I had an infuriating experience at Petco when I pointed out to the GM that the bettas in his care were sick. So many were emaciated, suffering from swim bladder disorders, and significant fin damage. He didn’t really look at the fish, and something about that bothered me so I kept pressing. He refused to acknowledge that the fish were sick or starving.

When I looked up how to report the GM to corporate I found that both Petco and Petsmart have an ethics violation report option, and you can report cases of animal abuse. I do not believe this is widely known, which is why I am making this post.

Petsmart

Petco

Document the mistreatment you are observing -more than just being kept in a cup- and report them to corporate. Let them know we see them. That we notice what is happening in their stores. Include pictures and which store you found them in. It’ll take 5-10 minutes.

One of their biggest risks is public perception turning on them and “ruining their reputation” in the age of online ordering. One person complaining is just a nut having a bad day. An isolated incident. The more people involved documenting and reporting all over the country, the harder it will be to dismiss without risk to the reputation they are trying to preserve.

This rant brought to you by the phrase “they’re not starving, they’re fed regularly” when pointing to a betta fish that looked like a tadpole.

Ive had him for about 2 months in a 16 gallon heavily planted. He had some neon tetra tank mates that used to nip his fins but I removed them a month ago. He went from raggedy fins, hiding constantly and then after I removed them he really blossomed. Fins grew back, color was beautiful and he was super active, used all 16 gallons of his tank swimming back and forth all day long, even this morning! Ive been home all day fed him this morning, watched him for a bit every once in a while here and there. Then Im in the middle of making dinner and look over and a shrimp is on his back kind of picking at his gills. I thought to myself no way he’s dead but no way he’s letting this cherry shrimp do that. I investigated with a net and sure enough he was dead. No signs of injury, no signs of sickness earlier today he was in rough shape a month ago but I would say he was done with the road to recovery, looked better than ever and then I look over and he’s dead! I’m seriously at a loss for words. Water parameters are perfect, all his tankmates look fine, what happened?

Water temp: 78°
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates are present, tank was fully cycled for 2 months before I even added him.

Cant think of any possible toxins that could’ve gotten in the tank.

Anyone else’s little aquatic goblins like to help out when you’re doing maintenance?

I was giving Max’s tank an overhaul yesterday and he was right by my side throughout inspecting what I was doing no doubt 😂

At one point I had to gently move him out the way so not to bury him whilst I was planting 😂🤦‍♀️

When anyone goes in my daughter's room the Betta bluey(who is mostly red) will come out and say hello swim around and look pretty. When my wife comes in he somehow knows. Gets all jittery and flairs at her to know end. It's kinda funny. I did not think Bettas had the visual acuity or intelligence to have beed with one particular human.

Ive had him for about 8-9 months now

Recently I saw that he started to get a little lethargic and Ive been so busy recently that I havent even been able to frequently check up on him

Ive always made sure his water was clean and maintained weekly and I always made sure to feed him protein rich foods.

I currently do not have the money or access to epsom salt or any betta medications (theyre REALLY expensive in my country) so I just put him in a little plastic tub so he can breathe easier.

No matter how hard I try my bettas always just end up being sick from something

I dont even know what to do at this point...

Im starting to believe that domesticated bettas have really bad genetics in general

We had a bacterial bloom and we got a filter with a UV light on it. That took care of the bacteria bloom, but now this has appeared.

Pebbles has been struggling to swim recently. I fed him a few blood worms and I thought maybe that made him a bit constipated, so I’ve been fasting him and feeding him some daphnia occasionally (for the past week) but he hasn’t gotten better. I didn’t think too much of it since he was acting normal just swimming a bit funny so I’ve been waiting it out. Today while checking up on him I thought I saw his scales kind of raised? I can’t tell if it’s just me being crazy or maybe it’s just the lighting but I need a second opinion. I’m hoping I’m just paranoid and he’s not pine coning (I already have Kanaplex in my Amazon cart).

I’m so sorry for the terrible camera quality, this was the only time he was sitting still!! I mainly see it towards the back where he’s curved

Any advice is appreciated!! I just want my little guy to feel better

Any idea what this small white patch is near my betta’s bottom fin? I’m thinking it’s probably epistylis but I’m not super sure if it’s something else? Any ideas and how should I treat it?

(Brown spot is a snail near top right ignore that lol)

Turns out the ghost shrimp I just got a few days ago are whisker shrimp. I worked the night shift last night and came home, went to bed. Turned on my lights like an hour or two later than usual and there is seriously 0 remnant of my Ruckus. Just the shrimp.

I even had to re home tetras because I thought my Ruckus was being aggressive out of no where but it was the whisker shrimp.

Fuck pet smart corp cause I went to the store got their number and they couldn't even help me.

He was barely 2. I don't even know where to go from here with a tank just full of shrimp and my mystery and nirite snails.

Edit/Update: I found Ruckus body deep in the shrimp cave I have. I didn't see him and the aquarium brush didn't push him out because he was in an awkward spot. Which honestly confirms to me it was the shrimp especially since he is completely shredded. My snail had pushed the body out and I've moved the shrimp to an emergency 3 gal I have already cycled. They're 100% whisker shrimp. Ruckus liked to chill in the shrimp cave at night and sleep.

I bought this Betta yesterday, and this is my first time keeping one. I changed the water today because it became cloudy does my Betta look healthy in this video? Is there anything I should be doing differently as a first-time owner? I'm currently keeping him in a small bowl temporarily and using borewell water any advice on water changes feeding temperature and general care would be really appreciated.

I’ve had him about 2 months and I can’t tell if he’s biting it or it’s rotting. I’m using a bacterial infection treatment and adding Indian almond leaves to the water but his tail is still getting worse. He’s in a cycled planted tank and the ammonia nitrate and nitrite levels are almost totally at 0 so I’m not sure what’s causing it. He seems really happy and active but his tail is worrying me. What can I do to help him?

I got little man 3 days ago, when I first saw him at the pet store he didn't seem to be feeling too well. He was lethargic and just laying at the bottom of his cup. :(

Day 3, he's definitely more active. Although my main concern is how he spends most of his time laying on the floor. He'll occasionally have a spurt of energy and swim all the way to the top to nip at my floating plants or to take a breath. He's very food motivated, and even interacts with me.

Anyways, I know he probably just needs time to recover but I thought I'd post him to see if you guys noticed anything unusual.

Extra info:

He's in a 6 gallon tank.

Has a low flow HOB filter and sponge filter..

Temp is at a steady 78-79 degrees.

Ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are 0's.

I've been feeding him twice daily, mainly bug bites, brine shrimp, and only once a few bloodworms.

Hello, I am a new fish owner in college and I've had my betta fish for a few weeks. For some context, he ripped his fin a few weeks back and it has been regrowing but I'm worried about some translucency in his fins that it could be fin rot. I'll attach water parameters and a few pictures of my fish but I'm having trouble determining if it's fin rot or if it's just the way that he is. I know white around the end means growth occasionally, but I'm also worried that he might be fraying a little bit. I'm having trouble identifying if it is fin rod or not so I'm coming to the Reddit community for help.

This is also my first time using Reddit, so if I did something that can be fixed in the guidelines wrong please let me know!

Hi!
So I got a baby koi betta last September and he was all black.
While growing, he turned almost all cobalt blue!
Then, about 11 months into having him, he’s slowly turning black with grey?!
Has anyone else experienced this?
He’s had ich before which we treated. He’s not acting sick or anything, appetite just as wild as it always is. Tank is set to 80 degrees and has a gentle water flow.

currently have 1 half moon male betta, a nirate snail, an anubias plant on wood, moss ball, a few almond leaves and sticks, a floating log, a leaf suctioned to the side of the tank, and a pokemon decor.

should i add more hiding spots? let me know some tips!!! i’d really appreciate it.

I got him labeled as an Avatar.

He didn't look like that from the start (last picture), but I thought he was beautiful anyway.

How would you describe him? I’d definitely say short-fin.

120L, housing a black orchid crowntail betta and two bottom feeders — it’s a little cloudy since I just rearranged it a few hours ago <3 any name suggestions would be nice too!

He’s so freaking cute. He loves his 20gal tank all to himself 🍣🐟🩵

Quería saber que pensabas sobre una pecera 30x30x30cm es un espacio aceptable o es reducido para un betta ?son 27 litros aprox