r/fishtank Mar 30 '26

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

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 However, a lot of the improper husbandry is the direct result of false advertising on packaging and at a store level, outdated/false information being given by employees or store pamphlets, and businesses prioritizing sales over animal welfare.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

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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

Help/Advice Fair fish

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I won two fair fish, my dad thinks the black pattern is ammonia burns, thoughts?


r/fishtank 47m ago

Help/Advice Is this a symptom of internal parasites?

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I have had this tank running for 7 months now and I have had few losses. I have had fish pooping like this which looks like colored chunks connected by translucent sections.

I wanted to know if this a reason for worry. The fish are otherwise active and have a good appetite.


r/fishtank 18h ago

Help/Advice Owner died, I need help

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(Not sure if this is the right place to post but might as well)

This was my buddy's project and he didn't tell any of us how to take care of it, he's since died very unexpectedly and any help in figuring out how he was taking care of it will be unimaginably helpful. I don't know what types of fish he had, but there are at least 15 in there. Any advice, from how long the lights should be on (what the lights even do), how often to feed them, how cleaning it would work or anything else you feel important would really help


r/fishtank 23h ago

Full Tank Shot what do we think?

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it’s kinda my first tank, it’s been upgraded a lot from when i first got it. it’s a 10 gallon and i’m not sure what to put in it? it had my betta sprinkle in it but she just passed recently. there is 5 otocinclus in there and two snails that i believe are nerite snails.


r/fishtank 9m ago

Show & Tell Saw a snakehead in a local stream

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C. limbata


r/fishtank 19m ago

Help/Advice Getting an itch for new fish, recommendations please!

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r/fishtank 15h ago

Help/Advice Moving with fish tanks - help

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I’m moving out at the end of the month and need tips on the best way to move with a couple fish tanks… it would be a 40 minute drive.

One is 5 gallon, the second is a 3 gallon.
Please give me your best advice!


r/fishtank 7h ago

Help/Advice Are these ostracods?

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These guys showed up in my two month old infusoria culture. Their population have exploded but my guppies don't seem to like to eat them. Any idea what these guys are?


r/fishtank 1h ago

Help/Advice Too many babies, need help

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Well, this is my first aquarium with more than one fish.

2.5 years ago, I was gifted an Ancistrus (and an aquarium) from a friend who breeds them. About 6 months ago, I decided to upgrade her tank from 30 L to 55 L because I thought she would appreciate some more space.

I changed everything up, and she seemed to enjoy it at first, exploring and digging around.

Eventually, she gradually got less active and barely left her hiding spot. I was told that adding some tankmates might help her come out. So, lo and behold, I got some Platies following advice from the fish store: 4 females and 2 males. Now, the situation is getting completely out of hand.

I feel scammed as fuck. I originally wanted to get shrimp, but the guy convinced me to get Platies instead, saying they were easy fish and perfect for beginners.

I have so many babies now that I can't even count them. The guy told me not to separate the males and females because the males would get aggressive, and my Ancistrus still only comes out during the day maybe twice a month :(

The nitrates hit 15 in just a few days, and I constantly have to unclog the filter. I feel like everything is getting completely out of control.

Can I stop them from reproducing like rabbits? Can I castrate my males?!


r/fishtank 1h ago

Help/Advice Troubles with angelfish

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Two days ago one of my angelfish died, and today one of them seems very quiet, i think something is wrong.

I made a water change and everything seems clean. I have also found in a third one two white spots near the eyes (images attached)

Does anyone knows if these are related or if im missing something? The rest of them seems okey


r/fishtank 2h ago

Help/Advice Friend or foe?

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Noticed these today. Several in the substrate and a few on the walls. It's tank cleaning day and I figured I should identify before I go stir them all up.


r/fishtank 6h ago

Help/Advice Juwel Rio 125 or Fluval Flex 123

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.


r/fishtank 2h ago

Other Advice for tank mates

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r/fishtank 3h ago

Help/Advice Badis question

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r/fishtank 7h ago

DIY/Build How do I go about this?

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r/fishtank 23h ago

Help/Advice What’s going on with my mothers tank

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Ever since my mom got rid of her pleco, her tank has been this murky green. I’ve been helping her to water changes but nothing clears up. New whole filter too and it continues to turn green. She’s had this tank for about 3 years now and it’s starting to do this. We also put new rocks and decoration in but nothing helps.

Please help!!!


r/fishtank 21h ago

Help/Advice my fishtank plants are dying I don't know what to do.

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the first pictures are now and the last is before. the plants were thriving and i would often trim. then randomly they started stuggling and now theyre bare thin and barely hanging on. I have tried more light, less light, plant fertilizer, nothings working. why did it randomly start dying. how do i fix it to make it look like what it was before. fish and animals are fully healthy and fine, just the plants. the difference is 4 months (april) but it started declining in june


r/fishtank 13h ago

Help/Advice Fin rot ? What do we think….

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My half moon double tail Gilbert has been with me about little over a year and has been great but recently I noticed some curled tail pieces and maybe less tail then before ? Just looking for advice please !!!


r/fishtank 16h ago

Help/Advice stock ideas ?

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set up this 55 gallon yesterday, definitely gonna slowly work on live plants and decor but anyone got any good stock ideas ? i have a loach that’s definitely getting moved in there once it’s ready and will probably get him some friends but i can’t decide what all i want to put in it. maybe some angel fish or some female bettas (or even just 1 male) , pleco, i just can’t decide 😩


r/fishtank 17h ago

Help/Advice What are these white dots?

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Are these eggs? I have 1 assassin snail (haven't seen any other snail in months) pygmy corys, harlequin rasboras, a couple guppies and some cherry shrimp


r/fishtank 18h ago

Full Tank Shot 75 gallon tank just set it up, what are your thoughts.

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r/fishtank 17h ago

Help/Advice Tank feedback and tips!

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r/fishtank 21h ago

Help/Advice What can I add to my tank to make it more enriching?

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