Tiny "Tanks", Huge Harm

By Alex Nigro

Just because it doesn’t have fur, doesn’t mean it isn’t a living being deserving of having humane care. It is crucial that the bettas in cups come to an end. A “tank” the size of a small drink causes major stress, poor health due to terrible water quality, and inappropriate care examples for customers. They say that it is temporary, but for a lot of fish, “temporary” becomes a lifetime. 

First, confinement as small as twelve to sixteen ounces is stressful. Betta fish originate from Thailand where they live in foraged marshes and rice paddies. Although shallow, marshes offer ample horizontal swimming space. Cups allow for enough space to turn around, and that’s about it. This lack of space causes severe mental and physical stress. Bettas can often be seen laying at the bottom with severe color loss and deteriorating bodies. Much research has been done to show that fish have similar stress responses to humans such as releasing cortisol, nervous responses to harmful stimuli, and significant behavioral changes. Humans have been kept in solitary confinement cells as small as six by nine feet. Although they survive, eventually they deteriorate. Bettas in cups are no different.

Next, the confinement size causes health issues because the water quality becomes poor quickly. In an established properly sized tank, beneficial bacteria that grow in the filter will turn harmful content from waste into less harmful compounds. In the cups, the nitrogen cycle which fosters this process isn’t established, and bettas will become sick due to high ammonia concentration. Although stores attempts to control this by doing water changes a couple times a week and preventing waste production by feeding minimally, it is not enough. Additionally, feeding a small enough amount to control water quality in a volume that small is starvation. Long-term poor water quality can result in ammonia burns, infections, diseases such as fin rot, and swim-bladder defects.

Lastly, displaying bettas being cared for like this sends the wrong messages to customers. It should not be okay to advertise emaciated, sick bettas rotting away in enclosures significantly smaller than what they need. Betta fish do best when kept in a minimum of five to ten gallons. Bettas are tropical fish who need a heater, which cups do not provide. Customers who do not have knowledge on bettas often house them in inappropriate conditions because of these examples. This is not how any store should advertise an animal who needs a much bigger space with more significant needs than a cold, bare environment to thrive.

The conditions and care that cups provide betta fish with is extremely abusive and detrimental to their well-being. Stores should house bettas in adequately sized tanks that mimic their natural habitat to reduce stress, pay better care to water quality by not relying on starvation to keep parameters non-toxic, and set a better example for educating customers how to care for these fish. Nobody, not even a fish, deserves to live like this.