Buying sick betta fish and nursing them back to health?

Gerbil Lover · 29-10-09, 04:29

Every time I go to a store that sells bettas I always see sick ones and it makes me sad. I once saw bettas thrown into tanks with very unsuitable tank mates and they all had horrible fin conditions. I just currently lost my 3 year old betta. What I wanted to do is buy sick or injured bettas bring them back to health and then sell them for cheap (money for meds) or give them away for free.

What do you think of this? Would you buy a betta that was once sick, but now in good condition? How could I sell/give them away without shipping? I don't know that many people that want bettas. I have a few people that will take one.
I'll try to get them for free. I was just going to save one at a time because I only have one free tank.

Your betta has beautiful coloring.

Mr Bass · 29-10-09, 04:58

First thing I would do is contact the manager of the store. If its been a problem for a while then I would go up the food chain. Most pet stores like Petsmart, Petco and pet supermarket have a person called district animal care coordinator or regional animal care coordinator I would contact them and the district manager. Be sure you know what your talking about first and do you research, take pictures and post as many places as you can. Your actions will likely cause displinary action at petco, petland or petsupermarket and might even get someone fired. They rarely ever care about animal care at petsmart in my experiance.

catx · 11-11-09, 21:30

I have taken in broken Bettas BUT I have never paid for one! If there are that sick then you shouldn't be paying for them. One I took in had had all it's fins ripped off by Paradise Fish, I demanded him for free and was given him, they snorted that he wouldn't last the night. I had him for 2 years and the store (which was an independent NOT a chain store) shut down about 2 months I after I got him. NYAH.

I would suggest only picking up what you can afford to care for and keeping them for their entire lifespan. If they are that injured chances are they may only live on for 1-2 years anyway as there could well be long-term damage. A "rescue factory" would just have you run ragged and you'd soon find yourself with too much to cope with. Concentrate your efforts on the lucky few!

This was the boy I rescued:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catxx/3270468310/in/set-72157613584359397/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catxx/3269646875/in/set-72157613584359397/

troublewolf · 11-11-09, 22:04

If you have the tim and money to do so, and really want to? then go for it. I have two that I rescued from a petstorm. Both had fin rot and very inactive. I brought them home, put them in (each) 2.5 gallon tanks that are heated removed all substrate and then just added Atison"s Betta spa. I kept the tank very clean and used only aged water, doing the partials every four days for a couple of weeks. They perked up and are lovely boys now. This worked for me, but for you it all depends on what all is wrong. Be prepared to battle fin rot and ammonia burns, bloat and swim bladder problems when rescuing Betta's. The one thing with SBD, put them in a lower water level tank..that way they don't have to wear themselves out to get to the surface to breath. One of my rescues had that but since I jumped on it right away, he recovered. then when feeding them, pre soak all food. this helps them eat it and they don't run the risk of dried food swelling inside them.
As for getting away with not shipping? It all depends on where you live and how many people you come across. Check and see if there are any fish clubs in your area or even betta clubs. you never know!
I personally would run it like a rescue group and ask for donations when someone adopts. you could even print up adoption papers. also, if you do this, educate your adopters on the right way to keep a betta...make sure they really know. have them tell you how they would keep them, before you say anything about it.
good luck and let us know what you finally do start doing!

Catx: lovely Boy! His fins came back almost perfect, didn;t they! Good job!
(why in the world would they have put him with paradise? thats as bad as goldfsh!)

Swiftless · 12-11-09, 06:25

well you can always search your town for the occaisonal pet store with helthy happy fish and give them to that store...most stores like this arent chain stores but more of people who like fish so started a tiny business or something.

Sara · 12-11-09, 06:56

This may be a project that will end in dissapointment. A lot of them won't make it & the costs may end up being substancial. However, its a really great idea! You could post ads on craigslist as a betta rescuer & just say they're rescued bettas.
Asking for a minimum $5 donation would be good & then suggest people donate more if they're able. You'd be suprized at the ammount of domations you'd get! Some shops may also give you a discount on the fish since they're sick & would probably not be bought otherwise.

I would definately buy a resue betta. & a lot of other people would too. Its like rescue dogs, you feel better buying it than a regular one from a chain store.

I'd be a good idea to get a few 30 or 40 gallon tanks. Then you can put solid-colored deviders in (with holes in them) so you can have 4 or 5 bettas in each tank. Then you can have a bacterial infection tank, an ich tank, etc. So you can add medicine to one big tank & not worry about treating fish for something they don't have.
You can also e-mail fish websites & forums & ask for donations for medication, tanks, & fish. I promise you, you'll be very suprized how quickly donations will come in. So many people are willing to give 5 or 10 dollars, which can easily turn into hundreds. & some people may even donate tanks or medication.Step one would be to set up a pay-pal so people can donate. Then allow a while for the donations to add up so its worth pay-pal's check fees.
You may have to deal with shipping at some point so you aren't over-run with fish. There's lots of info online about that.

K Cali22 · 12-11-09, 07:04

Yeah, I believe you can. Try Craiglist or Ebay to get the word out, but of course meet the people first. Newspaper ads also help. Maybe some kind of shelter...? I'd talk to the petstore and maybe somehow be able to bring them back in and then they can sell them? but of course it would have to be local, chain stores NEVER allow local breeders/ people to help out, even if every single animal is dying and diseased. hope it works out, and yeah, i went to petco the other day and i counted thirteen dead bettas, three almost dead, and nine that were perfectly fine (they were new arrivals)....it's a sad world....

29-10-09, 04:29	#1
Gerbil Lover Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 4	Buying sick betta fish and nursing them back to health? Every time I go to a store that sells bettas I always see sick ones and it makes me sad. I once saw bettas thrown into tanks with very unsuitable tank mates and they all had horrible fin conditions. I just currently lost my 3 year old betta. What I wanted to do is buy sick or injured bettas bring them back to health and then sell them for cheap (money for meds) or give them away for free. What do you think of this? Would you buy a betta that was once sick, but now in good condition? How could I sell/give them away without shipping? I don't know that many people that want bettas. I have a few people that will take one. I'll try to get them for free. I was just going to save one at a time because I only have one free tank. Your betta has beautiful coloring.

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29-10-09, 04:58	#2
Mr Bass Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	First thing I would do is contact the manager of the store. If its been a problem for a while then I would go up the food chain. Most pet stores like Petsmart, Petco and pet supermarket have a person called district animal care coordinator or regional animal care coordinator I would contact them and the district manager. Be sure you know what your talking about first and do you research, take pictures and post as many places as you can. Your actions will likely cause displinary action at petco, petland or petsupermarket and might even get someone fired. They rarely ever care about animal care at petsmart in my experiance.

11-11-09, 21:30	#3
catx Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 19	I have taken in broken Bettas BUT I have never paid for one! If there are that sick then you shouldn't be paying for them. One I took in had had all it's fins ripped off by Paradise Fish, I demanded him for free and was given him, they snorted that he wouldn't last the night. I had him for 2 years and the store (which was an independent NOT a chain store) shut down about 2 months I after I got him. NYAH. I would suggest only picking up what you can afford to care for and keeping them for their entire lifespan. If they are that injured chances are they may only live on for 1-2 years anyway as there could well be long-term damage. A "rescue factory" would just have you run ragged and you'd soon find yourself with too much to cope with. Concentrate your efforts on the lucky few! This was the boy I rescued: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catxx/3270468310/in/set-72157613584359397/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/catxx/3269646875/in/set-72157613584359397/

11-11-09, 22:04	#4
troublewolf Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5	If you have the tim and money to do so, and really want to? then go for it. I have two that I rescued from a petstorm. Both had fin rot and very inactive. I brought them home, put them in (each) 2.5 gallon tanks that are heated removed all substrate and then just added Atison"s Betta spa. I kept the tank very clean and used only aged water, doing the partials every four days for a couple of weeks. They perked up and are lovely boys now. This worked for me, but for you it all depends on what all is wrong. Be prepared to battle fin rot and ammonia burns, bloat and swim bladder problems when rescuing Betta's. The one thing with SBD, put them in a lower water level tank..that way they don't have to wear themselves out to get to the surface to breath. One of my rescues had that but since I jumped on it right away, he recovered. then when feeding them, pre soak all food. this helps them eat it and they don't run the risk of dried food swelling inside them. As for getting away with not shipping? It all depends on where you live and how many people you come across. Check and see if there are any fish clubs in your area or even betta clubs. you never know! I personally would run it like a rescue group and ask for donations when someone adopts. you could even print up adoption papers. also, if you do this, educate your adopters on the right way to keep a betta...make sure they really know. have them tell you how they would keep them, before you say anything about it. good luck and let us know what you finally do start doing! Catx: lovely Boy! His fins came back almost perfect, didn;t they! Good job! (why in the world would they have put him with paradise? thats as bad as goldfsh!)

12-11-09, 06:25	#5
Swiftless Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 19	well you can always search your town for the occaisonal pet store with helthy happy fish and give them to that store...most stores like this arent chain stores but more of people who like fish so started a tiny business or something.

12-11-09, 06:56	#6
Sara Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 151	This may be a project that will end in dissapointment. A lot of them won't make it & the costs may end up being substancial. However, its a really great idea! You could post ads on craigslist as a betta rescuer & just say they're rescued bettas. Asking for a minimum $5 donation would be good & then suggest people donate more if they're able. You'd be suprized at the ammount of domations you'd get! Some shops may also give you a discount on the fish since they're sick & would probably not be bought otherwise. I would definately buy a resue betta. & a lot of other people would too. Its like rescue dogs, you feel better buying it than a regular one from a chain store. I'd be a good idea to get a few 30 or 40 gallon tanks. Then you can put solid-colored deviders in (with holes in them) so you can have 4 or 5 bettas in each tank. Then you can have a bacterial infection tank, an ich tank, etc. So you can add medicine to one big tank & not worry about treating fish for something they don't have. You can also e-mail fish websites & forums & ask for donations for medication, tanks, & fish. I promise you, you'll be very suprized how quickly donations will come in. So many people are willing to give 5 or 10 dollars, which can easily turn into hundreds. & some people may even donate tanks or medication.Step one would be to set up a pay-pal so people can donate. Then allow a while for the donations to add up so its worth pay-pal's check fees. You may have to deal with shipping at some point so you aren't over-run with fish. There's lots of info online about that.

12-11-09, 07:04	#7
K Cali22 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3	Yeah, I believe you can. Try Craiglist or Ebay to get the word out, but of course meet the people first. Newspaper ads also help. Maybe some kind of shelter...? I'd talk to the petstore and maybe somehow be able to bring them back in and then they can sell them? but of course it would have to be local, chain stores NEVER allow local breeders/ people to help out, even if every single animal is dying and diseased. hope it works out, and yeah, i went to petco the other day and i counted thirteen dead bettas, three almost dead, and nine that were perfectly fine (they were new arrivals)....it's a sad world....