r/Aquariums • u/DustyKiwiBirds7 • Apr 02 '24
My boyfriend very entertained with petting my bettas Betta
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u/AdWorried8989 Apr 02 '24
I want a wild betta tank so bad.
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u/AdWorried8989 Apr 03 '24
Ofc I know proper care, I love naturalistic tannin tanks. I’m not setting anything new up for a bit but they’re on my list
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u/Jealous_Lettuce_8991 Apr 03 '24
I don’t know anything about fish keeping, I just love this sub and the community. That being said what is “a wild” tank? Live plants?
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u/AdWorried8989 Apr 03 '24
I was referring to “wild type” bettas, those who can live with one another with no aggression. Most male bettas are bred to look fabulous and be aggressive. Wild bettas are the original fish before the domestication. Lots are captive bred and there are many species. The betta fish you probably know of is the domestic species. A “wild” tank or naturalistic tank is one with tannins, leaf litter, and little live plants
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u/Jealous_Lettuce_8991 Apr 03 '24
Thank you for such an informative response! This is why I like you guys!
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u/Superrockstar95 Apr 03 '24
Female Betta splendens can also be very aggressive and some male Betta splendens very docile, it's unfortunately just a quality with the species as a whole as you can't focus one gender when it comes to focusing aggression.. any lines coming from aggressive individuals bred to fight can risk the aggression passing on.
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u/AdWorried8989 Apr 03 '24
Yep. Sororities are risky. Some male bettas will be docile with other species but never other males
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u/Superrockstar95 Apr 03 '24
Oh for sure.. was just mentioning it as I've seen some people with males who got bullied by literally anything they could eat the same food.. and females who attacked the plants if they moved.
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u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Apr 03 '24
The Bettas in the video aren’t wild, I think
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u/AdWorried8989 Apr 03 '24
I know, it just reminded me of them because its a sorority. I want a group of bettas
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u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Apr 03 '24
They’re really cool. I keep some of the Bettas I catch in groups
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u/Superrockstar95 Apr 03 '24
I think they mean wilder type Bettas aka Bettas not too different from their wild counterparts.. not bred to shit like the Betta splendens in the video.. Betta splendens used to be able to live upwards of 10 years, now they can be lucky if they live close to 5 years.
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u/LastMuffinOnEarth Apr 02 '24
I can’t tell if they’re waiting for food or waiting to be pet. Either way, they’re adorable.
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 02 '24
They were excited for bloodworms lol. I'd like to think they enjoy being pet though, they swim up and rub against my fingers whenever I'm doing maintenance. Makes things a little more difficult sometimes but always entertaining
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u/LastMuffinOnEarth Apr 03 '24
I used to have corals that I’d have to target feed (years ago), and the clownfish would bite me while the cleaner shrimp tried to clean me. Fish are definitely weird.
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u/Tactical_Epunk Apr 03 '24
My Morays would leave their hides to hide in my hand and would rub on me. But they're known for this in the wild.
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u/TeethForCeral Apr 03 '24
i fucking love animals!!!!! i love petting them, and i love that they love being pet, and i love that we love that they love getting pet!!!!!!!!!!!
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u/Illustrious-End_XD Apr 07 '24
This sentiment has got to be a trope or r/ or something. To common a feel not to XD
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u/tepel-streeltje Apr 03 '24
My girlfriends betta (male) hides most of the time but forgets he is shy when the bloodworms come in to play. Her angels are a different story though. They are still young fish and curious as hell. Any maintainance is a groupsactivity with them.
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u/kungpowgoat Apr 03 '24
It’s funny they get spooked but immediately keep coming back for more pets.
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u/Patient_Cockroach128 Apr 02 '24
likely both LOL, they’re probably like “i can’t tell if this is food or not. i’ll find out tho”
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u/Flimsy_meats Apr 02 '24
How many are there!?
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 02 '24
Currently nine but at the time of the video twelve. Three are in a separate tank temporarily. 40 gallon, my pride and joy
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u/Zealousideal_Lab6891 Apr 03 '24
How do you ensure they don't fight? I know you can keep females together but I also heard they can be aggressive towards eachother. Very cool tho.
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
It's all dependent on the bettas' personalities. There's no way to ensure fights don't occur. The best you can do is provide heavy planting, lots of space and places to hide, and feed enough so there's mitigated competition. I've been lucky enough to have mine get along really well and don't have a strong hierarchy. I did have one female that was very aggressive and in that case you just have to remove them.
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u/frMocha Apr 03 '24
Females also tend to be more docile and less territorial. I've seen many situations where even after bubble nesting for breeding a female is killed when the male is released to breed
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Apr 03 '24
I've been thinking of giving it a go. I have the benefit of working in a LFS so I can observe which females are more docile. How big of a tank are you using and how many females do you have in there?
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u/chupamishuebows Apr 02 '24
How are they not attacking each other? I thought you could only keep one at a time
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u/---Okami--- Apr 02 '24
It's a sorority of female Bettas. You can search it up but it's very much possible to keep many females together but very hard as there probably will be fights/nipping once in a while. Also needs a large tank and an experienced fish keeper.
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 02 '24
That's true for male bettas, but females are less territorial and when housed in the right conditions can be kept in groups
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u/97Graham Apr 03 '24
Even males (ofc some will, every fish is different) won't fight if they are in a big enough tank and have some ladies to show off to, helps if there are dither fish to distract too, but I've kept multiple males in the same tank as long as there is dense plants I never had any issues. But this was during covid when I was WFH all the time and could watch the tank everyday right from my desk, I don't think I'd try it if I wasn't able to observe the tank all day most days to make sure things were peaceful, things can go south quick even if it seems perfect one day, I know that from cichilds.
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Apr 03 '24
May I ask what size tank were you using for the males? And how many did you house in there?
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u/97Graham Apr 03 '24 edited Apr 03 '24
It was a 40 Breeder, with 3 Male Bettas and 4 Fenale bettas, along with some Sterba's Corydora, and rasboras as dither fish there was also a solo golden wonder killifish in the tank, who came from the adoption bin at my LFS, he was the only casualty leaping to his death through the hole in the mesh where the air pumps enter the tank. I grew Duckweed, Hornwort, Vallisneria, Java Fern and Anubias in the water and had terrestrial spider plants growing out the top.
The males would stay in their own portion of the tank for the most part barring feeding, and females would come and investigate each Male, i had many bubble nests built but only twice did I see eggs and I never saw fry. The most fighting I had in the tank would actually occur between ladies if they both entered the same.males territory looking for lovin. Nothing serious, but they'd Flare and charge eachother a bit.
I had it up and running for about 2.25 years and didn't have any issues, once the bettas got older though the size of the tank was alittle tough for them to get around and I moved them into their own 3-5 gallon retirement homes and shelved the project, doing Angelfish and Blue Eyed Lemon Plecos now, the same Corys live in that tank now, they lay eggs on the rocks that the angels eat right up.
An important thing to note is all 3 Male bettas were purchased as babies, growing up together helps reduce their aggression, 1 of the females was purchased as a baby but 2 of the other ones were Petco Bettas, and another came from Monster Fish in Philadelphia.
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Apr 03 '24
They will not fight if they are not separated from other bettas when young.
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u/97Graham Apr 03 '24
Yes exactly, I got all 3 of the males as babies and raised them together, they had a pecking order established for a looooong time and thus didn't need to fight when they'd encounter eachother
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u/SuspiciousBetta Apr 03 '24
They aren't that ethical. You can, but shouldn't. Female bettas have zero benefits being together. It's just unnecessary extreme risk and stress for no good reason.
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u/IAmVideoGames Apr 03 '24
a betta sorority is a very impressive thing to pull off. especially the more you have very impressive very good job
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
I would like to make a disclaimer to everyone just now finding out female bettas can be kept together. It's a very risky process that a lot can go wrong on very quickly and should be left to those with experience. I have the resources and extra tanks where I could separate my bettas if something went wrong, as well as being a partner and supplier of my LFSs where I could get them re-homed if I needed to. My sorority serves a purpose as I use it as a tool to house multiple bettas at a time after they've been purchased sick or dying. Once they graduate quarantine and are healthy and strong enough, they move into the big tank so quarantine is open again. I'm friends with the owner of my LFS and she approached me saying she wants local Betta breeders so I've been happy to begin preparing. I believe housing females together better prepares them for interacting with a male. Betta sororities are not easy and I'm very lucky that mine has worked so well, if you have one you need a backup plan. Thank you all for the support, happy fishkeeping
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u/Hifiisgirl Apr 03 '24
I love this disclaimer! Sororities are awesome, but newbies need to know the risks. I almost got a sorority for my first tank last year after seeing some posts but thankfully I came across someone sharing the same message you did.
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u/a11er33 Apr 03 '24
my betta loves boops and stroking her fins. She's a gorgeous GloFish Sunburst Orange Betta (Technically just a cellophane Betta) I chose her because she was in the back of the store, on an unplugged rack with one other betta, and her water was brown. She wasn't doing well, but a few days later she's the sweetest thing. I think she's grateful lol
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u/mcspankys95 Apr 03 '24
Can we get a disclaimer in here about betta sororities? OP seems to have pulled it off but if you’re thinking about one after seeing this, DO NOT unless you are experienced and know what you are doing. These can go so wrong
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u/Lord_Faded Apr 03 '24
As a bettafish enthusiast I love this! But sadly I imagine r/bettafish wouldn’t receive it so warmly. They’ve against sorieties in-general, even if they’re successful like yours.
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u/BeefInBlackBeanSauce Apr 02 '24
I always thought you shouldn't touch fish. Can damage them.
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u/pengu146 Apr 03 '24
You should always minimize handling fish with your hands. It strips the slime layer, which is part of their immune system.
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u/BioSafetyLevel0 Apr 03 '24
I was always told it can remove their mucosal coating making them susceptible to infections/parasites/disease.
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u/Impossible_Crow_389 Apr 03 '24
It can if your hand is dry if your hand is wet the damage is mitigated. Also it depends on the force you use.
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u/BioSafetyLevel0 Apr 03 '24
Introducing foreign bacteria whilst removing slime coating is the equivalent of removing your skin and rubbing dirt in it.
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u/Impossible_Crow_389 Apr 03 '24
Yes but slime coating is thick and it’s slime unless you scrape it off it will stay on the fish. I am an avid fly fisherman and if just touching a fish hurt them we would not have any trout left. The harm comes from dry hands as the slime will stick to them. Also don’t grab a fish handle them gently and they will be fine.
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u/CJ_is_h7m Apr 03 '24
Are betas normally this friendly
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u/WheredoesithurtRA Apr 03 '24
Mine will always swim up to my hand to watch whatever I'm doing in his tank.
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u/DistractedPanda Apr 03 '24
Gorgeous babies. Their colours are so vibrant and they love the attention (or some food) ❤️
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u/bettakepper123 Apr 03 '24
you have beautiful bettas! my betta is also this friendly and it’s so cute
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u/Constellation_66H Apr 03 '24
I want to do a sorority so bad but I have heard so many horror stories ;-;
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
It's definitely very high risk yet high reward. I am fortunate enough to have the resources and extra tanks enough where I could separate bettas if they became too aggressive. It's not something to jump into carelessly but it can be done and is wonderful when it works
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u/Constellation_66H Apr 03 '24
Yea, I currently am limited in tank size and space ( will only be able to have my 6 gallon, 10 gallon and a 20 gallon), so I think I may wait to move until I can do a bigger tank but a sorority is definitely my dream tank! Curious though, how many females do you have and what size is the tank?
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u/_wheels_21 Apr 03 '24
My crawfish loves to be pet too. He likes when I stick my finger in the water so he can suckle the salt from my fingertip.
He thinks he's all big and scary when he punches me as hard as he can, yet I don't feel anything
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u/pan-playdate Apr 04 '24
Do they fight eatchother much? Like any injury or death? Otherwise they are absolutely stunning
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u/Ultimate_Weirdo_13 Apr 03 '24
Man, I miss my Betta. I don't have much experience with any other fish, but bettas are definitely some of the most interactive and playful fish I know of, and I really enjoyed having one and bonding with him. Maybe once I get a more stable tank I'll get another.
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u/MoOnmadnessss Apr 03 '24
My beta used to always come up for pets lol it was so cute. I miss my Marley
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u/OsirisAvoidTheLight Apr 03 '24
I thought bettas didn't like each other and would battle to the death when together
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u/Competitive-Piece509 Apr 03 '24
Wait, can you put multiple bettas in the same tank? How?
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u/hhdecado Apr 03 '24 edited Apr 03 '24
Change it up, swap them out for some piranha……. Won’t your boyfriend be surprised next time he visits? 😜
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
I'd like to keep his fingers intact, thank you. Might need em later
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u/_wheels_21 Apr 03 '24
Why would he need fingers? Fingers are just flexible meat sticks anyways. I'm sure they'll grow back
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u/hhdecado Apr 03 '24
Well, I guess it’d be down to how good his reflexes are but carry on as you wish lol. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to hear my daughters hate introducing me to their men friends 😂
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u/rowech Apr 03 '24
40 gallon and 12 bettas seems like a they might be aggressive with eachother. What do you think? I do like the idea of saving the betas from their small jars at pet stores, but I also don’t want to through them in the gauntlet with other bettas
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
I wouldn't keep this many together if it wasn't a functional system. There are very minimal fights, all of which end without more than just flares, and I always monitor them to check for nips or tears in fins. I understand the stress that may come with so many but I don't just throw them in haphazardly. I always allow them time in a breeder net when introducing until I'm sure they aren't being aggressive or receiving aggression, whether it be just an hour or a few days. If negative interactions occur, I don't leave them in there. I agree that I wouldn't recommend my tank size or amount of bettas to just anyone, but it works for me
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u/KKBirds Apr 03 '24
Yeah Bettas can love it.I hope you have at least a 20 gallon tank for 4-5 female bettas as they need space to swim, hunt, play and hide
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
It's a 40 gallon with a pretty decent amount of both plants and hiding places
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u/FairiesInHell Apr 03 '24
Hey guys! As someone that works for Petsmart we're allowed to adopt out sick fish! So you can always ask us! Most of us will say yes. But if for some reason they say no just shove it in your pocket, we're not allowed to stop you anyways lol.
I should clarify, if it's got fin rot, popeye, or some type of deformity
This also carries over to the other animals in our care, deformed, genetic issues, other stuff as well for the adopt out option.
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u/Adribelle156 Apr 03 '24
I'm surprised ur not getting more flaming for having a sorority tank.
Watch out the betta people will be coming for u.
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u/_wheels_21 Apr 03 '24
She better pray that it's not a 10 gallon tank. One betta needs at least 55 gallons of water to prevent betta explosion
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u/stealthzeus Apr 03 '24
How you get them to not fight each other?
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
Ask them nicely
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u/stealthzeus Apr 03 '24
My red male always bully the red female one
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
Male bettas tend to be very aggressive towards females and that's not something that can be easily avoided. What size tank are you keeping them in?
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u/stealthzeus Apr 03 '24
10 gallons
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
Because it's a smaller tank and the female is experiencing aggression I think separating them would be the best option if it's a possibility. Males get aggressive because they're territorial and having the female around is stressful for him as well as the stress the female experiences from bullying. If you don't have the means to separate them or add a divider I'd recommend more plants or hides. Tall plants that can block their view of each other do best. I've also found a little bit of overfeeding chills them out a bit as they feel less of a need to protect resources. Not flakes or pellets though, but if you could get proteins like frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp it might help
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u/MyNameIsMinhoo Apr 03 '24
My betta loves to sit in my hand and then blow bubbles at me. I know it’s all a ploy for food 😂❤️
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u/k8bish97 Apr 04 '24
For some reason I thought these were somehow mini koi fish or that this video was photoshopped lmao
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u/GoProOnAYoYo Apr 04 '24
Are they all females? I've heard about aggression with multiple bettas but I assume that's mostly from males?
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u/skullapuss Apr 07 '24
My boy loves pets too. If I’m not petting him, he’ll rub up against my hand while doing tank maintenance.
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u/Direct_Spend_5583 Apr 24 '24
Under no circumstances should you ever touch a fish the oils on your hands are really bad for your fish
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u/OniMoth Apr 02 '24
Nothing about this is cute. Get his hands out the tank and stop touching the fish. Removing their slime coat, scales and introducing whatever on his hands into the water column. Stop this
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u/DustyKiwiBirds7 Apr 03 '24
How hard do you think he's rubbing them lol? Scales are fragile, yes, but I don't think a light tap is going to remove them. I appreciate your concern but if you can't tell, the bettas are willingly allowing themselves to be touched. They are perfectly capable of swimming away. This is not an frequent occurrence and I don't suggest you get yourself all worked up over a three second clip you saw on Reddit of fish that don't belong to you. Take a rest, drink some water, move on and let your short attention span forget you saw this
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u/walldeathflower Apr 02 '24
Touching the tip of a wet finger to a fish for a moment will not damage the slime coat. Touching a fish will not remove scales, if you’ve experienced this either you or that fish needs a doctor. If you wash your hands before interacting you are introducing nothing to the tank you wouldn’t be when doing regular in-tank scaping or maintenance.
If you have any proof that what I said is incorrect I would like to see it so I can keep up with best practice, but I have personally never read anything that indicates touching a fingertip to a fish is as extreme as you are suggesting it is.
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u/hunters83 Apr 02 '24
You need to chill out and take a damn breath! You just blew up on OP over nothing. They tapped the head of two bettas. They didn’t take them out and hold and pet them. If you really think what you say in the the extremely short video is going to harm the fish. Then you need to do more research lol. How you think breeders vent other fish. By the way venting is when you take the fish out of the water in your hands and flip it over to check the sex of the fish. So from what you just went on about. Those fish are now dead that get vented? 🤣🤦♂️. Oh you should just delete all your ridiculous comments and go get high and chill out lol
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u/angelaguitarstar Apr 02 '24
the sorority isn’t the first thing you noticed? this is what bothers you? the slime coat will be alright, as long as the fish are healthy, and the water is clean.
it’s a sorority so i’m going to assume that “healthy” is not a word that could be used to describe the bettas
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u/Junkeii_ Apr 02 '24
absolutely beautiful fish! where did you get them?