# My cruelty.



## MustardGas (Apr 22, 2010)

I found some pictures from about a year and a half ago, when I knew next to nothing about betta care. I'd just taken Roscoe home. I feel so bad! He looks really nice in these pictures, though, and I was doing 100% water changes 3x/week, but that's still horrid. My poor boy!!

Thankfully now the little bugger's in a nice 7 gallon, after I had some sense knocked into me 

Let's do a comparison:
Before:



















My poor guy ended up being a tail-biter. I feel so horrible for making him live like this D:









NOW:

















The most recent picture I have of the tank:









I made him live like this for four months, and I'm surprised he lived this long. Even back then I was working at PetSmart and actually, truly believed that's how a betta was supposed to live. I feel like such an awful person, because I was what everyone hates. I was a dumb pet store associate who knew nothing about what they were selling.

I was such a bad betta mommy ):


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## SleepyRN (Nov 4, 2009)

Eh, awesome looking fish!

You live and learn. Hopefully you are taking care of the Betta's at your store now, eh?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Pretty boy! How is your other guy that had no tail doing?


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## sjones (Apr 28, 2010)

awesome tank!!!! love the live plants! great job!


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## Alienbetta1 (May 9, 2010)

Great job for getting him out of the little tank.=D


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## MustardGas (Apr 22, 2010)

Toothless is doing well  I'll have to grab a picture of him soon, his tail's growing back ever so slightly.

Yeah, I try to teach people but they just won't listen. At PetSmart we have policies and procedures we have to follow, and I think we have to say that the bettas can go in bowls. I don't tell people that, obviously.


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## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

I have 16 bettas all in bowls (a lot of them rescues I've mended up in said cruel bowls) and I don't view it as cruelty. Doesn't seem like they mind it either considering how healthy they are since I took them in.


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## MustardGas (Apr 22, 2010)

I guess it's more opinion and specific cases than anything. Sure, some bettas get extremely stressed in larger tanks and must be kept in bowls. My boy clearly wasn't happy, and I didn't have the knowledge to be able to fix it. I was being cruel to him by not giving him the space he craved (tail biting). In general, bowls aren't a suitable home unless you know what you're doing. You do, I didn't, that's why I feel so bad.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

MG.. are the plants in your tank live? and if so what is that gorgeous thing in the background on Roscoe's side of the tank? I've been looking for something like that for my 10 gallon.


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## TheJadeBetta (Mar 31, 2010)

Ooh...what color is he? O.O


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## MustardGas (Apr 22, 2010)

1f2f- Yep, all live! And that's a massive Amazon Sword that I bought at about 4 inches tall. Darn thing exploded in my tank so I gave it to my manager at work for his 50. 

JadeBetta- Closest thing I can compare him to is Mustard Gas. Extremely dark brown body with yellow fins (sometimes outlined in black.. Depends on how it grows back after tearing/biting it).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TheJadeBetta (Mar 31, 2010)

Okay. I had one just like him minus the dark outline on the fins.


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## Pixierella (Jul 15, 2010)

Wow, Roscoe looks almost exactly like my Half Moon Poseidon! That's pretty cool


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