Choosing a Healthy Betta to Purchase

When purchasing a betta, it is important to make sure the fish is healthy from the start. There are some important physical and behavioral factors to consider in the process. Just to note, the factors listed here are mainly based for those purchasing a betta at a pet store, but also serve as a general guide for determining the health of any fish.

Color

There are many different colors and variations of bettas. When choosing a betta, if the fish is pale or light in color it may be his or her natural coloring or it may be a sign of stress/poor health at the moment. People are often surprised when they bring home what appears to be a gorgeous white betta that after a few months develops a red wash or other coloring after being kept in a poor environment. Some signs of poor health are faded or dull coloration, but it is important to consider other factors of health as well.

Body

A betta's body should be streamline and full, looking proportionate from head to tail. It should not have any noticeable lumps, bumps or growths.

Scales

The scales on a healthy betta should all be flat and smooth against the body with no loose scales protruding or missing. Examine the betta from all sides and from above to make sure none of the scales are pulling away from the body giving the effect of an open pinecone.

Fins

The betta's fins should be full and free of holes, rips, tears, and rough or raw edges. He should be able to spread them out fully and they should not be clamped together.

Gill Area

The gills on a healthy betta should be smooth in appearance and not swollen, red, or stringy looking. If you can get the betta to flare at you in the store it can be a good way to further examine the gills and make sure they retract simultaneously in a smooth and quick manner.

Eyes

A betta's eyes should be dark in appearance and look clear. The eyes should not be hazy or protrude too far out from the head in a bug-eye type fashion. At the same time, the eyes should not look as though they are sunken into the betta's head.

Droppings

If the betta's cup has been recently cleaned, you may not find any feces at the bottom, but it is something to look for. Make sure it does not appear whitish or stringy. If you do not see any, check the betta to see if he is swollen at all in the stomach region which may be a sign of constipation.

Behavior

The betta should be active in his cup, responding to outside activity. The fish should appear to float upright and not be constantly lying on the bottom. Sometimes a betta may be sleeping in his cup and look motionless, so be gentle and subtle to try to perk his interest.

The water and other things to watch for

If you see white cottony patches in the betta's cup or on his body, skip over this betta as you may be dealing with a case of fungus. This is often seen when the water is not changed enough and the fish is stressed, and can be a hard illness to combat especially not knowing how long the betta has been ill. For that matter, if something just doesn't look quite right about the water or the betta, it's better to pass that one up.

Purchasing from a breeder vs. the pet store

While bettas tend to be readily available for purchase at most pet stores, if you're looking to find a quality betta then your best bet is acquiring one directly from a breeder. One of the problems of purchasing your betta from a pet store is that you don't know what conditions or stresses the fish has been through before that may have a detrimental effect on the rest of the betta's lifespan. By purchasing directly from a breeder, you are able to get the betta at both a young age and the fish goes straight to your home. Often times bettas are available from breeders at just a few months old and you will know the exact age of your fish. When you purchase your betta at the store there's no telling his or her age and sometimes it can be as much as 1-year old already. With a betta's lifespan only being a few years, the younger you are able to bring them into your home, the longer they'll be with you.

Many breeders work to produce quality bettas genetically and that cannot always be said for the fish you find at pet stores who may have been mass-produced solely for profit. Additionally, breeders mainly work with tail types other than Veil Tail bettas that tend to be the only type you will readily see available at a pet store. There are many other types to pick from – Half Moon, Crown Tail, Delta Tail, Double Tail...

To find a local breeder, check out the International Betta Congress (IBC) website at www.ibcbetta.org for chapters near you. There are also other resources such as www.Aquabid.com where you can purchase bettas directly from the breeder.

“Rescuing” sick bettas

Unfortunately some stores keep bettas in less than ideal conditions, such as dirty water or too small of cups. This may be caused by too much stock and not enough staff, improper training as to the care of bettas, or many other factors. While it is heartbreaking to witness a bunch of bettas in poor health, purchasing these fish to rescue them from the horrible conditions actually promotes the problem to keep occurring in the future.

The stores where you typically see improper care of bettas are large chain stores of some sort. These are the types of stores where the head honchos just look at the profit numbers. If they see that people are purchasing their bettas and they are making money off of them, they're going to continue keeping them in stock. Basically if they think the demand is there because people are buying bettas, they will keep filling the supply back up. They don't know that the fish aren't being cared for and being bought out of pity. However, if they see that no one is buying the fish, they will likely stock fewer over the long run. This in turn means less fish that will be subject to poor conditions. This system certainly isn't perfect and we'd all wish for fish to be kept in ideal environments, but in the long run it may make a positive change for bettas.