Research on Bettas From Large Pet Chains

[FishGuest5123]

My bff and her vet friend have been doing research on the different ailments and the most current treatments to see if there’s something better specifically for bettas. They’ve rescued bettas from only 2 large chain pet stores in the U.S. I won’t mention names but I’m sure you can guess them. They’re doing genetic research too. Even fish rescued two years apart are showing they’re closely related to ones gotten this year. From both stores. From the same breeder. No wonder we are dealing with so many issues in our bettas these days. Unusual lumps and premature aging is being reported. I know no other details at this time but very sad indeed. We need to boycott these kind of places. These breeders and stores are making money at the expense of the fish and the hobbyist who ends up spending a fortune trying to cure their beloved pet.

 

[Colin_T]

How do you plan on boycotting the Asian breeders?
There are a handful of places in Asia that produce 90% of the aquarium fish people keep. They all do the same thing, inbreed and overstock, inbreed and overstock. The only way to get healthier fish is to collect your own or buy from different parts of the world, eg: males from Germany, females from Thailand. Then you should get slightly better genetics.

You also need to get them to stop or significantly reduce the amount of medication/ chemicals they use on the fish. And you need to get them to use cleaner water sources instead of sewer ponds.

 

[FishGuest5123]

How do you plan on boycotting the Asian breeders?
There are a handful of places in Asia that produce 90% of the aquarium fish people keep. They all do the same thing, inbreed and overstock, inbreed and overstock. The only way to get healthier fish is to collect your own or buy from different parts of the world, eg: males from Germany, females from Thailand. Then you should get slightly better genetics.

You also need to get them to stop or significantly reduce the amount of medication/ chemicals they use on the fish. And you need to get them to use cleaner water sources instead of sewer ponds.

All we can realistically do is not purchase the product.

 

[Colin_T]

All we can realistically do is not purchase the product.

You won't be getting any more fish then

 

[PheonixKingZ]

All we can realistically do is not purchase the product.

I don’t personally don’t buy the bettas from big chain stores. I so want to rescue all of them, and give them a good home. But I know that’s not possible.......

 

[Colin_T]

I don’t personally don’t buy the bettas from big chain stores.

All the fish sold in chain stores and mum & dad pet shops, come from the same suppliers in Asia or Germany. Asia tends to supply most of the common stuff including Bettas, whereas Germany supplies a lot of the more unusual fish, particularly dwarf cichlids. So regardless of which shop you get your fish from, they probably came from the same suppliers in Asia.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Really? But still, at my LFS their bettas live in 0.5 gallon tanks, and their tanks are heated, and filtered. Unlike the tiny cups that they have in Big Chain-Stores.

 

[FishFinatic77]

My LFS has recently started buying bettas from a local breeder. If everyone bought like that, the chain stores and the mass breeders in Asia wouldn't be getting nearly as many sales.

 

[FishGuest5123]

How do you plan on boycotting the Asian breeders?
There are a handful of places in Asia that produce 90% of the aquarium fish people keep. They all do the same thing, inbreed and overstock, inbreed and overstock. The only way to get healthier fish is to collect your own or buy from different parts of the world, eg: males from Germany, females from Thailand. Then you should get slightly better genetics.

You also need to get them to stop or significantly reduce the amount of medication/ chemicals they use on the fish. And you need to get them to use cleaner water sources instead of sewer ponds.

I’m talking about boycotting the purchase of the fish from the local store. I really don’t think I have to explain the process to you, do I?

 

[FishGuest5123]

All the fish sold in chain stores and mum & dad pet shops, come from the same suppliers in Asia or Germany. Asia tends to supply most of the common stuff including Bettas, whereas Germany supplies a lot of the more unusual fish, particularly dwarf cichlids. So regardless of which shop you get your fish from, they probably came from the same suppliers in Asia.

That’s not true. Many LFS purchase from private breeders. Mine does. You can also find reputable breeders on line these days. You just have to do research and get reviews on them.

 

[Byron]

But still, at my LFS their bettas live in 0.5 gallon tanks, and their tanks are heated, and filtered. Unlike the tiny cups that they have in Big Chain-Stores.

I’m talking about boycotting the purchase of the fish from the local store. I really don’t think I have to explain the process to you, do I?

Some stores will provide better in-store care for their fish, and I agree that these should be supported and not chain stores. But that does not answer the point about the source of the fish, regardless of how well (or not) the fish are cared for by stores.

I live in Canada on the Pacific coast, and every store here acquires fish primarily from Asian suppliers. In the past there were one or two that used direct importers or bought from exporters in South America and Asia (these being wild caught fish obviously, which we know are inevitably more healthy most of the time). Rarely do any of the present stores do this now.

I will not even enter a chain store. Years ago I acquired a number of fish from Petland, which locally was one of the better chains compared to the other two here. But over a period of a year I began to realize that these fish had far more problems than the fish I acquired elsewhere (at that time local direct importers). Twice an internal protozoan turned up that even after not appearing during quarantining then nearly decimated a tank of fish. In other cases where the fish lived for several months, they would die off too soon in my view. I realized this was more than just coincidental, so I have not entered a chain store for over four years now.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Just me personally, I don’t buy Bettas from Chainstores. They tend to be unhealthy, and have a lot of issues.

 

[Back in the fold]

My bff and her vet friend have been doing research on the different ailments and the most current treatments to see if there’s something better specifically for bettas. They’ve rescued bettas from only 2 large chain pet stores in the U.S. I won’t mention names but I’m sure you can guess them. They’re doing genetic research too. Even fish rescued two years apart are showing they’re closely related to ones gotten this year. From both stores. From the same breeder. No wonder we are dealing with so many issues in our bettas these days. Unusual lumps and premature aging is being reported. I know no other details at this time but very sad indeed. We need to boycott these kind of places. These breeders are making money at the expense of the fish and the hobbyist who ends up spending a fortune trying to cure their beloved pet.

Wow! That floored me. I kind of suspected that but thought I was just being paranoid or wrongly suspicious. Confirms my theories about everything. It's all about the money. My solution. Join the Betta Congress, start your own breeding program with a diverse population and share fish with those who care. It isn't just Bettas. All the common fish in the hobby are looking a little too inbred.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I couldn’t agree more. To people, all fish are is raw $$$, they don’t care if the are healthy, they just care if they are sold, and off the shelves.

 

[Back in the fold]

Now for the Million Dollar Question. How do these people Deanasue's referring to know that these fish are what they claim? Is fish genetics that much of a science now that they can narrow it down like that? Inquiring minds want to know.