Stop betta abuse by pet stores, show some support (for myspace users)

[bugmankeith]

Myspace now has a new feature where you make a "support" group to spread awareness on various issues and debates in the world. I like animals, so I decided to make a support group spreading awareness on betta abuse by some pet stores and people, providing links to betta sites with great information.

So the more people that join the support group, the higher the rank it gets, which means more people will see the group and learn more about the situation going on. It's free to join, you just have to have a myspace.

(there is no donations, so if you see something about donations ignore it)

Please join to show your support and spread the word to your friends! http://www.causes.com/myspace/causes/31244...ter_id=71478113

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Bugman, thanks for the link! I'm a moderator on UltimateBettas.com (RandomWiktor); we're working on re-vamping the rescue section of our site into an advocacy section, and this will be a great link to include

 

[bugmankeith]

Awesome, great site by the way!

 

[ballpython2]

Awesome, great site by the way!

how can someone abuse fish? just wondering.

 

[bugmankeith]

how can someone abuse fish? just wondering.

It's quite simple, by not providing them with the proper environment,diet, or space they need to live comfortably.

Keeping a fish in a tiny cup (or unfiltered bowl) causes waste and ammonia to quickly build up, and for fish this can be a death sentence and cause illness to strike quickly. People have the impression bettas must be kept in tiny bowls or cups, but the negative issue is that they dont realize how often you must change the water and that bettas need specific temperatures to live in, for them tropical temperatures around 75-80 F. In tiny bowls it's quite hard to keep the water clean and temp correct, cause a small heater will quickly cook the fish and left unchanged the water will foul quickly. So if you live in a cold climate (or it's winter) and your room is around 65-70 there not much you can do to help the fish stay warm, unless you have an aquarium (5 gallons or larger) where you can safely have a heater on. Some people are just plain lazy and dont feel the need to change the water often, even if the water is clearly brown. You end up with a very sick or dead fish soon and then they wonder why it died.

There is also myths bettas eat plants. Bettas are carnivores, they need protein (example insects like fruit flies and bloodworms) They may take a nibble at algae, but wont live if you only provide plants. Flakes arent good for them either, the betta pellets usually have better nutrition.

All of these issues are seen when you see bettas sold in pet stores in tiny cups with hardly enough water to swim in that's really dirty and the fish are ill with ich or fin rot.

The truth is bettas can live in a 5,10, even 20 gallon aquarium just fine. The only special care they need is that the filter cannot be giving a strong current, bettas do not do well in fast currents they prefer calm waters there long fins just make too much weight to drag around to keep up. They also cant be mixed with too many types of fish (goldfish,guppies,gourami's, other bettas if its a male) Some fish may nips their delicate fins, or bettas may nip other fish, like the guppies. But there are a few fish they can be mixed with, so you can have a betta in a community tank. They also prefer plants in the aquarium to rest on at the surface, and if they are to be mixed with other fish sometimes bettas are slow to get to the food, so you have to make sure they get enough food. But they can live for 6 or 7 years if given the proper care.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

how can someone abuse fish? just wondering.

What? You've never had battered fish?


BA-DA-BUMP!

Thank you! I'll be here all week! Try the fish!

 

[Exo]

My mom keeps her Bettas in bowls about a foot in diamiter and at room temp and they always live for about 3yrs. She has kept them in heated aquariums and they still only lived for 3ys, so I seriously doubt they can really live for 7yrs. She feeds them brine shrimp and bloodworms and changes thier water once a week and never had one get diseased or sick. Maybe they are a few years old when she gets them?Other than that, I just don't think they are that long lived.

 

[UrbanJungles]

You think Pet Stores are bad? You should see the wholesalers that supply them. There is a huge fish importer nearby that I visit on occasion and when they get in bettas they basically come in multiple boxes of 500, in small heat-sealed plastic "bags" about 3 inches square where they live in blue water until they are distributed to pet stores. They usually get a new shipment about 2 or 3 times a month and sell out every time.

A betta's ability to live in relatively small amounts of water has sealed its doom as a pet shop staple.

 

[LeilaNami]

Pointing out to customers that bettas will be much more active in a higher oxygen environment and cleaner water usually gets to them to at least get something with a filter (at least at my store)

 

[Tleilaxu]

I have noticed that bettas are much more active and display much more complex behaviors when in a larger tank. Infact they are fairly intelligent fish, mine liked to push marbles around and would play peek aboo in his favorite rock.

When they are in those little cups they have nothing to do and no reason to really move around. While in the wild they sometimes experince situations like this its not permenant. Something people dont realize.

 

[myrmecophile]

Ihave to agree, petshop conditions for Bettas is deplorable and needds to be changed. More education for the shop keepers and public is needed. However must also consider the fact that this is exactly the sort of thing that all those animal rights wackos the ammunition they need to work harder at closing down the pet hobby entirely. Have to say though that with as over bred as store bettas are I hardly consider them to be bettas, wild betta species now those are the way to go. However not to say they still dont need protection and proper care and housing.