# Rescue Bettas Or Fish Hoarding?????



## luvmybetta (Jan 29, 2011)

LOL...As The title suggests..I have read numerous posts about rescue Bettas, of which I believe is a noble cause. However, I have also read numerous posts about having too many rescue Bettas and having to divide/split tanks. Don't get this thread and/or my question wrong...But, at what point does one consider they have rescued far too many and everytime they go back to the same store....there are just more tiny cups of Bettas awaiting rescue again. I would like to rescue everyone and everything on the planet that is in a grievous situation. I know that it is impossible. Just some musings.


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

yep the more that you rescue the more they buy (petstores) u buy their livestock they refresh it, and more fish get to live in poor conditions.
I will stop buying when i have no room. im buildig a barrack over the next six months, after thats done ill have room for 24 more fish. i wont run out and fill that because i would like to breed two spawns in the new few months so i dont want 50 thousand fish


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

I don't think that people with a lot of bettas are really hoarding. Most of the people on this forum take really good care of their fish, and I really think the quality of care is the difference between having a lot of pets and being a hoarder. I don't think many people here would divide a tank smaller than a 5 gallon, and like I said, they take excellent care of their fish.

About rescuing. It's really a personal choice, some see it as rescuing, some see it as fueling the fire. Both sides make good points. I have rescued two fish, and my view on the matter is, these chain pet stores will always carry fish, whether I buy from them or not. I may not be able to save all the sick bettas, but for the ones I do save, my actions will make a world of difference.


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## RiverStoneBetta (Feb 22, 2011)

The major difference between those of us with a hojillion betta babies and hoarders is the logic that we use to justify another betta. 

When a betta owner sees a struggling betta in a pet store, often times we feel the immediate urge to buy him/her and make his life better. But we think about it first. How well off are my finances? Will the people in my home appreciate another gilled roommate? Do I have room? Do I have the time for another tank to maintain?

However, a hoarder will bypass all that thinking and immediately buy the fish and the supplies to make him/her happy. This leads to a quick loss of funds, which will lead to degradation of the quality of care the owner is able to provide. Hoarders often fall into the trap of "They'll survive one more day without [food/water change/larger tank/medications, etc.]" and it compounds for every betta they own. 

Many people in my household would jokingly say I belong on that Confessions: Animal Hoarding show on Animal Planet, but the quality of life my bettas have is undeniably excellent. Clean homes, plenty of different foods, and LOTS of interaction. 

So if you find yourself seriously fighting to pull yourself away from a betta when you already have 5 and your paycheck is stressed enough, you may be turning into a hoarder. But most people here that I see haven't fallen into that problem yet. =]


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## luvmybetta (Jan 29, 2011)

Very, Very Good Points. I started this thread to generate conversation among the people whom rescue Bettas and know when to stop VS those that just might find themselves "going over the edge." Heck, I have lived long enough to find that most everyone has some sort of compulsion. I know I do.


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

i felt the urge to buy this one metalic red and pink shiny male for the sheer fact he had almost no tail and the pet shop had sold out of treatment (some silly person also sold the stores melafix) so she couldnt treat the poor fish, but i had room and i was actually heading to the other pet store to buy melafix..........i even brought spongebob home that day O.O

i suppose it all also depends as stated on having the time to maintain tanks. for the last month ive been doing daily or every two day water changes, on new tanks and qt tanks, and tank maintence and feeding usually took 20 or so minutes last night i put lexi in to the bay tank in her own bay (the filtered tank) did a 25% water change on the bay tank and a quick siphon of poop outta the 8bay filtered tank and it plus feeding took less then ten minutes i was stoaked! 
My new to be built barracks will not take much longer being filtered as well so its guna be great!


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Some people frustrate me on here, when they post about 'rescuing' fish, and at the same time skimp on vital equipment such as a heater because "funds are tight" or they're a "poor college student". I'm sorry, but that's just pure selfishness. If you can't afford to meet the minimum standard of care for the animals you own, and who you are ultimately responsible for, then please don't go out and purchase one until you can.

I think true hoarding, is when it becomes a compulsion to acquire animals, even when you don't have the time or funds to dedicate to their care. It's like there's a complete disconnect from reality, and that's how it gets to the point where these people become completely overwhelmed. You look at those shows, and the people featured are convinced that no one else would love their animals as much as they do, even as they're scraping some desiccated cat off the floor. 

I also don't think purchasing a betta fish from a pet store should be considered rescuing it. Upgrading it? Definitely. Improving its quality of life? Sure thing. But rescue to me, should not be about rewarding stores for the poor treatment of the animals in their care. I could fill my room with all the pitifully sick bettas that get sold at the pet store near my work. But that wouldn't solve the problem. Instead, I decided that I was done supporting a business that does not look after its livestock properly. Yes it does tug at my heart thinking about those bettas, but I came to realise even if I bought them all, they'd be a whole new shipment of them sitting there by the next week.


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## luvmybetta (Jan 29, 2011)

Yes, it is upsetting when you read the posts about people continuing to aquire fish when they are experiencing financial difficulties just taking care of the fish they already have. I can afford and have space to aquire two more 5 gallon tanks or one 10 gallon. I am still thinking about that; But, I am in no hurry. I like my one Betta 5 Gallon.


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

OR people "rescue" the new betta but cant get the new things they need for the other fish, thus reducing the quality of life of their original fish??


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## RiverStoneBetta (Feb 22, 2011)

If I needed to, I could give my Cory cats to a friend of mine who takes care of his fish and divide the 10 gallon again. That would give me room for at least one more betta. However, I think my Cories are every bit as cute as a betta, and now that I found a good LFS in my area (which I'm ecstatic about), the urge to buy struggling bettas has subsided. 

If you often feel the urge to rescue bettas, or know someone who has hoarding tenancies, take them to a well-maintained fish store, and let them shop there. Just being able to see bettas in more adequate environments and being taken care of by people who care can do a lot. I saw a beautiful pink crowntail female that I though would look beautiful in my 5 gallon, but I couldn't yet because it hasn't finished sterilizing yet, let alone begun the cycling process. But I didn't feel bad about letting her stay in the shop, because she was fat, healthy, and happy.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I think that if you're low on funds and you can't pass a fish without bringing it home, you might have issues. Those issues probably bleed into other areas of life, like buying things you know you can't afford because it makes you feel good in that moment. I have a lot of experience with impulse control problems so I know of what I speak.  

I think that if you can't give an animal a good quality of life, then don't bring them home. If you can't give them a heater (and you live in a non tropical climate), don't bring them home. If you have no intention of doing the needed water changes on whatever size tank you bought, don't bring them home. If you can't afford to get them whatever meds they may need, don't bring them home. If you can't keep up with the water changes you have to do now, don't bring them home. And finally, if you find yourself constantly dividing tanks into smaller and smaller spaces just to bring home a new color you couldn't resist, don't bring them home. They're not collectibles. They're living things.


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## Cravenne (Dec 20, 2010)

I feel rather bad about saying this but....

I wouldn't purchase a Betta from any source that was showing signs of extreme illness or distress. I'd rather not have to QT a fish in a tiny tank just to have him in my home if I don't have to. I've seen some people post about purchasing BECAUSE the fish didn't have a chance, and although I always feel bad for them and it makes me quite sad, I still wouldn't bring a sickly fish home if I could avoid it.
I make a point to tell the person in charge of that section if there are any dead fishies or if the water is so cloudy you can't see the fish to begin with and then I pick the healthiest looking one to bring home.

This goes for any fish, not just bettas.

I'm not a fish resucer, I'm a fish keeper...fish lover..


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## RiverStoneBetta (Feb 22, 2011)

I've only truly rescued one fish. He was a college kid's fish and he just left it in the dorm college room in a vase. 3 years later, Quinn's my favorite of my scaly children.


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## Goomba3 (Jan 20, 2011)

I guess my idea of "rescuing" would be what RiverStoneBetta did: taking a betta that is already owned and giving it a better life. That goes for all animals, not just fish. If I buy one from a chain store, it's purchasing/adopting, not rescuing. I have 3 VTs right now, and I so badly want to go into PetCo and get an HM, but I know that I don't have the time to have a smaller tank to take care of. So I just avoid the betta section. I know better, I like my 3 boys and my divided tank and I am happy. One day, if one of my boys passes away, that's when I'll get another.


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## RiverStoneBetta (Feb 22, 2011)

That's what I consider a true rescue. Now that I'm mulling it over, maybe one of the reasons that chain stores don't do much to change the conditions of their bettas is because of fanatics like us that feel the urge to "save" every sad betta we see. It's diabolical, possibly paranoia, but I think it might be a factor. 

I like what CJ, the owner of my previous LFS, said: "I only want people who know what their doing, or want to know, to buy my fish. That way, they'll come back here for supplies for that same fish year after year after year. Regular customers give ms the most revenue.


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## Goomba3 (Jan 20, 2011)

It's possible paranoid, RiverStone, but for a legit reason. I mean, I would hope stores wouldn't put their stock in harm's way just so us fanatics would buy more fish, but who knows. I stopped trying to figure people out a LONG time ago, haha.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

We talked about some of these things in my thread about animal hoarding. I think it's obsessive compulsive behavior. We need to know what our limits are before buying more. I rescued 2 bettas since I've been in the hobby. One belonged to a neighbor who didn't give a crap about her fish and the other one was given to me by a cousin who was going to flush him.


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## RiverStoneBetta (Feb 22, 2011)

I still have the urge to make bettas' lives better, but I know I can't buy them all, so the compulsion has died down for me a bit. And as I said before, now that I'm in business with an awesome LFS, I don't have to worry about leaving bettas in the store anymore. I have no compulsion anymore, and thoroughly plan it out. That's why I feel paranoid about large chain shops. They want you to buy a pet because it's cheap and there in front of you. Good LFS want you to buy a fish because it's healthy, better quality, and you get better information so you can keep coming back.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

As much as we might like to, we can't save every fish out there. What we CAN do is take the best care of our own animals that we can.


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