# stupid pet stores!



## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

Once I went to this pet store called plano pets (I think). I was just browsing, looking at all the diferent fish when I saw the bettas (in shock).:shock: They where in such small cups that you could not even stick your hole hand in there! I had seen bettas in this small of cups befor but never this dirty. The water had food and poop floting around in it!:blink:There were sevrel dead and some half dead, some with pale colores, and some CTs that could barley turn around! Poor fish. (they have lives to you know) The pet people who work there are really not educated. And I saw one of the workers grab a dead fish out of a tank with his BEAR HANDS. (GAG!) What are these stores thinking? That they can just go around telling people rong info. about animlas and have people just not notice?:roll: (In there dreams) Gosh, some people just don't have respect for animals. It's just sad.:-?

Pleas tell any pet store stories you have to tell!:-D

(Random fact: snails come from rocks!:shock


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## flying fish (Sep 30, 2009)

That is disgusting, Ill trype down my story, hold on a sec


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

once i went to petsmart an foun TWELVE dead bettas =(


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## flying fish (Sep 30, 2009)

Once I went to my local pet store,
and there were like three hundred feeder fish in one tank,
with a bare bottom, nothing.
The tank was dirty, and there were like, thirty fish stuck in the filter.
Some dead, and others half stuck in, and still alive.
Even though there feeder fish, doesnt mean that they have no worth.
It was absolutely disgusting.
I actually found Pickle in the very back of the bettas, he looked so stressed out and was flaring at the fish beside him.
In some weird ways, Pickle was a lucky fish because he wasnt kept in those itty bitty plastic dixie cups, we was rather in a jar the size of a -extra- large baseball.
The store has nice fish and all, they just dont take proper care of them.
>8K


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## TrexMadi (Oct 12, 2009)

It's so disgusting the way pet stores take care of the fish. I often come to places where they treat them in the most disgusting way. Just today I was at a pet store where the majority of them were in small jars, about the size of a tennis ball with an open top. I think the fish would have been happier jumping out and dying.
There was zero heating in any of them, and since the fish were at the back of the store and it was crowded, I quickly snuck a thermometer from a sample aquarium and it was just 68 degrees! I knew the fish were all going to die soon, and I told the shopkeeper, and he said, "ridiculous! they're perfectly healthy!". 
He then told me that the name 'fighting fish' came from a MYTH and put TWO MALES in a three gallon tank together. I was so appalled, and I told him off for a while. Then he said, "young lady, you have the facts all wrong, come back later and see them peacefully living together. By now I was so angry I could punch him (I should have), but I stormed out, telling every employee how WRONG their co-worker was. 
When I came back about five hours later, the stupid buffoon was re-arranging some other things, and I told a worker who hadn't been there before about the whole thing, and she got really upset and we went to see the fish to find a dead fish and one who was battered and lying on the bottom of the tank, occasionally making a helpless little flail. I wrote to the company about the whole thing and told them how angry they were, and I'm waiting for a reply.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Wow Trex that has got to be one of the stupidest people I have heard of. By the way is that your fish in your Avitar? If so he is awsome.


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## flying fish (Sep 30, 2009)

TrexMadi said:


> It's so disgusting the way pet stores take care of the fish. I often come to places where they treat them in the most disgusting way. Just today I was at a pet store where the majority of them were in small jars, about the size of a tennis ball with an open top. I think the fish would have been happier jumping out and dying.
> There was zero heating in any of them, and since the fish were at the back of the store and it was crowded, I quickly snuck a thermometer from a sample aquarium and it was just 68 degrees! I knew the fish were all going to die soon, and I told the shopkeeper, and he said, "ridiculous! they're perfectly healthy!".
> He then told me that the name 'fighting fish' came from a MYTH and put TWO MALES in a three gallon tank together. I was so appalled, and I told him off for a while. Then he said, "young lady, you have the facts all wrong, come back later and see them peacefully living together. By now I was so angry I could punch him (I should have), but I stormed out, telling every employee how WRONG their co-worker was.
> When I came back about five hours later, the stupid buffoon was re-arranging some other things, and I told a worker who hadn't been there before about the whole thing, and she got really upset and we went to see the fish to find a dead fish and one who was battered and lying on the bottom of the tank, occasionally making a helpless little flail. I wrote to the company about the whole thing and told them how angry they were, and I'm waiting for a reply.


What a jerk.
He needs a slap.
Completely sick, I hope he at least loses his job :evil:
That is so sad,
I need a heater for Pickle, Im currently using a head lamp, itd not helping much D;


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## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

once at a pet store (i think petsmart) years ago i looked into the tree frog tank and some of the frogs had died close to the heat lamp- which was way too close to the tank- and had been cooked where they lay and dried to husks. apparently no one had looked in on them for quite a while. i called the closest employee and told them that not only were there dead frogs in the case but they clearly had been there a long time- days maybe. this employee seemed horrified but didn't know how it had happened. they seemed understaffed. was no one feeding these frogs? did they think removing dead ones before they rotted wasn't part of the job? also that heat lamp was waaaay too close- practically touching the mesh. probably cooked them alive V_V


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## DefyingGravity (Sep 23, 2009)

Thankfully I haven't seen anything smaller than the little 4 square boxes put together. However, one of the places I went to had some very lethargic fish, and their CT's looked so bad  And the 'storage containers' were all brown. Disgusting for 'proper' fish stores. The best I've seen were giant vases, and while they weren't heated or filtered, the bettas looked amazing!

I just wish I could find a female around here that wasn't all a gross brown colour. (Seriously have been to 7 shops, and only one stocked females! And they looked sick, and were brown!)


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

pet stores can be atrocious, i wrote to petsmart corporate on monday, informing them of an employee of theirs who completely uncaring, unknowledgeable and not to mention rude.

i went to get a few oto's and corys for a few of my tanks. she catches 3 corys in the net, i want 2, and so she squishes he net back into the tank to get one of them out. she puts the two in the container and i ask her to look at them, she says, "theres only 2 now, isnt that what you wanted? whats the problem?" i said, i wanted to check how they looked now. so i also had her get 3 oto's and of course she scooped too many and squished the net again to get out the extras. i again looked in the container. now shes looking at me all pissed off like. i look again at the corys and one of his barbels was now missing and looked bruised. i told her now i didnt want them, i thought she was gonna freak out right there, so i loudly explained WHY i didnt want them, what SHE did wrong in handling them, as well as how she was rude. she just yelled back, fine whatever. 

she was a real joy .........petsmart wrote me back saying they would look into it and write me back and thanks for informing them.......

we'll see what happens. and i swear the next time i go in there, if she tries to wait on me, im going to say LOUDLY< "no, ill wait for another employee, you dont know how to handle the fish or even care to know how"

pet stores get me so pissy........i have such fond memories when my parents owned a petstore in the 80's. we took great pride in taking the best care of ALL animals and fish. i remember my mom would only get like 6 bettas in at a time because she wanted them in real tanks until they were sold, not cups. bettas in cups, it make me sick to think about it!

sorry for the rant


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

What a jerk! I went into a petstore one time and saw a betta floating on his side at the top of his cup. I told an employee that the fish had swimbladder disorder. She picked up the cup and shook it! Then she said, theres NOTHING wrong with him!


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## andrewr2488 (Sep 20, 2009)

Wal-Mart is the worst about fish!! Many things i've seen wrong with they're ways of "care"
First off they had 8 spotted puffer fish in their small aquariums, looks like maybe 5-6 gallon aquarium? Most of them if not all had practically no fins at all.. poor puffers.. Algae growing all up the walls on most tanks, and some just had filthy filthy water!! Nobody even tends to them, I felt bad for some of the glo fish and waited for a while to buy some but nobody ever came to my attention!! they were nibbling on a dead fish.. I told one lady that the puffers were in completly horrible housing and she said they'll sell soon, its okay. I was astonished to say the least but what should i expect.. My local petco is awesome with their fish. Petsmart is decent, there is one lady who is very knowledgable and cares about all the fish. some of the others arent so great.. I'll end my rant here.. :shock:


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

yeah pet stores can be real stupid. once Lync was spitting out his food, and the dude there said that I had to only feed him once a week had I not confronted you awsome people on hwo much I was supposed to feed my buddy Lync. Had Ilistened to him I would be way under feeding him. Also, the females were getting way less water then the males!!! I mean are the males better than the females. Well I for one am not sexest (or however you spell it) to females, and I think the females should get as much water as the males.

But the good thing about petsmart, is the workers are super nice. and the fish there are always healthy, and there is always someone on duty cleaning. Also they handle their fish with care, and gentleness.


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

But don't get me started on our wal*CRAP, and how bad they treat their fish. I mean one time I wanted a dragon fish, and it took my mom ,and I an hour to get some STUPID CRAPY SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Dragon fish? Never heard of those before.


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

oh those give me the willies........


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Same here.... Can't look at them. Eeep!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

What are they?


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

This is one I don't think they are pretty at all but some people like them.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Ooooh! Those are cute! Now I want one...

Is it some type of goby? I kept googling dragon fish and ended up getting something like a viper fish, LOL. I'm pretty sure they can't sell those.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You can look up tropical fish profiles at the top of the FishForum page. There might be a pic of one there. I know there is something called a dragon goby but I don't know if the one Calmwaters posted is one or not.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Yeah, it's a type of Goby.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Haha, it's really cute though. I didn't know they sold those types of fish at walmart. The ones here don't even sell fish, but the one in Windsor where I used to live just sold feeder fish, goldfish, and such.


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

once i went to walmart and asked them about how much they fed their fish THEYH DIDNT EVEN KNOW THEY HAD FISH!!! they had special automatic food despencers and the water was green literally and dont even get me started on the bettas half of them were bloated then a couple were dead


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## MikeyG (Sep 13, 2009)

The Walmart near me feeds their puffers dead frogs from the tank next door :-(


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Eeeeuuuwww!!


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

that just made me sick


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Nice _Gobiodes broussonetti_, Calmwaters. I don't like them though since they just don't appeal me a lot. "Dragon fish" also refers to arowanas and polypterus FYI.


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## AndiH (Oct 15, 2009)

The walmart near me was pretty bad for a while, but its decent now. The tanks are cleaner, a dead fish is a rare thing to see, and the service is decent. Of course, I may just be having good timing...


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Lupin,
I don't like them either it was a picture I googled. LOL I like pretty colorful fish and to me those are not pretty more scary looking than pretty. LOL


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

(very creapy looking fish) UMMMMM... we kinda got off topic just to tell you.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

I love fish like that.  I've always wanted an eel or a bichir, though I'm not very knowledgable about them.


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## flying fish (Sep 30, 2009)

Eew, that fish is scare :shock:
I saw 2 foot long eels at Petland that looked way cooler :3
...
Wth?
Pickle just ate a fruit fly.

He's going to be all right, right?
Stupid question but... :shock:


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

He should be okay, although the fruit fly may have had a parasite or something...just keep a close eye on him for a while? I had a friend who used to catch fruit flies to feed to his goldfish. 

And wow! 2 foot eel. Sounds awesome.


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## andrewr2488 (Sep 20, 2009)

Everybody should sign this Wal-mart cruelty to fish petition. I've never seen a Wal-Mart store in which the fish were kept in an acceptable manor.

Wal-Mart Cruelty Petition


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## iheartmyfishies (Sep 14, 2009)

I just signed. Stop the madness!!


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## flying fish (Sep 30, 2009)

Jupiter said:


> He should be okay, although the fruit fly may have had a parasite or something...just keep a close eye on him for a while? I had a friend who used to catch fruit flies to feed to his goldfish.
> 
> And wow! 2 foot eel. Sounds awesome.


All right, thanks :3
I actually researched and found out that fruit flies are healthy for bettas.
Gives them fiber of something?
So Ive kinda changed Pickles diet a bit, I feed hima large flake in the morning, and he gets two ants in the eve.
People have been saying that theyre good for them, so, Ill just give it a try, see how it turns out :3
Anyway, dont listen to me, I mightve read it wrong.


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

flying fish said:


> Once I went to my local pet store,
> and there were like three hundred feeder fish in one tank,
> with a bare bottom, nothing.
> The tank was dirty, and there were like, thirty fish stuck in the filter.
> ...


thats what my local petco is like that I do dog adoptions outside of. The thing i don't get is why they support rescuing dogs and not getting them from stores and breeders, but then they have their fish in TERRIBLE CONDITIONS!!!! uggggg


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

for anyone wandering what a dragon goby looks like, here it is http://www.themarinecenter.com/media/photos/1D726DB283704585A7B6B06FC0FFDDEFE.jpg


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

OOOOOOOOOOOOO thats cool!!!


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## Leatree (Oct 18, 2009)

Though I'm not sure if all Wal-Marts are like this but the one where I live is horrible. The only thing I think they even do is to clean the front of the tank so you can see in and maybe change the water.. it is actually rather clear. Though one whole tank of goldfish have tail/fin rot with multiple dead fish, another tank has about 6 dead fish that I know have been in there for at least a week. There are a few with .. well im sure you name it they have it ... oddly with no ick. The betta cups are dirty and like I've mentioned in another post .. i wish i could buy them all and give them a good home.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

i have a friend who has cherry shrimp in her tank and one of them disaperd. we think the betta ate it but the other is still alive.(the betta became bloted after the shrimp disaapeard) is the other going to be ok and is the fish going to be fine?


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## iheartmyfishies (Sep 14, 2009)

UGGH!! I just went to a pet store and someone tried to convince me that if a betta is kept in anything larger that 1.5 gallons they will be miserable for the rest of their lives. -.-" Nooooooo.... I hate that they're giving people this wrong information.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

any one else got good fishy storys?? i would love to hear them!!=) =)

this one time i went to pet co and it looked like they had gottin a fearly new shipment of bettas but there was this one female betta that i think had pop eye so badly it made her flot right under the water line on her side and when she got air she bearly movied.



iheartmyfishies said:


> UGGH!! I just went to a pet store and someone tried to convince me that if a betta is kept in anything larger that 1.5 gallons they will be miserable for the rest of their lives. -.-" Nooooooo.... I hate that they're giving people this wrong information.


wow those people are really really stuiped.:roll: i mean serosly, most every fish will live better in a bigger tank.


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## New2Betas (Nov 13, 2009)

I don’t understand why an animal rights organization has not gotten involved in the cruelty to bettas! Before finding this form I thought that they preferred small spaces and that was why pet stores kept them in little cups. I was out running errands today I went to Meijer, Wallmart, Petsmart, and Petland. All had bettas but the ones hat Petland were kept in tiny cups, more like a candle holder. The ones at Petsmart were kept in the blue water, whatever the heck that is, and the females were so small. Most has chewed their tail off. And the ones at Meijer and Wallmart had such bad fin rot that several had huge holes in their fins. I wish I could have bought every one of them and helped them. :-(


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

New2Bettas, the blue water is medication they put to prevent disease because they're too lazy to change the water.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It's methylene blue.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Well, I got a mystery snail last week. 

The employees thought I was nuts for taking 5 minutes to pick out a snail! They asked me if I was ready yet and I said I was still deciding. Then the guy came back like 30 seconds later and was like "Ummm... are you ready yet!?" he was all pushy.. ugh. Then when I told him what snail I wanted he got it and DROPPED it into the specimen container. Seriously, how hard would it have been for him to put his hand in the container and put the poor thing in gently? makes me very very mad.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I have heard all kinds of stories about petstore employees dropping fish on the floor, grabbing them with their hands and all kinds of stuff!! Don't they realize that they are living beings? I hope the snail was ok.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Yeah, my snail is OK. 

One time I was getting feeder goldfish and the guy dropped the poor fish! She was OK, but YIKES! Can't ya be a little more careful!?


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

i would tell the guy that he should be more carful with the fish or be all like "dude you just droped the fish on the flore!" say you will get another empley for the next fish you bye, take your fish and leave to find another empoly or go to pay. (and tell the maniger that his or her empoleys drop the fish on the flore)


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

i wouldnt buy a fish or anything else if they dropped it. i would just yell out loudly, "you dropped the fish on the floor!!! I think hes gonna die!!!!!

then tell them they need to be more careful it s living being for goodness sakes!


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I agree with Christina the floor is hard and cold no telling what could be hurt inside the poor fish. : (


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## TianTian (Apr 14, 2009)

I have yet to see a main-chain petstore that doesn't have at least one dead/dying fish. And bad employees are everywhere; some people jsut have the fortune to run into them more often than others.

Thankfully, I have my LFS, Fintique... and they're pretty much awesome.  Always healthy, happy fish, big tanks, knowledgeable and agreeable staff.... love 'em!


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## MidnightAngel (Oct 29, 2009)

I wouldn't take the fish either! I haven't seen one dropped yet, but I would definitely have a problem with it!!!

down the road from where I currently live there's a little local owner pet store. Upon walking in, its very warm, they have lots of reptiles and tropical fish so that's probably intentional and the only thing the bettas have going for them. 
There's a whole section for reptiles and amphibians, they're doing great, continuing around the store you find crazy/cool saltwater fish and corals, then the fresh water. Everything looks to be well taken care of. 

When you reach the end of the freshwater fish there is a wooden shelf area for the bettas...Each betta has its own TINY cup 3" diameter at the most. Each cup was full of green algae and waste, some were so bad that you could not see what the fish in the cup looked like! Although, the crowntail, halfmoons, and dragons, maybe 7 total, had cleaner water, still some waste. and some males had been put in probably 1.5 gal containers full of what looked like ponds plants and scum, and lots of algae....

I asked the worker if they could be changed so i could at least SEE the fish...he's apparently the owner and said he's lost all his employees in the past week...I would think algae in that quantity would take much longer than a week...But he was too busy to change the water, maybe he'd get to it in a bit. I continued to look at the bettas, and he came by to tell me if I want, I can change the water myself and he'd give me one. 

So I changed 30+ cups, and gots my Peaches and two other females, one of which died within two days  I tried, but Peaches and the other girl are doing fine, I just wish I could've saved them all!


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## TianTian (Apr 14, 2009)

Lucky you, Midnight!!


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## MidnightAngel (Oct 29, 2009)

Lucky Fish!!! I hate to think when they would have been changed, if ever...


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

i went to this pet store and there was like 5 dead fish at the bottom of the tank. they where all nasty and fuzzy. the people didnt even notice.


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## HopeInHeart (Oct 11, 2009)

I have a good story about the petstore where I bought Toby. They only had three bettas, and every one of them was in a tank. (I don't remember what other kind of fish there were in there or exactly how big the tank, but I think it was five gallons.) I think the whole family takes part in the store and the owner hand picks his bettas.


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

TianTian said:


> I have yet to see a main-chain petstore that doesn't have at least one dead/dying fish. And bad employees are everywhere; some people jsut have the fortune to run into them more often than others.



I went decor shopping today at Walmart (eww) Petco and our neighborhood pet store. Walmart was horrible as it always is, but Petco hap a bunch of Beautiful fish and all were healthy! I was VERY suprized. I've learned thast Petsmart is a bad place for betta shopping too, I got my boys at petco and I know I will come back! And the little shop was sad too. 3 or 4 dead fish, all male vieltails, no variations!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

My Petsmart is usually ok but lately I have seen dead ones and some with sbd. I always deal with the same girl. She ought to be embarrassed by me picking out the dead ones and sick ones!


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

i tell the person that theres a dead fish and they seem pretty embarrassed or say some thing like "that dosent usaly happen" but it actuley dose.


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## Eljazo (Nov 23, 2009)

loppy656 said:


> i tell the person that theres a dead fish and they seem pretty embarrassed or say some thing like "that dosent usaly happen" but it actuley dose.


I remember doing that as a child. I'd look through all the tanks, and if I found a dead one, I'd shout out "EXCUSE ME, THERE'S A DEAD FISH IN THIS TANK!!" Sometimes they'd tell me that the fish was sleeping... 

My local pet shop is very good. All the fish are in nice health, and it's all very looked after except for slightly cloudy water, or a dead fish or two. Usually they clean it out before it gets to this point. They seem to be gentle when handling the fish, and once I saw a very dedicated worker talking to them. The bettas have nice 1.5 - 2 gallon tanks, and seem very happy.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

lol when my goldfish dyed when i was little my sister told me he was sleeaping. i asked why he was bobing up and down she said he was dreaming.(lame excuse to tell them they are sleeaping, if you do that the kid is gona wonder why he ended up getting flushed if he was just sleeaping)

any more stories???


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## ScuitoAmi150 (Nov 19, 2009)

Our local family owned pet store is pretty good about their bettas. They are still in small jars (not plastic cups) but they are bigger than petco's. And they are usually always healthy and have decent water.
Petco is the same as all of yours though.


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## Kelso (Oct 28, 2009)

I actually have had few problems...the biggest problems I've ever head is sheer ignorance. I actually won't walk into superpetz, that place horrifies me, so I dont have a problem with it. Superpets isnt that bad, but theyre staff isnt too knowledgeable about specific fish needs. One of the small mom and pop lfs is very good, but sometimes he doesnt know what he is talking about...as in knight gobies being able to live for a long time in freshwater- RIP Mojo ;-;-but theyre are two amazing pet stores nearby one of which is petco and another local petstore with a WIDE variety of animals from scorpions to hedgehogs. Petco is great. They do have a very good aquatics specialist who when she doesnt know something isnt afraid to ask me something. We have seriosuly talked for an hour in the store. It's a great store and its always very clean, and when I spy a dead fish, they take no offense from me telling them. I remember even one time when I went t get fish from there one of my fish jumped out of the container and into a sink and was fine, but the employee still asked me to take a look and be sure i still wanted him. the other petstore...well they are just amazing. The staff there really know their stuff =) OH! Don't forget that fish place/ that pet place! I live an hour from there...and well, do I need to say more! Theyre amazing!


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

OH YEAH!!!!! I LOVE thatpetplace!!!!! I would live there if I could!


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## TigerLily (Sep 17, 2009)

I just got back from Wal Mart, and I was disgusted with their bettas. Normally, they aren't too bad, but today the cups were all filthy. Some of the fish had as many as ten pellets floating with them. The water was brown and the sides of the cups were covered in algae. One male was floating, dead, in mud colored water. Others were lying on their sides or at the bottom and many had fin rot.

There wasn't a single employee in sight, and I didn't have time to change the water or wait around for someone to show up. Still, I plan on making a fuss about this. Having animals, any animals, in these conditions is inexscusable.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

if your going to make a fus its just beter to go there and say what you need to say insted of emaling the copany. they ether...

A)dont reply at all or...
B)take forever to reply


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## fishy314 (Nov 8, 2012)

TrexMadi said:


> It's so disgusting the way pet stores take care of the fish. I often come to places where they treat them in the most disgusting way. Just today I was at a pet store where the majority of them were in small jars, about the size of a tennis ball with an open top. I think the fish would have been happier jumping out and dying.
> There was zero heating in any of them, and since the fish were at the back of the store and it was crowded, I quickly snuck a thermometer from a sample aquarium and it was just 68 degrees! I knew the fish were all going to die soon, and I told the shopkeeper, and he said, "ridiculous! they're perfectly healthy!".
> He then told me that the name 'fighting fish' came from a MYTH and put TWO MALES in a three gallon tank together. I was so appalled, and I told him off for a while. Then he said, "young lady, you have the facts all wrong, come back later and see them peacefully living together. By now I was so angry I could punch him (I should have), but I stormed out, telling every employee how WRONG their co-worker was.
> When I came back about five hours later, the stupid buffoon was re-arranging some other things, and I told a worker who hadn't been there before about the whole thing, and she got really upset and we went to see the fish to find a dead fish and one who was battered and lying on the bottom of the tank, occasionally making a helpless little flail. I wrote to the company about the whole thing and told them how angry they were, and I'm waiting for a reply.


Sorry to bump but

Stupid dummy doesn't have his facts straight, needs to go back to kindergarten to know "fighting" means they *FIGHT!!!*


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

OK, this is a super old thread (sigh) but since it has been bumped I will add that I know someone personally that was fired by Petco for being rude. They do have standards and the customer is always right. Don't be afraid to ask for and complain to the manager on duty at the moment. Forget e-mailing corporate, go to the manager on duty.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

I try not to look at the fish in walmart...because I KNOW I will want to save a betta. My first Betta was a rescue, I was 14 and curious, and was horrified at how sickly they all were. I demanded my mom help me buy one. She got me a tank, and I got my first betta! Then I started breeding...and the craze was only put on hold when I joined the Navy...

And now...the Betta craze has started again!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My Petco is great.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

The only place in my town that sells fish is walmart, and all their fish are in horrible condition. I'd say the bettas have more room than any of the others, even in the tiny little cups.
But most of the time I can not tell if most of the fish are alive or not. The last time I went they had only two goldfish in the entire tank. They normally have two tanks with common goldfish in them, like around 50 in each. They had two. TWO. I'm sure the other 98 were not bought, they most likely all died. I always see dead fish floating at the top with all the others, or ones that are almost dead attempting to swim through all the others, usually swimming almost completely sideways.

The associates there never give anyone information about caring for the fish when they sell them, but that's probably good because most of them seem to know nothing. It is disgusting, but I know that I could not even take better care of the fish with the amount of room that they have for them.
It doesn't make any sense. _They kill more fish than they sell!!_ They overstock all of their tanks and over 90% of the fish either die before they are sold or are brought back after being sold because they died a day later. 

Of course, some of that might be because of customers being clueless, but a lot of it has to do with the condition of the fish when they are purchased.

I could rant about this all day. The only place around here that doesn't keep their bettas in cups is a specialty fish store, and it is about 50 miles from here, give or take, but I can't say that the bettas their deserve a good home more than the bettas sold at walmart. They are living things, all of them are precious.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

All the walmarts in my area which is one. They dont sell fish but sell some terrible supplies like bowls.


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## Rachelk98 (Jun 11, 2012)

Eljazo said:


> I remember doing that as a child. I'd look through all the tanks, and if I found a dead one, I'd shout out "EXCUSE ME, THERE'S A DEAD FISH IN THIS TANK!!" Sometimes they'd tell me that the fish was sleeping...
> 
> My local pet shop is very good. All the fish are in nice health, and it's all very looked after except for slightly cloudy water, or a dead fish or two. Usually they clean it out before it gets to this point. They seem to be gentle when handling the fish, and once I saw a very dedicated worker talking to them. The bettas have nice 1.5 - 2 gallon tanks, and seem very happy.


They tell me the same thing!!1 Me And My Brother Would Tap On THe Glass And One LAdy This Lady Worker Got Them Out And They Were All Dead!!!!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Guppies die very fast here but I blame the breeder.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Guppies die very fast here but I blame the breeder.


Where do you get fish there if walmart doesn't sell them?

And I do agree. I spent $80 online this weekend because the only place here with fish supplies is walmart. They have low quality everything. They only have plastic plants, bad quality food, no adjustable heaters, and it disgusts me that any store would sell .5 gallon fish tanks. I think 1 gallon is really small but I can't imagine a .5 gallon. I do like the 5.5 gallon tank I got there, though, but everything else is definitely not from walmart.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Petco but I think the breeders breeding bad fish.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

You are too fast for me, I couldn't edit my post in time!
But it is not very surprising. Most pet stores buy fish in bulk, and I can't imaging that bulk breeders can even have the resources to keep all the fish in good health.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I mean genetic wise. I dont think there very hardy. The Bettas or atleast when they got it from Thialand they arrive and are very healthy look wise too there are a few sick ones. They get a water change every 2 days which I now could be improved.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Well I got my betta from walmart last year and I think any of them that can survive walmart (and me because I was clueless at the time) are pretty hardy  It still probably has a thing or two to do with bulk breeding. I also hear a lot about them feeding them hormones and such that are supposed to make them brighter colored, which I'm sure is not great for them.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

If I remeber thialand Breeders use only live food and keep standard growth but make up for it by breeding them when they can breed but are not full grown.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Yeah. Most of the time they're focused on how they can make the most money and not what is best for the fish.
:/


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I think there system works well the fish come out nice look at my avatar.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Yes, Carter is gorgeous  but that's usually how they are bred, to be pretty and have long tails and nice colors and not necessarily to be healthy. Carter's healthy of course, but that's because he has a good owner who takes good care of him and doesn't keep him in a cup. They are very resilient and can come back to full health quickly, but I'm sure that the percentage of fish that actually make it to the pet stores and into the hands of a good owner is not very impressive.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I agree not all nice bettas need color. The Bettas here seem healthy. Carter is a nice DT and he has a mild to moderate hard time swimming but he will swim willingly. He is most active when I approach.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I think Carter is a beaut. He makes me want to get a chocolate betta, or a DT, or both, haha.
Sometimes my betta has a little bit of a hard time swimming with his long tail but it definitely does not stop him.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Carter enjoys begging for food. I feed less than reccomended yet he still looks a little fat.


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## LunaStars004 (Nov 26, 2012)

I went to PetSmart a few days ago to get a betta (I have had bettas before) and when I got one, one of the pet store workers came up to me and said "oh, you don't need a heater! The max temperature for a betta should be 70 degrees! :0 Wow, I can't believe her! The average for a betta should be around 77, and you need a heater!


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## FishFriend9292 (Oct 14, 2012)

I am lucky to have a great fish store near me, and they take great care of their fish. They keep them in 1-2 gallon jars and in the room they keep them in, it is even heated to what feels like sround 78-80 degrees farenheit! None of them were dead, and in fact they were even active and swimming around!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

How much do they cost?


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## FishFriend9292 (Oct 14, 2012)

Only $2.99


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I am surprised they are in buisness. How many do they have?


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## FishFriend9292 (Oct 14, 2012)

They sell many other fish besides bettas. They have a HUGE selection of freshwater, saltwater, brackish, and they even have some thngs like turtles and newts. They also sell lots of suplies like aquariums, decarations, frozen and live food, too. Bettas are just a small part of their bussiness. They even have goldfish that are half the size of my arm!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

A goldfish can grow to 14 inches depending on strain. Are you sure they are not Koi?


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## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

This is something that happened a little while back:

I was trying to find Maggie a heater when I heard someone near the bettas saying "The males fight when they're together, I think." (or something like that. I don't remember the exact details.) So, I came and gave them a little crash course on the care and keeping of betta fish, complete with showing them the females. (and they still ended up with a male apiece.) Just as I told them about water conditioner, this petsmart lady comes along and says they don't need water conditioner. :roll: Luckily, they decided to take my advice instead. That was very lucky for me and the bettas, because what's the chance of them taking advice from a young girl instead of a supposedly "experienced" petsmart worker? Pretty close to none. One more thing-when I got Rubin's heater, a employee at the store said we should get a certain type of heater that I can't remember, but I remember that was way to many watts. Lucky for me, (again) my mom listened to me instead of miss know-it-all pet store lady.

Rant over.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

She sounds like one of those people who think setting the water out for 24 hours works.


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## FishFriend9292 (Oct 14, 2012)

Half my arm is like 12 inches...I think


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## Sparrowhawk (Nov 19, 2012)

Both of my local pet stores seem to know little to nothing about bettas.

Two years ago an ex-partner decided he was going to get me a pet, so off we went to the local fish store (part of a pet store chain that has since closed and become part of the pet store next door) and, trusting the advice of the employee there, came home with a small tank (can't remember the volume off the top of my head) a heater, themometer, one poor red VT betta and five neon tetras. We were assured that they'd all be fine in such a home, and not knowing any better (thinking that employees at an aquarium store must know their stuff) took them home.

Knowing what I know now, I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt when I think about Commander Worf and the Club Kids. My blind trust in a pet shop employee caused the maltreatment and death of these poor guys.

:-(

A month or so ago, my boy and I decided we would get a fish, because my grandmother, whom we live with, didn't want another cat (we've always been cat people but she said she couldn't stand the sadness of another cat dying - she'd had three in her lifetime who reached ridiculously old ages, and didn't want to see another go) so we visited our local pet stores. Before I did any heavy research, I thought I'd just visit them to inquire about what we could keep with our means. My father had bought me an 8L (2.1 gallon) tank, so we asked what we could do with that setup. One store told us we could keep several comets in it (whaaaaaaa??) and another -- the one that had sold me the tiny tank with tetras and Worf -- said we could have 3-6 guppies in it.

I'm extremely glad that I had a gut feeling that neither of these stores were telling me the correct things. I went into full research mode after visiting those stores, and found this forum. Yay! I also discovered two great fish stores only a short trip via public transport away from me, one of which I got Falkor from. Both keep their bettas in amazing conditions in comparison to any other place I've visited, and are helpful and knowledgeable.

Last week, on our way to dinner, my partner and I went past the first pet store I spoke about in this post. I didn't particularly want to go inside, because I knew I'd get excessively upset by the conditions they keep their bettas in. So my boy went in, had a browse, and mentioned to one of the staff that a couple of their bettas had fin rot, and it might be a good idea to treat that ASAP. Apparently, this employee stuck her hand into one of the tiny "tanks" and swooshed it around, snapping "There's nothing wrong with them, what are you talking about?!"

As my partner was leaving the store, he overheard a group of teenagers asking why their betta wasn't active or eating, after bringing him home the day before from their shop. I wonder what they'd been told in the way of fishkeeping. Had I known, I'd probably have stopped them on their way out of the store and asked them what was going on, and given as much advice as my still somewhat limited knowledge base could offer.

Wow, that was long. Sorry! >.<


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Wow I wonder what there Oscar advice would be LOL.


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## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> She sounds like one of those people who think setting the water out for 24 hours works.


She actually did say that...:lol:


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Wow. I think people like that forget Chlormine does not evaproate and Chlorine does.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

They probably didn't know that in the first place.
I just got a new betta today. I *absolutely hate the instructions on the top of the cup*. Also, when I asked the guy if he could put clean, conditioned water in the cup (the water before had a lot of floaties in it) I'm pretty sure he took water from one of the other fish tanks.

However, he did ask me if I had water conditioner (which I do) so at least he's not totally clueless.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Water in Betta cups sometimes gets a little dirty here.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Not surprising. The cups are tiny and usually only filled half full. Earl May also had the cups stacked, but they were stacked like you stack upside down cups so that they didn't cover the air holes, in a pyramid type way. 

They did have one betta in a bigger bowl but it was only filled like 1/4 full! The fish in it looked dead. It just laid at the bottom on the rocks.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Ours are like like 75 percent full.


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## phoenix91 (Mar 21, 2011)

I have 1 good story and 1 bad. I'll start with the good.

The petco near me seems to take really good care of their bettas, the are really the only pets they have in the store. One guy who works there seemed genuinely interested when i was telling him about my 2 and even offered to give me a free female since they get bought less and he hates seeing them in he store for a long time. He'd set up a hospital station next to the sink to treat the sick ones when they came in and the water is lovely and clean. He also told me that if a fish stays int eh store too long he takes it home with him. His house must be packed!!

Onto petsmart... i saw my current male Igor lying on his side in a dirty cup struggling for life, with ripped fins and bad finrot  I picked him up and took him to the cashier and mentioned in passing that he had finrot, she took the cup from me to have a look and said "i best go show my manager", he didn't come back out with her. They took him into the back room and told me he'd be treated for the fin rot. I thought for sure i'd lost this fish, that he'd be killed or just left out there to die. Luckily for me the employees at this petsmart are clearly morons; i went back later in the afternoon to find a new supply of pretty flashy bettas in the shelf, and Igor shoved right to the back, hidden behind everyone else. Needless to say i snatched him right up and bought him. He's doing awesome now!!

I don't shop in that store anymore. I chose not to give them anymore of my money, instead i shop at the petco, which is smaller and has less options but at least they care for the animals there.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Is Igor your avatar?


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## Hershey (Sep 28, 2012)

All of the fish at my recent walmart visit (we have 2 walmarts) Had torn, clamped fins, except Cabanela who just has bloat and is pooping everyday.

I also bought another unamed CT from there with a large wound and put him in a QT.. Didn't make it though.


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## phoenix91 (Mar 21, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Is Igor your avatar?


No, that's my first male Oji.

This is Igor:


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

He looks interesting and how does he act?


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## phoenix91 (Mar 21, 2011)

When i first got him he was pale and would sit on the bottom a lot. Now he's very active, swims around a lot. His back was slightly bent when i got him and that's almost completely gone and his tail looked gimpy and was folded at the top. You can still see how it folds but it's a lot better than it was. He had a lot of trouble swimming with the back and tail issues but he swims just fine now.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

Wonderful recovery, I recently bought my DT butterfly, Alucard... Ive been having issues getting him to eat. He swims actively, but he eats sparsly, and is ALWAYS so thin.

I CONSTANTLY have to scoop out leftovers, and watch how much I feed him. He even turns down bloodworms sometimes.


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## phoenix91 (Mar 21, 2011)

Igor was exactly the same, hated everything i tried to feed him; the only thing i could get him to eat were flakes (the betta buffet kind). He snatches them and shakes them and has a really good time bless his heart.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

I WISH Alucard would act like that about food. He just gets really mad when I hold my purple pen up to the tank. He has a huge meltdown like "ERRRmahhhgeeeerd! PURTLE!" And dances and flares at it.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

Or I will card him with my Dragon Fade... he really seems to want to kick his butt.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I used to keep carter in an ingrates temp for a month. I did not see a difference in him except the times like now he is in a ten gallon or in a floating box.


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## TheMCP (Nov 10, 2012)

lilyrazen said:


> Walmart was horrible as it always is, but Petco hap a bunch of Beautiful fish and all were healthy! I was VERY suprized. I've learned thast Petsmart is a bad place for betta shopping too, I got my boys at petco and I know I will come back!


My local petco generally seems to take poor care of its fish, but strangely the bettas are the exception... they're in cups but their water is always clean, the fish seem healthy, and they're displayed on special racks with dividers so they don't see each other. 

My local petsmart generally seems to take superb care of its fish, but the bettas are the exception... they're dying and molding in cups with foul grey water full of poop, stacked next to each other on shelves so they see each other and stress themselves to death. 

I can't imagine why anyone thinks they're going to make money presenting fish that way for sale.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I have never seen a dead bamboo shrimp at my Petco.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I got my new fish at Earl May and they seem to take care of their fish the same way walmart does, except they are all much brighter colored 0.o

Little cups filled half full and all stacked right next to each other. The water doesn't seem murky at Earl May like it does at walmart but there was a lot of unidentifiable things at the bottom of the cups... Maybe they do more frequent partial water changes so they never actually get rid of the stuff that collects at the bottom of the cups?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I wish each cup would have a small amount of IAL.


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## DoctorWhoLuver (Feb 23, 2012)

Last week I dropped by my local Petsmart for pet supplies. And we all know the story about dropping by the betta section X]... and it look like they had a TB outbreak :O A lot of the bettas were lethargic with skeletal deformities and loss of scales/colors and a few had died... The ones that died were all twisted up in an upside down "J" shape... I wish I had the guts to tell one of their employees, but I was in my ballet gear and I was too shy. I did move the cups with the dead bettas to the front of the shelf (they were all in the back) in hope of disgusting another customer into yelling at the employees. -.- I felt really bad for they bettas and wish I could've brought one home, but I was scared that there might have been a TB outbreak... :/ well, that's my story.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

I was at my local Walmart. I was getting goldfish for about the 10th time because I can't keep goldfish alive. I was really picky about my fish and I still am. I was choosing my goldfish and the guy KEPT saying you done yet? I said " NO IM NOT! Give me my time or I will report you to the manager!" That shut they guy up. He scooped up my three fish. I looked in the bag. There where 2 living ones and a DEAD one! I told the man you tried selling me a dead fish. He took the fish out and replaced it. 
Another story is how I got angel. I was at different Wal-mart. One with REALLY crappy service. I came prepared with about $30. I had talked to my mom about starting my goldfish community up again. She was fine with the idea. So I went (ran) back to the fish/pet area. The tanks where horrid! Green balls of who knows what where at the bottom of the tank. Fish where EATING the dead fish. I was grossed out. So I chose my goldfish and went to they lady. I asked her if I could get some fish. She said very rudely, I'm not the person who cares for those worthless things. Especially those fighter fish. Stupidest things ever. That really set me off. I was about ready to hit her. So I said well screw you. I walked off to another lady at a service desk. I asked if she could page someone who could get me some fish. She told me to go to the tanks and wait. The lady who cared for the fish should be back there. Put ill page her anyway. She paged a lady named Doreen. That's when I realized it was the same lady that I asked earlier. The lady yelled ill be right there! I waited about 20 minutes or so be for i said SCREW IT. I decided to get a betta. I picked out a tank. Rocks. Deco. Done. All I needed was a betta. I set my tank and items down besides me. I was picking up each bettas SUPER small cup. That's when I saw angel. He was laying in the back. Poor thing was cramped and his fins where clamped. I immediately named him angel. Even before it was official I was aloud to get him.


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## TheMCP (Nov 10, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I have never seen a dead bamboo shrimp at my Petco.


I bought one of those there. They basically told me to just put him in my tank and that he didn't need anything special.

A month later Mister Shrimpy climbed out, jumped off the table, and dried up and died on the other side of the room. They hadn't mentioned he needed a lid.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

That sounds horrible ^ If I were you, the manager would've gotten an earful. I'd ask to talk to each and every person in charge just to see if I could find at least ONE person willing to listen and actually care.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

TheMCP said:


> I bought one of those there. They basically told me to just put him in my tank and that he didn't need anything special.
> 
> A month later Mister Shrimpy climbed out, jumped off the table, and dried up and died on the other side of the room. They hadn't mentioned he needed a lid.


I think your thinking of Amano.


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## TheMCP (Nov 10, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I think your thinking of Amano.


Nope, I'm not, Mister Shrimpy was a bamboo shrimp.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Bamboo shrimp are filter feeders. Did it cost 10.00$?


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## TheMCP (Nov 10, 2012)

Yes, it did cost $10, and yes, it was a filter feeder. Mottled brown thing, several inches long.

Bluntly, it's kind of offensive for you to imply I don't know what I'm talking about when you have never been here or seen my tanks.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

If you look at them there easy to confuse. I am surprised you have a 30 gallon. Did you know all bamboo shrimp are wild caught. I was implying that it was Amano because they can run on land and fit your description. Sorry.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Bought 5 more bettas for $14. I was checking out and the lady asked " do you know how to properly care for them? Females are semi aggressive and males you can't keep together." I WAS LIKE, " I ALREADY HACE 5 BETAS! I KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR THEM." That shut her up. She still looked at me like I was nuts.


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## coreyh (Dec 1, 2012)

I don't know if this has been said or not, but I was just at my local petco and saw a whole display dedicated to "baby bettas" my mom thought they were adorable but I was sickened. These guys weren't even an inch long and only had the bare beginnings of color tinting their fins. 

Argh! I'm not a perfect fish parent, but come on, really? Baby fish?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My Petco said they have special freshwater fiddlers LOL.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Do your pet stores all have those stupid directions on the top of the cup?

The one that says "feed sparingly once a day, change 1/3 of water once a week & use room temperature bottled or dechlorinated water"?


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Mine have something that says. Feed once a week. Also, they labeled a CLEARLY visible ct a vt.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Kind of like they label males with fin rot as females? It isn't that hard to tell a CT from a VT, though.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Yah. I bought a labeled ct. When compairing the 2 they look exactly the same except 4 coloring


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Haha, chances are most people buying a betta won't know the difference.
For whoever gets that one... lucky them. CT's are generally more expensive that VTs. Where I got my CT, he was $13 and the VTs were about $6.

At walmart here, the CTs are about $6 and the VTs only about $3.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

I was at petsmart. Regular CT females are about $5.99 I have a PetPerks which means I get them for $2.99
VT females are normally $2.99. I got mine for .99¢


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Meaning whoever gets the CT labeled as a VT gets it half off without probably even knowing it.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Yah. I didn't notice until I got home.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I guess it honestly doesn't matter to me what they label them as, as long as they're healthy. Any knowledgeable betta owner is going to know whether or not the labeling is correct, lol.
You'd think they'd be more careful to not give random people 50% discounts, but three bucks and a fish probably doesn't mean much to them, anyways.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

It's their rewards program. It's called PetPerks. If you have a PetPerks rewards account then you get select items for about $2 cheaper ( or more ) than normal people.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I understand, I'm just talking about the regular price. Anyone could walk in there and get a CT that is incorrectly labeled as a VT making it $3 instead of $6, so the store would lose $3 every time they made that mistake.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Oh sorry. I went to the fish first,saw the price and I was like to the cashier I go! I went and got a card.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Haha, no mistakes on your part. You just happened to get her cheaper than she was supposed to be. It's just a mistake and also a loss on the store's part.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Yah. She is really pretty to. She is a royal blue color w/ some green


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

She sounds pretty  Lucky you, and also, lucky her


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

I'm happy to have her. I have a CT male that looks like her. They both have what I call peacock colors


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

AyalaCookiejar said:


> I guess it honestly doesn't matter to me what they label them as, as long as they're healthy. Any knowledgeable betta owner is going to know whether or not the labeling is correct, lol.
> You'd think they'd be more careful to not give random people 50% discounts, but three bucks and a fish probably doesn't mean much to them, anyways.


 I have always had trouble with fin types.


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I actually do have troubles with tail types if they are not VT or CT. Most pet stores only sell those two kinds and I think it's fairly easy to tell them apart.

I start getting confused when you get in to all the other tail types, though, but I've never seen anything but CTs and VTs in my local stores.

I guess it really depends on where you live, though.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I know CT, VT, plakat, and hope to learn Delta.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

I know HM CT VT


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I am hoping to get a fighter type. I consider it a rescue too.


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## lexiloo52 (Jan 15, 2011)

I got a Wal-Mart betta. It was beautiful, but I could tell it was sick. I had it for about 9 months and during that time, it had chronic swim-bladder and was always listless. Poor guy. One the other hand, though, Diego is my super Wal-Mart betta who has been with me for a year and a half!!!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I dont like the mystery of pet store fish.


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## bettaakapes (Dec 17, 2012)

Well that sound horrible but at least they get fed. Petco does not feed them and many are dead.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Ours is great.


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## RoMay (Nov 28, 2012)

I want to share something that happened to me today and don't want to start a new thread. Despite feeling ill from watching the hobbit I took the bus down to Petco. Stupid me had lost the conditioner for the water. Anyways Half the bettas there were sick and/or over fed. First female employee blew me off and very annoyingly got the manager. Expecting to be blew by the manager of I was surprised when he let me show him the bettas. And after seeing the over feeding, and a double tail with only a single tail left, and several with disintrigrating tails he started to get ticked off. The sick ones in particular had a crust where water had dried. He told me he's going to call teh breeder ask what is up and his specialist is out today. Then to my surprise he pulled an employee back to start cleaning ALL the cups (sick or not) AGAIN and to do it RIGHT.

Also I learned if you wear shiney jingly bracelets you can get the majority of the male bettas flaring at you. The elephant ear bettas are so CUTE when they flare up.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I want those bracelets. My Petco keeps Fiddlers in Freshwater. I am Pretty sure the kissing gourami hurt an african ciclid and killed an african ropefish.


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## RoMay (Nov 28, 2012)

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/silver-and-turquoise-indian-bangles-set-of-9.do?&from=Search <-- basically it was those type of bracelets that cause betta flare. It was interesting to see all the flare ups.

Yeah sometimes I see stores put fish in absolutely the wrong combination and your like "um, that isn't to smart."


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I am glad my Petco broke the rules and took the Apple snails out of the goldfish tank now much more live.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

Going into my local petco, I was thankful I know the IBC standards for fish, because the "halfmoons" they were selling were at best super deltas, and mostly just deltas. I got kinda mad before I chilled out and was like, "Non of the people shopping here are breeders, they are pretty, they will get homes."

I love breeding, and sometimes I can find a gem, and I love they work and mystery of spawning out a good line.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I went to Walmart with Healthy fish.


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## Solaris (Dec 2, 2012)

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but I was just checking out petco.com. (They don't have Petco in Canada, but I wanted to look at prices to compare.)

Anyway, I noticed that if you click on a fish, it will tell you the suggested tank size. For example, the suggested size for neon tetras is 10+ gallons, which is true. 

Then I clicked on the Betta. Suggested tank size? 1+ LITRE! Which is basically .3 gallons. ARRRGH! Why do they give out correct tank sizes for the other fish, but not for Betta? I don't understand.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

Solaris said:


> I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but I was just checking out petco.com. (They don't have Petco in Canada, but I wanted to look at prices to compare.)
> 
> Anyway, I noticed that if you click on a fish, it will tell you the suggested tank size. For example, the suggested size for neon tetras is 10+ gallons, which is true.
> 
> Then I clicked on the Betta. Suggested tank size? 1+ LITRE! Which is basically .3 gallons. ARRRGH! Why do they give out correct tank sizes for the other fish, but not for Betta? I don't understand.


Because they can get away with it... Its sick...but true.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

They get away with it because most people are too stupid to look for facts.


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## VeilTail (Dec 16, 2012)

Gah, my baby girl (not really a baby), Isha, a VT Female was in BROWN water when I bought her, and was an inch long. She had finrot really bad and was suffering. Me, not knowing anything about fish bought a .5 gallon fish "tank" without gravel or plants She somehow survived and is happily residing in a 10 gallon tank with 2 ASFs and is 2.5 inches!!!!!!!!! She likes biting my finger too, and loves pellets. But I feel bad for the fishies I leave behind, although sometimes I sneak some pellets from home into their cups since the workers never feed them at Walmart. All five of my fish are rescues, and are very happy.


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## Saphira101 (Nov 14, 2012)

that dragon goby looked kind of like a sculpin, (bottom-feeding fish with poisonous spines, you can Google them for a picture) I catch them out of rivers and lakes sometimes, I had a pretty cool tank too, until I caught one from green lake that happened to be infected with ich... killed all of the rest in a few days.  I could'nt do a thing. they died despite the meds.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

ChibreneyDragon said:


> Going into my local petco, I was thankful I know the IBC standards for fish, because the "halfmoons" they were selling were at best super deltas, and mostly just deltas. I got kinda mad before I chilled out and was like, "Non of the people shopping here are breeders, they are pretty, they will get homes."
> 
> I love breeding, and sometimes I can find a gem, and I love they work and mystery of spawning out a good line.


 Bad homes.


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## Fishfresher88523 (Dec 4, 2012)

Well I have a story too , I just got my betta a month ago as a gift so I had gone to this local pet store to buy some dechlorinator and plastic plants I was having a look at the plants and a girl was buying an aquarium when I saw the fish she was looking at they were bettas put in plastic bags which were floating in the tanks. She wanted to buy a betta but the employee told her that they are aggressive so she should take some other fish for the 20 gal she was buying and then what I saw shocked me. He shows her a plastic attachment for the tank which is roughly 6 inches by 2 inches by2 inches and has been divided into 3 parts to keep the bettas so she could keep 3 betta.i couldn't stop myself and I told that girl that bettas require larger spaces and that this is no place for any fish. Luckily she got my point but that shopkeeper was all pissed he started shouting at me and said he would call the authoroties I shouted back saying ill call animal welfare authoroties thts when he realised Im serious he simply asked me to leave and i complied but luckily that girl too left . But what shocks me is how long will any fish survive in that small cell plus they keep their bettas tied in bags for 4 days without feeding them they just put food once in 4 days and I cant do anything about it because here in india animal welfare authorities aren't that strict.


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## RoMay (Nov 28, 2012)

As much as I prefer Petco I am begining to realize how much they suck. This is of course after going into Petsmart today. Petsmart has a whole half an aisle for bettas. This includes several small heaters for smaller tanks. A line up of food, themomiters, and other what not that would keep a betta happy. The smaller tanks are yes below the bettas but not so easily seen. The larger tanks are around the corner as well so you can view the other tanks as well. Considering next to the bettas at Petsmart is all decorations I can see easy tempation for a bigger tank just to fit these pretty decorations in. XD

Petco? Well all I find for bettas is small tanks and food. I have never seen any small heaters, or float logs or other things for bettas at either petco.

Kinda wish I had room and knowledge to take in that black and green baby betta they had last time I was there. :-(


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Bad homes.


As compared to breeders? If I thought EVERYONE would take bad care of their bettas, I would be broke trying to save all of them...


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

Fishfresher88523 said:


> Well I have a story too , I just got my betta a month ago as a gift so I had gone to this local pet store to buy some dechlorinator and plastic plants I was having a look at the plants and a girl was buying an aquarium when I saw the fish she was looking at they were bettas put in plastic bags which were floating in the tanks. She wanted to buy a betta but the employee told her that they are aggressive so she should take some other fish for the 20 gal she was buying and then what I saw shocked me. He shows her a plastic attachment for the tank which is roughly 6 inches by 2 inches by2 inches and has been divided into 3 parts to keep the bettas so she could keep 3 betta.i couldn't stop myself and I told that girl that bettas require larger spaces and that this is no place for any fish. Luckily she got my point but that shopkeeper was all pissed he started shouting at me and said he would call the authoroties I shouted back saying ill call animal welfare authoroties thts when he realised Im serious he simply asked me to leave and i complied but luckily that girl too left . But what shocks me is how long will any fish survive in that small cell plus they keep their bettas tied in bags for 4 days without feeding them they just put food once in 4 days and I cant do anything about it because here in india animal welfare authorities aren't that strict.


Sounds like a well earned fist fight. 4 days? Seriously?


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## Fishfresher88523 (Dec 4, 2012)

yup 4 days in a plastic bag its shocking!!!... I actually wanted to shove that shopkeepers face into the 30 gal tank of an adult oscar kept there and let it get a taste of human flesh. I was all prepared to use my fists against those 3 employees but luckily I maintained my calm .


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

ChibreneyDragon said:


> As compared to breeders? If I thought EVERYONE would take bad care of their bettas, I would be broke trying to save all of them...


 I mean more than 99 percent of people who buy Bettas from Stores take bad care as in .5 gallon tanks unheated and never cleaned.


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## Melodica (Dec 2, 2012)

I've been to Walmart, Petco and Petsmart in my area and I've noticed that all three don't take very good care of their bettas. 

Walmart - Found dead fish on multiple occasions, some obviously dead for quite a while in brown water. Their storage area for the bettas is also very bad as they are stacked on two shelves. Whenever I go in there, I rearrange the shelves so that everyone can get air and move as many to the front as I can. The last time I went in, it looked like someone had beat me to it. At least there are some kind people out there! I've purchased two red VT bettas from there. My first one got stuck in the filter and died.  The second one, Trigg, is now in a divided 10g tank and loving it.

Petco - Actually found more sickly looking fish here than Walmart and a couple of dead ones that were actually molding! They have a much larger selection, as Walmart only has VT and occasionally CT. They have male and female as well as babies. Their displays are somewhat better as no one is stacked. They have a wooden display with dividers on an endcap and then racks on the sides that fits one row of cups each. The last couple of times that I've gone, they've also had a lot of cups stacked on the 'fish station' where they have the sink. 
I got my dark blue HM, Myron and my blue/lavender/red DT, Tuffy from there. Like Trigg, they are doing great in the divided tank. They are like puppies and get all excited whenever I enter the room. So cute!

Petsmart - I've only looked once at this location, but I was horrified by the storage. It's even worse than Walmart. Tons of poor little guys shoved to the back of the second (rusty) shelf with barely enough water to cover them. They had a 2 gallon tank on the top shelf with what looked like a baby betta in it. I didn't see any dead fish, but they had so many cups stacked on the shelves that it would have taken forever to rearrange so I could look at all of them. I did find a blue/red CT that I wanted to bring home so badly. He kept looking at me with sad eyes. 

The only time I've spoken with an employee of any of these places was when I purchased Tuffy and Myron at Petco. The cashier made sure I wasn't going to put the boys in the same tank without a divider because they would fight. She said that she had her betta in a heated 2 gallon tank. We chatted a little about them. She seemed to know what she was talking about.

I just wish these places would educate their employees - and hire people that actually CARE about animals and fish. I'm sure there are some who care, but they can only do so much. Education would go a long way toward stopping some of the awful things that happen in these places.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I have seen great care of Bettas at Walmart and Petco.


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## Melodica (Dec 2, 2012)

I'm sure you've seen that, but I haven't. It's like customer service. Some stores are better than others. Perhaps in your stores the employees care more or the management holds them to a certain standard. In mine, it doesn't appear to be so.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I mean more than 99 percent of people who buy Bettas from Stores take bad care as in .5 gallon tanks unheated and never cleaned.


True, but their water gets changed more often, and they usually get fed regularly, instead of being pushed behind others of its brethren and dying of ammonia poisoning or starvation.

And hopefully they go online and educate themselves.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My Petco changes water every 2 days and fed daily. The average person feeds weekly or every other day. Never water changed. In at maximum. 5 gallon.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Hey I wouldn't bash all pet stores...My local Petsmart and Petco take very good care of their bettas considering everything else they have to do...The cups are always full with clear (or sometimes blue lol) water and 90% of them look healthy. I'm most likely going to get my next betta from my local Petsmart or Petco...


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

For me 95 or more are healthy.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> For me 95 or more are healthy.


Yeah me too....I was just leaving a margin for error....

Also my LFS takes way worse care of their bettas than my Petsmart or Petco do...


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Most sick are new fish and guppies.


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

Can I cut in and say HOW our petstore cleans the poor bettas cups?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Mine put them in a net fill with water add Betta repeat.


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## Virto (Nov 30, 2012)

Pet Supplies Plus is a nice place to shop for a betta, as they generally only keep a few at a time, change water and feed them regularly. They don't stock 7000 at once like I've seen Petsmart do (although I admit, I have had good fish from PM).

Went in today for a new 20-long and stopped to look at the bettas - there are only 3 in the store this time and two are lively but the big blue VT is totally fungused up to the point that you'd think he had fur. I don't have time or space to treat him, so I let the folks know. They're generally pretty good about making sure fish don't suffer.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My Areas are very active and healthy.


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Mine put them in a net fill with water add Betta repeat.


Not one of the petstores I went to!  you know how some of the cups have just a little hole that goes down into the cup? And some have those circles you can punch out? Well they were cleaning the ones with the circle, they would just hold it upside-down and pour it out, WITH THE BETTA IN IT! and just put the cup under water in another tank to fill it up. It was horrifying! The whole time the bettas were spinning around and around in the cup. The emploees were saying how if the manager saw them they would get in trouble. I almost said something when my mom appeared and we left.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Most if the Bettas seem calm. Thrre hanging in a net fir a few seconds.


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## ChibreneyDragon (Feb 20, 2012)

... I cant believe that...that is horrible. Although my local Petsmart has a drip system with small boxes in the back for the bettas, and it constantly cycles the water. I cringe inside when I see a dead one covered in ich, or fin rot.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Remeber some get sick on the way tgere and some get sick in the breeders place.


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## Melodica (Dec 2, 2012)

I'm sure some get sick on the way there, but that's why they should pay more attention to them and take care of the sick ones rather than letting them die and sit out on the shelves in a cup so long that the water is dark brown and the fish is molding.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I wish they added IAL.


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