Disgustingly Small Betta Tanks On Ebay

[Minni3]

The thing is...even if you don't buy off ebay, pet stores stock them too. The people who work there even recommend you to buy these tanks! I fell into the trap and bought one. I had him in the tank for about a month until I noticed that he didn't have much room, so i got a 3g tank and now he's happier than ever

Also, there's that argument that fish aren't conscious creatures and that they can't actually feel "sad" unlike dogs and cats - that's why they are given more attention when it comes to animal cruelty.

But betta owners, like myself, know when our fish is happy or not (something that we can't explain).

So if the pet stores, ebay etc. continue to market these "cups" for fish, we can just hope that forums like this educate new betta owners. I learnt from my mistake and never will I buy such a small tank.

 

[nakomis90]

I know when my guys start breeing properly im going to sell the babies with a little leaflet on how to care for them etc!
im also hoping to get my national insurance number (for some reason i never got one)
and get a job with Pets at home by me!
i want to help them up there i must admit apart from th occasional dead molly they seem to have improved!
one of the people who work there used to breed bettas so he looks after the ones there
you get the occasional ones that are a bit sickly looking but theres always a nice bunch of colours up there

as for those tanks its disgusting and wrong!

 

[Buslady]

That's sad. I spend some good money on my Delta and he's got a 5.5gallon with all the ammenities.
it's like when people expect a baby turtle to live healthy happy lives in death bowls. same thing for bettas, thats a death bowl

 

[lovemyfraggies]

That is animal cruilty. Some people think because they are fish it's not considered animal cruelity. How would those people like to live in a closet their entire life. I have my betta in a 20 gallon community tank.He is so happy now. When I bought him he was in a little cup. The poor fish couldn't evan move. It's like being freed from a prison cell. Of course a fish wouldn't be happy in when of those so called betta tanks. It's nothing more for the persons amusement.

 

[SmileyFace1337]

mine are in betta tanks for now its because i just started to get em 4days ago!
I rescued 4 already from those disgusting little cups. And mine are really happy right now.
Its because we're moving soon and once i get to the house im buying them all 3gallons and above for sure probably a couple communities! Im sry please dont hate me for having them in these for now

 

[JimShorts]

That middle one is just plain disgusting. The bettas in fish stores are in bigger containers than that. He can't swim in their, heck, he can barely turn around!

I don't think a betta should be kept in anything under 2 gallons. A 2 gallon tank doesn't take up much room at all, and the fish sure are a lot happier and healthier in one. My next betta is going in either a 5 or 10 gallon, filtered, heated, and planted.

 

[SmileyFace1337]

That middle one is just plain disgusting. The bettas in fish stores are in bigger containers than that. He can't swim in their, heck, he can barely turn around!

I don't think a betta should be kept in anything under 2 gallons. A 2 gallon tank doesn't take up much room at all, and the fish sure are a lot happier and healthier in one. My next betta is going in either a 5 or 10 gallon, filtered, heated, and planted.

right now mines in a 1.9gallon.
until i get them nice like 2.5gallons with heated or some 5gallons

 

[AngelOfDeath]

cool, i keep mine in a 5.8 with two african dwarf frogs, and another in a 3 gall with filter and heater obv

tempted to buy another as i have a spare 3 gall

 

[dusky]

Thats interesting about the frogs in with yours,, you obv don't have any trouble at all then. I've got 3 frogs but they are in the comunity tank but i rarely see them as they hide in the gravel or under the cave.

 

[Honeythorn]

Things like this disgust me beyond belief. People who buy tiny "tanks" , bowls or pots, are doing it purely because THEY would like to stuff something living into a bit of spare space. It seems to me that very little thought goes for the fish. And when people say they haven't room for a bigger tank I feel like breaking something.

Quite frankly if you don't have space for gently filtered and heated 5 gal minimum ( which can easily fit on an average desk by the way ) then don't have a betta at all. It's bloody cruel and unecessary . Look at this

<a href="http/www.plakatthai.com/mahachai/bettaecology.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.plakatthai.com/mahachai/bettaecology.jpg</a>
<a href="http/www.plakatthai.com/bettahabitat/catch1.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.plakatthai.com/bettahabitat/catch1.jpg</a>

That is from a website about wild bettas ( the local people collect them in those streams and fight them like cocks ) . If I am not mistaken, that there is far more than a couple of gallons . The guy in the second picture is THIGH DEEP in water. Looking at these pictures, they clearly collect them when the water is high, and I read that the boys collect them also ,when the males are building bubblenests ( I can only assume that this makes catching wild specimens easier because all they have to do is look for bubblenests )

Then people waffle on and on that because the fish has a labyrinth organ and all the air breathing qualities that entails, and because they can survive ( just about ) in little puddles of water in the dry season, that they can be kept in little bowls, tiny tanks and so on. The dry season in the wild is undoubtedly a very stressful time for the fish, and it never ceases to baffle me as to why so many people want to, or inadvertantly recreate in tank form with captive bred fish, what is basically the worst point in the wild species life.

 

[devon_charm]

I have to admit i have emaild a couple of people who were bidding on tanks like this, explaining about the size and how a fish would live happier in larger tanks, i got one ####ty reply but others have removed there bid and thanked me for the advice....it is poor education that keeps these stupid sellers in business.....i had to laugh cos one seller told me i couldn't know any thing about bettas to think they wouldn't be happy in a tank that small

 

[dusky]

Here u go, if these people are still running you can now do something posative about small tanks , vases etc. http/www.captiveanimals.org/news/2001/betta.htm

 

[gta1628]

hi everyone type in betta tanks on ebay and found these horrible! tanks which people actually keep bettas in! i know they say they can survive in small glasses/tanks! but what a life these poor fish are subjected to! i cant believe people promote these kind of tanks

here are the pics

What's even worse is that I think I can see a goldfish in the first pic unless my eyes are playing tricks on me.

 

[LauraFrog]

This irritates me too. I'll leave it at that or I'll be banned for posting profanities.

What annoys me is people's lack of consideration. They just don't think. When you actually engage them in a conversation about the type of tank they're keeping their betta in, most of them go and get it something bigger. They just never think about how the animal feels until somebody who cares takes them to task for it.
Because it can SURVIVE in a cup, they just assume that it's okay to keep it in one. People SURVIVED in concentration camps, aircraft wrecks, war zones, jail cells, stranded on desert islands - but I don't notice people rushing out to go live there because they can SURVIVE in those conditions. I don't believe that tank size is the be-all and end-all of happy fish, but how can any fish live in a cup? They don't live in cups, they SURVIVE in cups.
I always provide my fish with enriched environments. My tanks aren't big - only about 2 gals - but they are planted, filtered, decorated, have substrate and are fully cycled. It's only common sense that a fish will live a longer and happier life in a simulation of its natural environment than in a little jar of water so we can watch something moving around.

Ever heard of a lava lamp?

 

[metromyers]

The one "tank" on the right with the tree in it was the first tank that I had. I didn't know anything about bettas. Trust me it didn't last long. I had it one week and felt so bad about Fred not being able to turn around as well as getting his fins caught on that stupid plastic tree, I went out and bought a bigger tank , still not huge, but at least he can swim around. Plus the change in Fred was like night and day. Once, in the new tank, he started to make bubble nests and eating better. The sad part is I bought it at the lfs. They were the ones who told me it was OK to keep a Betta in that tank. Sad.