"Can I Have More Water?" Acrylic painting of the Penn-Plax Nature's Aquaponic Planter And Fish Habitat (0.5 gallon).
This tank is currently being sold at retailers like Walmart, Chewy, Amazon, and others.
It is described as a planter and aquarium that offers a "fun and educational environment" to teach families the relationship between plants and fish.
Live plants do absorb fish waste, but toxins will accumulate rapidly in this 0.5 gallon tank -- much faster than the plants can absorb.
The product packaging states it will "create a healthy habitat for your fish using plants as natural filtration." This gives the impression that it is a low-maintenance (and even self-cleaning) aquarium, when it still needs water changes every 1-2 days.
It is a non-stimulating environment for a fish to spend its entire life.
Penn-Plax is manufacturing some of the smallest and most inhumane Betta tanks on the market -- these products will only look worse with time as more consumers become aware of Bettas' actual needs.
Penn-Plax produces many aquariums 5 gallons and above that would actually provide Bettas with quality lives, and they should move away from the production of outdated tiny Betta bowls!
In the last pic you can see the actual 0.5 gallon tank next to a standard full paper towel roll. It is smaller than the paper towel roll!
