I always see the poor little bettas in a cupful of water, with nothing else in them in those little containers.
How is this natural, how is this not cruelty?
How is this natural, how is this not cruelty?
Betta cruelty
- Thread starter Deniz
- Start date
They put them in little containers because thier Male, 2 Male Bettas will fight until ones dead or dying when defending their territory. Also Betta's are Anabantoids, they can breath Air using thier primitive "lungs", which is why they are often seen gulping air from the surface.
In the dry season, in their native lands, they actually endure those types of conditions for a few weeks, so they're used to it... it just can't be long-term.
Minor correction. In the wild, bettas will be found in small puddles of water, but the filtration running on those puddles is the entire wetted area around the small portion holding water. Think of a bog. The whole bog area is wet, moist, but there are only a few indentations with water collected in them. But, the water actually moves throughout that entire bog, being biologically filtered as it moves. The build up of toxins in a small cup of water is well and above anything encountered in the wild.
In a way, this relates to newbies who see a tank full of fish in the pet store and think they can do they same in their tank for a long term period. Bettas can withhold lots of what we would consider "cruelty" but lets not forget these fish dont stay in the little cups for long...in most cases.
yeah but they sell these coloured plastic cups or containers in fancy shapes which hold 1 or 2 cups of water. People get the impression its ok to keep them in there. :shake:
Another issue with the "well they live in the puddles of oxen footprints in the wild" explaination, is that our highly domesticated long finned brightly coloured bettas bear little resemblance to thier wild cousins. They would not last long if we were to return them to the wild (and there would be possible contamination issus, etc as well).
Having said that though, the practice of keeping them in small cups is obviously not the most optimal way of keeping them, but I can understand where the petstore is coming from as well. Since the males fight, you have to seperate them, but by the same token, the store has only so much space. They are also a very popular fish, so a given store wants to have enough a supply on hand to sell each week. The little betta hex's and similar such "tanks" are just inexcusable however since they are meant to be a permanent home...
Having said that though, the practice of keeping them in small cups is obviously not the most optimal way of keeping them, but I can understand where the petstore is coming from as well. Since the males fight, you have to seperate them, but by the same token, the store has only so much space. They are also a very popular fish, so a given store wants to have enough a supply on hand to sell each week. The little betta hex's and similar such "tanks" are just inexcusable however since they are meant to be a permanent home...
I have had one of my Bettas for over two and half years…… I have “Alpha” (That’s his name) in a 2.5 gallon tank with a airstone, small heater (25w), light and a plant. I do a 98% water change weekly! I feed him Betta Bites everyday and occasionally throw in a few blood worms.
I’m no expert but I think 2.5 years is pretty darn good. I think Bettas should never be kept in any cup, hex, etc…. I soon as I move all my fish to my new 75gallon the Betta will get a 10gallon all by his self (himself??). If you think those cups are small you should see what they are shipped in:shake:
I’m no expert but I think 2.5 years is pretty darn good. I think Bettas should never be kept in any cup, hex, etc…. I soon as I move all my fish to my new 75gallon the Betta will get a 10gallon all by his self (himself??). If you think those cups are small you should see what they are shipped in:shake:
Last edited:
Barbaric - LFS Betta Housing
I think the conditions bettas are kept in at local fish stores that I have seen are barbaric and inhumane. I visited two of these stores last week and checked out the bettas. Each store had 12-15 bettas in small bowls. At one store one of them was dead and the rest looked really listless and unhappy. At the other store two were dead and the rest again looked listless and unhappy. I think it's ridiculous ... these stores are giving not the slightest concern to the health of these fish. There ought to be a legally mandated minimum bowl size these fish can be kept in at pet stores. Of course that won't help if there is no attention paid to water quality.
Orion Girl's post on native living conditions is right on the mark ... in no way do these tiny bowls replicate their native environment.
:shake:
I think the conditions bettas are kept in at local fish stores that I have seen are barbaric and inhumane. I visited two of these stores last week and checked out the bettas. Each store had 12-15 bettas in small bowls. At one store one of them was dead and the rest looked really listless and unhappy. At the other store two were dead and the rest again looked listless and unhappy. I think it's ridiculous ... these stores are giving not the slightest concern to the health of these fish. There ought to be a legally mandated minimum bowl size these fish can be kept in at pet stores. Of course that won't help if there is no attention paid to water quality.
Orion Girl's post on native living conditions is right on the mark ... in no way do these tiny bowls replicate their native environment.
:shake:
My daughters Betta has habits that totally kill any idea that keeping a Betta in a small bowl is acceptable. He uses the WHOLE tank during the day, top to bottom, side to side. He even has a spot where he's ripped out plants in the planted part of the tank for him to sleep, ol' Jim made himself a little house. Keeping one of these interesting fish in a bowl you can eat cereal out of? Unacceptable.