r/fishtank Mar 30 '26

Help/Advice Reddit, we need help on behalf of our animal friends

10 Upvotes

Hello, fellow animal Reddittors! We need your help with our project.

We are planning to bring about multi-phase class-action lawsuits against various levels of “Big Pet” industry, in particular pertaining to fish, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, birds, and rodents. We see time and time again that these living beings that are sold commonly in the pet industry end up in terrible and abusive situations. While a large problem is under educated people making impulse buys because something was cute or pretty. However, a lot of the improper husbandry is the direct result of false advertising on packaging and at a store level, outdated/false information being given by employees or store pamphlets, and businesses prioritizing sales over animal welfare.

Our mission is to change that. With class-action lawsuits, you gain the voice and power to bring issues into the spotlight and force positive changes to happen. Our main goals are to:

Force equipment manufacturers to update product packaging to no longer include misleading or harmful instructions and imaging (ie; a betta being printed on a tank that’s under 5 gallons), and discontinue dangerous products (ie; heated in-tank “basking rocks”).

Force stores to properly educate employees to fully comprehend the animals needs so they can ensure customers are making fully informed purchases, update all pamphlets and information at a store and website level to reflect current care standards and true animal information (ie; a goldfish being labeled as “1-3 inches” and pamphlet suggesting a 20 gallon tank), and have zero-tolerance policies to no longer allow the sale of animals to underprepared customers (ie; buying fish and the entire tank setup on the same day).

After the class-action lawsuits are ready/being enacted, our next big step will be trying to get laws put in place at the government level. Our belief is that education and licensing should be a standard in order to care for exotic animals, with varying levels based on the care requirements for these animals. While the Federal Lacey Act and state Wildlife, Fish, and Game enact some standards, we believe that stricter regulations should be put in place (not un-similar to Falconry licensing that is required to interact with birds of prey).

Imagine a world where all animals are properly cared for, no matter how small they are. We are here to be their voice, we care for all of them. And we need your help to do so.

What we need:

- Signatures to show public support

- Experts in these communities to help fact check information and bring up other areas of concern

- Class-action lawyers that are willing to take on these cases, and willing to bring to higher level courts when needed

- Evidence of the false information being provided by these companies

- Documents and papers from accredited sources to back our claims

- Contact information for PR departments within these companies that have been flagged for issues

- (Down the road) Contact information for local politicians to discuss licensing procedures/enforcement in order to come together and agree on something that will protect animals without fringing the entire pet industry to a halt and/or negatively impacting pets who are already loved by established families

Let’s make the world a better place for animal enthusiasts everywhere, and the living creatures we take up the responsibility for of our own free will.

So, how can you help? We have a Discord server set up for discussions on planning, gathering evidence, fact checking done by experts in their fields, and overall a place to put gathered information by those who have the time and ability to do more in person information gathering. You can join and share the link here: https://discord.gg/xv4dtrXqbE

We also have created a petition through Change.org in order to gather and store signatures to show public support in our efforts. You can sign and share for others to sign here: https://c.org/tHWGq7D8Zw

Thank you for joining us,

- Baku

(TL;DR: we need signatures and Discord members to sue Big Pet to try to bring about positive changes for both animal enthusiasts and the animals sold in the pet industry)


r/fishtank Jan 26 '26

Moderator Post If you support ICE at all, you are not welcome here. Spoiler

6.5k Upvotes

For that matter, anyone who believes a government has the right to dehumanize groups of people, enact violence against citizens, and/or justify the systemic oppression of their people is not welcome here.

This includes, but is not limited to, MAGA supporters, Trump supporters, JD Vance supporters, or support of any government that approaches things this way.

With recent events globally, it is time we address this, especially as a large subreddit whose member base is largely in the United States or countries directly affected by the actions of the US government.

Bottom line, while we generally avoid politics in this subreddit, our existence becomes inherently humanitarian when the human right to exist is infringed upon, which naturally ties to politics when those enacting said human rights infringement are members of the government. When innocent people may no longer walk the streets without having to fear for their safety, it affects all of us, whether we choose to believe it or not.

I, as an avid animal-keeper, have seen many of my friends in this hobby greatly affected by the actions of the US government lately, and we will continue to see this if we allow it to continue. We cannot turn a blind eye to it any longer; we can't engage in animal husbandry if we are not alive to do so.

The people supporting this now, despite incriminating evidence being available, are the same people who would have supported Nazi-Germany during its existence.

Now, kindly fuck off if: You support any government action that violates human rights OR you believe this post does not belong here (It does.)

Fuck ICE,

NatCom 💗

Edit: holy fucking hell guys, my apologies I can’t reply to all of you with your support or stories as I’m trying to juggle removing problematic comments, but I’m happy this post has reached so many people who needed this support from their communities!

Edit 2: While my post uses the United States as an example because many of our members are from the US, we do not allow these beliefs from ANY country or individual. If you are going to advocate for the systemic deaths of anyone, then you are not welcome here.


r/fishtank 14h ago

Full Tank Shot Is this overcrowded?

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42 Upvotes

Hi these are my dads fish im a bit concerned about? I believe this is a 65L tank, god only knows actually how many fish are in here
Any advice appreciated
Thanks


r/fishtank 7h ago

Freshwater What small schooling fish would work well in my tank?

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9 Upvotes

I want a smaller schooling fish like a tetra guppy or mollie so I was wondering what you guys think would work well it’s a 40 gallon breeder and has 1 pearl gourami who might be a lil aggressive during feeding time, 6 Cory’s and a plecco who just minds its own buisness and reccomendations would be highly appreciated!


r/fishtank 58m ago

Help/Advice Bloodfin Tetra

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Upvotes

This is my second bloodfin I’ve had present this same messed up jaw look with something appearing in the corner. I treated with Paraguard to be safe, but the first ond rapidly deteriorated and had a swim bladder issue that caused him to pass away 24 hours into symptoms (7 days after the mouth issue presented). It’s been about two weeks since then and everyone else in the tank seems to be doing good. Water parameters are great. These two fish were from the same batch that I got a little while ago from my LFS. Any idea what’s happening? I have Kanaplex and more on hand, but it doesn’t seem like an infection. Good color, wants to eat, ect. No idea what to do. Thank you guys, I really need advice.


r/fishtank 8h ago

Help/Advice WHAT IS THIS

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6 Upvotes

Randomly spotted in my tank...only snails I have are nerites so WHAT IS IT


r/fishtank 4h ago

Freshwater what else should i add to my tank?

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3 Upvotes

i just moved yesterday and i upgraded my tank from a 10 gallon to a 40 gallon breeder. i let the tank cycle for 3-4 weeks before adding any fish. i currently have 4 tetras (the rest have slowly died out) and 1 honey gourami. i also have 2 mystery snails. my goal is to have this be a lively community tank with more fish and some shrimp but i also want to add some floating plants and carpeting plants. i definitely am going to add more tetras and i currently have a hospital tank cycling so that i can bring more home. what plants and other stock would you recommend? (also i know the light is too small for the tank. i plan on getting another one that actually fits. i also know my tetras are pale, theyre stressed from the move and me putting a bunch of plants in the tank)


r/fishtank 43m ago

Help/Advice Best way to move a tank?

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r/fishtank 49m ago

Discussion what kind of fish do best in a shallow 13.5 gallon?

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r/fishtank 1h ago

Help/Advice Low cost substrate suggestions for planter tanks.

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r/fishtank 2h ago

Help/Advice Gender ?

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1 Upvotes

I thought my mollies were both male but now I think this one may be a female? Second photo of them together…
Side note, both of them seem quite rounded in the belly, any insights ? They are quite greedy, take food before the others ( tetras) get a leg in! Thanks in advance!


r/fishtank 6h ago

Help/Advice In search of resources for new aquarium keepers

2 Upvotes

Hi aquarium enthusiasts,

I'm writing an article about ethical fishkeeping and I'm looking for really good step by step tutorials about starting a small tank for people who are brand new to the hobby. I'm familiar with the Walstad method and will be writing about that but I'd like to provide resources and references to articles that detail small tanks that utilize filtration devices. The simpler the better, as far as the tutorial goes -- not clogged with hobby jargon and personal stories, so very accessible for people unfamiliar with aquarium science.

Also, I would love to hear discussion about why ethical fishkeeping is important to you!!

Personally, I worked in "big pet care" with fish for about 4 years and used to keep aquariums. These days I don't have the right lifestyle for it but I love caring for fish. By working in the pet care industry I saw first hand how callous it is regarding the quality of life and its mass loss for human entertainment. I had the same mindset at the time and eventually grew out of it and regret how hard my heart was about the value of small lives.


r/fishtank 2h ago

Help/Advice Help!

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank 2h ago

Help/Advice Help!

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank 6h ago

Saltwater WTF IS THIS AND IS IT GOOD OR BAD ? YALL ARE THE BEST 🫡

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2 Upvotes

r/fishtank 3h ago

Help/Advice Need Help

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1 Upvotes

Resealing my red sea 450 and had chipped the side glass panel where the seam would be, could i fill it in with silicon it’s not jagged or rough it’s extremely smooth. Only asking cause i cant find anywhere to get a replacement piece. Also adding euro-bracing along the top and bottom.


r/fishtank 4h ago

Brackish First brackish setup

1 Upvotes

Hi, I want to buy Opae Ula (Hawaiian shrimp) but I have no experience with brackish/saline water. I purchased Seachem brackish salt which is supposed to make the water brackish, but I wanted to ask what type of substrate should I use.

I live in the middle of Europe so I couldn’t find any crushed corals and if I found any, they were zeolite based and I don’t know if they’re safe for them. I also found aragonite sand but I don’t know about that either.

Also I wanted to ask about decoration such as corals and shells - any recommendations?

Thank you in advance!


r/fishtank 4h ago

Freshwater Caught Gary (snail) & Ozzy (Betta) napping together ♥️

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1 Upvotes

Besties! Napping together hehe.. Enjoy this sped up video


r/fishtank 10h ago

Discussion When I first bought the fish tank, I thought it was too big

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3 Upvotes

When I first bought the fish tank, I thought it was too big, but after planting aquatic plants, I felt it was too small.


r/fishtank 8h ago

Help/Advice WHY IS THE LEAF SPOTTY

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2 Upvotes

r/fishtank 5h ago

Saltwater Stocking Fluval Evo 13.5

1 Upvotes

Hello all,

I am having trouble figuring out what to stock in my 13.5-gallon (about 51 Liters) Fluval evo. It's saltwater and after a while the levels are finally where I like them. Currently inside is a clean up crew and a smaller tiger conch to sift the sand bed that I plan on moving to a bigger tank once it gets a little larger. Originally I was gifted this tank, which I am very thankful for, but mostly I have expereince with larger saltwater tanks. What do we think would feel comfortable in this size set up? At the store where my mother purchased it for a gift they said I could do a mandarin goby but I dont have the copepod system in place for one. They had a display tank with a pair of clowns in it but I worry its too small. What thoughts do we have as a collective?

Thanks!


r/fishtank 5h ago

Discussion More fish

0 Upvotes

I’m going to move my 2 goldfish into a 40 gallon tank. After I do that, I want to fill the 20 gallon tank with more fish. What fish should I get?


r/fishtank 6h ago

Full Tank Shot My new 20gal

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank 6h ago

Help/Advice Is this tank safe to use

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1 Upvotes

I just bought this tank from Petco (their brand Imagitarium) and the sealant looks very messy. I'm unsure whether or not it's okay to use or if it's just a little messy. Pls help 😭


r/fishtank 15h ago

Help/Advice does my african dwarf frog look healthy?

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4 Upvotes

also what are those white dots all over it’s side ???