Misleading information

[fishy314]

There was a PetCo flyer that I took home just out of interest.

It said that the minimum tank size for a betta is 1/4 gallon! Crazy! I would really like it if somebody could set these pet stores straight.

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

Goodness! Petsmart has the decency to say 1 inch of fish per gallon but they still sell the small tanks though.

[NeptunesMom]

Originally Posted by LeoTheLakerBetta

Goodness! Petsmart has the decency to say 1 inch of fish per gallon but they still sell the small tanks though.

It's because people want to buy the small tanks, and if PetSmart didn't sell them they would just go to another store that did. You would not believe the number of times I have tried to talk customers (I work at PetSmart) into at least a 2.5 gallon tank (it's not even that big). People just say, "well I do not have enough room for that." Then they buy the small one. The problem is the way people view bettas. They view them as a starter pet for children, or a decoration. They do not view them in the same way they view a dog. No one would ever confine a dog to a kennel 24/7 without society viewing them as abusive. But, with fish... they just do not hold the same "worth". The same goes for most pocket pets. They are viewed as "disposable."

I send many people to this site, and hope they come to learn about bettas.

[fishy314]

Originally Posted by NeptunesMom

It's because people want to buy the small tanks, and if PetSmart didn't sell them they would just go to another store that did. You would not believe the number of times I have tried to talk customers (I work at PetSmart) into at least a 2.5 gallon tank (it's not even that big). People just say, "well I do not have enough room for that." Then they buy the small one. The problem is the way people view bettas. They view them as a starter pet for children, or a decoration. They do not view them in the same way they view a dog. No one would ever confine a dog to a kennel 24/7 without society viewing them as abusive. But, with fish... they just do not hold the same "worth". The same goes for most pocket pets. They are viewed as "disposable."

I send many people to this site, and hope they come to learn about bettas.

Thank you. One person can make a difference.

[AyalaCookiejar]

Why is there not a law against fish abuse like there is with other domestic animals? I just can't comprehend it.

[SinX7]

Originally Posted by AyalaCookiejar

Why is there not a law against fish abuse like there is with other domestic animals? I just can't comprehend it.

Because they are not a lot of fish owner compare to cats/dogs/etc. Also, it's hard for those average people to tell if the fish was abuse or not, cause most of the time, they will think its a disease.

I was planning to go to the store and edit their flyers for them (without them knowing lol)

But I wanted to get this out my chest, can we please stop posting about this kind of threads? Why not make one big thread about it to keep it more organized. Just saying and don't say I don't care about fishes, when I do.