The Ipond

[Skizzy]

Most of you have probably already heard of it, and if there's already a topic about it somewhere, I apologize. It's called an iPond. And it pisses me off.

I saw one in Wal-Mart the other day, in the fish section no less, and thought "What the hell? That's way too small and downright cruel." So I went searching for it online. Couldn't really find anything other than articles about animal rights activists being pissed about it.

It reminds me of that "betta purse" from Bubble Gear. Though I believe they stopped selling that after so many complaints, thank god. It was definitely worse than the iPond, but the lesser of two evils does not make a right.

This is why I'm tired of pet stores keeping bettas in such tiny bowls, because all that says to customers and stupid business people is "hey this fish can live just fine in a ridiculously tiny space, how cute!" Yeah, well you can throw a kid in a broom closet and slide food under the door every day and it'll still live. But very unhealthy and very unhappy. I'm not sure who created the iPond, but for the meantime... screw Apple for starting such a stupid craze with their crappy products.

 

[xxgabi]

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FAIL.

What the hell?! Any person with half a brain could tell you that is NOT a good environment for a fish... For any living creature for that matter! Jesus...

 

[5teady_2012]

shocking

 

[groovitudedude]

The iPond is dumb. I don't know if it's affilliated with apple, but it's without a doubt one of the worst ideas in fish keeping history.

 

[LauraFrog]

Oh my god.


The '10 litres minimum' is not good though... the 1 gal recommended minimum is not quite 4 litres so people who keep bettas very happily in tanks this size will see the Melbourne Aquarium guy as a quack.
This sort of gadget is absolutely disgraceful. I'm on a school computer trying to type quietly while the teacher is talking so I can't do any research.. but come this afternoon I will be on the computer looking for the idiots who make this. I think I might start a petition actually since this is in my own country. Dyed fish aren't problems here, I have never actually seen a dyed or tattooed fish apart from photos in magazines.

Pets Paradise is the Australian equivalent of Wal-mart when it comes to buying fish. It is a chain store that is generally found in large shopping centres (called malls in the USA). They are generally small, dingy and filthy. Most of the employees are teenagers looking for after school/weekend pay. They know nothing about the fish they are selling and most of the stores sell fish (such as redtailed sharks, clown loaches, rummynose tetras, tiny baby angels, I once saw discus and oscars) that are completely unsuitable for beginners even though few aquarists with a clue would ever buy fish there.

My one attempt at a Pets Paradise rescue infected my whole tank with a bacterial infection and I lost three fish to it. The medication cost me a fortune. I learnt my lesson regarding Pets Paradise the hard way. It is a franchise and there are exceptions - franchisees who are in the pet shop business because they like animals and not because they are exploiting a market niche) but most of them are horrible.

Anyway, enough of my Pets Paradise rant. But if you're in Australia you can safely ignore whatever they tell you.

 

[dzsigmond217]

I don't think Apple had anything to do with this product..

A spokesperson for Apple said the company was willing to comment on its own products, but not on accessories made by third parties.

i actually got sick to my stomach when I read this article and saw the photograph.
I would definitely sign a petition if someone got one together..maybe theres a site that allows you to format petitions easily?? dunno..have to check it out tho..

ok..check this site out: Free Petition .

Does anyone want to start the petition or should I??

 

[Amunet]

"A few people ask, 'is the fish OK?"' Ms Robertson said. The chains were satisfied that fish in iPonds did not suffer.

Wow... of course they're going to say that. They're not going to tell the customers the truth.. then they wouldn't be able to sell that piece of crap.
That is just aweful... and AWEFUL that people would actually buy it. It's just sad that there are so many people who will never see fish as living breathing animals that deserve better than that.

 

[JamieM]

Good god. I wouldnt keep ants in there!

 

[LauraFrog]

I might do the petition since it's Australia and I know quite a bit about the fish trade in the country. but any suggestions would be really valuable. I might start drafting it on here first.

I'm going to hit ActNow as well. It's an Australian activism website, and we chuck mass spacks about everything from poverty being ignored to the previous government's refusal to ratify Kyoto to mistreatment of animals. I like it because extremists aren't welcome there - nobody who is organising violent protests or sabotage is allowed to advertise.

 

[JamieM]

Good god. I wouldnt keep ants in there!

 

[Skizzy]

I know Apple had nothing to do with it, but darnit they started this whole craze with their lame iPod. Has anyone found out who made them yet so I can redirect my anger toward the appropriate source?

I think a petition would be a good idea. Australia isn't the only place selling them. I saw one here in Canada at Wal-Mart.