# bettas sold in jars - is it cruel?



## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

I've read the thread about the size tanks for bettas, and that they can survive in small water areas for a time. They sell them in small jars which seems to me to be way too small a size for the fish to be comfortable. Do you think that it's a cruel practice? (If it is, I don't want to buy one and foster the practice.) Thanks for any opinions.


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

IMO yes it is cruel, but tons of pet stores keep them in the small cups and vases and I doubt it'll change. We can't tell them how to run their business, but we can speak to the managers and e-mail people and give them tips. A lot of people on here have complained about things like dirty water in the cups, dead fish left on the counters, only a couple inches of water in the cups etc. I personally like getting fish who don't look so good and after I put them in a much bigger tank, I can tell they're in heaven. They look at me like they're saying "thank you".

I got Jasper at Walmart and he looked so sick and unhappy. Not even a day had passed and he colored up almost immediately. I knew that he was going to die if I didn't save him. I hope you don't mind, I'm going to show you pictures of him when I got him and a couple days later. He's my little special boy.lol


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## kelly528 (Aug 31, 2009)

Yeah its not the greatest practice. I can understand that where they are sold in great volume it is not always feasible to have a separate tank per betta, but what REALLY bugs me is that they never even clean the cups.

Fortunately Australia and the UK in particular seem to have it together for the most part with regards to ethical sale of bettas and I have no doubts that there is a pet store local to you who keeps bettas in a drip-system tank.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I think if they'd keep the water clean and got little bit bigger cups, it'd be fine. It's not permanent housing.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree. If the cups were a decent size and if they were kept clean then it wouldn't be so bad.


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## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

We say it isn't "permanent housing", but unfortunately a large percentage of these fish live in these small containers for weeks on end....possibly months (if they survive that long and don't die first). It's so sad to see.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I agree with DH.. it is the most economical way for the stores to keep the fish. Breeders keep fish Jarred.. albiet in bigger jars. As long as the water quality was better cared for and the cups were slightly bigger I would have no problem with it.

As for the comment above.. that isn't a size issue.. that is a issue of buying more than they can sell in a suitable amount of time.

Unless a store was setup with a drip system specifically designed for bettas there is no other way for large commercial stores to sell them. Now my LFS that keeps bettas in tiny tiny cups and only has like 7 at a time could definitely set something up but they choose not to... that is different.


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## kelly528 (Aug 31, 2009)

I overheard a dad (2 boys in tow, both with bettas) asking the cashier at petsmart if they could keep the bettas in the cups they came in :|


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thats sad. I looked at the petsmart caresheet and it was horrible. I'd planned on starting a thread about it. It said it was ok to keep one betta in 1 liter (quart) tank


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

My Petsmart changes the water in those cups twice a week, or so the girl told me.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I think thats right. If they changed it daily the fish would be much healthier


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

1fish2fish said:


> I think thats right. If they changed it daily the fish would be much healthier


Yes, they WOULD be healthier.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I don't see why they don't.. it would take maybe an hour at most each day to do that.. I know the fish section is not busy during the day.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Or at least every other day! I saw them cleaning the cups once... they were NOT being careful!!!!!!! AT ALL! I wanted to go over there and clean all the cubs gently! I also wanted to ask them something, but they were talking to each other and not even paying attention to anything other then that.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah.. they don't have the best customer service. Another thing they could do is only feed once a week.. sounds harsh but some breeders do that and have very healthy fish. Feeding weekly would help lower the amount of ammonia produced and prolong the life of the fish because the levels would be lower. I'm not sure how often they feed the fish at the stores.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'll have to ask at my Petsmart how often they feed the fish. I was thinking once a day.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm not sure.. the fish usually have a lot of food but that doesn't mean that they are feeding daily.. they could just be feeding weekly and over feeding.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I also saw them feeding, and they were dumping about 7 pellets in each cup. :-?


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## glassmouse (Feb 17, 2010)

Petco told me the same twice a week routine but I haven't seen it.


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

BettaXfishXcrazyX-
Wow! Dramatic change!!!!!!!!


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

Yes they would be healthier.


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## JaspersANGEL (Oct 12, 2009)

on sunday I went to my petcetera, well I'll go there from now on, not only did I see an orange dalmation there but they have their bettas in the Hagen's Marina Betta Kit, these: http://www.petco.com/product/106656...a Betta Kit with Reversible Background-106656
they had 9 betta's, it's still not ideal, but it's a start, so Congrats to the petcetera in Orleans!!


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## serenityroyal (Mar 8, 2010)

The petsmart I live by sometimes puts their bettas in the tanks with the other fish, and if they have to stay in those cups, they change they water. Though the keep them in this odd blue colored water. I don't know if that actually helps the fish or not.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

The water is blue because it's medicated with methylene blue.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. 


kelly528 said:


> Fortunately Australia and the UK in particular seem to have it together for the most part with regards to ethical sale of bettas and I have no doubts that there is a pet store local to you who keeps bettas in a drip-system tank.


They seem to all be in little jars, that's why I was asking. I think the only thing to do is not buy and create the market for them to be sold like that. If I can find one that isn't being so closely confined, I might get one. 


BettaxFishxCrazy said:


> I hope you don't mind, I'm going to show you pictures of him when I got him and a couple days later. He's my little special boy.lol


I don't mind at all; I love looking at fish pictures. You did wonders with him.


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## doubleatheman (Mar 3, 2010)

dramaqueen said:


> The water is blue because it's medicated with methylene blue.


This is one of the reasons I went for the petsmart Betta. 

The petsmart Bettas looked healthier to me, they had less poop on the bottom of the cup. The Petsmart cups are slightly larger and taller than the other cups. 

Also Petsmart is the only store that actually has staff whom cares and knows about fish in my area. She always asks me how big the tank is, if the water is ok, if its heated ect ect.  

Petco bettas had gone atleast a week without a change...  At mine. 

At Walmart I have to look the other way.... their Bettas get zero attention.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

I got one today from the aquarium shop. Each fish had a little "mini-tank" of his own. They could swim around in them, so I was happy to buy one from there. He looks a bit sorry for himself, but hopefully he'll perk up and be ok. 

Thanks again for the replies.


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Wow, that's great! The closest Petco near me takes great care of their bettas. I rarely see a dirty cup. It's probably because the guy who works in the fish section all the time has bettas and loves them.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

I just hope he's not sick. He seemed a bit droopy and he's now lying on the bottom tucked in behind the filter (I've just googled and read that they can sleep on the bottom, so hopefully that's all he's doing - I freaked out when I saw my guppies doing it until I realized they were asleep.) You have to have nerves of steel to get fish, if you're a natural worrywort like me! (He did eat, though, so that's good.)


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## ScuitoAmi150 (Nov 19, 2009)

Some of these bettas have to live in these cups for a really long time....I was in petco like two weeks ago and saw an adorable little female betta. Went back yesterday and she was still there (I'm almost 100% sure that was the same fish)


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

If they don't get selected, they could be there indefinitely (or until they die from their conditions). If they start looking poor because of the conditions then they are less likely to be selected. I find it sad.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The petsmart I got demetri from (where almost all the other fish were almost dead/dieing) made a 180 and has started putting bettas in a few of the tanks and the water looked really clean and the fish looked nice... matter of fact thats the petsmart I just got my new guy from. The other fish looked healthier too.


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## ScuitoAmi150 (Nov 19, 2009)

One of my mom's friends might be working at Petco as the manager so I'm going to tell him how disgusting the betta cups are so MAYBE he can at least make the people in the fish department clean those cups.


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## cyndi (Jan 19, 2010)

the petsmart near me feeds em once a week, normally when the new ones come in. they do a water change at that time too. i find the cup practice to be very cruel and cringe when i over hear people talkin about how small the tanks or bowls they are gonna keep the fish in are.

the care guides are approved by vets and often written by vets. the info is normally outdated and useless. they need to overhaul all of their careguides, but corporate america will take their time and probably not do it any time soon. so, millions of people will recieve misinformtion because the 'experts' told them this or that was what the needed to do.


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## Betta Fish Bob (Dec 31, 2009)

I recently saw a youtube video with a cool betta fish, so I messaged the owner, and we chatted.

She says it is illegal in Sweden to house bettas in cups or jars! She was blown away when I told her how they are treated in pet stores here in the U.S.

I am glad that at least some countries care about the welfare of their pets.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

Betta Fish Bob said:


> She was blown away when I told her how they are treated in pet stores here in the U.S.


And here in Australia as well. I'd like to see a minimum size imposed (bigger than a small jar). Just because you *can* keep bettas in tiny containers doesn't mean you *should.* They should get enough room to move around properly, at least. 

When I heard that they had regulations in Sweden, I made a phone call to the RSPCA to tell them that I'd support regulations being introduced here. They don't cover fish. Then I rang the Fisheries Department, but they didn't cover it and gave me another number, but that number only deals with illegal fishing, not fish welfare issues. There doesn't seem to be any department that deals with fish welfare. So then I rang the Minister for Fisheries' office and said that they need to sort out some department to oversee fish welfare issues.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

The Petsmarts here seem to be okay about keeping the water clean. They have the blue medication (which is just laziness imo) in all the cups, but they're generally pretty clean.

Didn't know that about Sweden though! My aunt just moved there, actually. I should tell her to go take a look and tell me how it is.


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## doubleatheman (Mar 3, 2010)

The local store here, before it went out of business (thats what happen when petco gets built 2 doors down , but that happens to growing towns)

They kept each Betta in a clear view thing that would hang inside of the tanks of their other fish, and the Betta would get fresh water from the tank. Yeah the size of space they had to swim in was about the same as the cups, they had all the circulating water from the 25gallon tank they were in. 

I think the devices they were using were originally developed to keep fry in.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The methalyne blue is actually a good thing.. it helps keep the fish calm and prevents disease.. with all the people that come in and out and pic the fish up and turn them around etc, etc, I would want something in the cups to keep the fish calm.

The MB doesn't keep the water any cleaner its just to help the fish.


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## Maryrox247 (Aug 10, 2009)

serenityroyal said:


> The petsmart I live by sometimes puts their bettas in the tanks with the other fish, and if they have to stay in those cups, they change they water. Though the keep them in this odd blue colored water. I don't know if that actually helps the fish or not.


My local petsmart has blue water too and when i asked them why it was blue they said it was fortified with vitamins and nutrients? Anyway i mainly shop at Theresa's Country Pet. They have their bettas in cups but they take decent caqre of them. The cups have a good amount of water in them and some males even got little bubblenests going! The only thing i dont like is that they dont really have females unless you ask them to order some. I did find one dead one the other day and when i showed the ladey she was like "oh" and she took the cup and took it to the back. Thats the only time i got upset. They really do know what they are talking about. ( Except the guy said i could have 28 females in my 20 gallon..)


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