Just home from the fish store

[Kelou4]

Today I signed up for this website, knowing that after work I would be on my way to pick up a betta fish and give it a good home. I'm a little worried that my first post here is in the diseases and emergencies section, but hopefully you guys can help me.

I haven't owned betta fish since I was like ... 10 and my mom took care of them. But I did a LOT of research before I got one (as I do before I get any sort of pet.) and today I was on my way to the pet store to get a fish. It was a specialty store, that had a lot of exotic fish and the staff seemed very knowledgeable about all the fish in the store.
Except the bettas. They had a dozen or so jars set up near the front with the bettas, and we picked two. One was very lively and yellow, we named him Bumblebee. The other was red and blue, we named him Optimus Prime.

Bumblebee seemed very healthy and lively in his cup. He was swimming around and being very active. But he has some black spots on his scales I'm a little worried about, they don't look too abnormal, but I don't want to let anything go unchecked, yanno?
Here are some pictures:
Bumblebee 1
Bumblebee 2
Bumblebee 3
Bumblebee 4
Optimus on the other hand, was really calm and didn't move to much. I think this is from the stress of moving around and going from a bag to a big bowl and whatnot. He was fully acclimated to his bag over a span of about seven hours, because the PH wasn't much different for the water. He's swimming around and being quite active at the moment, but as you can see his fins are slightly crooked, and I'm a little worried about it. Actually, one of the main reasons I got him were because of his awkward fins, I was afraid that nobody would want to buy him because of an athestic deformity, and that he would sit there forever. His swimming is straight for the most part, but sometimes he kinda swims to the side a little bit.
Pictures~
Optimus 1
Optimus 2
Optimus 3

Are these little things normal for betta fish? If not, what can I do to help get rid of it, or make it not get worse?

[Synthisis]

The yellow fish looks fine. Nice find, yellow is a hard to find and often sought after color.

Betta's are all unique... kind of like snow flakes. The black scales are what yours unique.

I have a betta that is very symmetrical, until you look at the black on his body... Looks like a marker



It differs on both sides... hence making the fish unique. I think the only SOLID color fish you'll ever see is an albino.

As for the Red/blue one... Im not sure what to tell you, his fins do look strange.

Please clerify how you are keeping the fish. YOu mentioned you did alot of research... So you should know that each fish needs a 2.5gallon tank, or something very close in size. Rule of thumb, 1gallon per 1" of fish.

Temperature should also be higher then 76, and lower then 82.

Id suggest picking up some Maricyn at your LFS and treat the red fish... If anything it should at least perk him up.

[Calmwaters]

I agree I think the spots are just his coloring. As for the other if he was kept in a small container for a long time it maybe that his fins formed that way. I had one I got from walmart and his fins were kind of like that and they eventually fixed themselves somewhat when he was in his tank instead of that tiny cup he was in.

[loppy656]

I also agree. But the problem might be cold water. Dorthy got some fin curling because he didnt have a heater but it wasnt as bad as your fishes.

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I think the spots on Bumblebee are a part of his natural coloring and nothing to worry about. The other fish's fins might be like that because, like Calmwaters said, he was in a small container for awhile and should get better with clean water and time.

[kelly528]

Yeah, Bumblebee's coloration is completely normal.

Little Optimus, however, has some major fin curling going on. This is common in pet store bettas because the long-term exposure to ammonia (fish waste) causes their fins to warp. It's those stupid cups that they shove them in--- they are only a fraction of the space a betta should have and it doesn't take long for the fish's waste to pollute the water.

I highly recommend you read this http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/b...are-faq-20058/ to ensure these poor guys get the best care possible.

[Kelou4]

Thanks everyone, that really makes me feel relieved about Bumblebee.

They're both in 1.5 gallon tanks (Maybe 2 gallon? I'm not sure. My roommate had them when she moved in, and said we could put fish in them.) and I make sure their tanks are in warm areas, and that I keep the house warm. I plan on getting thermometers for them, but I'm afraid that mini heaters may still be too much for their bowls. My former roommate had a 2 gallon tank for her fish, and she had a heating pad underneath the tank, like the one used for reptiles (She had a ton of reptiles too!) I *may* get one of those.

[kelly528]

Heating pads are dicey... definitely not meant to sustain the weight of a few gallons of water. I suggest you pick up two Hydor Mini Heaters (the 7.5 watt ones) they are a favorite for 1.5 or even 1g tanks.

[Kelou4]

Ooh, thanks. I just looked it up and turns out its on sale at Petco. Inexpensive too. I'll definitly be picking a couple up in the next week or so.