Why do people do this to fish?

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Hi everyone!
So, my art teacher has a betta in a bowl. I brought her a nice five gallon for said betta. I learned today that she’s keeping the betta in the bowl and getting “a few goldfish” for the five gallon. Whyyyy?

Like way too many individuals, she will have bought the Betta simply because it looks pretty. I'd suspect her research only went so far as things she thought she knew and I bet she intended to use it as another tool for her schooling.

You do have an opportunity to persist and actually teach her the error of her ways. You have an opportunity to show her that you are more than she originally perceived you to be.
Let her know your passion for the fish...after all, you paid out to buy a five gallon tank.

Good luck.
 
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Actually, I forgot to mention this, but she had THREE bettas. Each in their own bowl. The other two died after a day. And yeah, she bought her so we could paint the fish.
 
Actually, I forgot to mention this, but she had THREE bettas. Each in their own bowl. The other two died after a day. And yeah, she bought her so we could paint the fish.
Most educational establishments have Policies relating to animal welfare. I suspect she will have broken these.
Your school will have a Policy towards pupil welfare...and her abuse of fish is causing you (and maybe some of your school friend) emotional trauma.
This needs to be acted on with all due diligence.

;)
 
For many, fish are not "animals" in the same sense that dogs and cats are, so none of this matters to them. Several governments have passed or are being asked by the public to pass legislation prohibiting exotic animal trafficking aimed at birds, reptiles and amphibians, and fish will not be far behind. The sad thing is that these laws usually go the full extent, because the issues are ignored until there is enough pressure from people to get governments to crack down. All because of people like this individual, and stores that have little or no knowledge of fish and sell them to such people.

It could be sensible and good for the fish and the hobby, but it likely won't be. We will all lose, and may see the end of fish keeping. There was an effort some years back to prohibit the sale of "large" fish, like clown loaches, arapaima, red tail catfish, etc, to anyone that did not have a license (proof that they knew what they were doing and could provide the proper environment). The hobby would continue with better regulation. But given recent events and the crackdown on animal trade this is not likely to happen.
 
THAT IS SO FRUSTRATING
pls complain to the school..
our school got a goldfish in a 1 gallon bowl and was moving it around, died the next day, they're planning to get a new one(i cant stop this since i have no contact with the teacher who has this)
in our classroom one annoying kid showed off their 5g cube with 2 huge sad goldfish in there. said it's been suffering for 5 years!
 
I would talk to the principal about it.
What could the principal do?


The teacher doesn't need to be labeled as stupid or ignorant. Everyone starts in the hobby somewhere. I myself started with a betta in a bowl. If it were me, I would not report the teacher to the principal, who probably has the same lack of knowledge as the teacher. It's likely not that the teacher is being ignorant, they were probably just wanting another class pet. You can't blame someone for seeing goldfish in bowls and bettas in cups being promoted all across the pet store and internet and expect them to know better. If it were me, I would type up a short, simple, to the point care sheet covering the basic problems of tank size, filtration, diet, and heater and let the teacher know it is what the fish needs to thrive.

As someone who has personally gone out, bought a bowl, a couple of female bettas, a bag of marbles, and plastic plants, I can tell you it isn't that they don't want to give the betta a good life. I did research before I put my two female bettas in the same bowl, I did research before I bought them! I wanted so badly to do my best for them. I did research, and not being experienced in the fishy world, I of course didn't know what to be looking for. Lots of things I read simply told me female bettas could live together, but didn't say a word about tank size! Newcomers to the hobby simply don't know what to look for. They go to the only place they know about (their local petco or petsmart) see those tiny bowls being promoted for bettas, see those pretty bettas, and there is nothing telling them there is anything wrong with that! I have an aunt who loves her pets and wants whats best for them, and she has a pleco in a 3 gallon because she doesn't know any better! My point is, it doesn't always come from a heart of ignorance. Sometimes the relationship is more important than the fish, sadly. You can do your best, but it isn't worth hurting the relationship.
 
What could the principal do?


The teacher doesn't need to be labeled as stupid or ignorant. Everyone starts in the hobby somewhere. I myself started with a betta in a bowl. If it were me, I would not report the teacher to the principal, who probably has the same lack of knowledge as the teacher. It's likely not that the teacher is being ignorant, they were probably just wanting another class pet. You can't blame someone for seeing goldfish in bowls and bettas in cups being promoted all across the pet store and internet and expect them to know better. If it were me, I would type up a short, simple, to the point care sheet covering the basic problems of tank size, filtration, diet, and heater and let the teacher know it is what the fish needs to thrive.

As someone who has personally gone out, bought a bowl, a couple of female bettas, a bag of marbles, and plastic plants, I can tell you it isn't that they don't want to give the betta a good life. I did research before I put my two female bettas in the same bowl, I did research before I bought them! I wanted so badly to do my best for them. I did research, and not being experienced in the fishy world, I of course didn't know what to be looking for. Lots of things I read simply told me female bettas could live together, but didn't say a word about tank size! Newcomers to the hobby simply don't know what to look for. They go to the only place they know about (their local petco or petsmart) see those tiny bowls being promoted for bettas, see those pretty bettas, and there is nothing telling them there is anything wrong with that! I have an aunt who loves her pets and wants whats best for them, and she has a pleco in a 3 gallon because she doesn't know any better! My point is, it doesn't always come from a heart of ignorance. Sometimes the relationship is more important than the fish, sadly. You can do your best, but it isn't worth hurting the relationship.
I agree. I started with bettas in bowls too, and I loved them, I just didn’t know better than to keep them in bowls. And she’s not ignorant or stupid, she obviously cares about the fish.
 
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