Petstore cruelty to Bettas

[CoreyB]

I personally wouldnt worry about it, they ARE used to it cause its in their genes per say. its just like how they can go for 2 weeks+ without food. Just nautural characteristics(sp)

 

[Nippyfish]

My local PetCo keeps their bettas in the small cups, about 6 - 10 oz of water. One day when I went in they had downgraded the usual betta cups to tiny 3 oz sizes. They were probably about the size of a double shot glass only wide, not tall. I was furious.

I got the name of the store manager and wrote a letter expressing how the normal cups were inadequate and I couldn't believe they had changed to even smaller cups. I then gave her some betta care information and offered to volunteer to teach their staff about proper betta care.

I got a call at home two days later. The manager apologized and said it was poor judgment on their part. They were out of larger cups and thought the small ones would do. She said that after seeing the fish herself she had them all put into the larger cups. I went back a couple days later to check up and see if she was telling the truth and sure enough, all the tiny cups had been replaced.
I have never seen the teeny tiny ones since.

These stores have a long way to go, but I thought I would share my one very small victory.

 

[smallfry]

I was in petsmart a few weeks ago...They did still have some males in the cups....but they had a male or female distributed in each tank as well. The ones in the tank looked MUCH happier than the ones in the cups.

 

[ChileRelleno]

They only keep female Betta's in stock. They span them out in the tanks seperately, normally 1 per tank, then add in the other fish. if you want to purchase a male Betta, you have to special order it.

Separate the female Bettas? Females can be housed together with just a little pecking order amongst themselves, however there are some very aggressive females, so I guess perhasp their just playing it safely.
But a aggressive female Betta usually won't tolerate other species either...

Special order a common veiltail male Betta...
Sounds like a good way to jack the price a few bucks on a common veiltail (Vast majority of commercially mass bred Bettas are veiltails). Do you get to pick fin types, e.g. Halfmoon, Butterfly?... Or just a color?

Special order Bettas are usually sold as young adult pairs, 3-5 months old which is the beginning of prime breeding age, and are high quality with
good to excellent gene lines.
They are not usually available for order thru LFS.

 

[Toirtis]

My local PetCo keeps their bettas in the small cups, about 6 - 10 oz of water. One day when I went in they had downgraded the usual betta cups to tiny 3 oz sizes. They were probably about the size of a double shot glass only wide, not tall.

Now fill those 3oz cups ½-2/3 full of medicated, three day-old water, and stick them on a shelf next to some fish food, and you have my local Wal-Mart.

 

[ChileRelleno]

they ARE used to it cause its in their genes per say. its just like how they can go for 2 weeks+ without food.

Oh, do please tell me your being sarcastic?!

 

[Rach101]

Wow.. come home from school and all these replies.. WHOPPEE Im not alone in the cruelty thoughts. As i said before, i understand you have to make bettas marketable but if the poor little guys are in those for too long they really should do something about it. Those poor little guys...

 

[Clown Monarch]

No one has mentioned how stressful it is on the male bettas to sit in bowls next to other male bettas. Imagine a very stressful sitaution, then imagine living in that sitaution permanently. Heck, they even design mini-betta tanks for the express purpose of housing male bettas next to each other.

 

[FishLover14]

when i go to a locla walmart i take food and try to sneak some bloodworms into the little containers. I havent gotten caught yet. Allmost all of their betta fish have ethier ifn hot swim bladdder or some other horrible disease.

It is terriblke how cruel they cruel 2 fish.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

They special order all male betta's because the betta's are not in high demand around here. They don't raise the prices because they get the fish in on their next shipment from their supplier. Normally they get at least 1 shipment in each week so you would only have to wait a week. They have a book of Betta's and you pick which one you want and they do their best to match it. IT's a pretty good system.

 

[Rudy_627]

ditto they should have them on special order

cause they are not in high demand thats why they are so cheap right now and as soon as they come in as a "cool fad" they will sky rocket and the bettas will die faster

 

[SpaceButler]

I'm impressed nippy fish. I never get any sort of response when I complain (even nicely) to any lfs. My crusade is against painted fish though, heh. Must be really good sellers for them.

 

[Devilishturtles]

when i go to a locla walmart i take food and try to sneak some bloodworms into the little containers. I havent gotten caught yet. Allmost all of their betta fish have ethier ifn hot swim bladdder or some other horrible disease.

It is terriblke how cruel they cruel 2 fish.

Do you realize, fishlover14, that you are probably doing more harm than good in this situation? Unless you stick just one or two bloodworms in each cup, and then remove it afterwards if it is not eaten, you are making the betta's habitat worse than what it was.

I manage a Wal-Mart pet department (gosh! I know). I hate, hate, hate, when people feed my fish. Someone even broke the locks off the tanks, to feed them. And you know what happens? It clogs the filters, clouds the water, and kills fish. If you do it to bettas, it kills the bettas.

My routine is simple. Clean the tanks and betta cups on monday and friday. I feed the bettas twice a week. More than this, and yes, it can kill them. It produces ammonia and lots of extra waste. What the fish don't eat that day, I take out before I leave.

I won't go on about how good or bad my store is. I've gotten more calls and honors from people and companies than I can even count on two hands. I have also had complaints, have sold sick fish, and have had fish die on people before, but that can be expected a bit. It is still unfortunate however, that some stores are not equipped with the proper staff to care for the animals.

Just a heads up for the future, if you plan on feeding the bettas again.

 

[youronlysin]

Props to you!

I agree that its a shame the cups are so small, but there isnt anything that can be done about it. But as long as they are in a small cup, then I agree with your feeding schedule. Its too small a volume of water to feed a fish every day. Im sure they would'nt send bettas in such small cups if they didnt sell fast enough.

As far as a fish being used to poor conditions because of genetics, I say phooey. Now walmart might get its bettas from thailand rice paddies for all I know, but the last ones I got from a store were ordered from a breeder in the states. Those are tank raised fish and were more than likely bred from tank raised fish..so I disagree with the genetic inheritance of being accustomed to poor living conditions.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Now walmart might get its bettas from thailand rice paddies for all I know, but the last ones I got from a store were ordered from a breeder in the states. Those are tank raised fish and were more than likely bred from tank raised fish..so I disagree with the genetic inheritance of being accustomed to poor living conditions.

Nah. I disagree with that statment too, and that info is fed to alot of people. Wal-Mart gets fish from a local aquatics dealer, who in turn gets their fish from local breeders. A few things are imported from oversees, but not too many.

Another thing that I think has gotten walmart a bad rap with fish, is that alot of people who get fish there, are beginners, and aren't that knowledgeable. It's amazing at how many people ask me questions, and I'm like... '"did you do this...." and they say no, and that is the reason why their fish die.
This doesn't answer why some places aren't well maintained, but we could argue till we are all blue in the face, and it wouldn't change a thing.

 

[youronlysin]

Walmart just does what it has to do to supply a product that people seem to want from it. I dont blame walmart so to speak, I just think that if they are going to sell live pets, they should train folks who have the responsibility to run the department; that isnt always a feasible idea. I've bought quite a bit of fish from walmart and Ive never had a problem with the fish dying prematurely unless there was a problem with my setup. I do notice that some stores are worse than others as far as tank maintenance and fish care, but the same goes for a lot of lfs' Ive been to as well. I think its great when I go to a walmart store and the person that comes to help me actually knows a little bit about fish...kudos to them for doing a little research. If the person doesnt know anything at all, I dont think its their fault...they just do what their told in order to keep a job. I try to give a little advice or knowledge to the folks working the department when I can and I believe that I've actually helped a couple people do their job a little better because of it. As long as people are buying bettas from walmart or anywhere else, they are going to come in little cups. Thats how they are shipped...at least my last good lfs got them that way. The tanks at the lfs were never cycled, because they just moved too much fish through them and they cleaned the tanks out and refilled them on a regular basis. Its no wonder that the girl running the department didnt know anything about how to cycle a tank, she never had to! When she had to order more fish, she just looked in the book and ordered the normal stock plus whatever looked cool to her. She ordered new fish every friday, so you can tell that they moved a lot of fish through those tanks. When you move them that fast, it just isnt feasible to setup more big tanks for them all, especially the bettas which sold faster than anything else. I personally dont like the idea of a fish being in a small cup of water, but I also understand that the majority of them dont stay in those cups for long...they sell them so fast.

 

[fishstixs05]

Hey, guys, i work at a fish store that carries the male bettas, and I want to kno how you think it should be done better. We ned to have plenty of them on stock since the store sends out cupons for them. However, on our side of caring, we give about every 2-3 day water changes nd lightly feed them. We also keep a wide range of betta keepers, including many that are very spacious for bettas. We also inform people on care and give free packages of food to try and facilitate good care. Yes we keep them in the cups at the store, but the store does not have the room for a huge setup with a bunch of tanks just for a single betta. So, how should this situation be improved if you feel it is inhumane?
Ben

 

[youronlysin]

Good job your doing at your lfs. I think most of the people are primarily upset about some lfs' neglect in caring for them. I dont have a problem with bettas in cups, as long as they are taken care of. I understand they sell so fast that there isnt any way around it. Keep up the good work. Hopefully the stores that dont put this much effort into their fish will follow suit soon.

 

[Nippyfish]

So, how should this situation be improved if you feel it is inhumane?

I think there has to be a little give and take. It's impractical to think that any LFS would set up an individual tank for each betta. I mean, they are trying to MAKE money afterall. While it would wonderful, to expect them to do this is unrealistic.

That said, I would like to see more LFSs implement the use of those clear acrylic boxes (breeding boxes?). I'm not sure what they're called but they sit inside the tank but don't allow the fish to intermingle. They aren't the best situation but I know the bettas would at least benefit by being in a cycled environment with a stable water temp.

Seeing that would please me well enough.



Oh, wait I have 2¢ more...

I also noticed that my local PetCo has a sign up at the betta shelves saying that the small cups are safe and that they prefer these small spaces. That darn sign makes me so angry. I would rather the employees say to the customers, "ya know what, these cups suck but they're all we have. The best thing you can do is buy our betta and give him a nice big home." At least then people would be getting accurate information instead of buying the bettas and bringing them home just to put them in another tiny container.

So, yeah... getting rid of those dum-dum signs would make be happy too.

 

[FishLover14]

I feed the fish only 1 or 2 bloowdworms and watch them eat them....I never would overfeed them.


My lfs is like your fishfancatic they get a shipment in each week and u can ask for anythign at no extra cost. A very good system.

My lfs keeps bettas in 10gal tanks with fish like platys, and swordtails.

JMHO[/quote]