Gadgets

iPond Combines Portable Speaker With a Fish Tank, Enrages Animal Rights Activists

ipond_wideweb__470x310%2C0.jpgPet stores in Australia have been selling a portable speaker with a built-in fish tank, designed to hook up to portable audio devices like the iPod. The cleverly named iPond, which is currently drawing fire from animal rights groups for not providing adequate space for a fish to live. Melbourne Aquarium officials say the Betta fish sold with the iPond need a 10 liter tank to swim and get a proper amount of oxygen, but the iPond’s tank is only 650 milliliters. Acoustics experts also say sound from the speaker, which is built into the bottom of the iPond, could transfer into fish tank, bringing up another potential hazard.

But even if Aussies are ambivalent to bleeding heart animal rights activists, they should still avoid the iPond because it looks like a cheap piece of garbage selling for an inflated $70. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • Carmar

    This is so disgusting! Is it real? Surely it’s a spoof story. If it is real why has the RSPCA not demanded these people be prosecuted for cruelty – or is it “OK” if there is a buck to be made out of ill-treating animals, like battery hens.

  • RagE

    Well actualy you can go to almost any pet store these days and buy a betta in a tank smaller than that heh i agree its not somthing id do but the fact is these fish CAN and DO live in small spaces.

    They are a labyrinth fish, and that basicaly means they can breath air and live in crappy water. In the ‘wild’ they live in drainage ditches and rice paddys that often almost dry up in the dry months… They are also agressive and will kill eachother if with others in a bigger tank … Not saying i agree … just some background info on the fish.

    I’d be more worried about the vibrations from the speaker than the space.

  • Betta Fish Lover

    Betta fish always seem to get the short end of the stick or in this case the shallow end of the pond! This is a bad product for betta fish but it just seems like a bad product all around!

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