Fish Cruelty!

[The betta expert]

Hi,
My friend just got a betta, and she is treating it horribly. He's in a 1 gallion tank, with un-heated, cold water, no filter, no plants, no nothing.
Sumi, (the fish) is going to die soon. He has ich, fin rot, and is very lathargic.
i tryed telling her about 1000 times, but she just scoffed. I even bought her a tank and a heater, but she just gave them back to me. I don't want to be very persistint, as she is very fragial, but I don't want to let Sumi die.
I even brought my fish, kenji to see him( through their tanks) and Kenji flared like crazy, but Sumi just sat there not even looking at him.
This is crazy! I really need your help.
How can I convince her without really herting her feelings?

 

[MrNiceGuy]

well, if it really bothers you and she obviously doesnt give a darn about it anyway, steal it. next time you see the betta, bring a cup, and grab him before you leave. and if she confronts you, give her 5 dollars, laugh it off and say you care too much to see it die.

i mean, its just a fish, i doubt she paid much for it. probably wouldn't be that big of a deal to her.

 

[Truck]

A 1 gallon is fine, as long as it is heated and 2*50% water changes are done daily, plants are not essential either.

 

[loraxchick]

or...
buy her a small heater for the bowl and donate some water conditioner and show her how to do a waterchange. teach her how to take care of him properly. if she is uninterested in learning, im sure she would give him away. for the animal's sake. also show her photos of what a healthy betta looks like. a picture says a thousand words.
i wouldnt crucify someone who doesnt understand batta care-most folks dont unfortunately. all you can do is teach (and dont lecture either, they'd be less likely to listen).
all the best
cheers

 

[The betta expert]

A 1 gallon is fine, as long as it is heated and 2*50% water changes are done daily, plants are not essential either.

Well, actually the water is COLD, and she does a half clean every two weeks- that's it!

 

[Assaye]

A 1 gallon is fine, as long as it is heated and 2*50% water changes are done daily, plants are not essential either.

A lot of things are not essential if you just want the thing to be alive and healthy . . .

I agree with the others. You're not going to get her to change everything overnight. Start with the basics - clean water and regular water changes. Show her your water tests and demonstrate how the ammonia builds up. Give her a little bit of water conditioner and some betta pellets to start off with. If you can get her interested, teach her.

If it comes down to it, tell her the fish is sick and in pain. Try to appeal to her empathy and when she rejects it, ask her why she doesn't care about the suffering she is causing? Try to get her to realise that what she is doing is cruel. Only use that as a last resort, if she refuses to learn and shows no interest in the fish.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

[/quote]
Well, actually the water is COLD, and she does a half clean every two weeks- that's it!
[/quote]
Hydor 7.5 watt heaters are perfect for small bowls like that. I had one in my 2 gallon and it kept the water around 72, so I'm guessing it would raise the water better in a 1 gallon. Those heaters are about $15 US.

If he has ich, fin rot and is going to die soon, then just let it go. I'd say at this point you may want to focus more on making sure she doesn't replace it with a new betta!

 

[Kieren_1992]

try and show her how to do water changes and bring her some plants and tell her how nice it would be with them in... bring her into the teaching of the betta and everything like that, she might be more intrested in it then.

plants and heater and filter isnt needed. plants are just there for deco. as long as you do daily water changes a filter isnt needed, but in her case she should really get one, and a heater isnt needed anyways, as long as your room is hot enough to make the temps of the water right. some of my tanks (smaller ones) are without heaters and the bettas in there are really happy...

if she continued to not give a darn about the fish the i suggest offering her some money or it and taking it and looking after it a little better than what she is... like above said,,, maybe steal the fish ? she might not even notice

 

[Larkspur]

No offense, but from my experience at a vet clinic, your friend could react in the following way:

You "fix" the problems that needed to be attended too. You said the fish needs a tank with lighting and heat and such. Well it's far enough long at this point the fish is most likely going to pass on. You put forth effort to try and save it and it still dies.

Who is to say your friend, who never recognized the problem to start with, won't blame you for the death of your fish even though you tried to help her? Sometimes people who don't want advise are just not going to learn until they mess everything else up on their own. Happens all the time at my job. People will bring in sick dogs/cats and then complain later that the pet got "worse" because of the vet. Obviously not true. I think people often want to put the blame on someone, but surely not themselves.

I think at this point I'd just encourage her not to get another betta after this one passes on.

 

[Assaye]

Lark has a good point. I've suggested treatments for friends with sick fish (even just basics like extra water changes and stuff) and when the fish have died I've been blamed.

"Oh, it was fine just in the bowl, your tank and filter must have killed it", etc etc.

Be careful and if you can get her to see why her care is bad, that's great. If you can't, encourage her not to get a second fish if the first one dies.

 

[Luimeril]

offer to buy the betta off her? the poor little fella's sick, bored, and just generally feeling blah. ich can be cured easily enough, but not in those conditions. at least 2 gallons of heated, clean water are needed for him to feel better. plants'll give him hiding spots and make him feel more secure. i really hope the little guy does okay. if you can't buy him off her, as much as i don't like this, steal him, like the person up there said. say you saw he'd died, and flushed him for her.

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Honestly, if you know the fish is going to die at this point it's probably better not to get your friend mad at you over it. Focus instead on convincing her not to get another betta after.

If you're reeeaallyy dead set on helping the fish, just take him. Or offer to buy him from your friend. It will most likely be a waste of money if you are sure he isn't going to be living long, but if it will help you feel better then go ahead and do it.

Sorry to hear your friend is irresponsible with pets, hopefully you convince her not to get another.

 

[Luimeril]

how long as he been this way? if it's not been that long, no need to throw in the towl just yet. Ich is easy to cure, and the lethargy may be because the water's too cold. if you're sure she's not going to do anything at all about him, take him/buy him off her.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

i tryed telling her about 1000 times, but she just scoffed.

i think people are missing this point. crazy as it might sound to most of you, a lot of people out there just see the cruelty as insignificant as stepping on an ant. talking to her will probably do no good.


i still say steal the fish

 

[zophie]

So what I did, is I just asked her if I could "borrow" him for a little, and she said sure. I put him in a 100 gallion tank heated to 80 degrees. He started acting way better.
So, anyway, he no longer has ich, and I showed her the fish.
She realised the difference, and said that I could keep him for 20 bucks, but only if she could see him and adress him as "her fish".
I know it's pretty weird, but I thought whatever, and took him. I will poast a picture if you like.
My friend named the fish a word in Tamil that means sad( I don't know why), but now I changed his name to Victory. Ha-HA!
So, any way, Victory and KEnji flare at each other all the time, and he's doing wonderfully. His favourite of me betta's is Onna, who I think he has a crush on!

So, thanks for all the tips!