Buying Betta Fish Online – After Your Fish Arrives

The package has arrived! You waited for the fish you purchased to ship and arrive at your door step and the moment has finally come. Before opening the package inspect it for signs of abuse. Our boxes used for shipping are always new boxes, we never reuse old boxes so any damage on them is from mishandling. If there is any water damage, tears, crushed spots, or other signs of damage on the package please photograph them before opening the box. If the package was grossly mistreated when delivered (ie tossed rather than placed down) and you have video of such we would like to have any videos of carrier employees mishandling our packages. Be careful opening the package not to accidentally slice into any of the bags containing your precious new pets.

Once you have opened the package take each fish out of the box and examine them in their bags. The fish may arrive listless or appear differently colored than what you ordered. The stress of shipping can sometimes cause a fish to get stressed enough to loose their normal color. It is important to get them out of the bag and into their new tank as soon as safely possible but not so important that you should skip the steps of proper acclimation. We recommend that you never cut open the bag containing the fish until you are ready to transfer them to the new tank. Cutting the bag rapidly allows ammonia to build up more quickly than when it was sealed. It is very important that the fish is transferred very soon after the bag is opened for their health.

We recommend floating the sealed bag in the tank water where the fish will be going for at least 20 minutes prior to introducing your fish to its new tank. This allows the fish’s water to get the the same general temp as the water in the tank to avoid temperature shock which can kill your fish in minutes. Please make sure that the tank you are moving your fish to is the right temperature and has been cycled (or you are prepared to do a fish in cycle). Please also make sure to have treated the water prior to putting your fish in it.

The stress of shipping can sometimes make a fish stress out to the point they look very different then the fish you bought. We ask all customers to give their fish 24 hours in their new home before contacting us about their fish not matching their purchase photos. Unless of course you ordered a red fish and got a blue fish or some other obvious mix up. When stressed a Betta can fade  to the point of hiding even the darkest markings until they are less stressed. Some signs that your fish is stressed include faded coloring, heavy breathing with big gill movement, listless behaviour like sitting with their head at the top of the water and hanging tail down. If your fish is stressed you may want to keep their tank in a dark room for a few hours to give them time to calm. Adding almond leaves to the water can help. If your fish is super stressed you might consider adding methylene blue to the water to help ward off any stress related illnesses.