How do I buy a betta?

Question

Lol, I really did ask that question ahaha. I was walking through a petsmart, and saw a whole bunch poor little bettas in small cups! I really want to give one of the healthy one a good home in my aquarium. Will a molly, female guppies, and a swordtail live peacefully with a male betta? Another question is: how do I pick out the healthiest betta out of all of them? What are signs to look for? signs to watch out for? Thanks a lot everyone!

I've been reading about the yahoo board, and I'm more confused now lol. Some people say yes they can live with other community fishes, or people say no. I guess it's ultimately up to each betta's personality? Anyway, what are signs of a healthy betta? and what should I watch out for when picking a betta?

Answer 1

Yes, they will be fine with all the fish you mentioned, they don't fight these
Only no no is female/male and male/male, but you can always put females together

Anyway, when my brother was looking at the bettas I think he picked everyone up about 10 times, we actually looked at the colors what liked the most and then checked out the fish itself, for any frayed fins, or white spots on the body and if the eyes were clear, these are the criterias I use on buying a betta


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB


P.S.: I have my male betta with mollies, zebra danios, guppies, platys, rasboras and corycats, so YES they will be fine with your male betta

Answer 2

Once again, it is time to dispel the myth that bettas are mad killers.

Bettas are built for fighting, but they are not built for killing. They are merely aggressive over their territory. In the wild, when a betta enters another's territory, they will usually fight until one of them flees. Of course, in tanks, there is nowhere to escape, and that is why they usually end up fighting to the death.

Moreover, most bettas are only aggressive towards fish that resemble other bettas. For example, male guppies, which have long and colourful fins. Other aggressive fish like gouramis and barbs are also unacceptable. Of course, this does depend on the individual betta - some will tolerate male guppies, some will nip a bit but tolerate them for the most part, some will attack them incessantly until they are removed.

Having said that, mollies make great tankmates for a betta. I am unsure about the female guppies and swordtail - but it is definitely worth a shot. However, whenever you introduce a betta into a community tank, it is always advisable to have a spare tank ready in case the betta is a particularly aggressive one and needs to be kept on his own. Bettas only need small tanks; a 2.5 gallon tank will be fine.

As for picking up a healthy betta - many people actually pick out unhealthy bettas that they see, so that they might "rescue" them from a slow and painful death in that cup. However, it's acceptable if you're not prepared to do this - rescues can be very time-consuming and expensive. It's virtually impossible to find completely healthy bettas in most chain stores, so instead, you may want to find the "least sick" one. Watch out for swollen bellies, physical growths like cottony substances, fungus and lumps - these are symptoms of the more advanced diseases. However, it's fine to buy a betta even if he has a ragged tail or finnage - this is just basic fin rot, and will go away in time once he has clean water.

Answer 3

To get the best bettas find breeders.

Females can be kept with other fish and other females and are best in groups of 6 or more.

The males can be kept alone or with community fish like guppies, mollies, danios, cory and tetras any that has similar size.

They fight other bettas, male and female and the thing that make them fight other fish is from bright coloration or the way some looks.

If a betta is not good to live with other fishes because of fighting why didnt they attack the barbs when they are fin-nipping.

Answer 4

Sorry to say that most bettas in shops are on the old side. Go to Aquabid.com and look at the bettas on the site. You won't find any of those in your local shop. The down side is it's very expensive to ship from Thailand. But you maybe able to find a breeder that is in the states and that would be a lot cheaper but still more expensive than what petsmart would charge. The bettas that I saw last time was pretty sad.

Answer 5

You shouldn't put Betta's with those other fish. They are fighters and will likely kill all of your other fish. They need to be in their own separate container and tanks are too big for one fish. That's why they're in those bowls or cups. A good, healthy Betta will have a lot of color, males usually have more than females. If you go to PetSmart, the folks there will be able to help you pick a good one, tell you what to watch out for and how to take care of them. They usually give you some kind of guarantee as well.

Answer 6

from my experience, its not the betta with the aggressiveness, they have the big fancy fins which makes them appealing to fin nippers! My betta got out of his breeder net and got attacked by platies and guppies. He now lives happily and peacefully with a girl betta, rummynose and neon tetras and discus. If you have an aggressive betta put him in a breeder net inside the aquarium, he will be happy in there

Answer 7

I also agree with the others bettas are fighting fish and can only be kept with small fish like neon tetras and other small fish like them. Once when i put my sisters betta with my 3" goldfish and he attacked him! Also one way to tell if a betta is healthy is that there ventral vins (pelvic fins) will be equal.

Answer 8

betta are agrressive, its best to keep them seprate. Mine attacked several of ,my other fish including my swordtail fish When looking for a fish look for one without lesions, abnormal looking spots or moldy looking tails, they should be active too and have nice color. Check the eys too. I had one betta live for 2 weeks and my second one lived for over 2 years.

Answer 9

bettas will eat and fight the other fish.
no joke,
i tried and my molly's got ate..
uhh buy a special bowl for it.
they sell them at walmart and petsmart.

Answer 10

There is a reason why they have them separated in those small containers!