PLEASE close this topic

[Javentule]

It's too bad that pet store gets their fish from Thailand in the first place. Bettas can be quite readily bred in captivity.

The bettas we get a Petsmart arrived in a styrophome box in a cardboard box with heat and or ice packs as need. They come in the same betta cups we sell them in, only with less water but more of the special betta conditioner (darker blue). They certainly don't have to be shipped in tiny bags with almost no water. I'd say that's a vendor issue.

 

[Sorrell]

It's too bad that pet store gets their fish from Thailand in the first place. Bettas can be quite readily bred in captivity.

The bettas we get a Petsmart arrived in a styrophome box in a cardboard box with heat and or ice packs as need. They come in the same betta cups we sell them in, only with less water but more of the special betta conditioner (darker blue). They certainly don't have to be shipped in tiny bags with almost no water. I'd say that's a vendor issue.

All of these were bred in captivity. You'd be hard pressed to find a wild betta in a fish store.

 

[Javentule]

So why get them from Thailand? If you breed and distribute them in the state the shipping is bound to be cheaper, and therefore you can actually spend money on cups rather than baggies. Like I said, sounds like this petstore just has a crummy vendor - cutting corners on shipping which makes the fish suffer.

 

[Sorrell]

So why get them from Thailand? If you breed and distribute them in the state the shipping is bound to be cheaper, and therefore you can actually spend money on cups rather than baggies. Like I said, sounds like this petstore just has a crummy vendor - cutting corners on shipping which makes the fish suffer.

Either way, it's still healthier for the fish to be shipped in as little water as possible

 

[Fat-cat]

No wonder why they come to us in such poor shape. I wonder if the reputable breeders end them out that way? If it makes you feel any better BettaMomma, they don't some to Petco that way. They come in there cups, in these huge boxes, and we unpack them. I know ppl hate the cups, but I think it is better than those little baggies. They let you take a picture of that...wow, I am surprised!?!

We do get the feeder goldfish in huge bags though. Must be from a good breeder though, or maybe it is because we still have cool weather....but in the other petstores I have worked at they used to come in half alive and half dead. Most of them were alive in the shipment I saw. It was good to see. I think shipping fish must be hard work.

Actually the bettas you get at Petco do come to the US that way. It is at the trans-shipper that they get changed over to cups. Same process for PETsMART, Wal-mart and any large chain store.

 

[Fat-cat]

It's too bad that pet store gets their fish from Thailand in the first place. Bettas can be quite readily bred in captivity.

The bettas we get a Petsmart arrived in a styrophome box in a cardboard box with heat and or ice packs as need. They come in the same betta cups we sell them in, only with less water but more of the special betta conditioner (darker blue). They certainly don't have to be shipped in tiny bags with almost no water. I'd say that's a vendor issue.

Sorry but PETsMART's fish DC repacks them into those cups. I'm not sure how they arrive to the US but I doubt it is any different. It is a system that was devised by the oversea breeders to ship huge quanties of fish with as low a loss a possible (it is in their best intrest that the fish get here alive). As for beeding them all in the US, there is no way the massively huge numbers could be produced and you would have to explaine to the general public why they suddenly had to pay $30+ per fish.

 

[eudielynn]

I'm honestly not seeing what the problem is.

Think of it this way: I've been on 24 hour flights before and I sure as heck wouldn't want to live on a seat in a small cramped plane completely surrounded by other people, but it's a fast and economic way to travel.

IMHO there is a major difference. When you took that flight, you chose to do so. No one snatched you up, stuck you in a bag and sealed the top. You were capbale of getting up and moving around if necessary. You certainly weren't starved and made to lay in your own waste for the most of your trip. You also knew in advance what to expect. As usual, I agree with BettaMomma. The inhumane way we treat other creatures is awful.

 

[bkk_group]

I'm honestly not seeing what the problem is.

Think of it this way: I've been on 24 hour flights before and I sure as heck wouldn't want to live on a seat in a small cramped plane completely surrounded by other people, but it's a fast and economic way to travel.

IMHO there is a major difference. When you took that flight, you chose to do so. No one snatched you up, stuck you in a bag and sealed the top. You were capbale of getting up and moving around if necessary. You certainly weren't starved and made to lay in your own waste for the most of your trip. You also knew in advance what to expect. As usual, I agree with BettaMomma. The inhumane way we treat other creatures is awful.

the simple solution then is to stop buying bettas. it's all about supply and demand.
if anyone thinks north american breeders ship all that differently, think again. i know even marriane at bcbetta stresses that the less water the fish are shipped in the better.

 

[Bloo]

So how many of you would spend $50 on a very average Betta then ? Assuming it shipped in the lap of luxury ? (even if sloshing around in a big bag really isn't the best thing for it ?)

 

[BettaMomma]

They let you take a picture of that...wow, I am surprised!?!

I actually found that picture on the web somewhere, I didn't take it.

 

[BettaMomma]

I admire your fire BettaMomma, I really do, and I think you're doing a wonderful thing by taking so many otherwise unwanted fish into your home and nursing them back to health... I just think that sometimes your passion is misplaced is all
No offence intended, I swear.

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by my passion is misplaced.
Oh well - I'm just going to keep right on doing what I'm doing.

 

[BettaMomma]

Just for the record, if every betta I ever ran across was perfectly healthy and beautiful and wasn't in a pathetic little cup, I probably would have never bought one in the first place - and would have probably bought a little goldfish for my tank at work that we wanted to occupy and I wouldn't have bought any more. The only reason I have so many is because I realized the joy of giving someone with such a tragic start to live a wonderful finish to life and I couldn't turn my back on them at the time.

I agree with a lot of you on both sides of this issue.
I know that breeders EVERYWHERE do this - and I understand that it is in the fish's best interest, BUT... that is only because shippers/wholesalers/retailers and ultimately the consumers want to save money. SOOO...... if collectively there were steps taken to stop getting these things from overseas, and breeders here in the US were used, the prices of bettas would go up.

SO WHAT? I think that would be nothing short of a good thing.
That way, there would be less college kids buying them on a whim.... less moms thinking (as they have kids hanging on their leg at walmart begging them for a "fishy").... "Aaaaah - screw it. What's three bucks - if it dies, it dies - this will just make me or my kids happy for today. I or they might get bored with him in a few days or weeks, but hell - for three bucks, it'll make me happy for a while... and it's ONLY three bucks"... And the people, like us, who really like to keep fish for reasons other than to be an object of entertainment for the timebeing would probably have healthier happier fish to choose from, even though we might have to pay a bit more for them. I think that would solve several issues with how things are done now.

Okay - obviously this is a hot issue, and I can't even begin to tell you how disgusted and sick to my stomach I was when I saw how those things were shipped. Grulla was there - she saw it too. We both were pretty much apalled.

And again - I do understand that this is in the best interest of the fish - but that's just in the scenario of having to get these things from overseas, and at the low, low cost - but you know how I feel about that above.

 

[catyrpelius]

If my guy got shipped like that, only to end up in his own 2.5 gallon, heated, filtered tank them im perfectly ok with it. In this case the end most certainly jstifies the means

 

[Kara101584]

I agree that it is unfair for this fish to be thought of as "low maintence".... Sometimes it's almost like they are "thow away pets" that people can get just about anywhere cheap. And I agree with what each one of you has said, I feel bad for each and every betta I see at the petstore, because I know most won't live the way they should.

 

[abstract]

That way, there would be less college kids buying them on a whim....

i really really don't want to get into it...but....would it be FAIR to overprice these fish so that only the rich, lucky individuals could enjoy them (who, mind you, are more likely to abuse and mistreat the fish in the long run because, even if they did pay $50, it is still petty change to them)...

if an average betta was $10, i simply could not afford to buy it since I am spending upwards of $20,000 a year on a college education...meaning that it will either remain in its current condition in the store (just a face in the crowd), or some parent will buy it for their kid anyhow because "that is what bettas cost, and my kid really wants it"

and anyhow, why do you think bettas are so popular? it is not only because they require minimal water space, no filter, heater, etc....it is because of the puppy-dog look they all have on their faces that make us feel bad for them, and that make us THINK they have feelings, character, and their own personality - that they are lonely - exactly what keeps the market going strong - and the demand will continue on as long as the bettas have that "pathetic" look to them...

i mean, which is more saddening to you - a lone betta in a small container by itself, or a school of tiger barbs in a fairly large tank chasing eachother around "having fun"...? which are you more likely to buy?

not an attack at you BettaMomma because I REALLY respect what you do for your fish - but the idea that by changing how they are shipped, which in turn increases the cost so that people couldn't buy them on a "whim" is just fundamentally flawed...