Why the blue water!?!

Ok so I do believe I'm going to get a second betta to put in a 5 gal I have finished cycling (my inexperience showed with getting to many guppies for a 5 gal, and they are not cool like bettas). But looking around at the guppies at different stores I started seeing the blue water. At my petco they take surprisingly good care of their bettas and the water is USUALLY crystal clear.

Going to walmart and a few other chain stores I finally saw what everyone talks about with the blue water. What is that stuff!?! Do they really need to put that in the water? You can barely see their colors when they have that in the water. Is it like a chemical that makes the water last longer without changing it?(gross)

 

I asked about that once, they said it was a conditioner that they use.
Who knows if that's true.

Congrats on the betta, they are cool.

 

It is an antiseptic agent. Bettas kept in little cups like that are very susceptible to fin rot and other infections (fungal and bacterial), and the blue stuff keeps them alive longer.

The alternative is that the stores not stock dozens (or hundreds) of bettas at a time, and keep them in filtered tanks in some manner or another, but then the stores wouldn't have dozens (or hundreds) of bettas to spur impulse buys. So they go the cheapest route they can to sell the largest number of bettas, and if this ends up with the majority of them dead, as long as the chains make a profit at the end of the day, they're happy.

And I am surprised to hear of a Petco that takes care of their bettas. Most Petcos have the "Bettas live in mud puddles" propaganda all over their fish section and stock dozens of bettas in the little cups. I have actually told Petco that I will not buy from them ever again until they start caring for their bettas (I got a really bad form letter telling me that I'm wrong and that bettas are perfectly happy living in a pint of water).

 

It is an antiseptic agent. Bettas kept in little cups like that are very susceptible to fin rot and other infections (fungal and bacterial), and the blue stuff keeps them alive longer.

:'( That's so sad.

 

I was wondering about the blue water, when I bought my betta he wasn't in blue water. One thing I have seen is a lfs that sells bettas going in there diff times of the day that they actually change the water 2 times a day in their cups, really surprising and the bettas looked really healthy, in fact there was a couple who had bubble nest started. I don't reccomend the cups, but for that fish store they were the best quality I have ever seen in a fishstore betta. (its not a chain store though)

 

I was in my local Petco the other day and was surprised to see that they had some HalfMoon's and Delta's. I've never seen anything other than standard (veil tail(?)) and Crown Tails in a fish store.

Sadly though, most were dead or on their last leg. It was really appalling!

But Thursday I was at a PetSmart and a group of rowdy boys around 16 years old wanted to by two male Betta's. The young girl refused to sell them the Betta's saying that she wasn't allowed to sell fish to minors. When they told her they had bought fish there before, she said that she refused to sell them the Betta's because they just wanted to see them fight. I liked that girl!

 

Wow! That employee deserves an award! My Peto and Petsmart always has crowntails and halfmoons....That's why I can't go there lol.....

 

That employee should be given 'employee of the year' award!

 

Yea usually they would be happy to sell two fish even if the are bettas. They don't ever seem to care.

 

I believe the blue in the water is Meth. Blue.

 

Sounds right. I remember telling my wife what it was and she immediately identified it as an antiseptic/antifungal.

 

Sometimes when you have a betta shipped in if they feel the shipment may take a bit more than overnight they will put a drop or two in the water to help prevent any disease process that may tend to try to crop up in the bags. It is an antiseptic and antibacterial agent that is totally harmless to the fish and may actually help them to stay alive longer with the conditions they are in.

Rose

 

Sorry. I meant to clarify that it isn't that it's bad for the fish. Rather, it's the fact that it's necessary that disgusts me.

 

Gah, well ok, this thread took me from depressed to glad they use that precaution to sad they have to use it.

 

Just one more reason I rescue the "Cupkids"

 

I suppose that the Bettas are given something to protect them from the stressful experience they are going through. The store near me doesn't replace the 'blue' when they change the water, I was told they are shipped in it for safe measure.