Rescue Bettas? I would love to hear their stories!

In this thread, I would love to see some stories about rescued bettas. I have rescued a few from a LPS and a LFS. I don't regret the hardships it took to bring them back to their beauty one bit. I just about cried when I saw the changes my bettas went through, especially the red veiltail, Cherry. I will show some before and after


I only have an after picture of the blue veiltail, but he had severe dropsy when I brought him home..pictures of all the rescues I have ever had. Please share your experiences and hardships if any, I plan to rescue more in the future.

 

Do you buy these guys? Once I have a house instead of an apartment, I'd love to start rescuing bettas. But I want to be one of those people that demands to get the bettas for free since they're in terrible shape, but I want to know a respectful way to go about it.

 

The pink one, Lilly, was pale and fin torn, so I payed full price of 10 bucks since she was still swimming and eating.
The blue veil tail, red veil tail, and the orange veil tail came together, and we're free. At their degree, it was very easy to convince the pet store (good friends of mine) to give them to me for free, I also care for a lot of there Bettas when I have the time. The last one, blue veil tail female, was full price of PetSmart seven dollars.
When telling employees about it, try to understand, that it is neither their fault, and they also have no clue about Bettas most of the time. Help them understand that the Betta's life is at risk, don't point any fingers, dont make fun of their setups, etc... Try nigociating a percent off price based on the Bettas life. For severe finrot, mabey only twenty five percent off, while with dropsy, it should either be free or fifty percent off (if employees are pushy or feel threatened).
I tried to rescue a baby girl Betta a few weeks ago from Petco, and she ended up dieing. I told the employee while purchasing, and he claimed she was just fine (she was at the bottom, hardly moving with a bent spine), so he ended up giving me only 50% off because, I kept pushing for a discount.
Some employees know nothing about the fish, but the other day, I met some awesome employees at Petco. One actually opened all the Betta manuals and used sharpie to cross out the paragraph stating that Bettas do best in quarter gallon bowls and cups and wrote 5 gallons plus! I was very happy to see that. He also gave me some great advice on what shrimp is best for Bettas!

 

I have a King Male that I found half dead in a cup Saturday before last.

I actually had a different male I was going to get, but I knew this guy would not make it.

3 days of malachite green and DAILY water changes, 50 -75%

I don't feed him in the tank but rather in his betta cup to avoid that food waste rotting in his water. I am adding garlic juice to his food every other day.

He is starting to get really good tail movement. he went from barely moving to now being able to almost swim. Little steps. I try not to get too excited. he may not ever be fully functioning.

My other 2 weak fin bettea were babies, so for them it's definitely birth defect. This guy it was lack of proper care.

These pictures were from 10/27, last 3 are just now

The increased mobility is amazing.I am planning on getting him into my 20 long I took down a few months back. Hopefully this weekend. I just cleaned it and got the rocks etc at Pet Smart today.

I have not named him yet, but inclined to call him Champ, because he's definitely winning. I should have taken a picture of him, it was horrible. He looked all black, and just depressed, worn out.

Oh, i also was feeding him glow fish food because it has 'extra nutrients' for gene altered aka weaker fish. not sure it matters. I just started him on bug bites this week at some feedings.

 

Such an intresting story! I love the alien colored Bettas. Also, I think champ is an adorable name!

 

My most recent edition! Her name is arial, and I rescued her labeled as a "baby girl Betta" at Petco. the before is her in the cup. She so beautiful now!

 

I have a King Male that I found half dead in a cup Saturday before last.

I actually had a different male I was going to get, but I knew this guy would not make it.

3 days of malachite green and DAILY water changes, 50 -75%

I don't feed him in the tank but rather in his betta cup to avoid that food waste rotting in his water. I am adding garlic juice to his food every other day.

He is starting to get really good tail movement. he went from barely moving to now being able to almost swim. Little steps. I try not to get too excited. he may not ever be fully functioning.

My other 2 weak fin bettea were babies, so for them it's definitely birth defect. This guy it was lack of proper care.

These pictures were from 10/27, last 3 are just now

The increased mobility is amazing.I am planning on getting him into my 20 long I took down a few months back. Hopefully this weekend. I just cleaned it and got the rocks etc at Pet Smart today.

I have not named him yet, but inclined to call him Champ, because he's definitely winning. I should have taken a picture of him, it was horrible. He looked all black, and just depressed, worn out.

Oh, i also was feeding him glow fish food because it has 'extra nutrients' for gene altered aka weaker fish. not sure it matters. I just started him on bug bites this week at some feedings.

Debbie1986,

Wow, he's an imbellis, right?!!! That's awesome! He's sweet!!! What a great job you are doing!

 

Update on my current rescues!

 

Update on my current rescues!

They look great!!!! I love that chunky little female!!! So cute!!

 

I know, she is so chucky! Actually...Perhaps a bit of a diet. I saw her eating the corydoras' algae pellets. Is that bad for them?

 

I know, she is so chucky! Actually...Perhaps a bit of a diet. I saw her eating the corydoras' algae pellets. Is that bad for them?

A little bit of it won't hurt, but too much will make her pretty big and might block her up a bit. I had some betta food that contained spirulina, and that's an algae that is super good for fish, so their digestive systems can handle it.

 

Two new rescues, Haku and Muku! Both brothers from my friend's store. They have swim bladder issues, and we're living in small cups as usual. Last night they would swim to the bottom and instantly float to the top, stuck in their sides. I put them in their hospital tanks, and they are already able to swim better, and they are so dark and vibrant! Still bloated from overfeeding though, so I will be fasting for 3 days, then I will feed them some frozen foods.

 

So....I went to petco to get some supplies, and, of course, just had to take a Betta home. I landed on Mantis, a elephant eat male. He is completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. He also has some velvet and hole-in-head going on, so I got 50% off him (og. price being 15.00).
Otherwise, a super lively and happy fellow!

 

Wow, velvet and HITH? Poor guy! They should pay you to take him!

He is sweet looking! Good luck with him!!!

 

Do you buy these guys? Once I have a house instead of an apartment, I'd love to start rescuing bettas. But I want to be one of those people that demands to get the bettas for free since they're in terrible shape, but I want to know a respectful way to go about it.

Most big box stores will give you a discount if you mention the issue seems to be at managers discretion

 

In May 2022 I was asked by a neighbour's daughter if I would be willing to take on her mother's Betta called Fred. Her mother was very unwell and about to be transferred to hospice care and Fred could not go with her or the daughter. Fred was around 3 years old at the time and since I have rescued several fish from neighbours who had abandoned them, I said that I would be happy to take him.

Sadly due to her mother's illness becoming very bad, I took Fred earlier than anticipated and shortly thereafter my neighbour passed away in the hospice.

Fred stayed with me for almost 6 months. I knew that he was an older Betta so tbh I was not sure how well he would cope with the upheaval of changing owners and aquariums, but he seemed happy enough.

Unfortunately he passed away overnight in November 2022. He was quite a cheeky chappie and would flare at everything, have the zoomies daily and generally get into mischief. His last week was totally different, very tired, his usual voracious appetite went and he just wasn't interested with anyone or anything. He was a handsome fellow and despite my vow to never have a Betta again, he was fun to have around albeit for a short time only.

 

Such an inspiring story!

 

I have two stories for ya! My first is Louis, a koi vail tail, he was small and unresponsive in a tiny cup at a big box store. When I first brought him home I had his 20 gallon all set up with tons of plants and some snails and shrimp but he was so timid and barely ate. It’s been a few months now and he’s grown so much and his coloring has progressed beautifully. He loves when I put my hand in the tank, he swirls around my fingers and nips at me. He is so outgoing now, loves to ride the bubbles from the air stone and play in the filter flow. He even plays with the Cory cats and rasboras now

Next is my boy Sherbet, the crown tail. Again, at a big box store, looking miserable, he had severe ammonia poisoning, red inflamed gills, burns on his body, I wasn’t sure he would make it. He’s in a 10 gallon by himself with lots of tannins and hiding places and lots of plants. We went through a bad bloating episode for a couple weeks but after some peas he’s doing great! He’s now starting to recognize me and interact with my fingers on the glass. His burns are healing up but his gills are still a little inflamed. He’s getting more active every day and loves to just float under his riccia.

There will definitely be more to come! I’m determined to save as many as I can ☺️