Before & after images, Ill effects small bodies of water and infrequent water changes

[kelly528]

No but I had a panicky Thai breeder PM me once asking me how to do water changes because his assistants were gone :D I wasn't aware he meant 300 cups when he asked me how to change his water!!!

[Jupiter]

What an amazing improvement! That first betta is STUNNING.

[1fish2fish]

Originally Posted by kelly528

No but I had a panicky Thai breeder PM me once asking me how to do water changes because his assistants were gone :D I wasn't aware he meant 300 cups when he asked me how to change his water!!!

LOL wow.. I will consider my operation big if I have 80 fry in cups . That's why I really want to have a drip system installed before I start breeding. Makes water changes a breeze.

[BettaSCHmacK]

WOW! very big difference between the pictures. im going to try to buy a 2.5g for my crowntail this weekend. maybe a 3g eclipse.

[Jayy]

thats really a big i wish more people knew this, soo sad

[CodeRed]

Amazing change in the first boy. He's very handsome. I'm going to agree here and say that just because something can live in a small area, doesn't mean it should. All animals benefit from the extra space, and usually seem to be healthier with they have more room to move around.

[Brooke]

They are all beautiful - I am shocked at the change. I do have to say that white one is amazing, if I came across one of those, I would have to get another and figure out housing space :p.

[TokyoBetta]

Great post.
I'm just an amateur with one fish but I think for any life form we can agree that a decent, clean living arrangement is really necessary to thrive, and most importantly humane.

I think small and unsuitable get lumped together a lot because there are many people out there who see the fish as an ornament 1st and a pet 2nd, vs the other way around. Just look at how some fish get marketed. Here in Japan its kinda bad for example.. they ship the fish, little tiny 1.5/2L 'tank', decorative marbles, pellets, right to your door complete, and presto you have a nice desktop fish to look at for a week then probably forget about. That's no way to go about keeping a pet.

That's probably why small living conditions get a bad rap.

As was pointed out tho there are some people out there who would add a heater, change the water daily, etc, do it properly even with those tiny decorative tanks, but I tend to believe anyone who really cared for the fish would get it a bigger space specially made for fish and something that was more livable. I suppose you can breed them in jars but as adults they should be in larger tanks for sure.

EDIT:
Here's an example from a popular online shopping site I found instantly:
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/kaientai/regalo001/

Anyone starting off thinking this is how to keep a fish, yeah it'll eventually end up looking like the ones in the first photos.
Again, it's not the living space itself (although def. too small), I think it's the 'lifestyle' this kind of decorative fish-keeping promotes and the mentality that goes with it that leads to the fish's health deteriorating.

[dramaqueen]

Yeah, I think it's the quality of life that they are given. My bettas are in smaller containers but they get regular water changes and are fed properly. I've said it before but I was criticized on another forum for keeping my fish in smaller containers. At the time, I was keeping them (I only had 2 at the time) in .5 gallon vases. That was before I knew better but some people insist that bettas be kept in 5 gallons or more and anything less is abusive.

[SchwimmyTheBetta]

See. Look what a change that made in the fish's well being and health. Is that too hard to do? Not at all. All the fish are beautiful by the way. :))