What Would You Say?

[onebto]

If you just sore what I have just seen?

I was in one of my LFS doing what I do best spending money on stuff for my tank when I saw something that made me feel a little sick! and question myself to actually ever using this store again.

But first please be aware that I do not have a Beta male or female I am more of a Loach chap myself but each to there own. I thought you should know that first as I do not know if this is common practise? in LFS


I saw about a dozen plastic drinking cups (the sought that hang on the side of water fountains) each one with a male beta in?

 

[tropic_john]

most lfs places do this, however, the one by me [and maybe others, depending on managment] keep theres in little 3 gallon plastic boxes that get a 20% w/c every 3 days, which imo, is better than those little cups.

 

[Jonty]

I believe that happens all over America, and in some stores over here.

It's pretty common.

 

[onebto]

Is it me or is this cruel ?

 

[Honeythorn]

You can rant for hours on end and they'll just shrug at you. A lot of places do keep them this way and it is disgusting, but the chances of them changing it are small. If it's a chain store you have even less chance.

You could try writing a letter containg info on how this species does NOT live in tiny puddles in the wild but in huge rice paddies containing millions of gallons. Whilst they do have a labyrinth orgn to allow them to take in atmospheric air, many thousands die in the dry season. Gouramis also have this organ, so why is it that they are not also kept this way?

Present that if they have spare empty tanks, and most fish stores DO have a couple with very little or nothing in, they could divide these tanks into sections with plastic dividers ( cheap to do so they wouldn lose nothing by doing it ) and put a male in each section. Plastic critter keepers would also be better than nothing. Better than cups at any rate since the store is basically just a holding ground iuntil they are bought.

Explain all this to them ( just write a letter and leave it on the desk ) and keep doing it until something si done. You can also report them to the council if the fish are being mistreated ( and they are )

 

[llamalord305]

Yes, sadly, this is the norm. Some keep the water changed constantly (My Big Al's) but every other store i've been to keeps them like this with the water brown with feces.

 

[lilacamy931]

Luckily I have never witnessed anythign like that just bettas in with other fish not suitable and ragged or in super stores in their own compartments which gets a big green tick from me

 

[kelly528]

They keep scads of them like that in Canada too. I understand that it is one of the few economical solutions for temporarily housing fish that are unsuitable to be housed together, but I positively HATE how they sell teeny cups and betta condos to people

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Almost every store around my region sells bettas in cups. There is one store that sells them in slighly larger glass mini-vases - I'm guessing hold twice the water as the cups, but even there they aren't the best of betta caregivers as last time I was in that store about 3-5 of the bettas were dead inside their pretty little glass temp homes.

Get this -> the sales gal who sold one of my bettas to me admitted that the majority of bettas they have end up dying before having the chance to be adopted. At another store I was at, the sales person was unloading cups of bettas from insulated crates, but the shelves were already fully stocked with bettas. What happens to the ones on the shelfs? Do they begin tossing the less active ones?

 

[loraxchick]

ive yet to find a fishstore around me that keeps their bettas in tanks. it is the norm in America, but some stores take better care of the fish while in the cups than others.
just gotta find a store that maintains the cups decently, which doesnt always happen.
shame. that and the fact that most folk (here anyway) think it is ok for them to house a betta in a little box or vase. probably the most exploited fish out there, but i love them anyway.

 

[Assaye]

I've seen bettas in small tanks and large cups, as small as 0.3 litre, but I've never seen them in those tiny plastic drinking cups! That's awful. However, short of kicking up a right stink and probably getting ignored, there is very little you can do.

The local authorities (council, licensing authority, etc) might be interested. I would write them a letter (with photos) detailing the conditions they are kept in, the minimum care requirements for a betta (and why these are the care requirements, in case they just write you off as an oversentimental prat) and the conditions they live in in the wild. If any of the bettas look sick, tell them that and get photos, and if you can, get a water sample and do some tests and include the results of that.

You need to include enough info (with sources) so that the authority doesn't just go to the lfs and the manager says "this is natural" and they shrug their shoulders and don't do anything. You need to give them loads of info.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

ive yet to find a fishstore around me that keeps their bettas in tanks. it is the norm in America, but some stores take better care of the fish while in the cups than others.
just gotta find a store that maintains the cups decently, which doesnt always happen.
shame. that and the fact that most folk (here anyway) think it is ok for them to house a betta in a little box or vase. probably the most exploited fish out there, but i love them anyway.

There is one store by me that keeps the females in a 20-gallon tank. . .but the males in the cups. I wanted to buy a female from that store, but all the girls were larger as if they weren't as popular and grew up at the store. All they had were the plainer ones. Not sure if I should go back and buy one from there because the female I bought (from a chain and she was in a cup) has two horizontal lines on her. I didn't realize until just this weekend that stripes of that sort mean she's stressed. Poor little girl.

 

[Assaye]

ive yet to find a fishstore around me that keeps their bettas in tanks. it is the norm in America, but some stores take better care of the fish while in the cups than others.
just gotta find a store that maintains the cups decently, which doesnt always happen.
shame. that and the fact that most folk (here anyway) think it is ok for them to house a betta in a little box or vase. probably the most exploited fish out there, but i love them anyway.

There is one store by me that keeps the females in a 20-gallon tank. . .but the males in the cups. I wanted to buy a female from that store, but all the girls were larger as if they weren't as popular and grew up at the store. All they had were the plainer ones. Not sure if I should go back and buy one from there because the female I bought (from a chain and she was in a cup) has two horizontal lines on her. I didn't realize until just this weekend that stripes of that sort mean she's stressed. Poor little girl.

Many females will be stressed, almost no matter what you do. All my girls from a local store are stressed constantly. It might be to do with the way they have been treated by the breeders that supply to stores, and the (often poor) breeding they are a result of. My girls from breeders of quality bettas are much more robust and less inclined to stress, but one of them still shows stripes a fair amount.

 

[loraxchick]

agreed tjhat a girlie can have stress stripes in any situation. in fact, even in a really well thought out set up with loads of plants and hidey holes a girl can go from normal coloration to striped in a matter of seconds, then go right back to normal. as long as the fish appears healthy and active, stripes or no stripes, they would be a good purchase.
some fishstores around me do keep females in community setups, just not males. always in the cups. should have clarified that better.
and i dont think anything can/would be done about it. true there is rspca and the like, but theyve got their hands full with furry animals. doubtful that anything would change the way these fish are sold. it is meant to be temporary until sale. what gets my goat is that most stores, CERTAINLY the chain stores as ive heard it with my own ears. give horrid advice on their care once purchased. you think it would be in the stores best interst to sell a tank, heater, filter (=more $) than a stupid little vase which would NEVER house such essential items. makes me sick! poor exploited bettas
at least i know im doing right by them and i give info to anyone who is wiilling to hear it. but you cant change everyone's mind im afraid.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

[/quote]

Many females will be stressed, almost no matter what you do. All my girls from a local store are stressed constantly. It might be to do with the way they have been treated by the breeders that supply to stores, and the (often poor) breeding they are a result of. My girls from breeders of quality bettas are much more robust and less inclined to stress, but one of them still shows stripes a fair amount.
[/quote]
Thanks for the info Assaye and Lorax. . .makes me feel a bit sad about my little girl being so constantly stressed, but at least I know that I'm not doing everything wrong. She's in a 10-gallon with a heater/filter, which I thought would be perfect, however, I think I may have made things worse for her by adding 3 rasboras to the tank. She had seemed content on her own. Not sure what to do now. I had planned to add another 2 rasboras in a month or two, but instead may add another *small* loner fish so my betta doesn't feel ganged up on. (The Raspboras seemed confused by only having three as their school. I hope they do not breed - I'm still trying to figure out which gender(s) they are.) Or, maybe the betta would just eat the babies lol