Hi there. This is a poor betta located at my local high school.
At first, I thought he was dead, before I saw him struggling. I asked her to tell me about her fish, and she stated,
"This is Ted, he likes to play dead!" With absolutely 0 concern. I mentioned to her that, 1, that is not normal behavior, and that he's exhibiting signs of swim bladder, and doesn't look well. She joked "who doesn't have bladder problems?" (I explained what swim bladder means prior to this comment.)
Secondly, I said that I'm unsure if she conditioned the water. She did not respond.
I also mentioned that this is not at all the right size place for him. She went incredibly monotone, and went "I hear that from other students."
So her, nor the other staff, showed any concern. I don't know if this is a situation where animal control can help? I need to know that whoever I contact is actually going to give a care that it's a fish. I would gladly take him if needed, at least to give him some better final days.
Appearance: He is floating on his side, I could be wrong but I believe there is a bulge on the side facing upwards. Parts of his gills exhibit brown coloration. He would sta completely still with no movement for multiple minutes, before you see his gills working again.
I have an audio recording of her statements.
How do I go about reporting this? I'm in Washington state. Will animal control care? I hate the idea of someone coming in and going, "it's just a fish. No big deal." So I really want him to get the proper care and to be removed from the situation.
Thank you!
Additional note: Plant is fake.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1qyt5xi
Posted by somebody_randomm
13 Comments
Honestly, I would def try to get *some* person who knows actual fish care or at least try reporting to the principal to see if anything happens, then take a step forward if a similiar response occurs.
You could always set up a tank at home and “re-home” him. Just say you found him dead and you buried him or something
Find a similar size and color plastic fish and replace him with that. If everyone is used to this guy floating around they probably won’t notice if he’s replaced entirely. At least not for a while. Who would honestly try to retaliate if someone stole their fish? Like honestly. If she cares so little about his health and wellbeing how likely is she to report him stolen? My guess is not likely at all.
Social media shaming. Name names (full legal name) and share with everyone possible. That’s animal cruelty and deserves a good shaming.
Alternatively, print out a caresheet and tape it to the container. Include URLs to care videos. Draw some dead bettas and fishy ghosts. Bettas saying things about being cold, barely having enough space to “blub”, drowning from limited air access.
can you ask your parents to write a formal complaint to the principal about this?
I would steal him from her
I’d definitely not just steal the whole container when the office is occupied/elsewhere. That would be wrong.
Unpopular opinion here…but maybe this is a good lesson in lobbying for change? Gather signatures from students, make a stand. Show them that the students are concerned with animal welfare and moral responsibility. I doubt if any of the staff would object to students standing up for what is right.
All these comments saying to steal or shame 🙄
It’s really great that you’re trying to help this little guy, I wanted to let you know you could get in trouble for recording people without their consent depending on where you live though! Maybe best not to mention that when you go forward ❤️
Steal him. She probably won’t even notice
Just take him when shes not looking. But go home right away.
Flame her on your school’s social media pages people like her care more about their reputation than the literal animals they’re responsible for.
File a report with the school district, post this on local Facebook pages, etc. you don’t need to dox the persons name or face but make some noise on local social media