Buying new betta...what to look for?

[Lightning.Whirlygig]

Okay well, I looked in the FAQs and such to see what I could find but nada. So here it is: I want to make sure I buy a healthy betta. Should I just look for alert, bright coloring, happiness and no ripped fins? like most fish..
Any other suggestion or any help would be awsome as I am getting him today :):):):):)

[peace_frog21]

i would go with buying one that you like the best....in my opinion anyway...you can turn a betta fish around....you can get a healthy one and turn it into an unhappy one or vice versa. My betta wasn't even eating when I brought him home....got him into a bigger tank with a heater, took a day or two and now he's a little pig. But definitely don't buy one who you think "looks" sick or has ripped fins or looks bloated or something. But in my opinion none of them really look happy in their little pet store containers!!

Ashley

[Lightning.Whirlygig]

Ok:). I'm on my way there right now(I'm on my bbp :p). I am hoping for a green or black or crazy colored one. Wish me luck:)

[missfish1996]

Good luck ha....once you get him post pictures I love crazy colored bettas
:D

[Lightning.Whirlygig]

he's really cool actually! He's blue and turqouise and a a silvery tint to him :) he's acting really lethargic though and I don't know why! It's not sudden change in temp. because I poured the water from the bag into the bowl. He was quite crazy in the store but that was because he was beside a whole bunch of other male bettas in glass jars the size of my fist :( Okay so back to my little Sharky...I DON"T KNOW WHY!!

[Holly]

Give him a day or two to settle in. They're crazy around the others since they are trying to get to the others ones. Normally at the store, at least the ones I have around here, have those Betta Condos in thier big tanks. These are plastic divider things that barley give the fish enough room to move but they hold 4-8 fish in a long narrow row with dividers between them. All the bettas do is "show" when they're in them. The ones that aren't "showing" are almost dead since they've been fighting a wall!

[tenpaull]

Give him a few days to adjust, luckily, with good tank parameters, he will be happy in no time ;) Just help him by making the environment STABLE. I don't suggest feeding him on the first day though. and I wish you hadn't dump the old bag water into the bowl, especially that it came from the shop, it could be harboring diseases due to bad maintenance. also, what did you mean by pouring the water from the bag to the bowl? Did the bowl have water in it as well before pouring the water that came with the betta? If it did, you should have floated the bag in it for a good 30 minutes before letting your betta out to stabilize temp.

[Lightning.Whirlygig]

Darn, I fed him. He ate it though. They just got them in today so the water shouldn't be too gross. The bowl had water in it and I let the bag sit in there for an hour. i love shark :) Do you think it's a good name? once he gets used to the tank I will take pics :)

[tenpaull]

no problem if he ate it, most newly bought fish would be too busy exploring their new home to eat.

[paws]

how big is the bowl? If it is smaller than 2.5 gallons you need to get another tank.