a gorgeous healthy halfmoon and one looked like a little female with "spikes" for fins. His fins were in such bad shape they didn't even know which type of betta he was. When I picked up his cup he started dancing all over the place and I just fell in love with his little face. I knew I couldn't leave him there.

That was almost 3 months ago. Today he is a beautiful delta. He's so much fun and has tons of personality. I have got to post some before and after pics. (I'm bad at taking pictures of these guys).

[Narnian]

I want to see Romad!!!! Post post post! :)

Yeah, I think what I mean is choosing ones that look sad, thin, and in need of TLC. Not necessarily sick.......though, they would surely GET sick if they didn't get a home soon!

[doggyhog]

I am guilty of buying sick fish!!!

I've bought 4 fish from my local walmart, and two were pretty darn sick. My mom doesn't really like it if I buy a sick fish, because she thinks it's a waste of money. She didn't think that Wolfie would make it. Not one bit. Buutttt... he's one of my healthiest fish now! While we were at the store she said "You can't save them all!!" And I replied "BUT, I can save this one!".
That is how I see it. People are still going to be buying fish from stores whether I do or not. Life is a precious thing. And I like saving it. :)

But, it has taken me a LONG time to get them all to this point. Two of my walmart rescues are still healing. One of them I've had over a year. Poor guy has the weakest immune system a fish has ever had! My Mom is always teasing me how all my fish have problems. LOL I have two that have very little fins, one of which is partially blind, and three tail biters (GAH!). I have quite the crew!

I do not recommend it to a beginner, but if your up for a challenge, go for it!