Disclosures
Betta Dreams earns money. Here's exactly how, from whom, and what we do to keep the commissions from bending our recommendations.
Last updated: 2026-05-01.
The firewall
One rule, no exceptions: the product we name in an article is the product we'd buy for our own fish. If the best option is from a brand with no affiliate program, we link it anyway and leave money on the table. If a merchant pushes us to write favorably about a product we don't rate, we drop the program. We've walked away from programs before. We'll do it again.
Programs we participate in
Programs are added as they're approved. This list is the current active set.
Amazon Associates
Betta Dreams is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Amazon pays a small percentage (roughly 3% on pet supplies at current rates) when a reader clicks through one of our links and buys within the cookie window. We use Amazon for specific product recommendations: heater models, pellet brands, test kits, medications, and equipment. Amazon-linked anchors carry rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" and are labelled "(affiliate)" adjacent to the link.
Chewy
Chewy runs its affiliate program through Impact Radius. Chewy typically pays 4% across categories, fish supplies included. We use Chewy for bulk staples like filter media, gravel, and water conditioners where shipping cost matters.
Aquarium Co-Op, Glass Aqua, Buce Plant, Betta Botanicals, The Shrimp Farm
We participate in retail partner and ambassador programs with several specialty aquarium retailers whose catalogues we already trust. These programs typically pay 5-10% on referred sales. Inclusion in the program does not guarantee favorable coverage. Products from partner retailers are reviewed by the same standards as products from everywhere else.
Display advertising
As traffic grows we plan to add display advertising via Ezoic, Raptive, or Mediavine. Display ads are served algorithmically against article content; we do not choose which ads appear and editorial does not coordinate with ad operations.
How affiliate links are marked
Every affiliate anchor on the site uses rel="sponsored nofollow noopener". In the body copy, product recommendations that use an affiliate link are introduced plainly ("at Chewy", "from Aquarium Co-Op"), never dressed up as if the link were a bare editorial citation. Buyer's guide articles carry a short disclosure block at the top.
Required FTC disclosure
This page is provided in compliance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255 guidelines on endorsements and testimonials in advertising, and the equivalent guidance from the UK Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority for UK readers.
Refusal list
What Betta Dreams does not do, for any amount of money:
- Guest posts with paid backlinks, placed or rewritten for SEO.
- "Sponsored editorial" where a brand buys coverage.
- Affiliate links to products we wouldn't actually use ourselves.
- Link insertion into old articles in exchange for payment.
- Anything that requires us to remove a negative review in exchange for ad spend or an affiliate approval.
If we ever break one of the above, email us and we'll credit the reporter at the top of the next quarterly transparency note.
Questions
Disclosure or ethics questions: hello@bettadreams.com.