# Neglected betta, what to do?



## CrystalBall (Oct 17, 2015)

I had to ask one of my friends for a ride to the pet store today to pick up a new tank, and I remembered he had a little red veiltail betta a year or so ago. I asked him if he still has it, and he said yes. That betta has been living in a container less than 0.5 gallons, unheated, unfilted, he only changes the water once every two months, feeds him one day a week and overfeeds him that one day, and has been living that way for a year. When I first saw it, I told him it was wrong and that he should get a bigger tank, and he gave me the argument that it was in a tiny cup before and the tank was bigger. I didn't know as much about bettas then as I do now, but I still knew it wasn't right. A few months ago he even put THREE goldfish in there with it, and they tore up his fins, then died. I assume they died from the toxic ammonia that's slowly killing that poor betta, and a cramped environment.

Well, I had no use for the 2.5 gallon tank my betta was in, so I gave it to him in hopes he'll use it for the poor thing. I tried to inform him as much as I could about caring for it, properly feeding it, heating the tank, water parameters, and treating illnesses. When I told him he should change half the water every 2-3 days, he laughed and said, "F*** that". He was even talking about adding a Pleco to the 2.5 gallon, and I tried to talk him out of it, but I'm not sure he'll listen.

What more can I do? I'm really upset right now, I feel like I just wasted hours of my time, and there's nothing I can do about it.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Some people just won't listen. Even if you got him to test his water parameters, it seems like he just doesn't care enough to do more than what he's already doing.


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## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

Here is a big chance for him to learn responsibility and mature into an adult. OR he can act like a 3 year old forever. Unfortunately for that poor fish, it is his decision.

Very sad.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

That is a frustrating situation. Does he even want the betta? Are you able to take it? I know if it were me I would just ask for it IF I had the room and everything.


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## CrystalBall (Oct 17, 2015)

megaredize said:


> That is a frustrating situation. Does he even want the betta? Are you able to take it? I know if it were me I would just ask for it IF I had the room and everything.


I actually did ask him if I could have it if he wasn't going to take care of it before I got my first Betta. He said he 'bonded' with him while he was on hallucinogenics and wants to keep him. Bonded my butt, you can't bond with something and watch its fins rot and color fade away in a tiny container.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

ya really, well I really don't know what to say, he clearly is just set on letting it die


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## Tealight03 (Nov 15, 2014)

That is a terrible situation. Unfortunately it sounds like you did all you could. If he won't listen there isn't much else you can do.


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## Tropicalbetty (Jul 13, 2015)

Kudo's to you for trying. Sad to hear this but if he won't listen .....falling on deaf ears it seems. Negligent owner for sure


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## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

I'm so sorry, I commend you for trying to give him a bigger tank, but sadly some people just don't care about the health of their fish  

"'bonded' with him while he was on hallucinogenics" is the stupidest excuse I've ever heard too, I understand your frustrations


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I had the same situation with my daughter's old school's "classroom pets." The teacher didn't care for fish much and would have given him away if she could, but they had a policy that the classrooms needed a live animal. She followed the care she was told to follow. I did the best I could do, bought it a plant and gave them some high quality food. I also donated a 1 gallon tank, which they used for the next fish. Since it was a classroom of 4 year olds, a larger glass container was out of the question.


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## CrystalBall (Oct 17, 2015)

Good news everyone! Also, some bad news, I think. He told me today that my passion for Bettas made him want to step up and care for his even better than I care for mine, and he started asking me a ton of questions about cycling, and how to treat the fin rot his veiltail Betta has, so I told him all I knew.

Then, he tells me. He tells me he got another tank, same as my 5.5 gallon tank, and he got a double tail Betta from his LFS that had been there for months, and sent me pictures of it. It seems that his new tank is heated and filtered, so maybe that's a start for him.

Two Bettas for someone who couldn't care for one a few days ago? I have a bad feeling. He got excited because his new Betta's colors came back and sent me a before and after.


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## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

Well I can only hope his sudden passion for caring for his betta(s) will stick with him. At least it seems like he's trying to be better about it now! He probably shouldn't have got the second one, but hey, as long as he's serious about caring for it.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

Oh well that is always good to hear. Is the plan to split the 5.5 gallon tank for both of them? it is a good looking fish, he will look even better with proper care and time.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

I'd suggest dividing the 5.5 to get his first fish out of the tiny container.


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## CrystalBall (Oct 17, 2015)

I don't think he's going to split it, he has his first Betta in the 2.5 gallon I gave him, and the new Betta is in the 5.5. He got a Tetra Whisper 3i for it, and I gave him the heater I had in it when I gave him the tank.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

oh ya i forgot you said u gave him a 2.5 which is big enough, well I hope all goes well


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## Tropicalbetty (Jul 13, 2015)

That is good news....three Cheers. Hopefully he will get addicted in a good way and come 'Under Their Spell'. Lol like the rest of us.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

Maybe after seeing the new one color up he realized they thrive in big, clean, warm, water?


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I thought maybe his Bettas would be okay, but I have an update. 

1) He hadn't changed the water for either tank since that day

2) Now he wants to get a female to breed them 'just for fun' and then kill the offspring

3) He took plants out of his backyard and put them in the 5.5 gallon tank because 'they look pretty' 

I give up. Poor fish, they're doomed. I think I may just give him $20 for both of them next time I go up there and divide my 10g three ways. He won't ever deny money. I mean, seriously. Look at this conversation!


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## Lilalein (Nov 11, 2015)

This just makes me want to cry, poor bettas. I hope you can convince him to give the bettas to you, they will end up dead with him. People like this should not have pets, at all.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

This is animal abuse. I would contact the proper authorities since they do care about fish. But that's just me.


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## MissLibby (Jul 8, 2015)

I'm sorry. This is a really difficult situation. if you can, go ahead and try to get the fish from him. 

SiameseFightingArt, unfortunately I don't think there are any authorities that would take care of bettas. I'm pretty positive that Bettas are not protected under the animal welfare act.

It's great that you are trying to help a betta.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

You can always try


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## Yonzy (Nov 26, 2015)

I don't know how old are you and your friend, but just give him the money and take the bettas, and in my honest opinion, you should not be friends with people like him. It just says a lot about his personality, its one thing to not be informed about something, and its another to get pets just to hurt them.


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## Tropicalbetty (Jul 13, 2015)

Awwwmee Ï agree with the previous post shows no responsibility. Hope you can get them!!!


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I don't think authorities will do anything about two Betta fish, there are a lot more important things to deal with in their opinion, like shooting family dogs. (Touchy subject for me, don't like animal control or the authorities too much right now)

I'm 20, and he's 25. He is kind of a scumbag. He was actually a really good guy, until he started smoking and taking LSD. Now, our 'friendship' is more me needing rides, and him needing gas money.

As for buying them from him, he wants $100 for them and the 2.5 and 5.5 gallon tanks. I don't have that kind of money to spend on Bettas right now, I've already spent too much on 3 tanks of my own.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Tourmaline said:


> I don't think authorities will do anything about two Betta fish, there are a lot more important things to deal with in their opinion, like shooting family dogs. (Touchy subject for me, don't like animal control or the authorities too much right now)
> 
> I'm 20, and he's 25. He is kind of a scumbag. He was actually a really good guy, until he started smoking and taking LSD. Now, our 'friendship' is more me needing rides, and him needing gas money.
> 
> As for buying them from him, he wants $100 for them and the 2.5 and 5.5 gallon tanks. I don't have that kind of money to spend on Bettas right now, I've already spent too much on 3 tanks of my own.


Hey there, how are things? I'm new to the forum and just read this, and honestly my heart is breaking as I read. Not only is this person abusive towards his pets, I also fear that he has... well, issues. A normal person does NOT say "I will kill live animals LOL" out of the blue. Even for a joke. This person needs help, not victims. Set up a bake sale or a GoFundMe page or something like that if you can and get those fishes off his hands. I know I sound pushy by now but I suggest you stay away from this person :-( like I said, normal folks don't just say they want to kill live animals


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

Seren27 said:


> Hey there, how are things? I'm new to the forum and just read this, and honestly my heart is breaking as I read. Not only is this person abusive towards his pets, I also fear that he has... well, issues. A normal person does NOT say "I will kill live animals LOL" out of the blue. Even for a joke. This person needs help, not victims. Set up a bake sale or a GoFundMe page or something like that if you can and get those fishes off his hands. I know I sound pushy by now but I suggest you stay away from this person :-( like I said, normal folks don't just say they want to kill live animals


-Incoming rant-​I don't think it's completely his fault, he wasn't raised knowing how to care for pets. He had a kitten at one point, it could barely walk, just opened its eyes, and he was feeding it cow milk and dry food. I told him he needed to feed her kitten formula and stop feeding her that garbage, and he just kept giving her cow milk. Then, his mother threw the kitten in the garbage.. While it was alive. He found it crying in the garbage outside before the truck came, luckily unharmed. He had to give her away. With that kind of influence around him, I'm not surprised he's heartless towards animals. He's very ignorant about pets in general. I tell him how to properly do something, and he swears he's right and I'm wrong. I told him not to play fight with my dog when my dog doesn't know him, or talk loud to me, and he got bit and scarred for life. But no, I'm wrong, my dog that I've raised since puppyhood was just playing with him. He's stubborn, and since his fish haven't died yet he swears they're happy and he can communicate with them. If anything is wrong with this guy, it's because of poor parenting and drugs, and it's very sad to witness. I've known him for well over a year now, I lived with him for 2 months after losing my apartment, and nothing I've done or said has been able to change how he thinks about the world. He's a conspiracy nut, idolizes anonymous, swears the government is trying to control and/or kill everyone. God, I hate some people. But, I feel like people have failed him, so I can't hate him, I should hate what got him to this point.
-Rant over-​As much as I want to help his Bettas, I don't have the space or money for two more. I think my mother would be pissed, and I don't know anyone who would take them and care for them properly if I did manage to get them. I could probably find someone on here, but I'm uncomfortable shipping two abused Bettas off somewhere.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Tourmaline said:


> -Incoming rant-​I don't think it's completely his fault, he wasn't raised knowing how to care for pets. He had a kitten at one point, it could barely walk, just opened its eyes, and he was feeding it cow milk and dry food. I told him he needed to feed her kitten formula and stop feeding her that garbage, and he just kept giving her cow milk. Then, his mother threw the kitten in the garbage.. While it was alive. He found it crying in the garbage outside before the truck came, luckily unharmed. He had to give her away. With that kind of influence around him, I'm not surprised he's heartless towards animals. He's very ignorant about pets in general. I tell him how to properly do something, and he swears he's right and I'm wrong. I told him not to play fight with my dog when my dog doesn't know him, or talk loud to me, and he got bit and scarred for life. But no, I'm wrong, my dog that I've raised since puppyhood was just playing with him. He's stubborn, and since his fish haven't died yet he swears they're happy and he can communicate with them. If anything is wrong with this guy, it's because of poor parenting and drugs, and it's very sad to witness. I've known him for well over a year now, I lived with him for 2 months after losing my apartment, and nothing I've done or said has been able to change how he thinks about the world. He's a conspiracy nut, idolizes anonymous, swears the government is trying to control and/or kill everyone. God, I hate some people. But, I feel like people have failed him, so I can't hate him, I should hate what got him to this point.
> -Rant over-​As much as I want to help his Bettas, I don't have the space or money for two more. I think my mother would be pissed, and I don't know anyone who would take them and care for them properly if I did manage to get them. I could probably find someone on here, but I'm uncomfortable shipping two abused Bettas off somewhere.


Of course. Sorry I came across harsh. I was just worried mostly. Where are you located? Can you put up an ad for someone local to pick them up? If you do find someone to take them in I don't mind footing the adoption fee.


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## SiameseFightingArt (Jun 17, 2014)

That sucks man  I know that animal control in my state would do something since they rescued 7 goldfish from a 10g before.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I went to his house today to pick up some stuff I left there a few months ago and a Windows 7 disc, and I noticed his red crowntail, which I remembered as a veiltail for some reason, has what looks like a tumor under his mouth.

I couldn't convince him to give him to me, he kept insisting he was fine. I offered to give him $50 for the tank and the fish and he still said no, when he agreed to it before that. He looks really bad.. 

The double tail he recently got looks fine for the most part, but I know for a fact his water conditions are horrible. I gave him my extra bottle of water conditioner and told him if he wasn't going to accept my advice, at least use that.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Oh gee. Let's just hope he at least uses the dechlorinator. Sometimes there's just nothing else you can do.


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## Tropicalbetty (Jul 13, 2015)

At least you keep trying to come to the aid of his fish and make him listen. Wish he would stop being in denial. Sadly it seems to fall on deaf ears!!


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