JuiceBox528 2
Artist, rare disease advocate, fish nerd, author
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Do I dare?
- Thread starter vanalisa
- Start date
dmpfishlover
Fishaholic
No one thinks the cup is fine...Just because we didn't come out and say we don't like it doesn't mean we condone it. We can still appreciate the beauty within the ugly cup. It's not fair to put words in our mouths or thoughts in out head that are not there. I believe that we as members of this forum have come to know one another well enough to know that none of us think that putting a beautiful living creature in a small cup is "okay".
Unfortunately it is how most Pet Stores (which is where the picture was taken) houses Bettas before they are sold. Some Pet Stores are waking up, and are keeping Bettas in tanks now, but not all. We know that is not how the fish will be treated if the OP buys the fish.
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Well said!
Who wouldn’t agree?
dmpfishlover
Fishaholic
Of course we all do... unfortunately not all pet stores have "woken up" yet
Retired Viking
Fish Connoisseur
It has been years since I had a Betta. When ever I go to the LFS I am torn between buying one and giving it a better life and the fact that by doing so I am supporting the Betta trade which put them in those small cups. In the end, I would buy one if I had a tank just for him which I currently do not. I also understand it is not always practical for a LFS to give each betta it's own tank. They would run out of room for other fish or only be able to stock a few Betta. It seems like a lose lose situation.
Fishmanic31 147
Gone Fishing
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I'm just glad the dragon scale betta that I bought several weeks ago is very healthy and happy. I "saved" him from a life in a cup and he is now very content in his well planted 5 gallon tank. He comes over to the side of the tank to greet me with a wiggle every morning and he has a huge appetite, though I am careful not to overfeed him.
I love all of my bettas. Each has their own personality. They even have different eating habits. One may be at the top before you ever drop the food while another one wants you to drop it right in front of him. Every time I walk in the fish room there are several waiting at the glass for me. Even just walking down the hall, I can glance in and see someone looking. They are like little puppies. 
Fishmanic31 147
Gone Fishing
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If I hold a tiny red spoon filled with betta bits an inch above the tank, he will jump up to knock the spoon to release the bits. He's very active.
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I love my bettas. One of them will jump if I hold a pellet of food a few centimeters out of the water.
You would be mortified with how betta’s are kept in pet shops here. At least that one has a bit if room to move in. Think of a little breeder box with no heater, no filteration, no lighting! The thing that poops me the most is there have a filtration system set up to filter all those little breeder size containers but don’t run them. The poor little guys look so miserable and sickly looking, it’s absolutely disgusting!! People house bettas in little tanks due to all the misinformation that is told at pet shops and online
When I worked in a fish wholesaler, we used to keep male Betta splendens in small plastic container that held about 2 cups of water. We fed them each day and changed their water a couple of times a week. We did it purely due to space restrictions because we got in thousands of fish each shipment and you literally can't hold that many fish in large tanks.
In the shops we put the males in tanks with peaceful fish and the remaining males were kept in 1 litre containers and treated the same way as the ones in wholesale/ quarantine.
These days some of the shops have glass tanks made up with lots of 1 litre partitions. Each mini tank has clean filtered water flowing into it and the excess water overflows into a sump. the fish do alright and are in clean water, but again, it is done for space. Customers want lots of different Bettas to choose from and you literally can't set up 50 x 10 gallon tanks just to hold 1 betta in each tank.
In the shops we put the males in tanks with peaceful fish and the remaining males were kept in 1 litre containers and treated the same way as the ones in wholesale/ quarantine.
These days some of the shops have glass tanks made up with lots of 1 litre partitions. Each mini tank has clean filtered water flowing into it and the excess water overflows into a sump. the fish do alright and are in clean water, but again, it is done for space. Customers want lots of different Bettas to choose from and you literally can't set up 50 x 10 gallon tanks just to hold 1 betta in each tank.
Bettas aren't kept in cups at LFS here. The fancier bettas have small tanks to themselves and a snail. The less fancy bettas are kept in tanks with other fish that aren't nippy. The females tend to have their own sorority tank.
Sandy's fish and botia
New Member
Years ago when I worked in an aquarium store we never kept bettas in a cup we always put one in each suitable tank (very peaceful and no fin nippers) with the others that lived in the tank. Then we just put a red sticker on that tank so we could easily show them to a customer. When each one was sold we replaced red sticker with a green one so we knew, at a glance, where they were AND how many to order. We may not have sold as many but they were happier and healthier when sold. We would never have even thought to put them in cups. Horrible now how they treat them.
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