# Not buying Bettas from Petsmart anymore!



## yogosans14 (Jul 14, 2014)

So today I went to get a new Betta for my 10 gallon tank divided and all there bettas were sick looking, clamped and fins rotting away. I bought a heater there and went to Petco which is a couple blocks down from Petsmart and almost every Betta I saw there was vibrant and colorful, fins were in good condition and they weren't to lethargic. A couple were dead but not compared to Petsmart. Will be buying Bettas from Petco from now on!


----------



## kr1st3n (Nov 20, 2014)

Unfortunately, most big name pet stores, (PetSmart, Pet Supermarket, etc...), do not train their employees well about caring for Bettas, and most stores neglect them worse than some of their customers will. I have two rescue Bettas that I pulled from the shelves at *shudder* Wal-Mart. Both had fin rot, but after being home, they've both had a lot of fin regrowth. There are times I wish I could take all of the LFS Bettas home and nurse them back to health, but I simply don't have the room. 

If you're not looking for a rescue mission, and want a high quality Betta, search around for a direct source. A breeder in your area, or somewhere reliable to ship to you. The fish may be slightly stressed about the travel if they're shipped, but their genetics will be a bit more refined and you're usually given a quality guarantee.


----------



## Remi (Nov 16, 2014)

I'm really happy with our Petsmart. They have slightly bigger cups for the fish and they're always clean when I go.
For me it's the Petco that usually has the tiny dirty cups.


----------



## ellekay (Nov 11, 2014)

Same as Remi. Percocet is where I purchased my last two betas and they didn't make it past a week. The last time I went in and looked at the betas, half the fish were dead and a few had been dead so long the water had changed colors. I agree that outsmart has bigger bowls for the betas. Sadly my Wal-Mart betta I got in college lasted longer than I would have expected...


----------



## Remi (Nov 16, 2014)

I'm glad our Walmart doesn't sell Bettas. I can only imagine how badly they'd be cared for given the lack of care their employees show for the rest of the store.

I was at Petsmart today and they had so many new beautiful fish. Again all in good shape in clean water. Was totally ready to bring home three but I only have room for two. Got some more silk plants instead so when I finally get another he'll have a furnished home, haha.


----------



## pfenty (Apr 15, 2014)

Yes I agree, the Petco in Newark, Ohio (just went there tonight) they only had 10 bettas and they were all sick looking and lethargic. PetSmart here has the bigger cups and happy bettas! Probably just depends on store management.


----------



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

They are both pretty bad in my area. Basically, I've found that which one seems to have the healthier bettas depends on which store got the most recent shipment in  I always see dead and dying bettas in both stores - it is just so infuriating


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

For me, we have PetValu up here. They have the elive system instead of just cups, but they are still basically in cups, just on a shelf with air tubing and light. It's the only store locally, other pet stores are an hour away. After the tourist season was done they don't even do weekly water changes. I point out fish that are ill or cups that are extremely dirty, and I've had employees walk away from me without a word, or give me a dirty look.

What makes things worse is that they constantly overstock, yet I know for a fact that they sell maybe 5 a month. Majority just die from the bad conditions. It's very sad. I've been taking pictures and building info to send to head office when I get the nerve up to do it.


----------



## Little Zoom and Lady Iris (Nov 22, 2014)

The Pet Smart in my area is great on betta care. The assistant manger is a breeder and is very helpful and is full of knowledge. He also, only hire fish keepers or pet owners:-D


----------



## CopperBell (Sep 14, 2014)

The Petco and Petsmart in my area are both hit and miss. It seems to have a lot to do with who is on shift each week and when.


----------



## AngelFins (Nov 19, 2014)

I've never been to a Petsmart before. Our Petco is really good tho with keeping the cups clean. I've gone in a few times to some dead fish but theyre always cleaned up by the next time i come back. There's one dragonscale baby there tho that i have seen the last two times and I wanna snatch him up so bad cuz he's blind in one eye 

I stay out of the fish section of walmart unless i'm getting my filters. They keep the bettas with the tanks (like anyone would see them there) and i've seen cups with cracks and chips... One of which they "fixed" by simply nesting it in another cup. IS IT SO HARD TO CHANGE THE CUPS PEOPLE TT^TT


----------



## BlackMoon (Nov 26, 2014)

CopperBell said:


> It seems to have a lot to do with who is on shift each week and when.


Agreed. It's not the company. It's whoever is in charge of the store.


----------



## BlackMoon (Nov 26, 2014)

I recently bought a new Betta at Petsmart here. I was looking to replace my last Betta of Four years. I was in no hurry.I have had at least one Betta for the last 15 years so I knew to take my time and find a good one. I looked at Five LPSs and even Walmart. I saw a lot of fish, but nothing that turned me on. All the pet stores here had well maintained fish, but the Walmart's fish were all in bad shape with dirty water and half dead fish. The last place I looked was Petsmart. They were actually doing water changes when I was there. They had a large selection of VT and another more expensive section of "fancy" Bettas. There were several nice HM and DT. I actually had a hard time deciding and ended up with this guy.
I think it was a good deal for $7.99.
[URL="[/URL]


----------



## ellekay (Nov 11, 2014)

Wow he's pretty!! 

I saw one at Petsmart, when I bought our Platys that I almost grabbed, until I notice his mouth/face was fuzzy...I put him back really quick. I'm no where near prepared to take care of a fish that has some illness...

I still look every time though...


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Nice find BlackMoon. 

Yea I always look, even though I have more than enough and don't want to support my lps more than I have to. Really sucks that it's the only one for an hour and it's winter so we only take long trips if we have to. Today I went in and they were getting new stock in. For once some of the cups looked semi clean, but that might have been because the Elive system was off so the lights were off on it. 

Still I found two bettas suffering from body fungus, one was floating and had it over almost all of it's body. The other had it on his head and the fins near his body were starting to rot. One of the girls came up asking if I needed help and I pointed them out to her and she removed them from the set up and put them in the back, then came back out to rummage around in a bin under the display tanks for meds. She gave up and went to go ask one of the older employees and I called out "You should use Tetracycline for them".

I think the thing that bothers me the most about all these pet stores - especially big chain stores - is that people, like those of us on the forum, know more about the animals and their care than the employees do. These companies certainly have the money to be properly educating their employees but most give them a book to read and have them learn from the other employees.

How does that saying go again? The blind leading the blind?


----------



## Ilovebettasbk11 (Nov 12, 2013)

I find this embarassing honestly a company that handles living things should know better! 

We might as well get a job there since iwe all got an experience with bettas huh! I could do a ten times better job then they can honestly 

And i say if yiu cand properly care for them then dont sell them!!!!


----------



## Ilovebettasbk11 (Nov 12, 2013)

And i been to petco at my area and saw that the waters were good and clean so i iam happy for that


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

The hard thing is that unless you are the manager, you don't have much say. At my lps the manager is a nasty arrogant woman. My sister used to work there but quit because of her. She had tried to improve the conditions for all animals there but they don't like that because they think they are "showing them up".


----------



## Ilovebettasbk11 (Nov 12, 2013)

Tress said:


> The hard thing is that unless you are the manager, you don't have much say. At my lps the manager is a nasty arrogant woman. My sister used to work there but quit because of her. She had tried to improve the conditions for all animals there but they don't like that because they think they are "showing them up".


You are right I didnt think ablut that poor things


----------



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Gotta remember even as an employee you still have to abid by their rules. You have to be gentle about it and coax change out of them without them realizing. Just throwing info at them or telling them everything they have been doing wrong upsets people. People don't like criticism, espeically if words like "abuse" and "mistreatment" at thrown around.

I know it's hard to resist going in there with an animal hero attitude, but the reality is they are still a business, they will do what they have to to make money - even at the expense of the animals. Animals are their product, and until views and regulations force them to think otherwise, they will be treated as such. This is more so true to the big chain stores. "Mom & pop" stores are usually ran by passionate people who have experience in the animals they are offering. 

I once walked into a store of so very full of pet/rescued cats. Ever had a cat mob follow you around a store while looking at fish"? Had like half a dozen follow me and I had to shuffle my feet. They also had a bird room where all the birds were free to fly around with other birds - except for one parrot that shrieked because we weren't paying attention to him, then he meowed. They kept fish well enough, still not great but better than most stores (no bettas). I talked to the owner and we chatted about how so many products aren't available up here in the north, for them it was because suppliers wont go further than a certain city that is like 3-4 hours away and want THEM to drive to meet them there. But it was great to talk to an experienced person.

Not like my store where I get told that bettas and goldfish can live together.


----------



## Ilovebettasbk11 (Nov 12, 2013)

A girl can only dream she can only dream of saving those poor fishes!


----------

