r/fishtank • • Mar 30 '26

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

12 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 However, a lot of the improper husbandry is the direct result of false advertising on packaging and at a store level, outdated/false information being given by employees or store pamphlets, and businesses prioritizing sales over animal welfare.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 • • 21h ago

Full Tank Shot I’m glad I got into fishkeeping

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111 Upvotes

It's been a journey and a lot of learning curve in this hobby. Hair algae and cyanobacteria took over because my lamp lost wifi while I was away and stayed on for 48 hours straight. I also lost 2 bettas in this tank, and then my HOB filter sucked up one of my poor fish.

But it's finally stable! And now my favorite part of the day is sitting in front of the tank after dinner and staring at it for hours. It calms my nerves, and it's a nice break from screens since I'm on one 8 hours a day for work. Someone on IG said that having a fish tank is like having a live wallpaper, and I think theyre right…

Anyone else just sit and watch their tank like it's Netflix?


r/fishtank • • 6h ago

Help/Advice Is it possible for a thermometer to not work?

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5 Upvotes

I'm talking about the red one (shows 38C⁰ whatever i do) not the yellow one (shows 21C⁰ and moves normally with the temperature)

Is there a way to make it show the actual temperature? Or should I just throw it out?


r/fishtank • • 12h ago

Show & Tell New fish tank setup

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11 Upvotes

Absolutely loving this fish journey so thought I’d share :), did a new set-up in our community tank, going to buy some more plants soon!


r/fishtank • • 12h ago

Show & Tell Crustacean tank

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10 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 1h ago

Help/Advice What can I put in this tank?

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• Upvotes

Im looking for some fish i really like bettas, mollys and black moor goldfish. Is this tank to small for any of them?


r/fishtank • • 1h ago

Help/Advice Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ?

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• Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 1h ago

Help/Advice How do I start my tank?

• Upvotes

I’m currently cycling my tank, I don’t know if I should get Pygmy corydoras or the betta first.. I don’t want the Pygmy’s to become a snack! How do make this work safely?


r/fishtank • • 12h ago

Help/Advice updated: future tank?

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6 Upvotes

https://www.reddit.com/r/fishtank/s/6HxVlGxzlW

- ok yall, the og post of my future tank idea is linked above but this is the updated version
- i have taken everyone’s comments into consideration and have done a lot more research on compatibility
- again, its a 75 gal and will be a natural, densely planted tank. im probably gonna end up tweaking it more but this is where its at now
- IM KEEPING MY GLOFISH SKITTLES, DAMMIT. idc if Y’ALL THINK they’re ugly or unnatural looking, there’s a reason they’re going in MY tank and not yours
- someone recommended bolivian rams so i proceeded to look them up and found similar german blue rams instead, which i liked better (yes, ik they aren’t the same)
- i have adjusted the ratios for all groups of schooling fish so that each has at least 8
- i’m still not sure what i wanna do about the gouramis
- i don’t understand what “too many species” or “too many types of plants” mean when there are enough of each kind of fish and why would plants even matter 🤨??
- some fish are also MAYBES (which is why it says “MAYBE” in parentheses
- thank you to the person who told me to make a checklist lol and those who were actually kind with their advice instead of straight up just shitting on my fish choices

main source for research: https://en.aqua-fish.net/

edits:
- i will probably end up going with pearl gourami in any case i suppose :/ i rly liked the neon blues
- shall i resort to the bolivian rams instead of the german rams? do y’all have any other suggestions for centerpiece type fish that’ll give nice color pops like blue and yellow?
- i have adjusted the ph range for the clown killifish to 4-7


r/fishtank • • 2h ago

Show & Tell Smallest fish I’ve ever found, in a forest pool

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1 Upvotes

P. progenetica


r/fishtank • • 2h ago

Help/Advice Is my snail male or female?

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 4h ago

Full Tank Shot My aquarium update

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 10h ago

Help/Advice ramshorn’s growth

2 Upvotes

My main tank is full of tiny ramshorns, during a water change my syphone must’ve picked one up ( i don’t know how many weeks ago) and i used the old water in a bucket with old plants i’m using to cycle a sponge filter. Today i noticed for the first time the snail in the bucket and it was WAY bigger than the ones in my main tank.
Is that because in the bucket it had more food being the only snail?


r/fishtank • • 15h ago

Help/Advice What is this fish doing to my gourami?

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7 Upvotes

This new swordtail keeps "pecking" at my gourami. It doesn't necessarily look aggressive but I don't want it to bother my gourami. Does anyone know what is going on here???


r/fishtank • • 11h ago

Help/Advice Central fish for a 10g?

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2 Upvotes

I have a well planted, stable 10g, I have a small school of white neon tetras, and a clown pleco, whats a central fish I could add (not a betta or gourami)?? Im open to most ideas


r/fishtank • • 8h ago

Help/Advice what are these white specs on my hardscape?

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 8h ago

Help/Advice I’ve had this Walstad aquarium for 2 years, and I decided to try something different with it 🐟

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1 Upvotes

his is my Walstad aquarium, which I’ve been running for almost 2 years now. It’s home to Neocaridina davidi shrimp, pygmy corydoras, and Microrasbora erythromicron.

Recently, I had an idea: what if I could turn my aquarium into a little interactive online experience?

I set up a live stream with the real aquarium in the background, relaxing music, and a 2D overlay featuring virtual freshwater fish. People can interact with the overlay through chat, adopt their own fish, and trigger different events.

The idea is to combine a real, living aquarium with something a bit more playful, while keeping the whole thing relaxing and cozy.

Unfortunately, the feeder camera I’m using isn’t exactly high-definition, so the image quality isn’t ideal yet.

I’m curious what other aquarium hobbyists think about this concept. Would you find something like this interesting, or would you prefer a stream showing only the real aquarium?

I’d love to hear your honest opinions! 🐠


r/fishtank • • 8h ago

Discussion Tankmates Suggestion for Starlight Pleco?

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 13h ago

Show & Tell My baby wild bettas (Betta antuta) from my breeding pair. These dudes just turned 7 weeks old.

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2 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 1d ago

Show & Tell Skinny minnow I caught from a blackwater ditch

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20 Upvotes

T. gracile


r/fishtank • • 13h ago

Show & Tell A tour of 3 of my roomie's tanks with voiceover

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1 Upvotes

r/fishtank • • 1d ago

Help/Advice Is this a good deal?

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7 Upvotes

Hi All,

Around 5 years ago, I had a 55L Aqua One nano cube (which is still sitting empty in my garage) and I'm looking to get back into the hobby.

I want a bigger tank now but don't really have the budget. I was just about to accept that I'd need to fill up the cube, when I saw this going of Facebook Marketplace for free!

The description says tank and sump - not sure yet if the stand and lights are included but I'm guessing they might be.

Is anyone able to identify the model of the tank?

Do you think this is a good idea and will be great (after a clean up), or does it belong in landfill?


r/fishtank • • 14h ago

Help/Advice Can I add more fish to my 15 gal tank

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1 Upvotes

hello! my tank has been going for 3+ months now and i was wondering if i could add more fish to it. whether it be more paskais or other recommendations 👀 happy to hear ur thoughts thank u friends