Imagine living in a box, you can survive for an indefinite time, but you can't thrive. All betta fish go through this experience when they live in stores across the nation. Betta fish are put into small plastic containers with no filter, heater, gravel, or live plants. Ideally, they should be living in 5-gallon tanks with all of those necessities. Thousands, if not millions, of betta fish, die every year from poor water conditions at corporations that put profits before humane treatment. Betta fish need a voice to create change, so be that voice.

In Thailand, betta fish live in vast rice paddies, where they survive, thrive, and reproduce. Betta fish are much known for their hostile personalities towards other fish, which led to the use of betta fish sparing for entertainment. For the past 150 years, betta fish were caught by kids in Thailand and used for fighting. Over the years, as betta fish sparing became more popular, the king of Siam decided to regulate taxes over the fish to try and make some profit off of them. Due to the popularity, a man named Charles Tate Regan got his hands on a few of the fish. He observed them as a species through breeding, fighting, and everyday natural behavior. Mr. Charles later wrote a scientific paper, naming the species Macropodus pugnax, which he then discovered was the scientific name of another fish and renamed them as Betta splendens ("beautiful warrior"). Over time, people started to collect betta fish as pets, which were exported to France and Germany, eventually making their way over to the United States. Nowadays, the betta fish is one of the most popular fish to keep and is considered a 'starter pet.'

Even though betta fish in local fish stores are sold in small containers and the stores then recommend 0.5 - 3-gallon tanks to house them; these animals need at least 5 gallons of room to live. The misconception that betta fish can live in small containers comes from the thought that betta fish live in small puddles in the wild. Rather, betta fish live in rice paddies in Thailand during their time in the wild, which can be pretty big. Betta fish can't live in small tanks because it will create sudden spikes in ammonia, which are deadly to fish. The buildup of the fish's feces and disintegrated food results in ammonia. 

With a smaller tank, increase happens much quicker because there is a higher density of ammonia in the tank. Ammonia in aquariums is measured in ppm (parts per million). You want close to 0 ppm in your aquarium, as any level of ammonia is toxic to fish. While you can prevent high ammonia levels with regular water changes in tanks smaller than a 5 gallon, you would have to change the water every day, which isn't healthy for your fish. It will be hard to achieve the right beneficial bacteria to live in your tank, which plays a crucial role in the small ecosystem. High ammonia levels create diseases such as fin rot (bacteria that eat away at your betta's fins) or ammonia poisoning (deadly traces of ammonia), which can be fatal to your fish. Many pet stores keep their betta fish in these small containers, which leads to a high rise in ammonia, causing death. While they do clean their tanks regularly, there aren't enough beneficial bacteria.

In addition to those issues, many pet stores don't have proper heaters in the tanks, thereby resulting in an unstable temperature. Betta fish should live in water temperatures between 78º - 80º Fahrenheit. If betta fish live in temperatures too low, it will lead to reduced metabolic functions, which leads to lethargy. Cold temperatures will also lead to lower immunity and leaves the betta fish more vulnerable to diseases. And finally, these small containers don't contain any live plants or rocks for the betta to enjoy. Betta fish have meaningful personalities, and they love to hide when they are stressed. With no places to hide, betta fish will become stressed, which can lead to a variety of different diseases.

Why does this all even matter? Why should humans fight for the betterment of another species? It is a question that commonly interrupts the movement to end animal abuse. While there are many different answers, I feel like the main argument is because it is merely our obligation. Humans started this all; we accelerated climate change and found ways to abuse animals. Creatures aren't ours to control, yet we act like we ethically can. Betta fish are living, breathing beings like us all. They feel emotions and pain. The thought that betta fish have short-term memories is untrue. Betta fish recognize their owners when they walk into the room and can even base their personality off of their owners. They raise their own young with care, just like humans do. Betta fish have many similar traits to humans, and in the end, we are all just a complex body of molecules. Who gets to say that we can treat these innocent and similar creatures wrong? No one! But since we created this issue, we have to solve it.

How can we fight this abuse? To start, many organizations such as Earth is Alive have created a petition to treat betta fish better at pet stores. This petition isn't asking for these stores to stop selling betta fish, as we wouldn't get too far with that. Unfortunately, most large corporations aren't going to stop selling a profitable product even if it means the betterment of an animal's wellbeing. Corporations rely on the fact that their betta fish will sell out quickly. Instead, this petition will be asking for pet stores to treat their betta fish better. It's simple. Adding heat lamps and duckweed to the top of the tanks for the betta fish's enjoyment, and even introducing the calmer betta fish to the right community tanks help. More betta fish survive and enjoy their time before moving on to their next home. By petitioning for this, it is much more achievable and will still greatly help fight betta fish abuse. To learn more about this petition, please visit earthisalive.solutions. Such beautiful and characteristic animals don't deserve this abuse. Fight this and spread the word to empower change!