It looks really cruel and evil to keep them in those little things, and sometimes they are in blue liquid?? I was just wondering why pet stores keep them in such teeny containers...I know the males fight but still it seems very inhumane... and all the bettas look really depressed!

I'm just wondering if I should find a store that doesn't have them in those little cup things as most of the ones in them look pretty deadish/diseased, if I were to ever buy one :S

Hmm sorry if it's been asked before:)

The blue water is normally medicine for the fish like anti-bacterial or anti-fungus. The anti-fungus stuff I bought is green so whenever I have to use it the water turns green. Different products are different colors. I've bought a few bettas from pet stores that kept them in cups. As long as the fish shows no signs of being sick, such as ick , bloated stomach, or holes and sores, he should be fine. It all yup to you. I have also bought from breeders, even the breeder shipped them in tiny bags. Its very hard to find a store that keeps betta out of cups.

If you buy one from a store, you should still give it the normal medicines and keep him or her by herself for a couple weeks to make sure the fish really is healthy.

The blue could be methylene blue which is a traditional fish medicine to treat fungus, whitespot and slime disease. It also increases oxygen and apparently is sometimes used for that purpose.

In the UK they don't sell them in cups. Not that I have seen anyway. how big are these cups anyway?

Here is a picture of a betta cup that I have. I compared it to a normal CD since most people seem to own CDs. All the cups I've seen are about this size. If they aren't as wide then they are taller. Hmmm, most pet stores seems to sell them in the larger cups but I do know that nnnnnn's cups were a bit smaller.

I don't find it cruel. It is only for a little while until someone comes along and buys the fish. Where I live pet stores sells bettas like crazy. Peoplle seem to love them.

Oooooh I always wondered what those betta cups looked like! They seem wider than I thought but quite shallow, I suppose they would be OK for a short period of time like transporting them home. Is that what they are kept in at the store too? I suppose a slightly taller and wider one again would be better.

Like lak say, the demand for bettas is much lower in the UK and I've never seen them sold in containers like that here either.

However, in some ways they may be better off because they are usually kept in community tropical store tanks in UK LFS's ocasionally with inappropriate, very nippy fish with far too much water current - hence they are sometimes stressed, sometimes a bit bitten or ragged or unwell.

However, there is also a really good store I know that keeps each betta in a small individual, filtered tank and they are usually a lot healthier for it.

At least with the cup system you avoid some of these problems of Bettas being mixed with other inappropriate fish.

It is a problem though, because this is a small fish which in most situations (like a store) is better kept alone, yet unfortunately individual filtered tanks may not be "commercially" viable for a store that won't sell many Bettas

yes that is very true. That seems the norm over here. Most bettas I have seen were in tanks of tetras. Sometimes other larger fish. It is particularly problematic as lfs tanks tend to be much smaller with more fish than people's tanks at home and they tend not to have any plants or anything. Pretty much every betta I have seen kept like this has been very ragged looking. The lfs where I got my betta from had a long thin tank divided up with a compartment for each betta. Not sure how big the compartments were but she put a good 2-3 litres of water from the compartment in the bag and the compartment was still over half-full.

As for lower demand in the UK, I reckon that is true, however alot of LFS seem to have sold out of bettas and customers seem to be requesting them so maybe demand is a bit higher than the LFS think.

as for the cruelty factor, I don't think there is one. Bettas originally come from rice fields in Thailand, where the water is very stagnant and almost devoid of oxygen. They don't mind small spaces over the short term. I mean, they're like the frat boys of the fish world. Put two together and they fight, they don't mind small or dirty spaces, and they puff up and act stupidly macho when there's females around.

I find the best time to get a Betta from a LFS is often as soon as possible after they are delivered to them, not all LFS'S pre-quarantine their small fish stock like bettas, so if you find out when they are due a delivery you can often get first pick of the bettas before they get shared out amongst all the other (sometimes inappropriate) tropical stock tanks.

Another option is buying from a private breeder/importer and there are a few in the UK. Those fish are always kept seperately in individual tanks, are often of a better quality and you get more choice if you're looking for something more specific. The downside is that of course, you will pay more but not always breaking the bank more, but you can be assured that the person really knows about betta care. You do have to consider the shipping element (which most do very well, but can be stessfull for the betta) that adds to the cost as well. If you live locally to one you can often collect in person.

So there are other options for getting a healthy betta, but I know the LFS's I'd go to for a good Betta, it sometimes takes a while to work out the good ones in your area - sounds like you've found a good one already though

I have worked at pet stores, and you should see the rate these guys sell at. They dont stay longer than 5 days at the most, usually. The blue liquid is disease prevention and gets rid of the chlorine. In the wild, siamese fighting fish live in small areas and are very territorial, and become stressed in large tanks anyway. Its nothing to worry about.

I have to dissagree. There isn't too much oxygen, but the rice patties are full of plants that keep the water from becoming *too* stagnant. I hate when people use the idea of muddy and shallow rice patties to justify keeping bettas in small spaces and performing few water changes (not acusing, Draven). Its just totally different. A rice patty, though it may be shallow, is much more than a few ounces. People fail to realize that rice patties are about a hundred miles wide and they are a living ecosystem with a natural filter. People also fail to realize that mud and waste are two very different things. K, done ranting. I'm jsut sick of people using that excuse.

And sushi, I'd just like to say that is a very large betta cup! I've never even seen one that big. The average betta cups are half that size and hold the volume of a large coffee mug.

In general, I do not think that keeping bettas in little cups at the store is not inhumane. Some stores take very good care of their bettas and perform regular water changes to keep them looking clean and the bettas healthy and happy. Most bettas don't spend very much time in the store. What is inhumane is when employees don't clean those cups. They lead to very sick bettas. In turn, people don't want a dull, raggedy betta and they spend more time there, and some die Its also inhumane to keep them in those cups long term. Every betta deserves a clean and warm aquarium or large bowl that's at least 2 gallons.

Thats a big betta cup?! Around here all the cups are that size except at nnnnnn. The one at nnnnnn hold about the same but are taller. Hmm, maybe it also depends on where you live. The betta cups around here are always big and clean, I've yet to see any really dirty disgusting ones.

I think the cups are a mixed blessing. I hate it that they're kept in such small spaces (the LFS around me tend to neglect the bettas and one place in particular is horrible) but at the same time its a little easier to figure out disease-wise what you might need to do upon purchase. With the cups you've just got that one fish to figure out, when buying from a tank you've got to figure out what illness every fish in the tank might have so you can treat the new fish accordingly. Its also easier to buy a betta thats in a cup, you don't have to go track down someone to net a fish for you.

Hmm well the cups I've seen are much much much smaller than the CD size like in the pics posted up.

More like... half that? Not enough for the fish to move at all, just enough for it's body to fit into, nothing more. They're really gross D:

Ewww, that reminds me of that one betta thing they sell at a lfs. Its smaller than the cups at the fish store! Why would you ever do that to a betta!



At least it looks like more people buy the plastic betta homes that are more like a gallon or 2 gallons. Shows that some people have common sense that that little thing is horrible. I really like these and I think a couple people here keep their fish in these (correct me if I
m wrong). I'm currently saving up to buy 4 critter keepers.

I have to agree that most of the betta's in my area are sold from some sort of a cup too. However, we have a large local fish shop that has an incredible system for their betta's. Each betta has their own 3 cup contained area on a lit wall of perhaps 20 such containers. It appears that every 12 hours the cups drain half the water out from the bottom and are refilled automatically with a drip system of some sort. The fish look incredible. They also get a larger variety of exotic betta's and charge quite a bit more than the other LFS that just use the blue water cups. I went with the blue water cup betta again. My last betta was with us over 6 years so no long term ill affect occured from his initial confinement. I guess I sort of feel sorry for them too in comparison to the well taken care of betta's in the other shop who could stay comfortably where they are for months if needed.

Yep, I got a couple of the 3 gallon size.

That sounds like a wonderful setup. I wish more lfs could do the same. one of breeders I know has a system like that one you mentioned and he says it saves him a lot of time

i have all my bettas(except 2) in the containers you showed and they are perfectly happy. they blow bubble nests and flare at their neihbors(sp?) i started out buying the glass fish bowls but i found that the critter ceepers are much less expensive. i have 8 bettas living in those kind of containers and i would hate it if i had to buy glass bowls for all of they the glass bowl are about 6 dollers and the critter ceepers are about 3 something so they save me alot of money.(well alot to me anyway)

the bettas around here are in tiny cups, but they r just starting to put them in the actual tanks. i was really happy to see that. i have to keep bettas in 5 gallons + i just can't keep smaller tanks clean.

ilovefish, where are you getting kritter keepers for $3?? Mine cost $14 each! Or maybe yours are the tiny 1/4 gallon size? I think I remember the smallest size costing that much.

I would like to know too. All the ones I have seen are $14 too.

I've seen the one gallon size critter keeper for about $4 in a wallyworld.

I love that! It's so cute, and I think it's true.

I have two of the one gallon kritter keepers that I put my fish in just long eno0ugh to do their water changes, and I have a five gallon one that I use as an 'ICU' tank when someone gets sick. They sure do come in quite handy, and I love the fact that I can stack them into each other and put them aside and not have to worry about breakage like with a tank.

Our betta cups around her are tiny. Maybe hold the amount of water than will fit in a coffee cup. The fish fit inside and can swim around a very little, but mainly in a small circle. I like to buy with blue water, because the bluer the water the shorter time they have been in the store, the less likely they are to have been shaken by small children and stressed.

I bet you are right about the bluer the water. Never thought about that but it makes sense

Thanks.