Bad Betta

[White Whale]

I would have been more than happy to take the fiesty critter off his hands. If he knows how to pack them, I would have paid for the postage.
He probably only had limited options at the time.

 

[KnuckleHead]

Ok people think of it in this way. We all consider fish as pets correct? Lets say one of our pets, be it a dog, cat, moose or jackalope, turns and start killing all the other fuzzy little cute pets we have. What would be the best course of action? To put the pet down of course. Taking it back to the pet store so it could wreak havoc on some other unwary buyers pets doesnt sound like a good idea. Im sure andy didnt come to his decision lightly. Lets give him support for doing what he thinks is the best option.

 

[Lithril]

Well said Knucklehead, if a dog turns savage most people put it down not give it away. Anyone considered that the lfs may not want the fish back or he doesn't have room for another tank no matter how small??? I think this thread is possibly going a bit far we're meant to be encouraging newbies not frightening them away by jumping down their throats, he did what he felt was right at the time.

 

[aquamanis]

Way to go Andy. I am laughing at these self declared animal rights people, the same ones that keep fish in 1 gal jails!

 

[wuvmybetta]

Way to go Andy. I am laughing at these self declared animal rights people, the same ones that keep fish in 1 gal jails!

A forum is about expressing opinions & different points of view, Andy posted with expectations of responses and he got them, there's no reason to assume he's leaving , and there's also no reason to insult people and degrade the way they keep fish in defense of another, I know alot of people here go out of their way to assure that their bettas are happy. So let's try to be mature.

Now just because I and some others disagree with the choice,it's not the end of the world. As someone mentioned about the dogs...my very oldest and dear best friend is very much a country girl, and I can't tell you how many times she'd tell me they had to kill a dog because it chased/killed a chicken or something of that sort but,ya know,that's just the way she sees things

My lfs had a man come in a while back...he wanted a cichlid but they told him over & over that it wouldn't get along with his current stock, he insisted so they sold it to him, he calls the next day and asks if he can bring it back, it didn't work out and the fish was badly beaten, they said sure. He lived 60 miles away and shows up with this large fish in a tupperware bowl looking terrible, Mr.Ly (shopkeeper) immediately starts getting a tank to put him in & some meds, in the meantime the guy asks for his money back, Mr Ly says "uuhhh,no, look at this fish he's nothing like he was when he left here,he's barely alive from the bowl" they guy insists and then demands the fish back. He leaves the store and chunks the fish in the parking lot and runs him over. The lfs did all they could to save it but ,ya know. To some it's just a fish and others see it as a creature that deserves every chance, everybody was truly heartbroken by it while other stores may have just stood out in the parking lot and laughed.
To each their own.

 

[AquaNut]

Gah!! Ewww ewie ew ew on the guy that ran over his fish. What an igoramus.

 

[andyt_uk]

well reading these replies i have learnt a couple of things

one being a decent LFS may have taken the betta off my hands - i certainly didnt want to upset or offend anyone - i just thought i was sharing an upsetting fishy tale

another being people arent quite as good willed as they probably think they are

as for fighters being fighters, as many people told me that as told me they would only be a problem with other fighters - and initially he got on well with his tank mates.

as for cheking water levels - i do so every day - the tank was fully cycled and ready for more fish when the first death occured - the very day i was going to get a few more fish to add

as for a separate tank - i cant afford one right now - i really wish i could, but i cant

and as for a small jar to keep him in - how many times have we read on here about how disgraceful that is - so dont offer that up as a solution

so dont flame me for saving a tank full of fish - i did what i felt best - i'm not proud, or particularly happy about it - i dont expect everyone to agree with it, and thanks to those who understood

oh and shipping my betta to new york city probably wasnt an option either, but thanks for the offer

 

[aernympha]

i feel rather guilty for quick judgement do sorry )

 

[New Boy]

Andy,

I'd say that keeping fish you sometimes need to make tough choices and whether people agree with that choice you've shown that you have the welfare of your fish community as a priority.....I'm quite lucky in that there are a number of fish stockists near me that will take fish back from me, although it is a wrench to give some away no matter how aggressive they become.

Stick with this forum despite the stick(!) - a lot of people wear their hearts on their sleeves but I've learnt an awful lot here and whilst you are saving up for that new corner tank I'd check out as many local fish stockists in your area (I sometimes drive an hour to a good one) and find one that you can take fish to (chatting to the important guys at these places is well worthwhile) - because I can almost guarantee you that the Betta will not be the only overly aggressive fish you will ever own!!

Cheers
Andy

 

[andyt_uk]

thanks new boy - i have no intention of leaving, though a name change did cross my mind
i have had some great advice here, and hope to one day be able to offer as much as i recieve.

and when i get that corner tank - i will always have my little un for such cases - and i will certainly be asking the few LFS's if they would ever consider taking a fish back - though we have already decided we wont be getting another betta - wouldnt want to keep one alone, and wouldnt want the heartache of having to get rid by whatever means shuold he turn nasty again.

 

[aquamanis]

Way to go Andy. I am laughing at these self declared animal rights people, the same ones that keep fish in 1 gal jails!

A forum is about expressing opinions & different points of view, Andy posted with expectations of responses and he got them, there's no reason to assume he's leaving , and there's also no reason to insult people and degrade the way they keep fish in defense of another, I know alot of people here go out of their way to assure that their bettas are happy. So let's try to be mature.

WMB, your first line pretty much sums it up. Keeping fish in my opinion in 1 gal jars is cruel. People telling Andy it was cruel to kill the fish could have been seen as an insult and degrading but to me it was just an opinion. I hope for the sake of a good forum its not going to turn into a situation where you cant express your opinion for fear of upsetting someone. Theres a big difference in expressing opinions and degrading people. If people saw how many fish I kept in a 35 gallon they would probably say I,m overstocked and could consider it cruel. But it would just be thier opinion and at the end of the day we all do what we want anyway. Some people are more emotional over thier fish than others, its just human nature. Everbody has thier opinions and expressing them is the mature thing to do. I oplogise in advance if I do happen to upset anybody for my outspoken nature. This is a great forum with a bunch of great people but lets not turn it into a Simon Says forum.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I hope for the sake of a good forum its not going to turn into a situation where you cant express your opinion for fear of upsetting someone.

Seems as though I merely expressed my opinion and "some" decided to take a stab at how myself & other forum members fish are kept and in doing so showed that they were just a little bit upset by peoples reactions, so please,practice what you preach.
And if you see keeping fish in a gallon of water as cruel,then so be it, start a thread about it. But there's no reason to come in and throw it out in the open for no apparent reason other than to insult. At least those of us who keep bettas in 1 gallons KEEP bettas, I'm sure if any fish had his/her choice of life or death they'd choose life.

Andy~ there's no reason to consider a name change, no one is holding it against you or anything. Of course I got upset because I bend over backwards picking up sickly betta at chain stores and trying my best to give them a happy life. And with it being a forum OF COURSE I'm going to voice my opinion (without name calling or insults, I just hope everybody can do the same)

 

[aquamanis]

WMB, when I wrote the first post I did it as a lighthearted "dig" at the people who had a "dig" at andy for putting the fish down. I can,t see any difference. Ethics was the subject, I didn,t bring it up. No insults were intended. I didn,t get upset, actually I was laughing because I found it funny that other people were getting upset about a fish that someone else owned. Again I apologise if I upset anybody.

 

[fatbobsufc]

As a new user I have to say I have found this whole episode quite shocking! I've never seen anyone berated in such a way on here before. I get the impression Andy T is a nice, thoughtful family guy (look at his avtar for goodness sake).

The suggestion that he should sen his Betta to NY seemed a bit far fetched though - it would probably be cheaper to buy a new tank!

Of course I am only about 30 miles away from Andy and would have been happy to take the Betta off his hands. Maybe we should devise our own network for the exchange of "problem" fish within our local areas?

 

[Debo]

Can we end this here and now? Give the guy a break. He was just doing what he had to do. I agree with fatbobsufc {what the heck does that name stand for?}
Just end it guys. We all have our own opinions and do what we feel is best. I'm sure he felt awful doing what he did. So lets give the guy a break and let it go.
Enough!!!!
Deb