Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
You can close this thread if you like, but i am not directing this opinion towards any particular member and i am just making a general statment of my opinion and hopefully it may make people think twice before they argue about fish rights/walmart/rescue bettas.
To start, i want to adress some of the main issues roughly and their arguements;
"Everytime you buy a sick betta from a bad lfs, you are only finacially supporting the lfs"
"Anyone who leaves a dying betta on a shelf in a bad lfs who can take it in but leaves it there to rot and die is a bad person"
.... .... ....
My opinion: Yes, it is true that when you buy a sick betta from a bad lfs you are only supporting bad lfs and incouraging them to buy more bettas and as far as they see it, if people are willing to buy their sick bettas just as much as the healthy ones, there is no reason for them to stop doing this. You may buy the betta knowing or not knowing/not taking this aspect into consideration, but it does not change the fact that all you have done is put some money into their wallets. I don't blame people for following their heart and trying to save the betta, its what most people would do with any heart in their body, but you have to consider this action will only result in more bettas on the shelves- for every betta you buy it pays for another to be put on the shelf or more.
On the other hand, contacting the owner of the store and making a complaint about their ways or making a scene at the store in front of other customers like loudly saying "i can't believe this betta is rotting on the shelves and the cruel size of container it is in!! Im going to a better lfs than this hell hole!!" etc will do more good than quietly taking the fish off the shelf and buying it.
The main difference is, is if you don't make your feelings heard to the owner, staff or customers at the store at the time you are doing nothing but paying for more bettas to be put on the shelf in the same way.
If you've bought a dying betta and not done anything else at the time on this type of issue, you cannot deny all you have done is give money to the store for them to carry on their wicked ways- this doesn't make you a bad person at all if you didn't take these factors into consideration, but you shouldn't kid yourself otherwise that you are doing a good thing in preventing more bettas being put on the shelves if you knew it would only fatten the stores pockets.
Either way you cannot deny that everytime you buy a sick betta you are only supporting the store. Where do lfs get their main profits from? Fish! They sell fish to make money, you buy the fish, they make some money, the more money they get the more fish end up on their shelves. As simple as that.
The best thing to do in my opinion is not only leave the betta but to also make a formal complaint and/or make a scene at the store about their ways. That way the store doesn't profit but it does have to consider its ways.
b. Newb threads- i was only talking about this the other day and yet i have seen another prime example of an innocent newb call for help/advice thread turn into an arguement about animal rights/walmart and other related anger (Why does every betta person asume that when somone saves a betta they live in the US and got the fish from walmart? I for one live in england, and we don't have any walmarts here and don't even have betta cups).
If a newb asks for help, give them the help they need but do NOT turn the thread into anything Walmart/fish protestor related as anyone here with an ounce of experience with this forum knows that these threads always turn nasty and that is not the image we want to project onto newb's about our forum.
If you feel you want to adress somones comment on the thread but know you only bring up the subject of fish rights/walmart, send them a pm adressing your views on their comments politely or start up your own thread, but don't turn somone elses thread into your fight.
Also if you want to make a comment on walmart/fish rights on a thread that has not been been tainted with that issue, do your own thread so that if there is going to be any argueing going on, the other person doesn't have to put up with it taking up every page in their thread.
The betta section is by far the least varied in some respects, the most arguementive and bad tempered and also the most repetive in terms of arguements.
My opinion: If you want to get across to newb's to the forum and/or fish keeping, be nice to them, give them good calm advice. Be patient with them and keep your temper in check, try to divert more of your post energy into being positive and making this section a more varied one.
If you want to talk to a newb about Walmart, break them into the debate/issue slowly and don't chuck them in the deep end- also when you explain things to them, try not to let your own emoticions taint your explanations and advice of the issue.
.... .... ....
I have some more stuff i'd like to adress, but i think this will sufice for now.
To start, i want to adress some of the main issues roughly and their arguements;
"Everytime you buy a sick betta from a bad lfs, you are only finacially supporting the lfs"
"Anyone who leaves a dying betta on a shelf in a bad lfs who can take it in but leaves it there to rot and die is a bad person"
.... .... ....
My opinion: Yes, it is true that when you buy a sick betta from a bad lfs you are only supporting bad lfs and incouraging them to buy more bettas and as far as they see it, if people are willing to buy their sick bettas just as much as the healthy ones, there is no reason for them to stop doing this. You may buy the betta knowing or not knowing/not taking this aspect into consideration, but it does not change the fact that all you have done is put some money into their wallets. I don't blame people for following their heart and trying to save the betta, its what most people would do with any heart in their body, but you have to consider this action will only result in more bettas on the shelves- for every betta you buy it pays for another to be put on the shelf or more.
On the other hand, contacting the owner of the store and making a complaint about their ways or making a scene at the store in front of other customers like loudly saying "i can't believe this betta is rotting on the shelves and the cruel size of container it is in!! Im going to a better lfs than this hell hole!!" etc will do more good than quietly taking the fish off the shelf and buying it.
The main difference is, is if you don't make your feelings heard to the owner, staff or customers at the store at the time you are doing nothing but paying for more bettas to be put on the shelf in the same way.
If you've bought a dying betta and not done anything else at the time on this type of issue, you cannot deny all you have done is give money to the store for them to carry on their wicked ways- this doesn't make you a bad person at all if you didn't take these factors into consideration, but you shouldn't kid yourself otherwise that you are doing a good thing in preventing more bettas being put on the shelves if you knew it would only fatten the stores pockets.
Either way you cannot deny that everytime you buy a sick betta you are only supporting the store. Where do lfs get their main profits from? Fish! They sell fish to make money, you buy the fish, they make some money, the more money they get the more fish end up on their shelves. As simple as that.
The best thing to do in my opinion is not only leave the betta but to also make a formal complaint and/or make a scene at the store about their ways. That way the store doesn't profit but it does have to consider its ways.
b. Newb threads- i was only talking about this the other day and yet i have seen another prime example of an innocent newb call for help/advice thread turn into an arguement about animal rights/walmart and other related anger (Why does every betta person asume that when somone saves a betta they live in the US and got the fish from walmart? I for one live in england, and we don't have any walmarts here and don't even have betta cups).
If a newb asks for help, give them the help they need but do NOT turn the thread into anything Walmart/fish protestor related as anyone here with an ounce of experience with this forum knows that these threads always turn nasty and that is not the image we want to project onto newb's about our forum.
If you feel you want to adress somones comment on the thread but know you only bring up the subject of fish rights/walmart, send them a pm adressing your views on their comments politely or start up your own thread, but don't turn somone elses thread into your fight.
Also if you want to make a comment on walmart/fish rights on a thread that has not been been tainted with that issue, do your own thread so that if there is going to be any argueing going on, the other person doesn't have to put up with it taking up every page in their thread.
The betta section is by far the least varied in some respects, the most arguementive and bad tempered and also the most repetive in terms of arguements.
My opinion: If you want to get across to newb's to the forum and/or fish keeping, be nice to them, give them good calm advice. Be patient with them and keep your temper in check, try to divert more of your post energy into being positive and making this section a more varied one.
If you want to talk to a newb about Walmart, break them into the debate/issue slowly and don't chuck them in the deep end- also when you explain things to them, try not to let your own emoticions taint your explanations and advice of the issue.
.... .... ....
I have some more stuff i'd like to adress, but i think this will sufice for now.
We are competative by nature..and expressing opinions seems to be, by far, one of the most competative processes around.
, i for one wouldn't pay for a sick fish i would demand it for free 
) ) 
