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i noticed this the other day when i as at a lfs (critters ), one i only go to for medication and hardware. but they had received a stock of bettas in, and well i'll never buy anything from them again. the bettas were in a small plastic baggy, couldnt have been 1 1/2 by 3 inches with at most 1/3 cup of water.

could totally not believe that this is how they receive their stock. i do know i have seen how other lfs stores and some of the larger ones receive theirs, they normally come in the cups that they are displayed in. but dam.

i'd so love to talk to their supplier and rip them a good one. just because they can survive in small areas, doesnt mean that they should be moved that way..

now i under stand why i see so many happy ones blowing bubble nests in them small cups or even larger nests in tanks, i would to after moving from living in a cardboard box to a 5000sq ft house.

Last edited by monkeyboy at 29-May-2005 09:01

Last edited by monkeyboy at 30-May-2005 13:14

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

I hate to tell you, but whenever i see stores getting shipments of bettas in, they are all in this small bag you described. They put them into the containers after they come. If they would ship them in those cups, the water may spill out more easily. I am sure it is very stressfull for the bettas.

i've seen petsmart and local shop feed right, they get theirs in a cup. i actually seen them unpack them many times.

but i wanted to post cause i didnt know this and didnt know how many others didnt either.

Last edited by monkeyboy at 29-May-2005 09:54

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

Shipping Bettas in the cups is more stressful. I've seen them come in both ways, but in the bags seem to have less casualties in shipping. One of the LFSs that gets them in the bags gets them with a heat pack, they've told me the cups don't stay warm at all in the winter months, and the bags are always double bagged to prevent leaks. Aparently the cups are e to cracking.

Ours come in tiny bags that hold maybe 1/4 cup of water. It all depends on what company the store is ordering from, but nearly all of them will ship their bettas in unbelievably tiny bags/cups.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

We receive ours in small bags. They are sent with heat packs in the cooler weather and cold packs in the warmer months. I've not yet received them in cups. The cups are e to cracking (I've destroyed quite a few). A few months ago I received a shipment and two of the styrofoam boxes had evidently been handled roughly in shipping because the bottoms were busted (the styrofoam boxes are packaged in cardboard boxes). If my bettas had been in cups and in those boxes I would have probably lost most of them.
The pet shops cannot control how things are shipped to them, at least I don't have that power at my shop. That's my two cents...

I personally have a greater problem on how they transport the other fish in comparison to the bettas, well at least the way my LFS gets fish.
The bettas at least are in a tiny bag by themselves and it's really only a problem if that bag deflates and most of them at least survive the trip.
On the other hand I see big bags of platties,mollies, tiger barbs and every other smaller type fish cram packed like sardines and some of them dead and starting to decay and the water is brown
The way bettas are treated AFTER they leave those tiny bags are more of a concern to me

I have been talking to some breeders on this very topic.

I ship in large bags, with about 1/3 water and 2/3 air.

A good friend of mine who does SD and HM bettas ships in the smallest available fish bags. One of our suppliers ships in blackworm bags.

This isn't because of shipping costs or because thy couldn't care.

This is (strangely enough) to stop them chewing on their tails in transit.

The larger tailed bettas are more highly strung than wilds or short tails and they tend to mutilate themselves when they are stressed or in unfamiliar surrounds. For some reason the smaller bags cuts down on the amount of tail-chewing.

I don't mind this. I know how they package the fish, I know what they do for long trips (larger bags, more water, Aquaseptic, heat packs, express shipping, O2 etc).
I'd bet if they had access to a sedative, they would just sedate the fish and use a larger bag.

I DO have a problem with low-tied collapsed blackworm bags that don't get unpacked immediately and are left floating for a day or two. THAT irks me.


So yeah. I don't much like it, but if the choice i a mangled fish (that will likely get a full on infection and have to be babied for months) or a fish that is cramped for two days max, i'll take the cramped fish.

Of course, if i could have option #3., i'd take that. Breed less-neurotic fish

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Not to be nitpicky, but - how do they find their tails in the dark? I think this breeder may be anthropomorphizing.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

They find their tails anywhere, in actual fact the dark could be far worse because of the sheer length of the tails, I honestly do not know how many nerve endings there are in the ends. When they feel it waft past their face, they just lash out as they are already all revved up. I don't think they even bother looking.

I figure in the smaller bags the tails are touching the bag most of the time and aren't swooshing about. Maybe that constant contact reminds them that it is their tail and not that of another male? maybe they are just too squished to bite effectively?

I honestly do not know, but having recieved a lot of shipments, the smaller bags do seem to have less tail-chewers.




Last edited by Callatya at 30-May-2005 10:07

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

at my wholesaler i will have to buy a box and take a pic, they are in small bags with little water(so save of shipping cost) but sadily today worls is all about money so this is the way they get shipped.

sad but true, money makes the world spin wildly out of control.

actually, i'm doing alot of research and thinking about breeding them myself soon when i get into a larger place, and just using my place as a store front for people to come buy them, so they would go from cup or something straight to buyer.

Last edited by monkeyboy at 30-May-2005 13:14

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

it isn't really wrong to keep them in this, only b/c it isn't a perment home. i dont want people to think that this is very cruel. it is a way to transfer them, and they seem to do ok.