I dont know how many of you have experienced this, but is it just me or are poor bettas just getting the brunt of abuse at the stores?
I went last week to my local big chain pet store and I've never been so shocked in my whole life at how badly they're treated. Here were about a dozen cups full of betta fish that were stacked on top of one another so that the poor things couldn't even breathe, I've never seen such colourless, lethargic, miserable and diseased looking fish in my life. And in the most disgusting water that looked like it hadn't been changed in weeks. I felt so upset seeing them like that, some of them even had ammonia burns on their bodies.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to stop this? I told the lady at the counter I was concerned about the health of those fish and she got rather defensive and refused to really talk about them because she didn't care. Poor little guys, if I had enough room I would have bought them all just to save them from where they were :( I've never seen a betta fish so hurt that it was on its last limb of life like that.
Take pictures of the abuse and write to the corporate office of the chain you went to. Angle it as a loss of profit for them. Talk about how unappealing it is to buy sick and neglected fish in dirty water and how you will take your business elsewhere.
Take pictures of the abuse and write to the corporate office of the chain you went to. Angle it as a loss of profit for them. Talk about how unappealing it is to buy sick and neglected fish in dirty water and how you will take your business elsewhere.
Thank you. I will do just that and go in tomorrow. They've lost my business after this. Sad part was this was right near the front entrance. Very unappealing. Then again one employee tried to sell me a black moor goldfish and told me I could keep it in a one gallon tank... thats quite laughable too how unknowledgable their staff really is considering they need 15-20 gallons at least :/
The unfortunate thing is that they won't change because they view it as neglect, they only care about the money they can potentially make, or in this case, are losing. If they were treating puppies like they treat bettas, every humane society in the country would be there. :(
The unfortunate thing is that they won't change because they view it as neglect, they only care about the money they can potentially make, or in this case, are losing. If they were treating puppies like they treat bettas, every humane society in the country would be there. :(
Thats the thing I don't understand, a betta fish, (or any fish for that matter) is a living creature. I don't see how they do not get the same protection and rights as a dog or cat. They all breathe air, they all have beating hearts, they all feel pain when they are sick and have individual personalities. Their livelihood depends on us, as responsible owners and caretakers. This sort of behaviour is disgusting and unacceptable whether a person WORKS for a pet store or owns one. It's our job to be educated on their needs :/
Not buying the fishes from to prevent the company earning profit is one way to approach it but how often do big corporate listen to just one member in the community? For me I still buy these bettas and bring them home, and give them a better life. i know in the long run these companies will view my purchases as a chance to expand their business and more fish will get hurt in the process but like a bunch of twigs, if we stand alone, we will be broken easily, together, we can make a bigger difference.
Not buying the fishes from to prevent the company earning profit is one way to approach it but how often do big corporate listen to just one member in the community? For me I still buy these bettas and bring them home, and give them a better life. i know in the long run these companies will view my purchases as a chance to expand their business and more fish will get hurt in the process but like a bunch of twigs, if we stand alone, we will be broken easily, together, we can make a bigger difference.
Thank you. I am determined to write them a strongly worded letter about this and send it off to their head office. I do on occasion buy these guys too when I have the room to, a lot of them that I did in the past did not make it past a night. Sadly a lot of these injuries/ illnesses could have been treated. Poor guys.
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