Before you buy more bettas.. *please read*

[chrissycat21]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I had been thinking about posting something like what you just said for a while now, but I was worried about how I would word it. Ashley, you said it way better than I could have!

[Roxyluvsme13]

Well said both of you.

I have 7 bettas, and it seems I'm getting a new one every single week, but they're all in one gallons or more with water changes usually 2 times a week, plus aquarium salt, dechlorinator, and I usually add in some Melafix for some. If one of them ever got sick I would count out change if I had to to go buy fish medicine .

[lute]

i'm glad that someone said something. i'm at 5 bettas right now and probably won't get any more. i agree that it seems some people are looking at them as a "collection" other than living breathing animals. i personally have all my bettas in either two gallon tanks or a five gallon tank. all have filters and are cleaned weekly. the five gallon one every other week. the only fish i have problmes with are my platys and mollies. i'm still learning how to care for them. they were an impulse buy because they were either pregnant or sick. i'm fully aware that my bettas can live for many years. as i'm aware that i can have my dogs until they are in their teens.

[Flatcoatluver]

Thank you Ashely. This has been bothering me for awhile. I sometimes think people get them as attention seekers, so they can make a new thread and people will say "aww he is gorgeus, or omg you have so much." I only have two, yes I would love more, but if one got sick, there is no way I would let them just die and say oh well I will just get another, they are apart of the family.

[Chilli]

I do agree this is a good topic to bring up, its good to point out to people that bettas can cost more money than one aspires and all.
Yes, I have 11 bettas as of now. I do water changes weekly, and on the guys in just a one gallon, twice a week. Its no problem for me, as I have other tanks to clean, also. No one is in anything less than a one gallon, and everyone is being moved up to a 2.5+ of their own at christmas.
I knew bettas can live 2+ years when I bought them, and I treat everyone with as much care as all my other fish. I always have money put back for all of my pets, for emergencies such as diseases and all, so I do have the money if one falls ill.
I treat my fish just as if they were one of my rats, dogs, cats, etc. They are a big part of the family^^.

[IRescue452]

I agree. And if you don't want to deal with constant water changes, get a filter and a big tank (5g+) and cycle it. Bettas have a low bioload so you won't have to do many changes in a cycled tank.
I think people should think before buying goldfish too. They can live 20-50 years and get over a foot long. If you don't plan on eventually having a 55 gallons tank or pond, don't get a single goldfish. A small goldfish should grow 6 inches in length and a few in diameter in the first year you have it, or you are doing something wrong. I can't count how many people tell me things like "Depot is huge!" "I didn't know they get that big" "I didn't know they lived more than a year or two". Most goldfish die when they are still babies because of the people who buy them.

[lute]

I think people should think before buying goldfish too. They can live 20-50 years and get over a foot long. If you don't plan on eventually having a 55 gallons tank or pond, don't get a single goldfish. A small goldfish should grow 6 inches in length and a few in diameter in the first year you have it, or you are doing something wrong. I can't count how many people tell me things like "Depot is huge!" "I didn't know they get that big" "I didn't know they lived more than a year or two". Most goldfish die when they are still babies because of the people who buy them.

i agree. i had goldfish when i was younger. they each lived to atleast 10yrs old. everyone would say "i didn't know goldfish lived that long." we'd always tell them "when they are cared for properly."

[K9soul]

Excellent post Ashley. I remember I think it was over a year ago and it seemed like SO many were getting betta after betta. I thought I made a similar post in a thread asking about "easy pets" where betta/fish were listed as an easy and cheap pet. They should never be viewed as such in my opinion. I only have two, but they each have a cycled 3g tank with plants and get a variety of frozen foods as well as Hikari pellets. I just don't have the time and resources to get more, as tempting as it always is! I've had these two about a year and a half now.

Here is a quote of my post in that thread I mentioned:

Bettas are initially cheap but if they are kept in the conditions they should be kept in, they too can be a bit of an investment. I've spent well over $100 (probably closer to $200, the 2 tank setups alone came out to about $100) on everything mine need, and still plan to get them a couple more live plants when I can find the ones I'm looking for (I may have to order them online). If they get sick, which often poorly kept bettas do, medication costs a lot. It's pretty sickening how they are marketed as such a cheap, easy to keep pet that can live in an 8 oz container here in the U.S. In Finland there are actually laws regulating the minimum tank size that can be sold for fish, and that INCLUDES tanks for bettas.

Ok. Off my soap box (for now). It just bothers me to see anyone choosing a pet based on it being "cheap and easy."

Posted 04-13-2005, 07:07 PM, so no one should think it aimed at them .