# My Thoughts on "Rescuing" Betta Fish



## jasmine8 (Jul 29, 2014)

Here is my little rant on people who claim to "rescue" betta fish from a "stores disgusting conditions":

Since joining this forum I have seen many posts from fish-lovers who are claiming to have "rescued" a fish from Walmart or some petstore. By purchasing a betta fish from a place where they are treated poorly, without speaking out about the problem that you see, you are merely SUPPORTING the awful treatment of the fish and making the company profit more. I'm sure most everyone has seen a betta fish laying in a tiny container with all of the un-eaten food and fish poop collecting at the bottom of the cup along with the sick betta. Although it is sickening to see, do not give in to buying him or her without speaking up. 

If people who care about the well-being of animals continue to buy fish living in their own filth, companies will never start respecting the fish that they are selling. By asking an employee to speak to the manager of the store you are making a difference. Speaking to the employees of the store also helps, but the manager will have a more direct impact to the complaint. By voicing your thoughts you may also be suggested by the manager to take the fish free of charge.

By purchasing a sick betta that is not being kept in proper health is not helping anything except for that one particular fish. But you ARE helping the business, by telling them that the way they care for their fish is unacceptable. By doing this (and if enough people complain), the company will hopefully make a change, and will result in saving more betas each year that would otherwise have died. 

If you have complained to a store about the treatment of their animals, good for you! You have made a difference. If you have not, I, along with many others would suggest you do.

Thanks for listening to my rant!! It's just been on my mind lately


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## BerryBlue256 (Apr 25, 2014)

I think the exact same way!


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## Reccka (Jul 20, 2014)

I've actually read from someone who works for (I think) Petco, and they said at their specific store, they get a set amount of bettas shipped in regardless of how well they're selling. So there's that to go off of. They're going to keep getting more fish whether they sell or not unless sales end completely.

And to be frank, the amount of people who know of PROPER betta care is much less than the market that will be buying a betta for their kid or as a table decoration, killing it in 4 months, and coming back for another. THEY are the problem with the market. Until people educate themselves and do a LARGE boycott, not much is going to change and these fish will die either way. I say to keep rescuing these sick fish AND complain. At least in one of the scenarios, the fish lives happily. They can't help the circumstances they were born into and I personally feel it's wrong to essentially condemn them to death for where they're being sold. 

Making a point to these stores is a good thing, but not at the costs of lives in my opinion. Of course, if there's ever a mass-scale boycott, I'd join. But as of now, the small amount of people here and on other fish forums not buying them won't do much. These places are the minority of sales.


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## Reccka (Jul 20, 2014)

Oops. Just re-read and it seems like buy AND complain is what you were saying.  My apologies. It seems I'm having reading comprehension issues today.


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## jasmine8 (Jul 29, 2014)

Reccka said:


> Oops. Just re-read and it seems like buy AND complain is what you were saying.  My apologies. It seems I'm having reading comprehension issues today.


Hahaha no worries :lol:


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## taquitos (Jun 27, 2013)

Yes, this is definitely not rescuing. Just like how people buying dogs/cats from pet stores that use mills is not "rescuing" them, just supporting the mills.


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## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

I agree, buying unhealthy fish is only adding to the problem. It's only when you start cutting into the profits they make off these fish that you are making a difference. I know I have been guilty of buying sick fish in the past because I am a bleeding heart and sometimes I am overwhelmed by emotion and the need to help the suffering animal. Most recently this happened with the Petco baby I purchased, solely to get it away from a rather nasty child.

A true rescue, though, is one where the fish is purchased for FAR less than the retail price, or else is taken for free. I have spoken to employees, to managers, to corporate offices, and it almost always nets me a particular fish either for free or for a few cents to a few dollars. The key is to speak firmly, but in a friendly tone, and to be knowledgeable. Managers respond much better to someone presenting facts and concerns than to an angry customer who is ranting about the store's treatment of fish. It's important to remember that these are people, too, and while they work for the company, they as individuals are not the company. 

Fish rescuing is tricky business. They're not always going to be sitting out in a parking lot waiting for you haha. But I think it's important to remember to always behave responsibly and to never blame a particular person, even if placing blame might feel good. Talk to the employees, bring the issue to their attention, explain that you can help the fish, but you're not willing to pay for a sick fish. 9/10 times, they'll offer it to you either for a steep discount (a lot of employees can't give fish away for free, so they'll give you as much of a discount as they can), or get the manager, who has the power to give you the fish.


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I took a fish home once that I consider a rescue. It was 3AM and after waiting 45 minutes on a manager, or heck, an assistant manager, or even just a random employee that had a brain cell and could GET a manager, I bought the poor guy and took him home. And then promptly emailed corporate and ripped into them. Got a call back from the assistant manager 2 days later. Went in a week later, and was again horrified. I emailed corporate AGAIN, and 2 days later I'd been promoted to getting calls from the store manager. So, I paid for a fish that i probably could have gotten for free (if I'd been willing to waste even more time in the store) and they made a bit of profit. I'd still do it again to get Loki out of those conditions.
Yes, conditions need to change, and yes, we just might facilitate it. But, how many fish must die while we protest?


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

Speaking as an employee at a corporate pet store - there is supply where there is demand.
Meaning - as long as people keep asking for bettas and buying bettas at our store, we will keep ordering them in. We probably sell 30-50 bettas in a month. Some customers who have multiple tanks, some first time buyers. 

My manager and I try very hard to educate customers on the proper care of bettas, and do our best to keep the ones in store as healthy as we can (with the limited resources we are given). We are saddened when a betta is purchased by a customer who refuses to listen to our advice - but we are not allowed to refuse a customer the opportunity to buy a fish. In head office's eyes - it's just a fish. Our foster cats need a background check for adoption, but fish are "just fish".

It's a bit of a lost cause unfortunately since there will always be a demand for bettas in pet stores. Even if all of us on this forum agreed to never buy from a pet store again, there would still be hundreds of people who would. You would be surprised at how many people have the mentality of "there are more where that came from" and see fish as disposable creatures.

I wouldn't have any bettas if it were not for my store selling them. All 10 of my boys are store bought. I try my best to think of how happy my boys are, and use them as examples for customers. However, you can never convince every single person that these creatures deserve proper care...

That being said - I do not agree with how pet stores care for their fish. Even speaking as a customer, with or without fish knowledge, it's unsightly to see a dead or dying betta sitting on the shelf in dirty water, or a tank of fish feasting on a fellow fish's corpse.
Speaking from personal experience - my manager and I had no idea how quickly ammonia builds up in the display cups until I tested it with a liquid test kit. We use to change 100% the water every other day, and the water still looked crystal clear, but now we change the water every day now to keep our bettas as healthy as we can (with our limited resources...).

At the end of the day, we can rant as much as we want about the lack of care for fish in stores and at some people's homes, but the people running the show just see dollar signs instead of fish, and it's highly unlikely that it will change unless they start to lose money, which is equally as unlikely.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I think there are two kinds of rescues: the rescues that help the individual fish and those that help bettas as a whole. Purchasing a sick fish at normal retail price would fall into the first catagory, while complaining and getting a discounted/free fish would fall into the second. I still think that both qualify as some sort of "rescue" since a fish that would have died gets a second chance at life, but I only advocate the second option for the reasons already stated.

However, here is another thought that must be considered. I believe that anyone who truly cares enough about bettas to feel compelled to buy an ill betta from a store is an asset to our cause as compassionate fishkeepers. My reasoning is that this person undoubtedly speaks to others about their rescue, and while this may not lead to a direct benefit, I do believe that it could lead to a slow change in mindset in the general population. The more that people are exposed to individuals who truly care for their fish, the more it will become commonplace. It has already been stated numerous times that stores are profit-driven, but it is consumers, "the masses" if you will, who represent the largest source of profit, not the scattered few betta advocates. If we can change the mind of the general public regarding proper betta care through the expression of our thoughts, then we will have the number of supporters necessary for a real change. For this reason, I would rather see a "bleeding heart" betta owner than one who has become hardened to the abuse (this is not aimed at anyone here). Heck, I'm a sucker myself, I just have enough gall to complain to management until I get what I came for, but not everyone can be so assertive and I don't fault them for that. Being verbally belligerent is definitely not my forte, but I do manage to get my point across when lives are at stake, and I think my two boys are happy for that 

In my mind, holding on to that compassion is the most important thing an animal-lover can do. Keeping indifference at bay is my utmost concern, both as it relates to bettas and as it relates to my studies in veterinary medicine. I have seen many who have lost their compassion, and that truly is a horrible shame, being detrimental to everyone involved.


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## ZeesTyphoon (Jan 3, 2014)

I have to agree with Kim. Whether you buy it or get it free, it's still a rescued fish to a degree. And if those people who talk about their rescue fish, whether bought or discounted/free, to their friends happen to change someones mind then it's a great step forward! 

I recently got a rescue fish. Cute little girl from walmart who had been dumped in another cup with another female who tore her up. I talked to the manager of the pet section and he agreed to let me have her for free. I've talked about her and posted lots of pictures of her progress on my facebook and already had THREE friends message me interested in getting into PROPER fish keeping and asked me for help getting started. I'm always posting about the silly things my fish do, and I have friends ask about this or that and say they never knew that when I answer. It's a great feeling knowing you've changed some ones mind with your rescue fish. I don't think that would change if the fish was paid for or given away for free.


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## Khloe (Aug 2, 2014)

TOTALLY AGREE ALSO PLZ JOIN MY GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/277131862474761/?fref=nf


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## averyecho (May 2, 2014)

That's one of those things that's hard to say. I used to have this plakat, Spirit. He was hanging on by a thread when I found him. You know what I did? I paid full price for him and took him home. Although that doesn't really qualify as a "rescue", it did give one fish a chance that no one else would give, which is what I think rescuing should be about.
The problem is, we can't win either way. If we buy the fish, or even just haggle to get it for free, in the company's eyes it still means people want bettas. If we don't buy bettas at all, there will always be that one guy who buys a betta and the whole thing will start all over again. We can never stop people buying fish. It's just a fact. What we can do is work to improve the conditions they're kept in. Trying to stop sales altogether would be nearly impossible.


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

averyecho said:


> The problem is, we can't win either way. If we buy the fish, or even just haggle to get it for free, in the company's eyes it still means people want bettas. If we don't buy bettas at all, there will always be that one guy who buys a betta and the whole thing will start all over again. We can never stop people buying fish. It's just a fact. What we can do is work to improve the conditions they're kept in. Trying to stop sales altogether would be nearly impossible.


Couldn't have said it better myself.
The way I see it - when I'm at work and I see a betta who I cannot bare the thought of him going to a home where he will not be taken care of - I end up buying him. It's how I ended up with 10 bettas :lol:
The way I see it, I am saving him from an ill fate since I know I will spend the time and money to take care of him for the rest of his life. However, "rescuing" one betta will not rescue them all. I'm sure everyone on this site is aware of that fact.

Try to not be discouraged by that fact. We can try to educate stores and their employees who can then reach out and educate customers - but there will always be those people who will not listen. I, as a pet store employee, have turned some people off of the idea of keeping bettas, since my explanation makes them sound like "too much work", but there are still those customers who will not listen and buy a betta anyways.
So I take heart in the fact that there are people in this world, like those on this website, who take time, and money, to pick up these poor creatures and give them a good life. Seeing that warms my heart every time  The definition of "rescue" can be a blurred line, but it's nothing to get worked up about. I say, just be glad someone out there is helping save a life, no matter if they paid full price or not.


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## Pippin (Apr 11, 2014)

I don't actually want the stores to stock bettas- just loose money on the awful betta tanks they are kept in. Because I know of a lot of people on this site who brought a betta at a pet store, but also went and brought the correct tank. Hopefully if we can get enough people who like bettas to do that, they won't sell betta bowls, and maybe that would teach more people about betta care.


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

I think it's safe to say bettas are basically invite fishies for would-be aquarists so they'll always be aquarium staples to lure in potential hobbyists. As others have said, unless there's a mass boycott or it becomes illegal to treat bettas and other aquarium fish in less than ideal conditions, they're always going to be there. 

For my part, I can't stop people/businesses from selling sick fish, selling overpriced deformed fish that should've been culled, etc. However, if I want to put my money in the right person's pocket, the only way to do that is to get informed - what is being sold to me, how rare is it and is the price within reason, is it healthy, etc. If I have to care about ethics as far as animal handling goes, I will go to a breeder or my go-to LFS that does more frequent water changes.


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I bought mine. However, I took pictures of him at the store, at home right after, the ammonia readings on HIS water (and then the water in his new tank), as well as pictures of him 1,2 , and 4 weeks out. I shared these pictures with the manager of my Walmart where I bought him. He couldn't believe it was the same fish. No massive changes have been made yet, just smaller ones (like more water changes in those stupid cups). However, he has said that he intends to take this to the meeting of the corporate walmart gathering and present it. I told him, ideally of course, that Walmart should not be selling fish, as they aren't set up for it, but barring that, set aside 10 minutes every shift for an employee to change out the water on the bettas. Even if each shift only gets 10 betta waters changed, that's 30 fish a day (more than the usual stock of bettas at my Walmart) that get fresh water daily. 
Rescuing the individual fish is important. So is educating those in charge about basic care of bettas. Because face it, those that run the store are likely not heartless creatures. Just terribly, horribly misinformed. (ok, some of them are heartless buttheads, but you can't do anything about THOSE ppl but go over their heads)


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## Tinker144 (Jul 15, 2014)

I went to the pet store by my house yesterday looking for a filter and I felt so bad when I saw that the majority of their betta fish looked sickly. I didn't take any home with me but as someone who has multiple betta's, something like this pulls at your heartstrings. Unfortunately things won't change as long as the company is making a profit and by buying their fish, you are in a way directly supporting their cruel treatment of animals. :/

I purchased my first betta a little over a month ago (I'll admit; I purchased him from a pet store chain). However, when I got my little guy - I basically knew nothing about these fish and what kind of care they required. So I made it my mission to learn everything that I can when it comes to their needs so that I can give my fish a good and happy life. The problem is not everyone is going to take the time to read up and learn about their fish and be responsible pet owners. In the same week that I got my little guy, I received four more male betta's. Simply because I heard about someone in my area who had a bunch of betta's that that particular person was basically "collecting" them but left them all in absolutely horrid conditions. Since then, they have all perked up and seem happy now that they have clean water and are no longer being extremely overfed. Not everyone looks at fish as animals that we love and care about but disposable creatures that can just be "bought" once one dies because they are "just fish." :/


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

Tinker144 said:


> I purchased my first betta a little over a month ago (I'll admit; I purchased him from a pet store chain). However, when I got my little guy - I basically knew nothing about these fish and what kind of care they required.


I think this is one of the biggest problems too - these fish are dirt cheap (at least the pet stores ones). You can buy the fish and some flakes with some pocket money and recycle an old mayo jar.

It's not like a cat or a dog where you have to evaluate if you have enough space, time, money for food and vet bills, etc etc before getting.


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## Pippin (Apr 11, 2014)

How much money are the pet stores actually making per betta? Or is it all from the supplies?


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

Pippin said:


> How much money are the pet stores actually making per betta? Or is it all from the supplies?


Depends on your store and location. The Petland I've been in sells VT bettas for about $10, when I'm sure they are paying no more than $2 from their supplier.

My work sells our VTs for $5.99, and we mark up not only for the store to make money, and pay for the air line shipping, but also in hopes of deterring those customers who want a "cheap disposable fish for $0.99".

Then there are also the increase profit of the tank/bowl, food, decor, rocks, and the repeating sales of food and possibly a second or third betta.

It's the same with every animal in the pet store - first you get them hooked with the animal (hamster, fish, bird), then you direct them to the section where they spend most of their money on the habitat and accessories.

If you ask me, there is no shame on making money on sales, you have to make money to keep an business alive - it's all about the proper information about proper care. There is shame in giving wrong information and not caring of the animal's well being to make an extra dollar. My coworkers and I work hard to make sure our customers understand the proper care for the animals we sell. 

Honestly, I would not have a single betta if my store did not sell them - there's no way I would be able to afford to buy a betta off of Aquabid with shipping being around $80 for me...


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

I think a large part of it is to educate. Unfortunetly weather we rescue them or not as others have said their will still be a large amount of other people who will buy them not knowing how to properly care for them and in a few months it will pass and they'll most likely buy a new one. And there are those who work at the stores who don't know how to properly care for bettas. 

But I also think in some ways its kind of a loose loose situation at the moment. If you buy a "rescue" fish then you may be encouraging sales, but if you just leave them they will most likely pass away, and plenty of other bettas will still be purchesed by other people. 

That's why I also agree that saying something is good. If you say something to the manager or teach an employee what bettas need then hopefully they will make they change. As well as because they work for a store they will be passing on the proper information about bettas to their costumers.


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

I understand the education bit though to be fair, it should be the owner's jobs to be better educated. Every info they need is one Google search away add to that forums like this one where you can chat with fellow hobbyists.

I think people from both ends should be should be making the effort to improve.


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

I do agree with that. Any one getting any animal should always research and know what there getting into as well as how to properly care for their new animal. But unfortunetly there are a lot of people who wont do that or just believe what the petstore tells them about how to care for their animal. 

But that is true, both ends should make an effort. But I they might need a little nudge in the right direction.


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

Vergil said:


> I understand the education bit though to be fair, it should be the owner's jobs to be better educated. Every info they need is one Google search away add to that forums like this one where you can chat with fellow hobbyists.
> 
> I think people from both ends should be should be making the effort to improve.


I can totally agree on that. It's a bit frustrating, as a pet store employee, when customers come to me asking "What is the best pet for me?". How am I suppose to know what their day to day life is, and whether or not their lifestyle can support the life of the creature that may be great for me - not so much for them.

You would not believe the amount of times customers walk in, asking for multiple bettas. I've gotten all my co-workers into the habit of asking "Do you have separate tanks for these bettas"? simply because about 50% of the customers picking out bettas plan on putting them all in the same tank, without doing any research on them. They often do not even bother to ask an employee about the fish, they just pick them out, assuming they are "like every other fish".

I've worked hard at educating all of my co-workers, and they, in turn, educate the customers. I made pamphlets for my co-workers to hand out to customers with basic care guide and a basic needs check list for bettas. It's not hard to do, it's a matter of getting everyone on board.

But it is no lie that 9/10 customers do not research the animal they want to buy - they see it, they like it, and the buy it. Only finding out later what owning that pet is all about. This goes for fish, dogs, cats, rodents, birds, and reptiles - every animal you can imagine, someone has bought it without researching it first.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Good points everyone. It absolutely amazes me that - in the age of the computer, where information is literately at your fingertips - people still remain ignorant about the most simple concepts. Seriously, it would take about 15 minutes of one's time to learn the most basic and important aspects of keeping bettas; that's a heck of a lot less time than most people spend on social media websites each day. There is just no excuse!


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

_If you don't have the time to read about your pet, you don't have the time to care for it. _

I usually refer people to sites like this and ref pages when people ask about my pets. I basically say that to them when they tell me it's too tedious to read so much, build a big enclosure, it's too expensive to feed, etc...


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## jasmine8 (Jul 29, 2014)

Thank you all for giving me feedback on my post, I love hearing all of your opinions :-D


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

Ok I knw a bit how retail sales works in and out of bigbox to your local fish stores, most of these places make about nothing on the comon bettas, walmart sells a veiltail for like 5 bucks, I know for a fact they are marked up about 40% so the profit at wally is about 2 dollars, but walmart has a 90 day return policy.......with no need to have your water tested which most places that sell fish do and their return policy is 1-2 weeks at best. and believe me fish stores pet store etc that sells betta untill you get to ones where they sell for 20 dollars or more make very little on the fish. Why is that you ask? Well for the newbie to buy a fish they need a tank, gravel, food, water treatment, and decorations, so that 5 dollar walmart betta just cost them $20 or more usually closer to $50, now depending on the place, like our local petcos if I see a sick betta that I like the looks of and I see they are sick they will give them to me for 99 cents but petsmart will not nor will walmart, the mom and pop ones around here will not sell a sick fish to anyone and as with all of these businesses they are all looking for the up sell, the fish are the "bait" to get you to spend more money on the rest of the stuff and if you rescue a fish or not, they will not stop getting these fish. I want a mandarin goby badly but for me to have one I need a 75 gal tank with live coral, live sand, good lighting to support the coral and so one so this fish which is not all that cheap would end up costing me hmmmm well yeah a lot $500 or so and that's if I got everything as cheaply as I could and I doubt $500 would cover it..So the fish is NOT what they are selling it's the BAIT to get you to spend MORE...


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