Bettas Becoming A Touchy Subject

Do you ever feel like you should just step away from any conversations regarding bettas (or your personal fish of choice) in your day to day life? I've about decided that for myself. They are really starting to bother me, so I'm needlessly causing myself emotional stress. I will say, I'm an emotional/empathetic person anyways so that doesn't help hehe.

Yesterday, we had a get together at my boss' house. She took us in to show us her husband's betta that sits on his desk. She said that he loves his betta, Betty. She thought its housing was cute because it was a child's wooden tv-looking aquarium. However, they had inserted a glass goldfish bowl inside of it that was probably 1/2-3/4 gallon ... maybe. In the bowl, was the spongebob pineapple house so even smaller area remained. No heater, nothing. Water changes weekly .. I think. She said, 'isn't she cute?' I looked at that sad little fish, tail mangled and thought ... 'what do you say without losing your job?' I wasn't the only one looking so fortunately I didn't have to say anything. Maybe they think I'm coddling my bettas? I keep two of my bettas at work. They (at work) always say something like, your bettas are lucky, or I know it's not like your bettas' aquariums.... but they don't change what they do.

Today, one of our parents was talking about how her child loved our saltwater aquarium we have at the school (125 gallon). She was saying the child's grandfather wanted to know if they should get the child a betta for Christmas. She said, 'I told him yeah if he was going to come over every week and clean it. They stink'. I didn't say too much, except that bettas really needed a 5 gallon aquarium and that if you do water changes regularly they don't stink. The mom was saying how she used to have a betta in one of those betta kits. I did say that those were terrible for bettas. Of course, they think if the betta survived then it must have been a good environment for them. After she walked away, I did say to my boss that bettas are one of the most mistreated fish.

I hate thinking about that. I hate seeing the terrible conditions of the bettas at Wal-mart (I usually have at least one Wal-mart betta at any given time). I guess I need to figure out how to distance myself from that because it doesn't look like it is going to change.

 

Agreed

 

I get what your saying, and I’ve really never been the one to tell someone this unless I know they’ll listen. Of course, if I do tell them and they refuse to listen or even consider what I’m telling them, I’d probably distance myself from them personally. I’m sorry that this is chasing you stress, what you’ve decided on it probably the best thing you can do

 

I find goldfish even harder to talk about with the unknowledgeable who aren't willing to change their mindsets, and I've never even had goldfish. The whole "I had goldfish in a 5 gallon and they lived a long time, a whole year" gets old fast, especially if someone isn't willing to listen to me or other reliable sources.

 

I agree with that, too, since I also have goldfish (I have 2 currently in my 46 gallon bowfront with a third in my QT tank that I'm having trouble introducing into the aquarium). People always get surviving and thriving confused I think.

 

Unfortunately, it can be so very hard to get through to people, particularly with hardy fishes like bettas and goldies. I had fish when I was young, but also had no clue. Fast forward to my own child wanting a fantail goldie. We brought that poor guy home to a 3 gallon kiddie kit... poor baby. Luckily, it wasn't long before we figured things out. Our goldie is still with us 6 years later, but I am unable to house him in anything larger than a 20 gallon long. I've felt so guilty about it that I looked into re-homing him. Then I discovered people with ponds were even more clueless than me. I almost took him to one pond, until there was a total loss of life there. He's definitely stunted, but I love him as much as any pet and I make sure he's healthy otherwise.

It was a tough learning curve, but if only more were willing to learn....

 

I ran into this myself. I was in the process of upgrading our betta from a 10 gallon to a 20 long. Well in the meantime, we (my girlfriend of 4 years, some of her family, and myself) load up and go to Texas. This is where I meet her mother for the first time. Knowing that we had a betta, she wanted to show us hers. Well, she did have it in a 10 gallon tank. However, no filter, no heater, no lid, only half full of slime covered water. The only thing in the tank was colored gravel. It was so hard to keep my mouth shut because I didn't want to seem like the crazy fish guy.

 

I guess I don't understand their wanting to 'show off' something that looks like that. I would be embarrassed if that was my tank. Meeting her mother for the first time, it's not like you can really say, 'That fish has a nice color. Hey, while I'm here, do you want me to do a water change for you??'

 

I guess I don't understand their wanting to 'show off' something that looks like that. I would be embarrassed if that was my tank. Meeting her mother for the first time, it's not like you can really say, 'That fish has a nice color. Hey, while I'm here, do you want me to do a water change for you??'

Exactly.

 

When I was trying to figure out my betta tank I joined a betta forum naturally. I got answers that I could have 5 males and 70 females because they only need a gallon of water fir each. One person keeps theirs in the little cup it comes in because pet store bettas only live a month or 2. The stupidity was off the chart. My tank may not be the fanciest or prettiest but its clean and it suits me.

 

My dad bought himself one of those betta kits, even tho I told him against it. Fast forward 3 weeks later the betta is dead.

I stole his betta bowl and put it in my room. It is not in use just kinda hidden

Now he sees my healthy betta in my 5 gallon and seems to have realised the bowl was a bad idea, mine are still alive. Tho he still doesn’t understand why the betta died, tho I tried to explain why.

One step at a time I guess ^^;

 

every time I go on pinterest I want to scream at the things people find "cute" or "fun" for a betta tank.

you can get 20 or so common fish for the price you pay for one betta- why do you want to put it in a little tiny bowl where you can't see how gorgeous it is??

They are so amazingly beautiful to watch swim ... I just don't understand.

I don't get people sometimes.

 

My very good coworker friend has a commet goldfish in 10g. I mentioned it needs a bigger tank and let it go.

At the end if the day no matter how much you care about other people's pets you have to decide if your relationships and your life is more important than a fish, and though animal lover in me screams, the choice is pretty obvious.

Removing yourself form the conversation is 1/2 of it, not showing contempt is the other half.

 

I almost got into debate with a friend about weekly water changes. She said that they just needed to be topped up (not knowing I have 4 tanks) to which I informed her that biweekly minimum if not weekly at least need. She disagreed with a scoff (in good humour) but I said that for the heath of the fish, bI weekly is needed, then have her such a “I will preach this to you till I’m blue in the face” look, she dropped the subject and so did I. I won’t push it unless I’m shoved, but I will stand my ground and let the conversation drop.

But about bettas, I had to kee my mouth shut about my friend’s fish. Same typical deal.

 

Like my dad wants a crab in our 10 gallon and It would kill my kuhli. I've told him no. He got mad of course but If I'm the one doing the maintenance, I get to make tank decisions thankfully.

 

I can't even talk to some of my family members about fish keeping. I get pretty "judgemental" and worked up in general. You know how you talk louder/faster about things you like? Yep, that's me. Don't try to talk fish with me unless you are a hardcore fish keeping.

One uncle has a 29gal and he's gone through so many fish. Every time I go over I see different fish in an algae riddled, relatively barren tank. I had given him some juvenile sword tails a long while back, I only saw 1 tiny male with nipped fins.

 

I may mention something, but then I drop it. I've been in the pet store before and saw a saleclerk excitedly helping someone gather up items for a betta tank. Gaudy gravel, some ornament, tiny tank. The lady went to take it to the counter and I just quietly said, bettas really do better in a larger tank, then walked to another aisle. Some people just see them as decor, not even living things. *sigh*

 

I will happily talk to anyone about betta or any fish care. I have figured out that if you have your own experiences to draw on, people will more likely listen to you.

I used to work at a department store. We didn't have fish and I didn't work in the pet section, but we did sell some fish equipment. I'd always try to strike up a conversation if I saw customers standing there and even had some come back and thank me for making their fish happier.

 

this is a great post.

 

I think most people don't see fish as "animals" and just "fish" - throw away pets - which couldn't be further from the truth.

 

I think most people don't see fish as "animals" and just "fish" - throw away pets - which couldn't be further from the truth.

Unfortunately the majority of people are like this - for example when I bought my 5 gallon with the filter and heater for Shy Guy, my mom blew her top about why I should spend all that money on "just a fish" that's going to die in 6 months anyway. She said "just get one of those little $5 kits at Walmart; your aunt had a betta in one of those that lived 5 years!"
I came back with: "That's like keeping a dog in a crate its entire life. It might be happy to see you, it might appear healthy, but it will only be surviving, not thriving."
Her response? "I don't care about dogs or fish. Especially not the fish."
People sometimes. ops:

 

When I'm done with school and have the money, I will start up my very own pet store. Then I will take on all the battles that come my way. Until then, though, I'll keep having to bite my tongue when people's pets are brought up...

 

Hi! This might be a long post but I never gotten the chance to ever talk to someone about this.
I agree with you 100% but I also try to view from the other standpoint even if it isn't correct.

I think a lot of people think keeping aquariums too hard, much like art, where they won't even try.
A betta in those containers is equal as someone doing those dumb and extremely simple pinterest crafts while a betta in an aquascaped planted tank is equal to a highly detailed oil painting. It takes a lot of work and skill to get from A to B and some people are slow at going about it while some are faster, and then we have the people who won't even try because it's seen as too much work. I have so many people tell me they can "never do that" about my art, yes you can, you just don't want to practice and learn. It's like that with aquariums. It's seen as too "difficult" to figure out how to manage a filter, heater, correct lights, plants, and good water. It's easier for them to put them in a simple bowl and that's it. Now this is for people who refuse to learn- some people, like on here, just didn't know, and those are the people who got from point A to B.
My sister in law is a semI animal lover I wanna say. I wouldn't say she's crazy like me and everyone on here but she likes animals. However she's always kept bettas in like half gallon containers and I feel like she just doesn't know but I also don't find it my place to say something. I was thinking about giving her one of my babies so maybe if she has something fancier than a veiltail maybe she'll want to care for it better?
I wanna open my own fish store one day and plan on having a special "betta room" that is temp controlled so males can stay in jars for sales and still be heated, however I don't plan on selling anything smaller than a 2.5 for a betta. You still can't stop someone from putting them in those containers once they bring them home. It's just not worth the argument, people are going to do what they want to do if they're not willing to learn.

 

Hi! This might be a long post but I never gotten the chance to ever talk to someone about this.
I agree with you 100% but I also try to view from the other standpoint even if it isn't correct.

I think a lot of people think keeping aquariums too hard, much like art, where they won't even try.
A betta in those containers is equal as someone doing those dumb and extremely simple pinterest crafts while a betta in an aquascaped planted tank is equal to a highly detailed oil painting. It takes a lot of work and skill to get from A to B and some people are slow at going about it while some are faster, and then we have the people who won't even try because it's seen as too much work. I have so many people tell me they can "never do that" about my art, yes you can, you just don't want to practice and learn. It's like that with aquariums. It's seen as too "difficult" to figure out how to manage a filter, heater, correct lights, plants, and good water. It's easier for them to put them in a simple bowl and that's it. Now this is for people who refuse to learn- some people, like on here, just didn't know, and those are the people who got from point A to B.
My sister in law is a semI animal lover I wanna say. I wouldn't say she's crazy like me and everyone on here but she likes animals. However she's always kept bettas in like half gallon containers and I feel like she just doesn't know but I also don't find it my place to say something. I was thinking about giving her one of my babies so maybe if she has something fancier than a veiltail maybe she'll want to care for it better?
I wanna open my own fish store one day and plan on having a special "betta room" that is temp controlled so males can stay in jars for sales and still be heated, however I don't plan on selling anything smaller than a 2.5 for a betta. You still can't stop someone from putting them in those containers once they bring them home. It's just not worth the argument, people are going to do what they want to do if they're not willing to learn.

Hi! This might be a long post but I never gotten the chance to ever talk to someone about this.
I agree with you 100% but I also try to view from the other standpoint even if it isn't correct.

I think a lot of people think keeping aquariums too hard, much like art, where they won't even try.
A betta in those containers is equal as someone doing those dumb and extremely simple pinterest crafts while a betta in an aquascaped planted tank is equal to a highly detailed oil painting. It takes a lot of work and skill to get from A to B and some people are slow at going about it while some are faster, and then we have the people who won't even try because it's seen as too much work. I have so many people tell me they can "never do that" about my art, yes you can, you just don't want to practice and learn. It's like that with aquariums. It's seen as too "difficult" to figure out how to manage a filter, heater, correct lights, plants, and good water. It's easier for them to put them in a simple bowl and that's it. Now this is for people who refuse to learn- some people, like on here, just didn't know, and those are the people who got from point A to B.
My sister in law is a semI animal lover I wanna say. I wouldn't say she's crazy like me and everyone on here but she likes animals. However she's always kept bettas in like half gallon containers and I feel like she just doesn't know but I also don't find it my place to say something. I was thinking about giving her one of my babies so maybe if she has something fancier than a veiltail maybe she'll want to care for it better?
I wanna open my own fish store one day and plan on having a special "betta room" that is temp controlled so males can stay in jars for sales and still be heated, however I don't plan on selling anything smaller than a 2.5 for a betta. You still can't stop someone from putting them in those containers once they bring them home. It's just not worth the argument, people are going to do what they want to do if they're not willing to learn.

I love your idea of having a temp controlled betta room! I'm planning on having my pet store built to fit my needs (no way am I ever going to find a building that has everything I need) and I may just have to put this in the plan book! I also would never stock anything under 2.5 gallons for bettas, but people can easily put them in whatever they want when they get home... :/ On the bright side, at least I'll be able to reach more people.

 

I only have one friend who likes to talk about fish with me. Sometimes it's really great conversations. Other times it ends with me biting my tongue because he's "always right" and there's just no other way.

For example, we were talking about the beneficial bacteria in the tank and I was telling him how I was going to transfer some used filter media to jump start a different tank. He laughed at me and told me all I need to do is scoop up a handful of gravel because that's where all the BB lives. After arguing for several minutes I just let it go because his mind will never change.

 

I love your idea of having a temp controlled betta room! I'm planning on having my pet store built to fit my needs (no way am I ever going to find a building that has everything I need) and I may just have to put this in the plan book! I also would never stock anything under 2.5 gallons for bettas, but people can easily put them in whatever they want when they get home... :/ On the bright side, at least I'll be able to reach more people.

Yea same I don't expect to find a store where I'll be able to have everything I want so I would build a lot like the betta room. I like custom built tank stands so I was thinking maybe sell that too. I also want a quarantine room that customers are allowed to view because I plan on getting like special shipments of fish from like aquabid and stuff and show them what's going to be in stock soon. I don't think I'd sell common goldfish. If you ever wanna talk about fish store ideas and stuff feel free to message me I'd love talking about it! I think my friends are getting tired of hearing it from me lol

 

Yea same I don't expect to find a store where I'll be able to have everything I want so I would build a lot like the betta room. I like custom built tank stands so I was thinking maybe sell that too. I also want a quarantine room that customers are allowed to view because I plan on getting like special shipments of fish from like aquabid and stuff and show them what's going to be in stock soon. I don't think I'd sell common goldfish. If you ever wanna talk about fish store ideas and stuff feel free to message me I'd love talking about it! I think my friends are getting tired of hearing it from me lol

I would love to toss ideas around! I haven't completely decided if it'll be a fish store or more of a general pet store, but all of my creatures will absolutely have 5 star living quarters in the store. And I feel you...my friends and family are all a bit tired of hearing about my ideas...

 

I would love to toss ideas around! I haven't completely decided if it'll be a fish store or more of a general pet store, but all of my creatures will absolutely have 5 star living quarters in the store. And I feel you...my friends and family are all a bit tired of hearing about my ideas...

I want a little section for adoptable furry friends that were abused, abandoned, or accidentally bred like hamsters, rabbits, ext, however I want to keep it mostly a fish store. Maybe have a dog and cat rescue come in once a month??? I like to think of design and layouts but you really can't do that when you don't even have a building lmaooo

 

My sister was keeping her betta in a half gallon punch bowl until she got a free 35 bowfront from some our friends from church. It came with a filter too. I'm looking forward to having it. I'm mean I guess but the way that thing lives sigh. She thinks bettas are just fine in a gallon and nothing I say is going to change her opinion. At leas that's what it feels like. I guess it's gotta be hard for her to admit that her younger brother is right. Anyways she has one male betta and now I got her to actually leave the filter on the tank, and she's doing regular water changes. She's coming along good. I don't know what's worth more. one beta's life or me getting my sister 35 g. I decided I'll try to help her keep the fish alive as long as possible. I'm thinking I'm going to have to buy a sponge filter for her to hook up to her HOB so the betta doesn't keep dragging his tail on the filter intake. I also have to persuade her to put on the spare water heater I have for her tank. Out of the deal she gave me one of the pieces of mopanI wood that came with tank!

 

KakeHugs and Kamaile those are awesome ideas. I've always had ideas similar to you guys'. I've always wanted to start a "betta rescue." There are a few out there online, but they all seem to have closed down for one reason or another. Taking in the unwanted, sick and abused bettas out there and nursing them back to health has always appealed to me. And when I let them go into another home, one thing that would be very important to me is making sure of the conditions they'd be in once they left my care - I'd have the potential owners fill out an adoption application just like they do for dog and cat rescues.
I think fish matter just as much as any other animal and should be treated as such.

 

100% agree!
I will put my bettas in tiny bowls temporarily while cleaning or if I want to get a decent picture of them when they aren't swimming around being crazy (pfft!) And I almost feel ashamed to post those pictures because I might be promoting bowl-bettas. I feel like I always have to preface the picture like "Betta chilling in the bowl while I rearrange his tank!" so people don't put them in bowls
-_-

And thay art quote! Ugh!yes! I hate it when people tell me "I'll never be that good!" Like yes, yoy could be, all you have to do is practice! The difference might just be the natural inclination to produce art and tuning everyone out to accomplish art rather than forcing art.

 

For those of you wanting to do betta rescue, maybe part of the adoption fee would include sending the fish home with a suitably sized tank. That way, they are set up for success from the time the betta leaves your recuperative care.

 

For those of you wanting to do betta rescue, maybe part of the adoption fee would include sending the fish home with a suitably sized tank. That way, they are set up for success from the time the betta leaves your recuperative care.

Good idea!

 

Every time I go to Petco I stalk around the betta section and if people are looking at them and talking about them while being misinformed I jump in and begin to tell them what is right and wrong, I've done this many times and usually they appreciate it. Though, I think one time the manager didn't when she was trying to sell some bettas lol she was saying how her male and female were in the same tank and had babies and all, well she left to dispose of a dead betta and I explained the real process and numerous tanks they would need as the manager was walking back and they instantly said they weren't going to breed them then. The manager just glared at me lol. I've given a couple of fish speeches at my college, one was on bettas. Afterwards a girl walked up to me and wanted to talk about getting a better tank for her dad's betta at work, he was in a bowl with no decor, no heater, and no filter. He just had those glass pebbles for substrate. I've helped a friend give her betta a better habitat by educating her and giving her some of my plants, an old heater, and media, she thought I was crazy for having my boy in a 20 gal, but now her's is in one too lol.
I honestly don't care what people have to say or think about bettas, I will tell them straight up what they should be doing. I'll be nice about it though and try to suggest something they can easily afford. If I go to Walmart I will separate the cups and use decor to put in between them. One time a person put turtle food in the cups I guess just for laughs so I asked a Walmart employee clean it up, she was just as shocked as I was.
These guys deserve better and I will always stand up for them, only once have I not said anything because it was the cashier at Petco and I was in a hurry.

I'm a huge activist for bettas, I have sculptures of them, paintings, shirts (including a Halloween and Christmas one), a necklace, bed sheets and pillow cases, and a tattoo. 98% of everything on my Christmas list was betta fish related. (Y'all should check out the app Betta Fish 3D by Kision Lab on Google Play)
Does that mean MY tank is the perfect habitat? No. I don't have live plants and I don't feed live or frozen food. I would love to get some live cultures going but being a college student I have enough stress as it is lol the live plants is just my OCD and not wanting things to change over time in the tank. But he does have handmade decor, extremely modified plants so they'll last forever, a snail named Sam (the other snail, Frodo, passed away on Dec. 1st), and a mom who loves him very much.

I could never get another betta because I want all of my love to go to him. Instead I take pictures of the ones I love at PetCo and collage them together in one picture.

Sorry if I rambled...I can't help it.

 

Gala, I'm the same in my local PetSmart. I see folks around there - sometimes I just make a comment that it's cruel, that you can keep a kid in a cold closet and feed it chicken wings and it will probably survive, but it's not the same as thriving, and move on. The shock value has worked a few times; other times I'm just told to mind my own business!

When I'm feeling less... forward... I will explain to people that it is WAY less work to establish a 5 or 10 gallon tank and maintain that. Appealing to their sense of convenience sometimes works. I also speak to the employees, some who want to learn and some who don't, but I also appeal to the manager and told him he can make better sales.

My daughter's father (now ex, go figure) got her a betta, kept it in an unheated bowl and it lived for 2 months, poor thing. I have 4, all in 10 G heated tanks and she can see how they thrive and how much personality and vitality they have, now going on a year. I believe she will follow in my footsteps and provide the best possible living quarters for any pet.

To the OP, I think it's wonderful that you have so much empathy and as much as it hurts you sometimes, the world is a better place with folks like you. That said, it's a painful realization that some people don't want to learn or listen and no amount of empathy or even logic will change them. My heart breaks for all pets of all kinds treated so poorly.

 

I’ve found that younger people seem to take my advice where as the older people seem to get ... offensive, for lack of a better word. I do a thing at school (I’m in high school). I go to elementary schools and teach them about things I find interesting (science and biology)

One time, I was explaining how some fish should be kept (i.e. not goldfish in bowls) and when the teacher jumped in, saying something about how bowls where only okay for bettas... as nicely as I could I tried to explain why bowls were simply not good for any type of fish except the food Goldfish and the candy Swedish Fish.

Well, she didn’t that too well and immediately went to saying how I’m a kid and don’t know. The only thing wrong with her statement was that I’m a teenager and I DO know. The fact that she was more immature about being told she was wrong than the 1st graders I was talking to. Never going back to that class, which is kinda unfortunate as some of the students seemed actually interested.

 

Huh. I was just at a local Petco and Petsmart and... you know, I can sort of understand how someone could get the misconception that a fishbowl is acceptable for a betta. What I can't wrap my mind around are those tiny "aquariums" that can only hold a quart of water or less. I even saw one that was literally just a cup, no bigger than the ones bettas are bought in. and somehow, they're more expensive than the fishbowls half the time!
If you don't have the space for even a measly fishbowl, you really have no business owning a fish...

 

Every time I go to Petco I stalk around the betta section and if people are looking at them and talking about them while being misinformed I jump in and begin to tell them what is right and wrong, I've done this many times and usually they appreciate it. Though, I think one time the manager didn't when she was trying to sell some bettas lol she was saying how her male and female were in the same tank and had babies and all, well she left to dispose of a dead betta and I explained the real process and numerous tanks they would need as the manager was walking back and they instantly said they weren't going to breed them then. The manager just glared at me lol. I've given a couple of fish speeches at my college, one was on bettas. Afterwards a girl walked up to me and wanted to talk about getting a better tank for her dad's betta at work, he was in a bowl with no decor, no heater, and no filter. He just had those glass pebbles for substrate. I've helped a friend give her betta a better habitat by educating her and giving her some of my plants, an old heater, and media, she thought I was crazy for having my boy in a 20 gal, but now her's is in one too lol.
I honestly don't care what people have to say or think about bettas, I will tell them straight up what they should be doing. I'll be nice about it though and try to suggest something they can easily afford. If I go to Walmart I will separate the cups and use decor to put in between them. One time a person put turtle food in the cups I guess just for laughs so I asked a Walmart employee clean it up, she was just as shocked as I was.
These guys deserve better and I will always stand up for them, only once have I not said anything because it was the cashier at Petco and I was in a hurry.

I'm a huge activist for bettas, I have sculptures of them, paintings, shirts (including a Halloween and Christmas one), a necklace, bed sheets and pillow cases, and a tattoo. 98% of everything on my Christmas list was betta fish related.
Does that mean MY tank is the perfect habitat? No. I don't have live plants and I don't feed live or frozen food. I would love to get some live cultures going but being a college student I have enough stress as it is lol the live plants is just my OCD and not wanting things to change over time in the tank. But he does have handmade decor, extremely modified plants so they'll last forever, a snail named Sam (the other snail, Frodo, passed away on Dec. 1st), and a mom who loves him very much.View attachment 388001
I could never get another betta because I want all of my love to go to him. Instead I take pictures of the ones I love at PetCo and collage them together in one picture.

Sorry if I rambled...I can't help it.

I don't have a Petco close enough to just hang out in the betta section, but I hang out a lot at my local pet store. It's a more recent startup, and the owner is very open to new information. She's even asked me questions about bettas when I've been there and I do some customer educating, too.

 

I totally agree with every response here, basically. I'm so **** that my Petsmart says 1 quart is the minimum tank size for a betta. Of course, it's a chain pet store and it's not going to have perfect care information fish (and other animals) that come from a responsible breeder, but usually the tank sizes are reasonable. I am usually okay with buying from there because I haven't really had many problems with the animals there. Sure, they may not be breeding quality, but they're great pets and have never caused problems. However, it's really annoying that pet stores can't even bother putting a 2.5 minimum tank size tag for the bettas, because I always go to see them. Since learning more about fish care, I've constantly pestered my family and friends about aquatic animals (they are so tired of me) and I always have to hold back the urge to ask people exactly what their tanks are like, even for fish I know almost nothing about. I can certainly say I know more, but if you ask me about something even as simple as a platy I'm probably not going to know too much. Still, I heard someone say that they had a fish, and I had to clamp my mouth shut or I'd start asking her about her tank. People don't seem to understand that any pet is work. Plenty of people don't hesitate to get a dog and take perfect care of it, but they don't even bother researching enough to know that a betta or goldfish can't live in a bowl. If they did research, I feel like a lot of people would just give up. Actually, I wanted a betta earlier this year, but when I researched and it said they needed a 2.5 gallon tank I decided that was too much work. It was only when my sister got hers that I got a little jealous and researched a ton, before getting a 5 gallon tank and live plants and lots of decor. Luckily for me, there was a pre-installed filter so I didn't need to buy one. If everyone else did research before getting any pet, they'd all have way better homes. When I'm financially independent I will probably end up with a zoo-like house.

 

My apartment is a zoo. It's actually become stressful to have my parents come out, because my mom will start getting upset about all of my animals. (Not that she doesn't like animals, she just thinks I spend too much time and money on mine.) But I'm helping my brother get a tank set up as my big Christmas present because watching my tank pushed him into wanting one last time he was here. The parents are buying the equipment, and I'm supplying knowledge and some of the fish he'll be stocking with (mostly from my fry tanks). I just hope he'll stay excited! (But if not, maybe I can steal the tank and equipment from him haha...)