How to Correctly* Care for a Betta (*According to pet store employees)

[Purple]

Hey guys! Bettas are GREAT beginners fish are require very little effort! Really, just throw some food at it when you feel like it and they'll be fine! Don't listen to those informative and wonderful betta websites with breeders as members. They don't know near as much as me, a teenager who has never owned a fish and doesn't even say the name "betta" right! You can trust me, promise. Here's how you can PROPERLY take care of your fish.

• Bettas THRIVE in 1 quart of water
• Clean their tanks once every over month
• They can be put together! They look so pretty all swimming around and playing together! THAT'S NOT BLOOD. IT ISN'T.
• Guppies are great tankmates!
• Live plants kill fish
• Water changes kill fish
• They LOVE to eat plant roots!
• FLAKES are the way to go.
• Feed as much as your fish will eat in 30 minutes
• Make sure to get your fish into their new tank as soon as you get home with them! Just dump them, along with their cup water, into the new tank immediately!
• You're buying a ONE GALLON TANK?! Wow, your fish is really staying in the Ritz!
• Bettas only live 2 weeks
• Bettas can't get sick. They're fish!
• If they start acting tired, just flush them. It's not like they're a LIVING CREATURE or anything.
• Heaters make your fish too hot
• Bettas love goldfish!
• FLAKE FOOD is the very best! It's on our website, even!
• All females have round fins. There is no such thing as a female spikey tail fish. (That's what our labels say!)

(This isn't meant to bash any particular person. There are bad workers and there are good workers. This is just poking fun and not meant to blame anyone.)

[magnum]

Sigh, pet stores. I don't understand how people actually employee these people under the circumstances that they 'know' what to do. So many people get told stupid things. Did your LFS tell you this when buying your Betta? Oh and them not prouncing betta is not as half bad.... My LFS asked me what a betta was, so I have to keep reffering to them as 'Fighting Fish'.

[dbooknook]

If a one gallon tank is the Ritz, then a 2-5 gallon(by themselves) must be heaven.

[tamikakes]

and a 10 gallon by them self like having his own private island

[Lost Eventide]

I'm thankful that the local pet stores around here aren't that bad. They do have the issue of saying tiny spaces are fine and such, but I've never heard the "live plants kill fish one" xD How the heck do they think fish survive in the wild? Are the natural plants there some magical high-quality plastic?

The "clean the aquariums once a month thing" is really common with any setup though. That's actually the advice I followed when I first started with a ten gallon years ago, but I'm glad I know better now. My poor swordtails were probably miserable ;-;

I can't believe the general lack of logic in these statements though. I mean, if they are called "Siamese Fighting Fish," then isn't it logical to assume that they'd fight? The statement about flushing is just absolutely horrifying. If that was the case then you should be flushing your betta or fish as soon as you get home because they always tend to be a bit sluggish and timid until they get used to their environment.

I really want to know how long most of them are trapped in those little cups at the store though. Or maybe I don't want to know. Either way, I'm wondering if the ones stuck on the bottom in a "pyramid" setup ever get any air, because it seems like all their oxygen would be blocked off ;-;

[aokashi]

flakes aren't bad...Sometimes they contain more nutrition. I fed my baby powdered flakes occassionally when she was teeny tiny.

[LizzyP]

You forgot the "If you have a huge tank and you have a filter, don't worry about your fish getting sucked into the intake. It's like a roller coaster for them, they'll be fine"

[Purple]

Oh, and "Turn the filter on FULL BLAST! You need to keep the tank circulating."

[mursey]

Hey, according to Wikipedia you can say "betta" or "beta" different ways, both pronunciations/spellings are correct.

But. .. . still I totally hear you on all the other stuff. My pet store person told a lady not to worry too much, that bettas are hardy fish. (Then I got a hold of that lady and told her to come to this website. .. heh heh . . )

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"I really want to know how long most of them are trapped in those little cups at the store though."

Since my Petco is 5 minutes from me and I love to go stare at bettas . .. I have been noticing that some fish seem to be there around 6 weeks or longer. Today I asked when they get new ones and the manager said that a lot of their last shipment died due to the hot weather.I guess whoever ships them doesn't ship them in a very expensive manner? Walmart was even more depressing today, 1 dead one, 1 almost dead one, and 1 that wasn't dead but just plain sad. I don't think they stay long at Walmart, I think they die pretty soon after they get there.

[ChoclateBetta]

Sorry to bump this thread but it makes good points. But Betta in named after the asian tribe not the greek letter. I have to feed my female flakes she refuses pellets.