Tell People The Truth About Bettas

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I think a lot of reforms need to be made to the pet-fish world. After my sociology class, it kind of got me thinking that maybe more should be done than just swapping frustrations on a forum where the vast majority of the forum are educated in our hobby. Maybe we should do a demonstration or something? Have a giant mass e-mail sent out? Petition chain stores to change? The title of this thread is a great name - TePTAB (Tell People the Truth About Bettas).

Or maybe I drank too much Nyquil and stayed up too late.

 

[Hholly]

I thought of a petition for chain stores too. But it's the same in every store that sells Bettas. So petition only the worst stores? Like Walmart? They really should not be selling fish. At least the Bettas at Petco looked somewhat healthy. The ones at Walmart looked doomed.

 

[GodFan]

I thought of a petition for chain stores too. But it's the same in every store that sells Bettas. So petition only the worst stores? Like Walmart? They really should not be selling fish. At least the Bettas at Petco looked somewhat healthy. The ones at Walmart looked doomed.

I think all should be petitioned! We could collectively petition major chains (petsmart and petco ect) and individually petition our local LFS!

 

[Talvari]

I work at a LFS and people never want to listen. I've watched people buy a 1/2 tank for bettas. Ive heard of people keeping oscars in 20 gallon tanks. 10 in a two gallon bowl.

I've asked my boss recently if we can't do either a fish wall or a fish book... Do something where you post FULL size pictures of these fish so you can get a better idea of how they will really look when they are adults. I would love to do a whole show case of fish, too, including a proper betta tank!

I bought my betta from where I work. He went from a pale blue to almost a royal blue/purple color. His reds went from a muddy brown-ish red to a full crimson color. He is the only fish in a 5 gallon heated and filter tank! He is so full of energy and so fun to watch... Just beautiful!

Cleaning Day: (He HATES the siphon so I put him off to the side while I clean his tank... He's tried jumping out before!)
The second shot is his tank just before I added him, the snail, and his ghost shrimp buddies.

 

[GodFan]

I am going to offer to build a 5 gallon for my buddy. Im going to put it out as I was thinking of stsrting a business building aquariums (I was and still want to) and wouldnt mind.

 

[ridewithme38]

You guys worried about betta have to realize, that they CAN live in small tanks...granted not as small as recommended, but small

The main problem isn't what the LFS's say about Betta's....its how the Goldfish are mistreated! Heck, Goldfish torture has become so mainstream, they've named their torture devices after them..."Goldfish Bowl"

A full grown betta can still be find in just a couple gallons of water...Not so with Goldfish

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I thought of a petition for chain stores too. But it's the same in every store that sells Bettas. So petition only the worst stores? Like Walmart? They really should not be selling fish. At least the Bettas at Petco looked somewhat healthy. The ones at Walmart looked doomed.

Walmart is already in motion to remove their live fish section, so there wouldn't need to be a lot of effort done there. Maybe some positive reinforcement that they are doing what is right?

One of the issues is that money (of course) is a bigger concern than the livelihood of the animals in many places. That is why some pet stores will order their bettas from foreign markets where they come in a tiny bag (barely bigger than themselves) with either a tiny amount of water or a damp paper towel. A good percentage is dried out on arrival and many other awful things.

It's cheaper to get them in this way than how every other fish is shipped in. It's just this view that bettas are lesser than the other fish. It's really sad, so something should be done.

There are those websites where you can get an online petition going. Maybe we should look into that?

 

[Talvari]

Just because an animal CAN live in a small tank does not mean that it should. A betta will not thrive, nor will it show case its ideal colors or behaviors in a small tank.

You are right though. I rage everyday and go on a tirade whenever a customer wants to put a goldfish in a bowl!

 

[jetajockey]

Just because an animal CAN live in a small tank does not mean that it should. A betta will not thrive, nor will it show case its ideal colors or behaviors in a small tank.

You are right though. I rage everyday and go on a tirade whenever a customer wants to put a goldfish in a bowl!

Define small tank? I think a betta is fine and thriving in a room temperature 2.5 gallon minibow.

 

[Talvari]

That's not horrible, but a lot of people don't think a betta should be kept in anything smaller than a five gallon. I personally prefer a five. It gives them plenty of space to swim, and its easier to add a heater, filter, a place to hide, and some plants.

Though, there are some people that think they should be kept in at least ten gallons.

 

[GodFan]

IMO a betta fish should be in no less than a 2.5 heated tank (unless room temp is in the 70s) I think a 5 heated is better though. A filter of some kind (a sponge filter is fine) is necessary I believe. Some dufde once told me that the airstone in a tank is good for bio filtration!

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Just because an animal CAN live in a small tank does not mean that it should. A betta will not thrive, nor will it show case its ideal colors or behaviors in a small tank.

This may not be the case for everyone. Example- I had a sunshine that lived in a bowl for about a month while I was fixing up a 10g heated/filtered/planted set-up for him. He refused to eat and swim in the new set-up, so I tried putting him back in the bowl after a few weeks. He went back to his happy self. He was also addicted to playing in marbels.

These fish are very odd creatures that can get rather specific with what they like. I am completely set that every betta deserves at least 5g heated/filtered and with a little cave. So far, one has proved that a 2g bowl is where it's at.

 

[absolutangel04]

You guys worried about betta have to realize, that they CAN live in small tanks...granted not as small as recommended, but small

The main problem isn't what the LFS's say about Betta's....its how the Goldfish are mistreated! Heck, Goldfish torture has become so mainstream, they've named their torture devices after them..."Goldfish Bowl"

A full grown betta can still be find in just a couple gallons of water...Not so with Goldfish

Yes, the way godlfish are treated is an issue, but this thread was started about bettas, so we were talking abut bettas. I am willing to bet that every person commenting on bettas also has opinions about goldfish care.
Also, I agree that bettas can live in relatively small tanks. The largest tank minimum I have ever heard of for a betta is 5g, which is still pretty small. And of course common goldies get wayyyyyy bigger than a 5g tank allows.

 

[sumpnfishy]

To the OP: have some little cards printed with your contact info. Next time you see that happen, hand the parent your card and tell them you'll come rescue the fish once the kid gets bored and won't take care of the fish...

A smart parent will ask you more questions. A bad parent will call you in a few weeks and tell you the fish died...

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

To the OP: have some little cards printed with your contact info. Next time you see that happen, hand the parent your card and tell them you'll come rescue the fish once the kid gets bored and won't take care of the fish...

Good idea.

 

[Talvari]

To the OP: have some little cards printed with your contact info. Next time you see that happen, hand the parent your card and tell them you'll come rescue the fish once the kid gets bored and won't take care of the fish...

A smart parent will ask you more questions. A bad parent will call you in a few weeks and tell you the fish died...

No the bad parent will take the fish back to the pet store and demand a refund because the petstore killed their fish.

It happens all too often. A poor, lowly, retail slave working at a petstore attempts to tell a customer how to properly take care of animal... And the poor, poor employee gets their head bitten off because they know nothing. Finally... a week later, the same customer comes back with a dead fish and blames that same employee...

 

[jetajockey]

The betta thing is a tough subject. Since I've been helping with a pet store I have been able to see it from a different perspective. They already have a half dozen or so bowl/ 1/2 gallon type little tanks stocked.

I've already expressed my discontent for betta bowls and small betta tanks, so to remedy the situation rather than ask them to toss out their equipment stock, instead I've been putting together a plan for future stock purchases. The idea is to go with a 2.5-5g (probably 2 options, but whatever is the best deal) type kit that has a little filter and light, and also have some small heaters available on the rack next to them.

These kits are pretty cheap, $10-15 it seems like, so it's a good alternative I think.

One other thing is that I plan to utilize some product that is already there, some 2 or 3 gallon kritter keeper type containers for just a few dollars and some of those really cheap internal filters from Tom or tetra.

 

[ridewithme38]

Yes, the way godlfish are treated is an issue, but this thread was started about bettas, so we were talking abut bettas. I am willing to bet that every person commenting on bettas also has opinions about goldfish care.
Also, I agree that bettas can live in relatively small tanks. The largest tank minimum I have ever heard of for a betta is 5g, which is still pretty small. And of course common goldies get wayyyyyy bigger than a 5g tank allows.

I'm just comparing the two problems to show how much more extreme the goldfish issue is...it's like talking about the water damage to your couch, while standing on the ashes of your house after it burned down...

Really, this goldfish issue needs to be dealt with, a comet in a 1 gallon bowl is a major problem, Betta's in a 1 gallon or even a 1/2 gallon, not as big a deal...

 

[absolutangel04]

@jeta, that seems like a good compromise. I know its a petstore, but one option for the small bowls is to sell them for bamboo instead of animals. I keep little decorative bowls or what-not with hydro beads and bamboo and it works awesome. I know thats probably not a viable alternative though. But it was just a thought. I have also used them for carnivorous plants because the shape helps keep the plant in humidity. But, I am guessing your best option is to just keep them in stock but not order more.

 

[Talvari]

I'm just comparing the two problems to show how much more extreme the goldfish issue is...it's like talking about the water damage to your couch, while standing on the ashes of your house after it burned down...

Really, this goldfish issue needs to be dealt with, a comet in a 1 gallon bowl is a major problem, Betta's in a 1 gallon or even a 1/2 gallon, not as big a deal...

So start a thread about goldfish in bowls? Again... this was a thread talking about bettas. Who gets treated worse in a non-issue. There are plenty of animal treatment atrocities in this world that are worse even than a goldfish in a bowl.