The Oregonian | By Maxine Bernstein | November 9, 2018
A Lewis & Clark Law School student, fresh from completing a consumer protection litigation class during his last semester, began researching betta fish and how to care for them as he considered buying one to celebrate his graduation last spring.
By September, after passing the state bar exam, Alex Hostetler, 31, was dismayed to read that the mini aquariums often advertised for the vibrantly colored tropical fish weren’t adequate and could be harmful to their health.
He approached his consumer protection law professor, attorney Michael Fuller, with an idea.
Hostetler and Fuller are now representing a Portland woman, Echo Gray, in class-action lawsuits filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court this week against three major sellers of the mini betta fish aquariums, Petco, Aqueon and Rolf C. Hagen Inc. Marina Aquarium Products.
The suits allege the companies are engaged in unlawful trade practices through deceptive advertising and are profiting from faulty merchandise.
They urge a judge to bar the sale of betta fish aquariums of less than 1.5 gallons, contending they don’t provide healthy housing for the fish and cause them to die much sooner than if kept in a larger aquarium.
“They’re creatures that don’t deserve to be put in tiny tubs,” Hostetler said Friday. “It’s needlessly cruel.”
The Siamese fighting fish, or betta, is a tropical freshwater fish often seen swimming solo. With proper care, they can live from two to four years. They take in oxygen from both water and the air and prefer to be independent.
According to PetSmart’s website, a betta fish tank should hold a minimum of 3 to 5 gallons of water.
Petco spokeswoman Ventura Olvera did not respond to messages for comment.
Nick Sranske, manager of warranties and technical support at Aqueon, said he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit.
In the suits, Hostetler and Fuller cite a National Geographic article headlined, “Betta fish often mistreated in pet industry, evidence suggests.” Though advertised as easier to care for, the fish don’t thrive in tanks of less than 2.5 gallons, the article says.
They need filtration, warm water, plants and caves to explore and regular feeding and tank cleaning, it says.
If not, the suits say, they often die of fish ammonia excretion. Ammonia is stored in the body of fish but becomes toxic if allowed to accumulate.
The suits ask a judge to order the companies to permanently stop the sale of the mini betta aquariums, provide an accounting of their profits from the sale of such aquariums and reimburse plaintiffs for the costs of buying the aquariums. The mini tanks range from $20 to $40.
“I feel bad for the consumer, and I also feel very bad for these fish,” Hostetler said. “I’d like to see more transparency and honesty in what these companies are selling and curtail the abuse of these fish. We’re not looking to make a whole lot of money off of Petco.”
Hostetler is working on this case as he continues to search for a job in consumer protection law, employment law or criminal defense.
The rookie lawyer hasn’t yet bought a betta fish himself. He said he still remembers having one when he was in middle school, kept in a small container that it came in. And, he remembers when he discovered it had died.
“I don’t think it made it past a few months,” Hostetler said.
