I just checked my mail. I got the usual stuff. Bills, more bills, junk mail,...betta in a sandwich bag. Wait! That's not usual! I know people around here know that I take in unwanteds but the least they could do is knock on the dad-blame door! Lord only knows how long the poor things been in there and he's pretty beat up looking. His fins are all shredded and he's bottom sitting. I went ahead and set him up in a breeder basket in a 30g QT. Starting him on antibiotics and all that good stuff. I don't know nearly enough about bettas as I do goldfish so if any one has any dos or don'ts for me I'm all ears. As soon as I can charge my camera batteries I'll post a pic for y'all.

Oh my goodness! Are you serious? The nerve of some people.

Girl, you gotta heart of gold. Can't wait to see pics!

I really don't mind if people drop of fish that they just don't want but I'd like to know ya know! I guess I'm just gonna have to put up signs or something.

wow, I wish i'd get cool mail like that lol. I have 3 bettas, so if u have questions about them I could possibly try to answer them lol

Oh my goodness- what a shock you must have had! Poor little thing too but lucky he is with you now. How is he doing?

This has happened to many other members here in the past. It seems word gets out of kindness to animals/fish and before you know it you are the local mailbox for unwanted pets!

Well I'm glad I'm not the first. The bag slid out with the mail and I almost dropped it. That'd be all he needed right? After spending who knows how long in a hot mailbox I splat his baggy on the sidewalk!

He's looking very depressed right now. Like nobody loves him. He came up off the bottom of the basket but he's hiding his face in a corner and just hovering there. We'll see how he's doing once he's had a few hours in good stable conditions.

Keep him warm.

I hope he makes a great recovery.

How warm? I have him at 75 do I need to bring it up over the next few hours?

I'd say about 80.

But Bettaqueen and a couple others are the experts.

thanks I'll raise him a degree an hour till I get him up to 80

OMG, Olivia! I wouldn't know WHAT to think if I went to my mailbox and found a fish in a baggie inside! Has that ever happened to you before? People just dropping off fish in baggies in your mailbox and doorstep? Poor little thing! I didn't know that Bettas were that different from GF. We used to have a Betta a long time ago, my son named him Carl. He stayed with us for about two years, then, when we moved into our new house, for some reason, he died the first time I changed his water? I did everything like I had always done for him, but it was like, two hours, he was dead! BAM!

Anyway, I digress...I sure wish you luck with your new family member! BTW, how are you gonna move all your fish to Nevada??? Just curious! What are you gonna name the fish?

I'm not going to name him any thing. I'll just get him back on his feet er-uh...fins and give him to some one who will take good care of him. The worst case I've ever had was some dropped off a 7inch Oscar and three other unknown cichlids in a 5g bucket that was only about 1/2 full. It was on my porch when I came home from wal mart one day. I only managed to save the oscar. The other three were all screwed up. People do horrible things to animals.

All my fish are going to be packed up professionally and I'm going to escort them on a flight to NV. I'll be taking 28 fancy goldfish with me all together. It's gonna be a crazy trip!

Poor little fishie! No wonder he thinks nobody loves him. At least they didn't flush him down the toilet, as a lot of people would have. I live out in the country and people drop animals off all the time, but thats the first time I ever heard of a fish drop off.

Lucky little guy that he ended up with you, though.

awww the poor little thing. At least they had enough sense to drop him off with someone who could care for him. Monkeybat could tell you a tale of two fishies that she found. Some people should have a sign on their foreheads: Do Not Sell A Fish To This Person.

I wish you were closer, I would take him for you. I just happen to have an empty tank at the moment.....

So, what color is he? any photos??

To my best guess he may be blue and red but his fins are pretty ripped up and he looks kind of dusty. I think he may have a fungus but I don't wanna do a slide on him yet until I'm sure he's more stable. I'll have pics up for y'all when my camera batteries charge up again. I killed the battery on my digital earlier today taking video of my daughter.

I agree with the 80 degrees, and though you probably know this, Betta breath air from the top of the tank, so don't take him out of the net until you're confident he can swim from the bottom to the top of a tank without taxing himself.

Good luck!

I usually keep my bettas at room temp with no problems, one of them has a light to heat it a little though, the new one does too, but for some reason this light didnt come with a bulb, and I havent found the time to complain to hagen yet, and for some reason they dont sell the replacement bulbs here!

Oh, I just wanted to say: Ryuu, I love the little fish in your signature!

Yes isn't that cute! I noticed it too and thought so.

Haha! I found it on Photobucket. Thanks!

wow that is terrible. I am glad you were able to rescue him. If you can put some salt in the tank , up the temp , add some melafix or bettafix and indian almond leaves if you can get them. If not you can get attisons betta spa at the lfs instead of indian almond leaves. he probably should be in his own container or small tank with pristine water with the above things I mentioned

arrgghhhh! I am at the library and typed this long reply and the computer erased it. Oh well. That is wonderful you rescued him but bad the person left him in the mailbox without telling you he was there. Put some salt in the water, up the temp , and add some melafix or bettafix in the water. It would also be good to add some indian almond leaves if you can find some. If not you can get attisons betta spa at most lfs . He should probably be in a tank or container of his own with pristine water. It may take a while before his fins and tail come in normal . Hope this helps

Hey guys quick update:
Nickie made me feel bad and kind of callous about not naming him. She in no way intended to but after I read my response I thought to myself how uncaring and mean it sounds that I wouldn't even take the time to name him. So I named him Postman. I got him to 80F, he's been medicated with melafix and pimafix, and I also salted him. He's still in the basket in the 30g. His params are sitting at 0,0,5, 7.4. He seems to be doing better today as he's moving around his basket . I dont' intend to take him out of the basket until his new tank cycles. I'm about to take his pic here in a few. I'll head to Va tomorrow to get the meds you suggested BQ.

OMG what a sad but happy story all in one.. I sure hope he heals for you and I just bet that you will fall in love with him!! My grandma breeds betta's she has alot of luck and the fry are way cute

You're awesome!

Sounds like he will pull through, and be one lucky guy.

that is a cute name . I am glad he is doing so much better.

I'm not a betta expert by any means... betta seem to be the only fish I can keep alive for the full span of their lives. I've got two. Both came from PetCo in those crappy little cups. My first one was really healthy and vibrant although his cup was so polluted I had to simultaneously suck out the water and add bottled water before I could even add him to his tank.

Anyways, my other betta was really sick when I first got him. Like he couldn't even swim. All I really did was put him in Artesian bottled water. I feed him a couple of bloodworms a few times a week and that seems to make him happy.

I know that the happiness of Postman isn't the main concern right now, and this is probably painfully obvious... but maybe giving him some bloodworms or brine shrimp will cheer him up a bit.

Of course if he's got a fungus, addressing that may be much more important. Still, people and animals alike heal better and faster when they're happier.

Didn't mean to make you feel bad, Olivia! LOL! If you were planning to give him away after to nursed him back to health, then of course, there was no reason for naming him! After all, just taking the responsibility of helping the poor fish is WAY more than a lot of people would have done! Believe me, you have NO reason to feel bad about anything! You are a Florence Nightingale of the fish world! HUGS!!!

Thanks nickie but Postman passed away while I was running errands yesterday. I'm not really sure why he died either. I've been doing research on bettas since hoping that if I can educate myself a little more I won't loose the next Postman.