There are total of three rescues in my care at this time. All were suffering some kind of infection due to poor water quality and conditions . As many betta lovers know something is just not sinking in with petshops and many other people in this world when it comes to the proper care of bettas. Delusions that bettas are happy in tiny, cold, unfiltered bowls have been widely spread throughout the world. In pet stores all over you see poor bettas suffering in tiny cups, so filled with rotting food and feces that they have trouble breathing, their tails are rotting off, and the water levels are so low sometimes that the poor fish have to lay on their sides just to stay covered. I have seen bettas kept in cups so tiny that they are forced to keep their bodies curved, the cups are too small for them to do something as simple as straightening out mad.
I don't know what's worse, how they're kept in stores or how people are told to keep them at home. It's commonly said that bettas love being in small spaces, that they're unhappy in anything bigger then like a 1/4 gallon, and they don't need filters or heaters because they're very hearty fish and are very hard to kill. The facts are that none of those statements are true. Bettas originated from rice paddies in southeast asia. These rice paddies may be shallow but are realitivly large and the bettas are free to swim from one to another. They are not confined to little 1/4gallon circles, so what makes people think thats what they would be happy in? rolleyes
I am on a mission to educate people throughout the country about the proper care of bettas. I will be running a rescue and rehabilitation center for these little guys and I will begin with educating local petstores around me.
I don't know what's worse, how they're kept in stores or how people are told to keep them at home. It's commonly said that bettas love being in small spaces, that they're unhappy in anything bigger then like a 1/4 gallon, and they don't need filters or heaters because they're very hearty fish and are very hard to kill. The facts are that none of those statements are true. Bettas originated from rice paddies in southeast asia. These rice paddies may be shallow but are realitivly large and the bettas are free to swim from one to another. They are not confined to little 1/4gallon circles, so what makes people think thats what they would be happy in? rolleyes
I am on a mission to educate people throughout the country about the proper care of bettas. I will be running a rescue and rehabilitation center for these little guys and I will begin with educating local petstores around me.
Anyways, good idea, spreading the word! 
But, yet, people just stick 'em in bowls, they survive a few months, or maybe even a year (although I know one person who kept it in a bowl & changed the water once a week & it survived for like 6 years.... They got it when they were 3.... And then they went on a 1-week vacation and their aunt supposedly "gave it away to a poor little kid who didn't have any pets" while they were gone!! I mean, it's obvious that the fish died of starvation; no need to sugar-coat it!!), and then, they think that's a normal lifestyle, and get a new one!!
Lots of things to explore, and a good, large tank. 
'Convicted for 4 murder's He was. 
