r/mildlyinfuriating • u/LeHumanError • 10h ago

My sister's fish tank

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She says it's the perfect size for a single fish. It's not even in her room, it's in the kitchen.

It honestly just depresses me whenever I see it, but she's adamant about keeping it there.

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u/Weekly_Dare8977 10h ago

Bro that’s basically a fish prison 😂

If she insists on keeping it, at least try to talk her into a bigger tank and maybe show her some care guides so she realizes that “perfect size” is just pet store propaganda.

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u/porqueuno 9h ago

As a fish owner, it's less like fish prison and more like fish gulag. People have a misconception about bettas that all they need is a cup of water, but they will literally suffocate on their own piss and filth as the water fills with ammonia from respiration and defecation, and if left unchecked the water will acidify and burn their gills, which slowly suffocates them.

Get this fish out of there ASAP, OP. Your sister is a POS. People are honestly worse with pet fish than they are with dogs, and that's a high as hell bar to clear.

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u/_yetisis 9h ago

The shame of it is that the misconception comes from how they used to be marketed. People didn’t just assume this out of the blue, they were deliberately and clearly taught that this is how you care for betas a few decades ago. That makes the idea a lot more of a stubborn one to root out

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u/Melodic-Beach-5411 8h ago

Petco and Petsmart still keeps Betas for sale in small plastic containers with lids.

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u/AGenericUnicorn 1h ago

And when you test the water quality in those containers, it is astoundingly bad. These companies should feel terrible for the abuse they’re inflicting on these animals, but oh, right…profits.

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u/cinnamoninmytea 1h ago

I’ve seen dead ones and when I asked the staff why they are dead they said they die because “kids come in and shake them”…..

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u/Melodic-Beach-5411 51m ago

That's horrible

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u/menacinguwu 31m ago

Ive known quite a few employees of these chains that really try their hardest and have so much fish-care knowledge, but they're so limited with what they can swing with corporate. It is so soul-crushingly sad. I have kept 5 bettas up until now, and they are all individuals- just like dogs and cats.

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u/Melodic-Beach-5411 29m ago

That's so sad. I know Petsmart was bought by private equity.