BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Sugar II has arrived

Hello all! This afternoon we went to chose a new betta for my son. One section of males looked horrible, they all had crumpled fins and were so listless. The other section must have had newer fish because I was surprised to see one had made a bubble nest in his tiny bowl . So it was a toss up between the red bubble nester, and a beautiful turquoise and mauve one with plum coloured 'feely fins' (didn't know they came those colours, wow!) who also had alot of bubbles. My husband said I could only get one (darn!), so I went with the turquoise one. I guess because he was different and there was a gentleness about him. Once home I think he got aclimated pretty well, no bubbles so far but it's early. He seems very tame coming up to the top when my finger is there. I was kind of concerned at first because he kept touring around and around the tank like he was lonely, but just curious I guess. It's only a .5 gallon, so not much room for tank mates.
Oh ya, and the 'gentleman' who put Sugar II into the 'delivery bag' for me waited until he had done so to tell me that fish are half price on Tuesdays. Arg! He looked proud of himself that I paid $8 for what could have been a $4 fish tomorrow. lol Anyway, just thought I'd share the news of our new arrival. I'd like to figure out how to take a good picture so I could post it, he is so lovely. :love:

Great FW !! He sounds very interesting, can't wait to see a picture of him !

Wow..you pay 8$ for bettas? Around here they run from about 3-4$. The females are about $1.75 or so. But you know, if you had waited till today to pick him up..I bet he wouldn't have been there. Getting there before sale day you most likely get a better selection, unless you show up as soon as they open the doors on Tues..lol...being a betta nutcase, that's probably what I would do..haha.

FW,

Your new fish sounds beautiful. Here's to a long and healthy life!

Nan

Thank you Nannynan, I hope he does too! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I'm in Canada Emg, so maybe because our dollar is lower we pay more. The first Sugar was about $5, but came from a store that had their bettas in community tanks and only a 7 day guarantee. I figured this time I'd pay more, get a 14 day guarantee and try one from a small bowl. (Less chance of disease I'm hoping.)
Anyway, Sugar II seems to be doing well, eating, flaring (the first one never did that!) and generally interested in what's going on. In fact I've yet to see him sleep lol. There were bubbles in the tank this morning too which always makes you feel good. :love:
Oh, and my husband says we'll talk about getting another when Sugar has been around a while. (Is he hinting at something? lol) I think he knows it'll be the start to a growing collection of little tanks lol.

LOL FW...I hope he's as tolerant as my husband has been...lol. Not sure that is a good thing or not..lol, since I have no compuctions about going out and getting another...and maybe one more...lol

I'm glad Sugar II is doing well. Sounds like he'll be fine.

WOW i was thinking the same thing 8.00.Then i was wonder what part of Canada your from I'm in ont...I usually get my bettas from PetSmart or Superpet(which is far better)the price is 3.99 and believe it or not the females here are more money about a buck more <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> .Congrats on the new fish but i'm just guessing here the other passed so sarry to hear that <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> My sons nemo passed away yesterday ...that was a bad day for him <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> he was about a year old or so (well thats how long we had him)trust me we both cried <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> you can get really attatched.( i think it was hard for me cuz my sons only 5 and he was crushed when he came back from kindergarden.He also made him a heart from pipecleaners so U can imagine how hard it was to tell him <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

most pet stores dont want people to buy female bettas (they can tear each other up when breeding) so they either make them more expensive, or like at petco (!!) let them slowly die in a community tank with fin biters. I specifically asked if they had females at petco and the very stuck up girl there said "i wont sell them to you."
I was like...what did she just say?!?! i kinda stood there for a few minutes with my mouth hanging open. i then proceeded to tell her manager what a jerk she was. unfortunately, the training at petco is lacking in all regards, at least this one.

i have seen males with fungus, fin rot, and horrible lesions there. you would think that they could see them looking like that and take a 3 dollar bottle of medicine to help them. nope.

you have to get there the day they come and hope for the best. if i buy anymore males, im going to buy from a breeder (probably faith, she has excellent shipping methods). its about 50 times more expensive, but if you love your fish, you would pay that in housing and medicine anyhow <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> at least i have... lol im a sucker!

btw...when you see a lot of red fish and red streaked fish, they are probably not from a reputable breeder. i got amy from a LPS, but she was obviously bred by someone who was trying to get a solid cellophane. she has a tiny bit of plum coloured wash, which prbably showed up in the males first which is why i think she was in the pet store. shes excellent tho! wonderful health. poor nebbie is from petco, and hes still beautiful, but his health isnt that good <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> hes better all the time, tho.

Oh lovey..what a heartbreak! I can handle the death of a beloved pet ok..but when my kid's hearts are broken over something like that .. man, it hurts..

Just look at as one of life's little lessons. I figure it's good for a kid to learn about death with something like a fish or cat or something...it's a good opportunity to explain things. Then when someONE they care about passes..which is bound to happen sooner or later..they have something to draw on to work it out..even if it is just a little fish, to a 5 year old it's the World!

Sthenn, it's hard to find LFS around here that sell females bettas..except for the local PetCo, they seem to just about always have them. Lots of different colors too. But they are generally cheaper than the males.

I was talking to one of the employees at PetSmart today. She and I sort of hit it off when I first started showing up there...which is at least once a week..lol.. She too has about 8 bettas and lucky her, she gets first dibs when they come in..working there and all.. She told me she got a sunset betta from there recently and he's "Stunning" was the word she used. Very pretty orange color. I should have told her to keep an eye out for one for me..lol.. I can see I am going to have to start fostering this relationship here !

Sorry to hear about your son's fish Luvly. My son will be 5 in a few months and I felt the same about him when we set his first fish out to sea on Sunday. With tears in his eyes he just said "Can we name the next one Sugar, too?" I felt aweful for him. I'm in MB and I'm pretty sure we don't have Petsmart here.
Sthenno I haven't had a problem finding female bettas here. Every once in while I stop by the fish dept if we're at a pet store and always see a handful... mind you I've never actually tried to buy one. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I think if it were me in the situation with the sales girl I'd have been tempted to kick her in the shins. :devil: I can't believe a salesperson could be so rude. I've never heard of them not wanting to sell females before.
Emg I think you've got good thing going with your Petsmart friend! lol.
I think for next time I will take the advice of learning when the stores get their bettas in and be waiting at store opening lol. I have noticed even before becoming interested in bettas that alot of them tend to be blue or red. Do 'different' colours tend to mean a healthier or well bred fish in general?

Yeah, blue and red are the general colors. It's a real find to get one that doesn't have those colors on them somewhere..lol..and yep, I do think when you do find them they tend to be the leftovers of someone trying to get something special. However, betta breeders breed siblings in order to get those wonderful colors...after a few generations I think they do tend become a "weaker" fish perhaps..from all the inbreeding...but that doesn't stop me from buying them...lol..it depends on how far down the line they are.

Also, the store in my area gets thier fish in at about 11am....but they don't get around to putting the bettas out till maybe around 3pm...because bettas are labryth fish they can stand to be in those bags for a bit longer, so they wait to put them out last and get to all the other fish first. You might want to ask them what time they get them on the shelf so you dont' have to wait around all day..lol.