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The ?iPond?, which is reportedly sold in some Australia pet shops complete with a Siamese fighting fish, is a miniature fish tank that holds about 650 millilitres once rocks are placed at the bottom.

According to one report, the device  which costs about AU$70, or about R420 is so popular with Christmas shoppers one Sydney story has sold out of the product.

But on Monday RSPCA Australia called for the iPond to be banned, saying it did not take animal welfare into account.

"It's not appropriate. It's not big enough nowhere near it," the organisation's New South Wales head, Steve Coleman, said. The device measures 152 millimetres in height, 88 millimetres across and 77 millimetres deep and with those dimensions would struggle to keep a fish alive, he said.

"You would get a few weeks out of it at best," Coleman said.

The Pet Industry Association of Australia (PIAA), which represents more than 650 retailers and manufacturers, also called for a ban on the iPond speaker, saying it raised concerns about the safety of the animal.