You thought the Spongebob Tank was small

[OohFeeshy]

OK, email time! THe adress is at the bottom of the page, even if you don't care, hey, its fun! If you do email, post em here so we can all nod ferociously and go 'Yeah!' I'll put mine up when I'm done.
OK...

I wish to make a complaint about the absolutely disgusting tanks you reccomed for fish and other living things. You are selling glorified death traps, and seem merely to be a company who only cares about cash grabbing and making profits from the deaths of hundreds of living, breathing creatures. Do you realise that even a goldfish can live 25+ years and grow to over a foot long? Obviously not, since you appear not to have bothered looking into the animals you are meant to be producing homes for. To quote from your website-
SMALLWORLD HOME OR NURSERY

For hamsters, gerbils, tropical fish, turtles, frogs and snakes.

There are no snakes, fish, frogs, turtles or small animals that I know of that can live in one of those tanks. Even a betta, probably the most abused fish besides the goldfish, grows to three inches long and actually requires space to move, believe it or not. I'm sure if you have children, you would not keep them in a cupboard all their life? No. You wouldn't, because not only would your children be taken away from you, you would face criminal action and your kids would not grow, becoming stunted and ill due to your lack of care. So why do it to another species of animal? Simple- because you couldn't care less. However, I'm sure your customers DO care, and I will ceratinly be discouraging people from buying your products.The link to your website has already been posted on at least one fish related forum.

I hope to recieve a reply.

A bit OTT I know, but I'm in that kind of mood

 

[sylvia]

I wont comment as RandomWiktor has summed it up for me.

About the hamster thing - there are 'dwarf' hamsters that stay small. The big one you are talking about OohFishy is the Syrian. That doesn't make it ok to keep them in there though.

BettaMomma - that story is outrageous. I find it difficult to believe that people don't even think about what they are suggesting and that this person simply trusted the manager - I would have found it impossible to accept that a fish could be happy in that small a space without first proving it to myself through my own research etc. Well done for complaining. It sounds like you handled things very well.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I know there are dwarf hamsters, but they are generally even more active than syrian so require just as much space, eg. Charlie, one of my syrians, only daily activity is to walk out, get his food, walk in his wheel for a little while then go back to bed. While the dwarfs I had a while ago ran around all the time, they jumped off the platforms constanly and ran around in their wheel together.

Soz for the spelling, I am in a rush

 

[RandomWiktor]

I emailed them as well.

To whom it may concern,
I was recently browsing your online store's aquarium section and was
very troubled by several of the species reccomendations for your small
aquariums. In addition to displaying a poor understanding of the needs
of many species yourself, your company is encouraging irresponsible
animal husbandry by promoting and selling products that are completely
inadequate for the suggested inhabitants.
As a veterinary technician in training, I was shocked when the "Small
World Home or Nursery" suggested that hamsters, gerbils, turtles, and
snakes could be contained in habitats of only .5 to 5 gallons. Do you
realize that gerbils need a minimum of 10 gallons per animal and
approximately 5 inches of substrate to fufil their exersize,
behavioral, and sanitation needs? Hamsters are similar in habitat
requirements and should never be kept in a container so small. Most
turtle species would rapidly outgrow the suggested confines, and
require plenty of space for swimming and basking, something which
could never be met in such deplorable conditions. And considering the
rapid growth and specific environmental needs for most snakes, no
knowledgable reptile keeper would even consider such a poor aquarium
size.
Furthermore, you advertize several goldfish containers that are less
than five gallons. All species of goldfish, even the "fancy" kind,
grow to be 10-18 inches in length. Aquariums should be bought and sold
considering the adult size of the species. Any reputable fish keeper
will tell you that goldfish need at least 20 gallons to live the full
duration of their lifespan, which can be in excess of 30 years.
Additionally, even tiny goldfish are heavy producers of ammonia. In
such small tanks, they could be poisoned by their own waste in a
matter of days.
Finally, all of the "betta bowls" advertised on your websites are
unfit for the species. They offer no room for heating and mild filtration,
two key elements to a long and healthy betta life. Some even lacked
lids, making them a death trap for any fish that jumps as well as the
betta. Perhaps you are content encouraging customers to keep bettas in
base and unhealthy conditions, but most of these fish will not
survive the first few months of their several year lifespan.
Were you truly commited to providing quality products to pet owners,
you would pull all of these items from the market, or at least
revise the suggested species. I will be advising all of my clinic's
customers to avoid the use of your products, for you are exploiting
ignorant consumers by playing on their desire to minimize the work
associated with animal husbandry. However, you have forgotten that it
is the animals who will suffer under these conditions, and most owners
would be appaled were they enlightened to the fact that your company
has mislead them. Shame on you for pushing these poor quality
products!
Sincerely,
###### ##### (sorry guys name edit out)

 

[SHANTYMAID]

VERY WELL DONE INDEED RANDOM, YOU HAVE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING IN A CLEAR AND PRECISE MANNER EVEN THOSE MORONS SHOULD UNDERSTAND. WELL MAYBE NOT AS OBVIOUSLY IT COMES DOWN TO ONE THING AND THAT IS MAKING MONEY AND TO HELL WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. MAYBE IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA IF EVERYBODY SENT THEM EMAILS AND BOYCOTTED THE STORE, I KNOW I CERTAINLY WOULD. AGAIN VERY WELL PUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[RandomWiktor]

Thankyou ^^
I'm interested to find out if they reply or not, and what their response will be. Usually places you complain to never respond, or so I've found. But, who knows ::shrugs:: I'm sure it won't change anything, but it gave me something to do.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

you do realize that those arent real fish in that tank right?

 

[RandomWiktor]

Mmm? Maybe not in the photos, but they are marketting them as pet supplies. I've seen them in pet stores as well. So, yea, they are selling them to keep real animals in.

 

[FrAnK3333]

Companies will never learn. Their out to make a profit ad if that means a fish has to die, or fishes its all for the money.

 

[OohFeeshy]

you do realize that those arent real fish in that tank right?

They are very real indeed, I'm afraid. They may be photoshopped in, but why would they sell it if it was a toy for model animals? No reply yet, but I don't mind waiting

 

[BettaMomma]

What fish are you referring to?
The ones that have been PhotoShopped into the tank on the packaging???

Regardless of whether the fish are actually "in" the tank for the photo or they were duped in, it's telling folks that you CAN put those exact fish in there - and many times whatever's on the packaging, people will say "I want that" because they think it looks cool.

It's wrong in any case.

 

[Fishy411]

The goldfish ones are worse. Goldfish get a foot long or more and bettas get 2 inches and they are both kept in 1 gallon tanks

 

[LoachLover]

LoachLover Posted on Feb 28 2005, 02:36 AM
  Well that's not AS bad, because bettas don't need that much water to survive, but they do a ton better in a larger tank. 

What's not AS bad? A pet store employee telling me that bettas prefer to live in small plastic cups?

I did not say that, it's not as bad as that Sponge Bob setup that they expect you to use for regular fish. At least Bettas can easily live in that small of a space. I don't agree with it, I like to give them at least 5 gallons per betta. So get off my back.

 

[LoachLover]

from the original link:

omg... is that a German Ram in with that Goldfish?!? Rams are fickle in a large, well-filtered, temperature-regulated tank... People are so stupid...

No, that's a goldfish