# are are bettas so abused?!



## bella221 (Apr 29, 2015)

Went to walmart and now they have started selling bettas. They shove them on a shelf in a 1/2 cup of water and leave them there. Everytime I go there I always look at them and my heart breaks. They're left in freezing cold water with no food. There was a dead betta that was in the back of the shelf and he's been dead for awhile. It just makes my blood boil! 
I almost took another betta home today but I already have 3 bettas and my husband would not be happy if I came home with another one lol
I'm so tempted to go there and feed them and bring warm water to put in their cups.
Everyone else thinks I'm crazy for caring so much about bettas. I had to vent to people who understand my frustration.


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

at the end of the day, it seems like "normal" people just dont understand what a betta should require to live.
they are also very cheap, I cant imagine how cheap the stores must buy them for, and how much they make off of them
also most people dont understand that a betta should live for several years, not a few weeks/months so they are looked at as "replaceable" like most fish, sadly.


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## AukWord (Mar 15, 2015)

I won't buy Bettas from Walmart, and every single time I get a chance, I find the dead or near dead ones, and go find a manager and point it out.

I don't want to contribute to their abusive practices.

As was said above, most fish are considered "replaceable" and sort of treated like cut flowers, a momentary novelty and amusement.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

It is practices like these that make me lose all faith in humanity  The way that "normal" people view fish as disposable pets is just repulsive, which is the reason that I tend to regard "normal" people as useless wastes of oxygen. I have little use for people lacking any moral compass.


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## peasorama (May 13, 2015)

I have my betta mainly because a co-worker stopped by the local PetSmart during lunch and came back with a beautiful blue veil tail. We all ooohh'd and aaaww'd about him, then I saw that she had bought a 0.5 gallon cup to keep him in. Coming from the little pet store cup I'm sure it was a relief to him but my interest was piqued. A few weeks later I found myself lunching near the same PetSmart and dropped in. There I found shelf after shelf of beautiful bettas stuck in tiny cups. $150 later I left with a 5 gallon tank set up and one very luck little guy.


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## CustardCatfish (Apr 27, 2015)

Seeing abused fish at shops is a real killer. I don't eat any meat, either. I figure if I don't like seeing animals hurt then why do I eat it? 

I just avoid stores that abuse their animals. Period. My LFS is really, really bad. They always treat me like I am a child because I am a young adult female with no monster fish or cichlids.


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## BettaObsessed (Mar 8, 2015)

I really don't get it. People can be very knowledgeable about fish and know just about everything and run saltwater tank systems and raise cichlids, but they just don't care about bettas and only change the water once a week! They know how fast ammonia builds up in a cup like that, but they don't care, because bettas are cheaper, and are able to survive. Everytime I look at their little faces I can tell it would be a relief for them to die and I feel my heart break. I really don't understand why people think they are so replaceable and don't care about their well being. It breaks my heart and disgusts me.


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## Zippy2014 (May 4, 2015)

I totally agree. I see the same things and it really upsets me. Whenever I get a new betta it feels like a rescue. 
I don't get why people don't understand that they are living things. They must be properly looked after and cared for. People just treat animals like they are possessions and not a living thing. This tends to show in many ways in society...for some reason bettas seem to take a lot of the abuse.

I've had times in the store where I'd just like to buy them all...


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## peasorama (May 13, 2015)

Zippy2014 said:


> I totally agree...
> 
> I've had times in the store where I'd just like to buy them all...


And I would if I could! I've already had dreams where I've filled my dining room with 5-gallon tanks, side by side, along the south wall, all set up in ennvironment enriching homes so I could bring every pet store betta home!


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## AukWord (Mar 15, 2015)

peasorama said:


> And I would if I could! I've already had dreams where I've filled my dining room with 5-gallon tanks, side by side, along the south wall, all set up in ennvironment enriching homes so I could bring every pet store betta home!


And while I am sure everyone who has these impulses holds genuinely kind intentions, all this would do is provide an incentive to the store to order in yet more Bettas from their suppliers, to fill that display rack which you just emptied.

The key really is education. 

When consumers demand better habitats and improved care for Bettas, the pet stores will be forced to up their game.

And the only way to demand better standards is to vote with your purchase dollars. ;-)


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

I'm starting to shift to mainly only buying from the Betta Shop in MN because they take amazing care of their fish, but I had to buy my newest guy when i saw him at my local petco. Sadly having to leave one that was just a trooper, he has severe swimming issues, floats on the surface of the water on his side, looking like he's dead but when you go by he just wiggles and struggles his way to see you before floating back up. He's been there for just over a week now with the same issue and he's still fighting. I wouldn't be able to save him so I didn't go for him sadly. I went for a platinum white delta tail cause my Petco only gets whites like once a year and a pure white is my dream fish. (I had a platinum white HMPK until the little bugger decided to marble on me)


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## peasorama (May 13, 2015)

So don't rescue more pet store bettas, because I'm creating the supply to the demand? It's no different than when I rescued a mangey pit bull, a crippled Rottweiler, & a blind German Shepard. They all need love.


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## madlikearose (Feb 10, 2015)

bella221 said:


> Went to walmart and now they have started selling bettas. They shove them on a shelf in a 1/2 cup of water and leave them there. Everytime I go there I always look at them and my heart breaks. They're left in freezing cold water with no food. There was a dead betta that was in the back of the shelf and he's been dead for awhile. It just makes my blood boil!
> I almost took another betta home today but I already have 3 bettas and my husband would not be happy if I came home with another one lol
> I'm so tempted to go there and feed them and bring warm water to put in their cups.
> Everyone else thinks I'm crazy for caring so much about bettas. I had to vent to people who understand my frustration.


people think that with me too that I care too much about "stupid fish" it really pisses me off. Also I realize this is a friendly place but I swear like a Sailor in real life and it can be sooo hard to keep it underwraps here. like REALLY HARD I digress, I have never had such a sweet loving fish as a betta. And people look me in the eye, laugh and say why would you get meds for a fish?? just let it die. :evil::evil::evil::evil:


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

I actually had a coworker tell me that her roommate was just going to flush her betta if they couldn't find him a new home because she didn't want him anymore (hadn't had a water change in over three months and was in a gallon bowl) I told her I'd take him if she couldnt' find a home for him (as a last resort before they flushed as I wasn't prepared to have 7 at that time) they ended up finding him a new home though so that's good. And two weeks after this occurs I have a seventh fish lol.


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

balancing both sides of this, if I buy a betta from a chain, most times I go for the healthiest one, because I know they will live longer, but every once in a while one just connects and needs to be rescued. and BettaStarter24, I have a similar quest to you finding a white betta; I have bought 3 blue/turqoise bettas that were in such bad shape in the store that they looked green, which is my hard to find dream betta. in fact, they are the only rescues I have been successful with


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## CustardCatfish (Apr 27, 2015)

I just went to a store that had a drip filter betta barracks <3 The tanks were bare and I reckon should have had moss balls in them but otherwise I was really impressed by the set up. Honest to god it's the second filtered betta set up I've seen in a store around my city.


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## AukWord (Mar 15, 2015)

peasorama said:


> So don't rescue more pet store bettas, because I'm creating the supply to the demand? It's no different than when I rescued a mangey pit bull, a crippled Rottweiler, & a blind German Shepard. They all need love.


Cute pups.

If you feel comfortable buying pet store Bettas, then do so.

Just don't think of it as a noble "rescue," is all.

Because you bought that fish, not rescued it.

It is VERY different. In one case, you support animal charity and rescue efforts, in another you support corporate for-profit stores who aren't treating animals properly.

You may indeed have saved that particular fish's life, but you made room for yet another and another, on that store's shelves. And voted with your purchase dollars to give them incentive to order more Bettas from their supplier.

Rescue is when you take one someone is dumping, or adopt from a shelter or a rescue group, or take in a stray.

It's an important distinction--words are powerful, and so are purchase dollars.

Food for thought.

Oh, and all my dogs are rescues, as well. Rescue animals rock ;-)


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Cotton19 said:


> balancing both sides of this, if I buy a betta from a chain, most times I go for the healthiest one, because I know they will live longer, but every once in a while one just connects and needs to be rescued. and BettaStarter24, I have a similar quest to you finding a white betta; I have bought 3 blue/turqoise bettas that were in such bad shape in the store that they looked green, which is my hard to find dream betta. in fact, they are the only rescues I have been successful with


I actually just found said white betta. hoping he stays white. there was a second one at my petco


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## CustardCatfish (Apr 27, 2015)

AukWord said:


> Cute pups.
> 
> If you feel comfortable buying pet store Bettas, then do so.
> 
> ...


I agree with this 100%. Cat/Dog rescues are different to buying a sick Betta in store.


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## Dadoody (May 18, 2015)

When they're so cheap, people treat them as disposable. 

They're pretty, they don't *need* a lot to survive, so people treat them like the new type of goldfish that you can take home, use as decoration and flush when you're sick of them or kill them.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

AukWord said:


> Cute pups.
> 
> If you feel comfortable buying pet store Bettas, then do so.
> 
> ...



The fish themselves are not the big money makers in stores. Coming from someone who has worked in both the pet section of Walmart, and at Petsmart. These stores keep a record of fish that die daily, and are reimbursed their purchase price for all dead fish by the supplier. So no money is lost when fish die. Yes they make money when a fish is purchased, but if no one buys it, if it dies on the shelf, no money is lost. Whether a fish is purchased or dies it will still be replaced. 

The big money comes from the supplies purchased for the fish, I don't buy a single thing from chain stores, all of my supplies come from a local store who takes very good care of their fish. I have made it clear every single time that I buy a fish from a store that I am buying the fish to save its life, that I have many fish (and other animals) and spend lots of money monthly at pet stores. But I will not give them a single penny until they take better care of their fish. 

This approach usually results in the store letting me adopt or pay half price for a sick fish anyway. 

But I'm sorry, if I am taking an animal out of a poor situation and SAVING IT'S LIFE, I consider it a rescue, whether I have to pay for it or not. As the star fish story says, I may not be able to save them all but I made a difference for that one.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

MoonShadow said:


> But I'm sorry, if I am taking an animal out of a poor situation and SAVING IT'S LIFE, I consider it a rescue, whether I have to pay for it or not. As the star fish story says, I may not be able to save them all but I made a difference for that one.


I agree to be honest, though I do buy my supplies from Petco/Petsmart because those are my only choices for supplies. But I do agree with your statement here. All of my boys that I got from petco/petsmart would have died had I not gotten them I'm sure. Be it in store or ending up in the hands of someone who didn't care enough about them to give them a proper home.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I think bettas and goldfish are the two most mistreated and misunderstood fish in this industry. The whole concept of a goldfish in a bowl seems to have permeated every faucet of popular culture. Almost every single advertisement, magazine article, and television show that features a goldfish, has it living in a bowl. How on earth do you try and convince people that this is abhorrent and cruel, when it is so commonplace? 

Bettas are the same. There is so much misinformation spread about their care that it would be laughable if these weren't actual real fish that are suffering. The betta sections in about 99% of the pet and fish stores I visit, are absolutely appalling. But nothing seems to change. I have now been in the hobby five years, and I still regularly hear the same misleading information spread by fish and pet store employees. 

Sadly, I don't think we are going to see a shift in attitudes any time soon. I mean bettas have been a part of this hobby for decades now, and it seems very little has changed during this time.


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## AukWord (Mar 15, 2015)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I think bettas and goldfish are the two most mistreated and misunderstood fish in this industry. The whole concept of a goldfish in a bowl seems to have permeated every faucet of popular culture. Almost every single advertisement, magazine article, and television show that features a goldfish, has it living in a bowl. How on earth do you try and convince people that this is abhorrent and cruel, when it is so commonplace?
> 
> Bettas are the same. There is so much misinformation spread about their care that it would be laughable if these weren't actual real fish that are suffering. The betta sections in about 99% of the pet and fish stores I visit, are absolutely appalling. But nothing seems to change. I have now been in the hobby five years, and I still regularly hear the same misleading information spread by fish and pet store employees.
> 
> Sadly, I don't think we are going to see a shift in attitudes any time soon. I mean bettas have been a part of this hobby for decades now, and it seems very little has changed during this time.


Yeah, this evening I was visiting a new LFS about an hour's drive from me (rural part of the country)--visiting with high hopes, after seeing their webpage.

Live plants galore, they said, SeaChem and CaribSea products, lots and lots of things I could look at and put my hands on and not have to wonder whether it will work or not because I had to "add to cart" online someplace.

Live plants galore ended up being a few sickly, poor-doing, black-algae infested common plants, which were way overpriced, even if they'd been healthy.

They had a Betta display that was those tiny little plastic cubicles, and were selling a male Betta to a young boy and his mother as I went down that aisle.

I heard the clerk proudly announce to the new Betta owners--"Yes, the crappier and dirtier the water, the happier these guys seem to be!":roll:


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Ugh. Sometimes I wonder how crappy fish stores manage to stay into business. Their only customers must be the ignorant, and newcomers to the hobby. Although I suppose from what I've seen posted online, and overhead in stores, this is probably is the majority of hobbyists. 

Somewhere along the line, I think people confused stagnant with dirty. Because otherwise I have no idea how on earth this nonsense continues to be spouted. Ammonia and nitrite are just as capable of harming or killing a betta as they are any other fish. Although the majority of pet/fish store employees seem to think poor water quality has something to do with pH as this seems to be the only parameter they encourage their customers to check.


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## AukWord (Mar 15, 2015)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Ugh. Sometimes I wonder how crappy fish stores manage to stay into business. Their only customers must be the ignorant, and newcomers to the hobby. Although I suppose from what I've seen posted online, and overhead in stores, this is probably is the majority of hobbyists.
> 
> Somewhere along the line, I think people confused stagnant with dirty. Because otherwise I have no idea how on earth this nonsense continues to be spouted. Ammonia and nitrite are just as capable of harming or killing a betta as they are any other fish. Although the majority of pet/fish store employees seem to think poor water quality has something to do with pH as this seems to be the only parameter they encourage their customers to check.


Yeah, can't tell you how many times I've seen pH test kits alone sold, plus pH Up and pH Down. Sigh.

Poor fish, you just know it, are on the Dirty Water Elevator going UP and Dirty Water Elevator going Down.

Weirdly enough, they had some stunning live corals and really nice reef set-ups, not so much a good job in the freshwater dept.

We don't really have the demographics here to support a huge coral trade, either, something I overheard the store owner confessing to a customer, while I was in there.

I'm hoping at some point to build some kind of relationship where I can gently nudge them to better Betta habitats and care.


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