My brother is being a fish-jerk

[platybreeder26]

I have a serious problem. My brother has commited the worst crime of all. Fish neglect. He has a betta fish who he keeps in a 0.4 gallon bowl, with barely any gravel and a tiny orange plant. He never checks water parameters, has never heard of the nitrogen cycle, has no heater in his tank, and knows next to nothing about fish keeping. I tell him he at least needs a 5 gallon and small heater but says the fish is perfectly fine and is not gonn waste his money on some crap the fish doesnt need. I bothered him about one time and he said he was sick of me bothering him so much that he couldnt wait till the fish died. After claiming he should just pour paint thinner in the water to kill the fish, I was so upset I couldnt talk to him for a whole day. It made me want to cry. He says the fish is "fine"
But its clear the fish developed fin rot and ich. I am going to be owning a 30 gallon tank this summer. And have researched endlessy about fishkeeping. He still claims to know more about me than fishkeeping. While we transported the fish home from the store, I said to him Michael, here try to make the container dark so it doesnt stress out the fish. He replied. He got plenty of light this morning, he wont be stressed. Sometimes he says Elli, what do you know, you dont even own a betta. Somebody help me fiquire out how to convice him to get a bigger tank. SORRY FOR THE LONG POST I NEED HELP!!!!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Google is your friend. There is tons of websites that can all agree that Bettas like temperatures around 80 degrees.

The getting started section will show you guides to both methods of the nitrogen cycle.

Minimum tank size is 2.5g. That's a consensus that everyone I know has agreed on as bare minimum.


Caleb

 

[Mebbid]

Sadly, short of stealing the fish and giving it away and breaking the bowl saying it was an accident there's not much you're gonna be able to do.

 

[biondoa]

Your brother sounds like more than just a "fish jerk". I think he could use some counseling. To be so cruel that he says he would add paint thinner to the tank , suggests to me, an unbalanced person. If you believe he really would go that route, then tread lightly. As already suggested, google betta fish care and print out what you find for him. Maybe suggest chipping in on buying a larger tank for this poor fish, although from what you have said, it may be too late. I hope not. The fish needs clean, dechlorinated water and more space to live in. Just because they are in tiny cups in the large box stores, does not mean that they are comfortable in there. I hope you will have some success persuading your brother to take care of that poor little fish.

 

[SpaceFish42]

Would it be possible to convince him if he was GIVEN a larger tank instead of having to buy it himself? Then he wouldn't be "wasting his money." Or maybe you could convince him to let you take care of it instead?

 

[evil Nick]

Go to Petco and I'm willing there are a few dead betta on the shelf. Find one that looks similar and take it. Do the brady bunch swap and give that fish away

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[Brookster123]

I'd put the entire bowl in the freezer.. game over.

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[Bichir Bro]

I'd put the entire bowl in the freezer.. game over.

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Well, it wouldn't not work but there's a better way to do this...never like to contradict you man but that'd be a pretty horrific way for the fish to die. His veins would slowly start to freeze leading to an extremely slow and painful death. A better way to euthanize..."discretely" (for lack of a better word) is to put a small bowl of water in the freezer, wait for the rim of the bowl to have ice crystals starting to form *but NOT completely covered*!! Plop the Betta in that water and death is instant if done properly.,,


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[StoryTale]

I think killing is fish is only going to make him go out and buy another to torture. Try buying him another tank and some accessories. Also, maybe when he sees how awesome and healthy your tank is he will want to upgrade his. Maybe right now he is in defense mode but will switch to competition mode.

 

[lil_is_me_2001]

This is such a sad way for a fish to live !!! My best friend had a similar situation and she was very pushy about NOT taking care of the fish. The only thing she cared about was thee look of the fish , therefore I looked up a bunch of before and after photos of how a beta was in a cup from the store to after they were in perfect conditions for a month. Give it a go ! My friend now takes perfect care of MR MARS HAHA this is the tank mine lives in with tank buddies and his colours are now incredible from when I rescued him from one of my other friends . thid setup was a 5 minute temporary thing but look at the pink ones colours( he began with being dull red and cream hahah


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[Oto]

I'm really sorry to hear about that. I had a problem like this not too long ago. I ended up moving the fish to my school's 30 gallon. It doesn't feel good, but is there some way you can steal the fish out of your brother's home?

 

[biondoa]

If this were a dog or a cat or any mammal, you could call the ASPCA in your area and they would take the animal away from the abuser. I doubt that they would do that for a betta, but you could give them a call. Might help. A fish is an animal. Those people are really caring and may be able to help.

 

[FishesInTank]

Hello

I think your brother doesn't have experience yet on betta, he must ask people who own it,its not only him who own one. He seems need to know the future of the fish if we don't take care of em. Ask your bro. to go to petstore, ask, let he know his lesson, remember not to be rude or he wont listen.

Gilbert

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[katiekelsey]

If he has that attitude I wonder why he even got the fish.

 

[trennamw]

Can you bring in your parents?

I'd imagine it's likely the paint thinner comment was an attempt to get you to back off, not serious enough to be suggesting he's unbalanced.

It sounds like he's really, really tired of you telling him he's doing it all wrong, and of you trying to control the situation. Is it possible you do this in other areas too? Or maybe he's tired of implications that he's not as smart or capable or kind as you are? The poor fish might be more the victim of a power struggle than anything here. I suspect some of what's making you cry is not winning this conflict.

There's a reason he's not respecting what you have to say, here. And the more you try to win the worse it will probably get.

I'd look at changing your approach. Or perhaps a little "look I'm sorry I've been bossy. But here's a picture of fin rot and I'm very upset and all I want to do is help. How can I help here?" Then he gets to control the situation and you're asking not demanding.

Killing or fish napping, you're still trying to control the situation.


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[FishesInTank]

Take your brother's betta lol

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