A better Life?

[TurtleMan84]

I decided recently to rescue 12 Betta's from my local walmart and petsmart. I was shocked at how terrible the Betta's are treated at walmart. They are all shoved way up under a dark shelf where no one can see them, and those little cups they come in were barely half full with water. I saw 2 dead Betta's, that had been dead at least 3 or 4 days, because the water looked like milk and the fish had started disintegrating. Really made me sad, and mad at the idiots who allow that to happen to the fish and never check on them. I took some of the Betta's to the sink and gave them more water. I am going to have a conversation with a manager about that soon.

Anyways, all of my 12 Betta's are in gallon sized bowls, tanks, and critter cages. They all have gravel and a small decoration or plant. A few of them have an LED light. But unfortunately, I don't have the funds to provide them with a heater or filter. But, I feel that I am giving them a much better life than they had in the pet store. They now have more water and swimming space and a plant or decoration to play in. Maybe one day I'll have the money to get bigger tanks with heaters and filters, but right now that is the best I can do for them.

[a123andpoof]

12 bettas in 1 gallons is going to be a lot of upkeep. maybe if there is anyone you can trust you can give them a fish or two? As for the heating problem try and keep them in the warmest part of the house. If you have the space and can afford it I would also look into getting a ten or twenty gallon that can be divided. A ten gallon could be divided into 4 spaces while a twenty gallon around 8ish. And you would have less water changes. For heaters just buy one at a time as you get the money. Eventually you should have enough for all. Though if you can get a larger tank that can be divided you only need like 1 heater per like what 4 fish. (if in 10g.)

[lelei]

Wow..I commend you for being so courageous!! I want to do the same ..I.. know I cant at this timeI can only imagine how difficult it was too see that..It would be best to put those feelings in writing in regards to what yu witnessed in walmart..it will be a bigger impact..I wish yu well in yur rescue efforts..sounds great so far..and when the right time comes get what you can..and go from there:)Good Luck..when yu get a chance show us some pix of yur new family:)

[lelei]

Also if some are female they can be housed together:) do yu know what gender they are?

[mattoboy]

Good on you! As long as there happy! Bettas are some of the hardiest fish alive. When I was younger and didnt know a thing about keeping bettas, I kept them in 1-gallon bowls and did water changes every few weeks and they had no heaters and I kept them alive for a year or more.. even through winter! Man was I stupid! But you learn ;)

[jeffegg2]

I saw where one guy went to an abuse center where there were abused kids, and they all got a nice betta and a smile on their face....

Jeff.

[LionCalie]

Bettas are tropical fish... they need warm water to live comfortably and stay healthy, thus they need a heater. While your heart may have been in the right place, the situation they are in is still not a good on.

I, for one, am not going to support people buying Bettas and then KNOWINGLY keeping them in poor conditions simply because the place they were in previously was worse.

[TurtleMan84]

LionCalie, I guess you're right. I should have left them to die a slow painful agonizing death in the pet stores. God forbid I try to do something right for a helpless creature.

Anyways, thanks everyone else for the good thoughts :) I feel good knowing I have given 12 creatures a better life than they would have had.

[LionCalie]

I have rescued my share of fish from Walmart and improved their living conditions at few stores. I did this without supporting the cruelty (got them for free) and without keeping them in substandard conditions.

What do you think is going to happen at that store? 12 new Bettas are going to take the place of the ones you bought. 12 more Bettas are going to suffer the same fate because guess what? The store didn't learn any lesson.

When you choose to bring an animal into your home, it is your job as caregiver to make sure they are getting proper care. Whether or not their previous conditions were much worse is irrelevant. That is like buying a puppy from an awful pet store where it was suffering, then keeping it outside in a small crate during winter. Oh but it is okay, because now he has a toy and he isn't going to die tomorrow. His health will still suffer and the conditions are still bad.

There is a bigger picture we must take into account here.

[TurtleMan84]

You could have offered some friendly advice rather than just saying you refuse to support someone who did a good deed.

So, I should steal the fish from the store? Or ask if I can have them for free as you did? Things don't work like that around here.