Aquarists - Please unite!

[Menagerie]

All you ever wanted to know...and then some!

Bubble Gear combines all the functionality of traditional handbags and incorporates a light weight, miniature fish tank inside. Bubble Gear was specifically designed for a small Betta Fish to live comfortably within. Due to their human like lung, Betta Fish are able to live in a filter-less environment and are completely content in small areas. Suprisingly, the fish feels very little to no movement when the bag is in motion due to the unique design of Bubble Gear. Every safety precaution has been considered during the testing of our product line to ensure the comfort, safety and quality of life for your Betta fish. Although the miniature fish tank is more than 5 times larger than that of the average pet shop container, we do recommend keeping a larger bowl at home for your fish so he can stretch his fins when not on the go in his Bubble Gear bag!

The Bubble Light illumination accessory is offered to light up the tank at night or in dark environments such as a night club or restaurant. The Bubble Light illuminates with a bright LED light and is available in Blue, Yellow, Red or Purple! It hooks onto the zipper pull and has a simple on/off switch.

With plenty of room for your belongings, Bubble Gear products add a new twist to traditional handbags, totes and backpacks!

This is like taking your teacup chihuahua everywhere you go

At least when you're not out on the town they do recommend putting your betta in a larger bowl. Clearly Ms. Howard does not believe bettas need a filtered, aerated tank. Perhaps educating this woman will help.

 

[oscarbreeder]

This is terrible!!
If anyone figuers out what to do just let me know.
COUNT ME IN!!!!!!

 

[revhtree]

So sad!!! Did I miss the email link to the animal activist? I would like to send an email myself. Walmart makes me aggrivated too.

 

[TankGirl]

I am sorry I brought up PETA, I had no idea they were, um.. like they are. I got a load of info on them and their tactics are as shocking or more than the abuse they are trying to stop.

It is also true that these people are not selling fish, just the container, so there may not be much to be done. I just hate the idea. I thought the worst betta thing I ever saw was when they were used to decorate the tables in tiny jars with flowers at a wedding reception, and each guest was supposed to take a fish home. You can imagine how many fish suffered that day....

 

[smilla4]

Would many fashionistas who are willing to pay 100 bucks for a bag will be keen on the idea of lugging around a dead fish? (and those bags look pretty ugly to me) Not to mention people are lazy, as long as she doesn't provide the actual betta, perhaps few people will follow through, or would think it nuts or cruel.

I see nothing wrong with a plastic fake fish though. I don't see why the seller doesn't do that.

I don't condone this idea, it's actually kinda sick, but bringing attention to it could actually cause more people to purchase them (or actually purchase them...)

 

[reefrunner69]

I don't condone this idea, it's actually kinda sick, but bringing attention to it could actually cause more people to purchase them (or actually purchase them...)

There is an old saying, any publicity is good publicity

 

[poppab02]

Next order of business, I highly suggest another method than PETA, fighting idiots with extremists is kinda like going fly hunting with a 12 guage shotgun.

Nice

 

[krap101]

hay another bad thing about that, think about how heavy that bag'll get

 

[An t-iasg]

This is appalling. I have some time tomorrow; I will try coming up with something that could be e-mailed to this Bubble Gear place, like Millipede suggested. I'm mostly an editor and not a writer but I think I can manage to put something together.

 

[An t-iasg]

Oh, what the heck -- this has me so mad I can hardly sleep anyway.

How about this? (keep in mind that it's 3 am, lol)

I, along with other aquarists, are horrified at the prospect of carrying a betta in a handbag. Please understand that we are concerned with the well-being and health of the fish. I and others who keep bettas know that this is not an acceptable way to care for your fish.

While it is true that bettas have an organ that extracts oxygen from the air, bettas still must be cared for like any other fish. They are not completely content in small spaces. To thrive, they need to be in a minimum of three gallons of water, with filtration and temperature stabilization. The only way to ensure their comfort, safety, and quality of life is to provide a tank with a small filter and a small heater, and this equipment is readily available.

Being confined to a small space can cause a number of diseases. The water cannot be properly kept clean, and the fishes' own wastes will accumulate and become toxic. Having no filtration only adds to the problems created by such a small space.

Taking the betta out of the handbag to "stretch his fins" sounds like a good idea, but this isn't a solution to keeping the betta healthy.
Rapid and frequent changes in water temperature, and other water parameters, are not recommended for the health of the fish. Bettas just are not animals that you can take with you, like the family dog. Like any pet, they deserve a comfortable, stable environment, and they would not find that in this handbag.

It is our duty to care for our pets responsibly. Advertising this product as a fish carrier is clearly not in the best interests of the betta.

 

[reefrunner69]

 

[Atari]

Very eloquent... I'd be happy to put my name on that.

 

[cginflorida]

Me too, that is an excellent letter.

 

[lmw80]

Very eloquent... I'd be happy to put my name on that.

I agree! Very well put! I would definitly put my name on that!

 

[Menagerie]

WOW!! Great letter! I was trying to come up with something, but I have a presentation today, so I didn't get very far :?
I like what you said about temperature stabilization. I was definitely thinking about that.

 

[oscarbreeder]

A t-iasg,

That is a great letter and I too would put my name on it.
Let's get the ball rolling and see what we, as a whole, can do.

 

[An t-iasg]

Wow--thanks for the feedback, everyone!

I'm going to edit this line: Taking the betta out of the handbag to "stretch his fins" sounds like a good idea, but this isn't good for the fish either.

to this: Taking the betta out of the handbag to "stretch his fins" sounds like a good idea, but this isn't a solution to keeping the betta healthy.

Otherwise I'm afraid someone will leave the betta in the purse -- omg -- that just sounds so ridiculous, a fish in a purse. I kind of had a stomachache today thinking about this.

Like Oscarbreeder said, let's see what we as a whole can do. Should we all e-mail them this letter? They might ignore it after the first few. Should we try to find out the name of the president of the company?

 

[Atari]

If she just ignores them then I'll happily make a new yahoo account everyday and keep sending the email. LOL

 

[millipede]

I couldn't wait any longer myself. I just had to write them something. Here is what I just sent them...

To whom it may concern,
I find it quite admirable for a person to take initiative and really use their imagination to design something and to make a little money from it. In general those things can be good things. But often times when those wheels in our brains are turning so fast, we miss some things, quite often important things. Provided you read your emails I'm sure you've gotten a few already with people telling you how bad your idea is and how unsafe it is for those fish. I have no fancy words, no hard facts, but I do have a strong passion for animals and I believe that your design does not suit a betta very well. I am a member of an aquarium based forum group and I have learned a lot from them and my passion for animals has only grown. I'd like to start out by addressing some misconceptions about bettas. They do indeed have an organ that helps them to breathe air and every fish store in the world either does or has sold them in tiny little cups because of this. However, they never, ever, lived in such tiny pools in the wild. There are numerous web sites out there that can show you the "puddles" that they live in. And they are not puddles by any means. If you wish for some hard facts, some real links to such pages, please let me know. If someone else hasn't already sent you such info, I will be more than willing to give you any info you'd like. I strongly suggest you go into a pet store sometime and look at one of those bettas in one of those little cups... really study it's behavior. Then find someone with a betta in a tank of a few gallons or more and compare the behavior. Bettas can survive in a small container, but it is cruel and a lot more work to keep one alive for any period of time. Bettas do not like a ton of movement in the water and I really find it hard to believe that they don't feel much movement in that container. I also wonder, seeing as they can breather air, how they can get air in a container like that without the container having openings large enough for water to also spill out. Bettas are tropical fish and require warm water. Any sudden changes in water temperature can be quite harmful to the fish.
Like I said earlier, I admire initiative. I also would not want to see even my enemies fail in life. I'm sure you spent a lot of time on the design and it really does pain me to say this, but it would be best for consumers and their fish if you discontinued this project. I realize you are not selling the fish but it really is a moral decision. By selling this product and saying it is safe for these fish you are in essence mis-informing people and leading to the possible death of many, many bettas. I do wish you well in anything you do, but I could not keep silent on this issue. All animals are entrusted into our care as humans and we have a certain responsibility to keep them safe and healthy. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Daniel M

I almost hate trying to be so diplomatic or polite when i'm so frustrated but I figure they might actually read more of it this way.
I'm sure some of you when reading what I just wrote could translate it into something else I might have been thinking... As ugly and impractical as those things are, someone out there will buy them... I guess if that person continues selling them all we can do is push even harder to spread the good word of Aquarium Advice...

 

[millipede]

If that red color is hurting anyone's eyes one of the advisors are more than welcome to make it a little nicer...