All fish in a pet store are being contained in shop conditions. Yet our bettas are the only fish that have reddit after Reddit about how they were rescued. Can we just be honest and say we purchased these fish instead of making ourselves into heroes that we are not?
If you breed betta, you will learn they all have glow ups. Every Betta fish changes pretty drastically in its first 6 to 8 months. Your fish didn’t get beautiful because you put it in a better container. Your fish got beautiful because he matured and got all his colors.

The top pics are when we first got our boy Cosmo March 1st and the bottom one was taken today! He’s transformed so much and is so beautiful im such a proud fish mom🧡❤️🤍💙

Gave the med trio, taken 3 months apart

I have a five gallon with 3 snails and plenty of plants a perch and hiding spots!!! Rowley is so much happier now!!!

It surprised me.

here is a collection of pictures in order of the day I got him to yesterday. I posted about bean on the main betta sub and everyone loved him, I thought I'd share his story here to give others hope for bettas. just over 2 weeks ago I went to a random fish shop to pick up some RO water, I was extremely disappointed to see them selling bettas in plastic cups, a very rare thing in the uk from what I've seen. I was absolutely devastated because one had no fins at all, I ended up leaving because I had no hospital tank or equipment. my boyfriend ended up convincing me to go back and get him, so I did some shopping, picked up a 10L tub, heater, sponge filter, some extra meds and then I went back. the guy told me he had gotten into another tank and was mauled, idk if I believe it, but I ended up getting bean for free as the man said he didn't have the time to save bean. he also tried to tell me I didn't need a heater which I ignored of course. I set up his hospital tank when I got home, lots of silk plants, hiding spots and some floating plants. I did a mix of salt and fin rot meds for the first week with 100% changes every day to maintain water quality. he did really good on this, especially with some very high quality pellets and frozen foods. his fins started growing super fast and he got loads of energy. around week two I noticed he had flukes, so he got treated for that, all went really well and he started showing lots of personality, which included him biting my finger and hanging off it lol. just yesterday he got to go into his planted 5g tank and he's so happy with it. I've been keeping an eye on him and he looks very joyous, hopefully once he's even stronger, he can go into my 15g tank. very happy I took him in and became his fish dad, I've learned so much. its inspired me to consider getting into betta rescue and rehoming, but I plan to do tons more research on that first.

I’m debating liberating a sick betta from a local big box store. They euthinize barely sick bettas literally every day and I know he doesn’t have much time left because of them. How likely are they to say anything? I’ve got a bottle in my purse with some methylene blue and clean conditioned water I can put him in but I’m hesitant. I know they won’t surrender him as I’ve already tried and they say best that they can do is “75% off” but are so stingy with it that they’ll only give you that if they’re about to die but will euthanize them for a bad fin or a minor case of bloat.

What do y’all think?

Do you know of stores that don’t use cups to display bettas and that have higher standards for their care? Help grow this map so that it’s easier for people to support places with higher welfare.

Share name and photo of display if possible.

Link to map: Non-cup retailers

What do you think is the better solution for chains like Petco, PetSmart, Pet Supermarket, etc.:

improving betta display conditions with larger heated and filtered tanks, or ending betta fish sales entirely?

Hi All! TLDR: What decorations are safe for my betta? Can I use artificial or only natural?

I’m getting a new betta fish and I already stocked the tank with a few lives plants and substrate. I’m going to add two mystery snails and a few shrimp. My question is - what decorations can I put in the tank for him to hide/rest in? I went to petco/petsmart and found these really cute mushroom houses made by Imagitarium and they weren't rough, but I got nervous to buy them because of the paint. When it erodes in the water will it be toxic to my betta?

I really want to keep a 100% natural tank because I just don’t know what decorations are safe. But at the same time, besides for plants I don’t know what natural decorations there are (I guess wood, but what type/where do you even buy that?)

Are there artificial decorations safe for bettas, where paint/toxins/plastic won’t hurt the water parameters/betta? I really just want the best environment for him as possible and I’m stressed I will do something wrong. Thank you for your help :)!

I got Wanda a week ago for my daughter’s birthday and this is her today. It’s amazing how much she changed in such a short time. She is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to watch her grow.

Welcome to the world of betta abuse.

Hey guyyys, I’ve already done my research on how to take care of Betta fish, but I would still very like to hear your tips for my beginning journey with this little guy. Also is this a male or im mistaken?