Your dad probably happened upon someone who actually did know what they were talking about, which, unfortunately, seems to be few and far between.

 

i know. It's sad. He even told me that he doesn't even remember seeing any of those .5 gallon or 1 gallon tanks. 2.5 was the smallest and it was one of the glass ones. He bought the pet keeper because it was cheaper, lighter and had a lid...

I was at petsmart last week and watched as the employee told a mother with two kids that she could get that .5 gallon Aqueon tank that has a divider so that each of her kids could have a fish....

 

You're lucky you got great advice - at least your dad. It's always nice to start out right.

I'm here now knowing what I know and I cringe at how badly I started out years back. I feel awful at how our first betta ended up. I'm just glad we called it quits on fish keeping back then instead of getting a second or third one.

Whoever advised your dad was probably like one of the members of this board who really is into the hobby.

 

probably! I'm just glad that my dad got a good employee when he went with me. I was 6, so I don't exactly remember much about the trip except that EVERY fish was a VT and was either red or blue, except for the one I got.

I'm also glad that my dad did his own research first before going to the store.

 

Your dad sounds awesome. He may be giving it to you but as the adult, the pets are his and your mom's responsibility. I think most parents know if you get bored and don't get attached they'll be stuck feeding and caring for your pet.

 

yeah I'm pretty sure my dad knew that when he got the fish. He was the one that always did water changes and for the first couple of months fed him until I learned to do it on my own.

Of course during water changes he made sure I was with him the entire time. When I was smaller I just cleaned the decor while he took care of the tank but as I got older the only thing he did was carry it to and from the bathroom since I couldn't lift it.

I think this is the best way to do it, making sure your kids are there during water changes and showing them how to clean the tank and making sure they understand the importance of water changes. I'm only 21 so I know I won't have kids anytime soon but when I do I know that I'll get them their own tanks (meaning they will have it in their room but it is my responsibility). I think it's extremely irresponsible when parents "buy their kids fish" and set the tank up in their room and forget about it.

 

It depends on the shop, depends on the employees. I got my new girl from a PetSmart, the employee on duty in the fish area was super nice and concerned about the welfare of the fish...she had one of her "kids" (her words, not mine) doing water changes on the bettas while I was in there. I tested the water out of curiosity when I got home, and the parameters were better than what comes out of my tap!

Will definitely be going back there.

 

hrutan that is awesome to here! pretty much every pet store and local fish store here gives terrible advice. The most trusted local fish told me that bettas didn't need a heater.... I live in NYC.... it gets to zero degrees in the winter....

 

I think that applies to most pets. The big difference is, it's harder to ignore something that can chew everything you own into confetti.

The biggest worry my parents had with our dogs was what to do when the novelty wears off and none of the kids are interested in doing stuff for him anymore. So to allay their fears, when I was in high school, I went to my lab's breeder. Everyday, I helped with the dogs - cleaning, feeding, bathing and playing. They're not the best trainers but as lab retrievers get very big, it was imperative they learned not to pull on a leash or jump on people.

I did this for almost a year. I helped with two litters from separate dams. I also helped with a pitbull pup that was surrendered by a friend of theirs. When they had their third litter the following year, I was allowed to have Cedric - still the best achievement of my life after graduating from college.

This kind of set up isn't available everywhere but I do suppose if the parents wanted to get a pet without having to keep one they can get a relative or friend and have their child help out with keeping the pet.

 

that is true that you can't ignore or forget about a cat or dog.

I agree that kids lose interest very quickly. My parents were lucky and I took to fish very easily and loved keeping them.

 

Cats will mew incessantly for food and dog owners know all to well what it's like to be woken up by a wet nose and a face full of drool - both scream BREAKFAST HUMAN.

 

hahaha exactly!

 

A bit off topic, but I'm very pleased with Animal Planet. They're doing a new program called Pet School - basically like a pet class for kids to learn what it's like to raise pets they feel like getting.

I haven't seen it yet but I hope it turns out great.

 

oh! that sounds like a super good thing! I wish there was something like that when I was younger (I was a huge animal planet nerd as a kid)

 

I grew up on Discovery and Nat Geo. I was happy enough to see Animal Planet in my HS days.

Their first batch of programs were really inspirational - esp. the docu about the tigers that grew up in captivity. ^^

 

I just remember being fascinated with all the different animals (although fish always were my favorites). I had an obsession with cheetas for a very long time.

 

I'm mostly into cats as a child. Before my lab, all I had were cats and I was scared of dogs for a good while thanks to some off leash mutt that chased and bit me. -_-"

I loved most big cats. I think it was Aladdin's Princess Jasmine that got me hooked on Tigers. Love them - snow leopards, cheetahs, lions, caracals as well.

I also loved horses a good deal. Much recently, I've taken an interest in birds of prey. ^_^

 

Agree that most places give bad advice. I've found 2 places around here that do well with fish, one is an LPS where the store manager is a member of IBC, so of course they take good care of bettas, the other is that PetSmart. There's a third place that is passable, but only because when I let them know the betta water needed changing they jumped right on it without taking offense.

Another place gave me a stomachache when I saw their bettas...and yet another had these beautiful, beautiful aquariums, beautiful setups, perfectly healthy fish...EXCEPT the bettas, which were clamped and cold on a shelf to one side, with poop in the cups. WTF.

 

I've gone into some heated arguments with some employees from Petsmart and Pet Supplies Plus. They've all given me very terrible advice and have told me to stop giving their other customers (who were interested in buying a betta fish but buying a tiny deathbowl) my "wrong" advice (2.5g+ tank, heater, proper ornaments that provide hiding places, thermometer, etc). They walked off after I told them I was doing a better job of their job and giving more sales to the company by suggesting to add heaters and whatnot and all the while I would be keeping the pet fish healthy and happy in the long run.

However, my second (my very first betta fish was way back when I was in middle school) betta fish I bought just a few months back in April, was bought at Petco. This particular store had a betta fish enthusiast to help me and assist me when I was bringing Billy (my betta) home. I was lucky and I know that. I was lucky to get the right information from an actual employee right off the bat. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would of delved into the Internet for countless hours of research to ensure the happiness and health of my betta fish. And because of this, I still try to inform other customers I see in the pet store of proper care of a betta fish, or any other fish in general. I made a lot of bad mistakes with my first fish and while I still miss him so dearly, I want to try and make up for those mistakes by helping future owners (the ones being influenced to buy tiny cups and being told that no water change is okay) and ensuring a very happy life for my current fish family.

 

hahaha I've lost track of how many heated arguments at i've gotten into at pet stores....

I went into petland a few weeks ago and they keep all of their females in a 10 gallon sorority style tank only there are NO decorations or plants or anything. It is a bare tank.... All the female had chucks taken out of their fins and severe stress strips. When i told the fish guy she should either put them in cups or add some plants, he told me I had not idea what i was talking about.

 

He said that the guy at petco told him to get at least a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater (didn't say anything about a filter) and said to do one 100% water change a week, cleaning out the gravel and decor each time.

That isn't terrible advice.

So my question is, What happend to petco?

My father went into that same store 2 months ago to buy a 2.5 gallon tank and the guy working their told him that a 2.5 gallon tank was too big for a betta and would kill it....

The general minimum recommendation for a betta (single) is 2.5. I have a betta in a 2.5 (rectangular) and he's totally fine (has a mini castle to hide in a a lot of viney plants to swim through).

As for the "kill it" thing?

You can never be "too big" for a tank for a fish.

 

All of my fish are in 2.5 gallon tanks since my apartment is too small to accommodate any tank large (even if i get a 10 gallon and divide it) and my fish are completely healthy.

Ugh I know...

the myth that large tanks will kill a betta needs to END

 

Why do people think large tanks will kill a small fish? It's not like apartment people die if you put them in a mansion.

As for pet store employees, I don't take them too seriously - except the good ones. I just balance their input with what I know and decide what's best for my pets. They wanna argue something, I can take my business elsewhere and there's also online shopping.

 

I have one fish employee at petco near me I speak to all the time. He knows his fish! not just bettas, all kinds of fish! If he ever quits, I might not go to that petco again. XD

 

In my area, it's rare to find an employee who is actually aware of how to care for a betta properly, but I'm sure that other regions are more or less likely to have someone educated. There is a small shop that specializes in aquatic pets about an hour walk away that I tend to visit a lot of the time. They're so friendly and welcoming there; the tanks and animals are always clean. When one of my friends was buying a siphon for the first time, an employee showed her how to use it on one of the tanks they had set up (with their own siphon). They've never sent me in the wrong direction when I had questions about the animals and and supplies in stock. I tend to stay away from Petco and Pet Supplies Plus because of them.

 

If I have any real questions (which is very rare) then I definitely don't go to petco/petsmart/petland. However sometimes if I'm bored and have time to spare/I see an employee there that I've never met, I pretend that I know nothing about bettas or fish in general to see what they know.

I think the best one is when an employee told me to get a .5 gallon tank for a betta and just for fun I asked them "so i saw online about this thing called 'cycling' and I'm not sure what that is or how to do it, can you help me understand?" and He replied with "yes, just fill up your tank and leave it out for 24 hours and do a water change." so I said "oh you don't need a filter to cycled your tank?" and he said "no" (with a smile).

 

Buahahahahaha XD

I found out about cycling on this site. really.... without this site I don't think my bettas would have never made it this far. >_>

 

agreed! if I ever have questions, I go here.

I have a friend that has a 10 gallon with two corries and whatnot that I am taking care of them until they get moved into their new apartment. The are some things that I cringe on how she does things. I mean she takes care of them well, with a heater and filter, but the only issue I have is that she does not do water changes as often and she adds Aquarium salt every water change. When I told her I do a 50% water change a week, she said what? you don't need to do it every week. (I have all natural planted tanks) I showed her my tanks and she became envious. XD She told me, "Wow you really DO know your stuff about fish care, who told you about how to set up your tanks?" and I said "internet." Hehe

 

agreed! if I ever have questions, I go here.

Apart from the epic facepalm moments courtesy of most Yahoo answers respondents, I like asking out here because the people here are generally way WAY more courteous. I don't know, overall I guess this place feels more welcoming.


It's so easy to search the net but with so many links and resources it's hard for newbies with really no clue at all who's really giving solid advice so I really appreciate the site.