This is why we can't have nice things...

[Emenon]

this is 100% pure betta torture. they treat the bettas like plastic decoration.

[bettalvr]

My first customer today. . . grrrrrrr. . . I have always kept my bettas in the vase I have at home. My last one just died and I am looking around for another one. Questions: heat, filter, food, etc. Responses: I've had them for over 10 years in that vase and each one lives almost a year, so I must be doing something right. I offered her a handout on care, she glances at it and asks where I got my info. I immediately responded, many breeders/researchers who have been doing this for over 25+ years, many of whom have published works and are avid members of the IBC. Her response: oh, well I'll read over this.
TBH, I hope she doesn't come back here for one! I'd rather these get a better home!

[mdellasalla]

wow it's sad when people think almost a year is a good lifespan for a fish...

What is your pet shop called? I was thinking about what we could call our place and it is really hard thinking of names!

[wiccansinger]

woah, the nerve of some people... to think that they could be so stupid. however giving her the info might have either put her off having another betta because of costs, or made her get the required things for them, just hope that it was one of those two and not just thinking i'll go somewhere else for the fish then.

[candycane]

What I don't understand is how a person who has respect and love for their "fuzzy" pets can show equal lack of respect for the life of their aquatic pets. A life is a life, no matter what.
Once I had my friend offer to give my sick mice to his snake. He said it would be an easy way to "get rid of "them. He just couldn't grasp the idea that mice could be a loved pet, not just a feeder animal. A lot of people feel the same way about Bettas and other fish, like they are just temporary and disposable. It's really sad.

[wiccansinger]

I agree completely candycane... it is a sad truth that people seem to only care about the creatures that they can pick up/hold... i mean we have millions of bugs going extinct each year, but no one cares... the same is with bettas, people fight with them still, yet no one cares. then people also give them poor water quality and stress them out, and when they get a disease they just let them die... it is unfair to them.

[candycane]

One problem is that you can't rush your Betta off to the vet every time something goes wrong.People are used to having someone else take care of their pets medical needs. With Bettas you have to research/diagnose/treat the ailment yourself, which most people are too lazy to do. That is when fish become disposable.What if people started flushing their dogs down the toilet every time they got fleas?
I know a dog won't fit down the toilet, but you get my point.

[bettalvr]

Fish are cheaper, therefore dispensable . . . one gets sick just get another one. It's sad. And it can get a little expensive b/c fish illnesses are pretty much a "rule out" rather than diagnosing. This is why I do preventative care and most of mine don't get sick. Remember the ole saying, an ounce of prevention. . .

[TheLovelyJesse]

That's outrageous! I'm so angry looking at those pictures! How tragic.
I read on several websites when I got Lily that they needed little bowls to be happy.. So I got her a tiny bowl.. And when I was doing research that night again, I found out you are supposed to have a gallon per fish.. So I rushed out and bought one for her.. Man, she must have been sick the day I got her, with all of that moving!! Lol.
It makes me really sad to think that there are people misinforming others, and fish are getting the short end of the stick because of it..

[TheLovelyJesse]

Originally Posted by Emenon

this is 100% pure betta torture. they treat the bettas like plastic decoration.

So sad, but true.