Bettas In Stores

Is it just me, or are all the bettas in chain stores really sub par. I use to see some AMAZING bettas at petsmart or petco, or sometimes walmart, but lately I haven't seen anything worth paying a dime for. Most of them have splotchy colors and are generally the same red and blue. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

Is it just me, or are all the bettas in chain stores really sub par. I use to see some AMAZING bettas at petsmart or petco, or sometimes walmart, but lately I haven't seen anything worth paying a dime for. Most of them have splotchy colors and are generally the same red and blue. Has anyone else noticed this?

My chains still seem to get OK ones. One of my LFS's though (the one that cups theirs), their bettas look horrible. The other one has their betta as community fish, and they always look stunning...and cost $18 each.
I believe in most cases for fish stores, indies and chain, betta are bought from local breeders. So your area might just be having a bottleneck of sub-par stock :/

 

Both of the petsmarts near me seem to have pretty good stock. I dunno about petco though, since it's near the other petsmart and we generally don't go over that way unless we have to. I only know about the other petsmart because I had to go there for something they had in stock that the closer one didn't. A LFS we went to over the weekend had TONS more stock though, but they're an hour away. They also do some in-house breeding of fish and may breed some of their own bettas.

 

Its getting worse and worse... My local Petsmart is fairly new and when they first had bettas. 9/10. So many fish always and they even had a over flow and a cart in the back filled with bettas. They fit them into every community tank possible! Look in it today and there's like 12 sick bettas and that's it. ;(
Back in the day:


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This is friday at 4pm Shipment day!!!!!


The racks would be FILLED


Last week


Even this petvalu 10/10 in Leduc!


2 weeks ago...
Starving dirty sick dead bettas...




My local petvalu though 10/10 All healthy with filters running!
They even had actual fish tanks!

 

Its getting worse and worse... My local Petsmart is fairly new and when they first had bettas. 9/10. So many fish always and they even had a over flow and a cart in the back filled with bettas. They fit them into every community tank possible! Look in it today and there's like 12 sick bettas and that's it. ;(
Back in the day:
View attachment 491257
Overflow
View attachment 491258
This is friday at 4pm Shipment day!!!!!
View attachment 491259
The racks would be FILLED
View attachment 491260
Last week
View attachment 491261
Even this petvalu 10/10 in Leduc!
View attachment 491262
2 weeks ago...
Starving dirty sick dead bettas...
View attachment 491263
View attachment 491264
My local petvalu though 10/10 All healthy with filters running!
They even had actual fish tanks!
View attachment 491265

Petco around me has nice ones.

I can tell what pet store you took those in without reading the caption lol.

 

my petco always has a lot of pretty bettas, all different types. I got both of my bettas from there. my petsmart on the other hand usually has veiltails, crowntails, and a bunch of wimpy females. they get the occasional dumbo or butterfly, but they're kinda ugly. they probably colour up in better conditions.

my lfs carries a bunch of common veiltails too. their more uncommon bettas go pretty quickly, it seems.

 

I can tell what pet store you took those in without reading the caption lol.

Be careful Petland and Pet valu use the same Betta Center sometimes.

 

Be careful Petland and Pet valu use the same Betta Center sometimes.
View attachment 491267

I was looking at one of the tags on the shelf, not the Betta center lol!

 

I was looking at one of the tags on the shelf, not the Betta center lol!

oops didnt even notice it says Petland on it.
Has anyone else been so confused with petvalu prices.
*Drives 10mins*
"All bettas $8"
*Drives another 5mins*
"List of betta prices on the side"
Like what?! The one place was selling a sick female betta for $24.99 and all other males for $4...

 

All the petstores near me get colorful ones except the veiltails.....they are all blue not even kidding. I always get my bettas from petco unless I'm rescuing one from petsmart because they NEVER have a healthy betta I just picked up dumbo about a week ago from petco his thread is in my signature

 

Dont get me started on the prices...
2 years ago at petsmart we had 4.99 bettas. An up rise causing them to build more petsmarts made prices soar! Male veiltails from 4.99 to 5.99! Females from 5.99 to 8.99! Premium bettas were 28.99 to now 32.99!
Old photo of $4!

 

I was at petco a few days ago and was horrified to find that all the bettas were sick, or just plain.

I personally will never buy another betta from petco, and I will probably not buy another betta from a store. I think I'd rather go onto ebay

Some petstores have really good betta, they are cared for, and clearly bread with care. BUT other stores have terrible bettas. I haven't gotten a healthy betta yet, bettas are bread so willy nilly that I can't find one that will last for more than a few months. They die so easily. I think they have weak immune systems

 

Is it just me, or are all the bettas in chain stores really sub par. I use to see some AMAZING bettas at petsmart or petco, or sometimes walmart, but lately I haven't seen anything worth paying a dime for. Most of them have splotchy colors and are generally the same red and blue. Has anyone else noticed this?

You have to wait until they get their brand new shipments. The really pretty ones go quick and the others just sit until someone buys one or they pass. ): I go to my LFS and they always have some beautiful bettas for cheap!

 

My local petco has some pretty nice looking bettas. One time I went in a while ago though and the betta shelf was very disorderly and they just have a huge pile of little containers with bettas in them, but next time I was in they had fixed it and set up shelving and and they weren't over stocked anymore so you could see all the cool colors of bettas they had. They had some really pretty looking koi bettas and a bumble bee betta when I was in.

 

My local stores (even Walmart!) all have beautiful bettas. Weird.

 

My Petco has AMAZING bettas, and a HUGE variety of them as well. PetSmart has some, but I don't go in there much so I can't really say. Definitely nowhere near what Petco has.

 

I think it really depends on the individual store.

 

My PetCo always has beautiful bettas. PetSmart has urine yellow ones. Only Veiltail males or crowntail females. Nothing fun or exciting. Just the same old, same old.

 

My betta is gorgeous (well, I guess that’s subjective, but he’s a double tail with HUGE fins) and I got him at Petco for $7. I think it must be regional.

Side note: before this betta, I had one that cost $60 from Thailand, and it honestly wasn’t any nicer than the one I have now.

 

My LFS (one of them) has been getting mostly plakets and crowntails.
Petco seems to have ok ones. Petsmart seems to not have so good ones. I got mine from Petco by my house




WinterSoldier Love your name

 

The Betta at my petco are horrible! The PetSmart ones are a little better but still bad. My lfs keeps the Bettas is their own separate “tanks” instead of cups, and each Betta has live plants and some snails roaming around.

 

jenmur, thanks!!! And love your betta, he is a really pretty guy, I don't see many like him

I think it really depends on the individual store.

'

I think you are right, it must vary regionally. Of the petstores around me only one place has half decent betts, that fish place that pet place, I would buy from there because they change the water of their bettas every day, instead of just letting them sit, and die from ammonia overloads

 

WinterSoldier Love the character, Bucky. At least from the movies. Thanks! Yeah I haven’t seen a fish like him before. Hopefully he’s as strong as my last crowntail guy!

 

WinterSoldier Love the character, Bucky. At least from the movies. Thanks! Yeah I haven’t seen a fish like him before. Hopefully he’s as strong as my last crowntail guy!

haha, yeah Bucky is a great character. I like him when he is the winter soldier better than when hes bucky barns

 

haha, yeah Bucky is a great character. I like him when he is the winter soldier better than when hes bucky barns

He is! . Hmm, I do like him in Civil War. And Winter Soldier. Better than Captain America. I even named my pleco, Stucky as a combo of Steve and Bucky. Since just one wouldn’t do.
Do you think he will take the roll of Captain America? I’m taking solace from the fact Sebastian Stan is signed for 9 movies.

 

my 4 dollar betta is doing great. got him 6 months ago from PetSmart in Canada and he almost died bad from ammonia poisoning but he's a freaking trooper

 

The Betta at my petco are horrible! The PetSmart ones are a little better but still bad. My lfs keeps the Bettas is their own separate “tanks” instead of cups, and each Betta has live plants and some snails roaming around.

Wow! I never heard of that!!

He is! . Hmm, I do like him in Civil War. And Winter Soldier. Better than Captain America. I even named my pleco, Stucky as a combo of Steve and Bucky. Since just one wouldn’t do.
Do you think he will take the roll of Captain America? I’m taking solace from the fact Sebastian Stan is signed for 9 movies.

Not to get TOOO off topic, but Is the guy chris evans? who plays C A going somewhere else, is he not going to be Captain america? And I hope Stan doesn't play CA he is too bucky, not Captain America, he wouldn't fin the role. I HATE how they changed all the hair styles. It ruined it forever. I mean Captain American with a beard you have to be joking

 

MAGA. Awesome! Glad to hear your betta is doing much better

WinterSoldier Chris Evans (Steve). isn’t gonna be playing Cap anymore after Avengers 4. In the comics both Bucky and Sam take up the shield. Yeah. I can’t picture Bucky as Cap. Just weird. Or Falcon. I have seen pictures of them as Captain America from the comics. Buckys is darker. Yes the beard is weird. Hehehe.