# Petsmart :(



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

I love my petsmart except for ONE aspect. They take great care of their fish, keep all the tanks clean, any dead ones are promptl scooped out, I never see any disease in the tanks.

But. 

They just don't take care of the bettas. There were at least 50 cups, it seems no one buys bettas there, whenever I'm there there are a ton.

Well, about a week and a half ago I was eyeing this cute little girl, she was so tiny she could only be about 3 months old. Otherwise she looked ok.

I was back today and she was still there. I don't understand why b/c she's is the cutest little thing. Cello looking body, and purple or blue fins. She looked even worse, like she hadn't been fed in awhile and of course in filthy water. I had to take her. Normally I don't buy from there b/c they don't care for them, but I had to make this exception.

I also picked up a cool looking dude, cello looking with orange dalmatian spotting. I'mnot sure of their colors yet b/c they are still getting used to the place and all. I have them in my water change tub (heated water) in jars. Pics will come tomorrow!


----------



## JamesJr8 (Jun 14, 2011)

That is great that you took some! I would ask to speak with the manager and tell him that their water should be changed daily, with conditioner, plus fed. Then tell him that if conditions do not improve within a week, that you will be contacting PETA. Of course you may no, but the threat should be enough!


----------



## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

Never.Go.To.The.PETA. They are total pet killers.

Glad you saved the little girl and the male. They both sound lovely.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Arashi Takamine said:


> Never.Go.To.The.PETA. They are total pet killers.
> 
> Glad you saved the little girl and the male. They both sound lovely.


So very true, Arashi. PETA are radical troublemakers. They don't bother to educate themselves about 90% of the causes they get mad about so they are usually wrong. The only thing they're ever right about is pets should be spayed and neutered. Instead, threaten to go to the Humane Society or the SPCA. Both of those are actually reputable organizations. 

cajunamy, can't wait to see pictures. The little girl sounds so cute and the male sounds like he'll have very interesting coloring.


----------



## Tahki (Jun 11, 2011)

I flinch every time I hear about another Petsmart being lowsy in the Petcare department. I'm glad the little bettas got a good home. They'll be much happier with you lol. I can't tell you how many times during my shift that I have to whip out the old betta education on customers who want to keep them in tiny vases or the most asked question "why can't I have two males?". D: Thankfully we change their water and feed them everyday at my store. 

My manager is very strict about everything being clean and every animal treated. Definitely bug the petcare manager. It's their job to make sure the employees are cleaning the betta cups. Also make the store manager aware so they can bug them too.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Tahki said:


> I flinch every time I hear about another Petsmart being lowsy in the Petcare department. I'm glad the little bettas got a good home. They'll be much happier with you lol. I can't tell you how many times during my shift that I have to whip out the old betta education on customers who want to keep them in tiny vases or the most asked question "why can't I have two males?". D: Thankfully we change their water and feed them everyday at my store.
> 
> My manager is very strict about everything being clean and every animal treated. Definitely bug the petcare manager. It's their job to make sure the employees are cleaning the betta cups. Also make the store manager aware so they can bug them too.


Can we clone you, Tahki? Every Petsmart (and Petco and Wal-Mart for that matter) needs someone like you.


----------



## Tahki (Jun 11, 2011)

XD Sure and thanks! My manager declared me the "Betta/Rat Queen" of the department. Anyone has a question about bettas, they page me. Wait does cloning me make my betta addiction worse? I already snuck home another betta tonight (I so don't hide my favorites in the back). I can't do the fish orders anymore. I get to see all the new bettas and...the addiction..gah!


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Uhm, sorry, it probably does make the addiction worse. Uhm, what can I say but "store discount" on tanks? Hehe, your membership form for Bettas Anonymous will be in the mail soon. :-D


----------



## Tahki (Jun 11, 2011)

Curses, my roommate for college is going to kill me. I'm gonna move in with 30 tanks at this point. Store discounts are evil. I've been eying a few 5 gallon tanks that went on sale for Pallas and Atlas D:. Wooo I'm a perfect member for it!


----------



## Echo (May 18, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> PETA are radical troublemakers. They don't bother to educate themselves about 90% of the causes they get mad about so they are usually wrong.


*giggles* know what PETA wanted one of our local schools to do? they promised 'em lots of money if the city council would change the name from Spearfish Elementary to Seakitten Elementary (because spearing fish is a bad thing, doncha know? and by golly, what kind of impression would that leave on our poor, innocent chilluns?) :rofl:


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Are you serious? :shock: Ooooh, that's sooo much more important than fixing the overcrowded animal shelters and putting a stop to animal neglect. :roll:


----------



## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

Echo said:


> *giggles* know what PETA wanted one of our local schools to do? they promised 'em lots of money if the city council would change the name from Spearfish Elementary to Seakitten Elementary (because spearing fish is a bad thing, doncha know? and by golly, what kind of impression would that leave on our poor, innocent chilluns?) :rofl:


lol thats funny and the school name is still cruel. i can understand spearfish but doesnt sea kitten conjure up images of dead cats floating in the ocean? they shouldve chose sea lions as its a aquatic animal than a cute furry mammal. i think another name change for the school is in order when the new organisaion head takes office. then again everyone is so obsessed with politically corrected terms.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

nel3 said:


> lol thats funny and the school name is still cruel. i can understand spearfish but doesnt sea kitten conjure up images of dead cats floating in the ocean? they shouldve chose sea lions as its a aquatic animal than a cute furry mammal. i think another name change for the school is in order when the new organisaion head takes office. then again everyone is so obsessed with politically corrected terms.


Seakitten. It sounds like a raunchy nickname that a sailor would use. What the heck is a seakitten anyway? How about Bull Shark? The deadliest shark around, there's a team name that would strike fear into the hearts of . . . er, people who knew what a bull shark was. And this is an elementary. No teams. Back to the drawing board!


----------



## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

sea kittten does sound a bit raunchy too. they shoulve kept spear fish, atleast its a valid practice than tossing kittens into the water. bull shark elementary sound like a nightmare once a child finally asks his/her parents what a shark is. gotta love the double standards in society. looks like everyone is too darn hypersensitive about kids. like that brittish school that reprimanded a 7yr old boy for gun gestures playing soldiers.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

But let that same 7 yr old boy play with a barbie doll . . .


----------



## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> But let that same 7 yr old boy play with a barbie doll . . .


even boys and barbie dolls also come with another set of double standards :-?.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

nel3 said:


> even boys and barbie dolls also come with another set of double standards :-?.


Yup. So true. 

Back on topic. With my Petsmart, it's not just the bettas who aren't taken care of and in good health. It's their other fish, too.  A lot of them have parasites and when they die, they leave the bodies in there for a long time, even when I point them out. So then the healthy fish gnaw on the dead as fish do and get the parasites that way and get sick and die and the cycle just continues. Such bad business. Grr.


----------



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> *giggles* know what PETA wanted one of our local schools to do? they promised 'em lots of money if the city council would change the name from Spearfish Elementary to Seakitten Elementary (because spearing fish is a bad thing, doncha know? and by golly, what kind of impression would that leave on our poor, innocent chilluns?)


Didn't they also want to change the name of a catfish to something else at some point because it was somehow cruel to the fish? It was a few years ago and I forgot the details. 

ETA found it


> *PETA’s latest idiotic demand – fish are ‘sea kittens’*
> 
> January 09, 2009
> RADICAL international animal rights group PETA has launched its most bizarre campaign yet, demanding fish be renamed "sea kittens".
> ...


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

I want a sea kitten <3 haha


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Sea kittens <3!


----------



## BlueEyedBettaBoy (Jun 17, 2011)

you can call corporate they usually don't tolerate that and the store will shift some responsibility towards that. if nobody notices and points it out they wont do it. i know at petco we get animal walk throughs regularly maybe petsmart doesn't have that.

edit: also, my store has gotten a 100% on every animal walk through since we opened. woot woot. haha. we're the newest store so we don't have any bad eggs working there yet.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

BlueEyedBettaBoy said:


> you can call corporate they usually don't tolerate that and the store will shift some responsibility towards that. if nobody notices and points it out they wont do it. i know at petco we get animal walk throughs regularly maybe petsmart doesn't have that.
> 
> edit: also, my store has gotten a 100% on every animal walk through since we opened. woot woot. haha. we're the newest store so we don't have any bad eggs working there yet.


Hopefully your management is good enough to not hire any bad eggs ever.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Littlebittyfish said:


> Sea kittens <3!


:rofl: That orange kitty - I can't decide if it's happy or about to make a run for it. Too cute. Closest I'll get to a sea kitten is a swimming pool kitten. A very mad, very wet, very likely to shred me alive swimming pool kitten.


----------



## Echo (May 18, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> :rofl: That orange kitty - I can't decide if it's happy or about to make a run for it. Too cute. Closest I'll get to a sea kitten is a swimming pool kitten. A very mad, very wet, very likely to shred me alive swimming pool kitten.


 like dis one?


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

I think this cat could qualify as a sea kitten, lol


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

:rofl: Thanks Echo, I almost choked on my Kit-Kat laughing. Poor thing looks like it fell in the toilet and someone set it on the sink to dry.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Tisia said:


> I think this cat could qualify as a sea kitten, lol


Soooooooooooooooo cute! My mom used to have a cat that would play in the tub when she was done but only when there was just a little bit of water left, not nearly as much as this kitty.


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

I was generally lucky to get through it without bleeding when I had to bathe my old cat, she was so scared of the tub


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Tisia said:


> I was generally lucky to get through it without bleeding when I had to bathe my old cat, she was so scared of the tub


My old tuxedo cat was such a loveable wimp he'd just stand there dripping while I left to get the shampoo. Didn't even try to escape. Did I mention he also tended to lose bladder control in there? Totally defeated the purpose of the bath.


----------



## Echo (May 18, 2011)

which is why i never bathe my cats. if it's got 20 pointy ends, they do quite well on their own, thank you very much.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

18 actually. I didn't realize until last year that normal (not polydactyl) cats only have 4 toes each on their hind foot. Not counting the dew claw. Last year and I've had cats my whole life. :roll:


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

there was at least one time I tried like standing in the tub while washing her and she attempted to climb me >_< I think she was part persian so she had the longer fluffy hair, and she had kind of a shorter body so she wasn't super flexible so I pretty much had to bathe her now and then or she'd just end up a mess


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I have one like that. She's old and can't wash so well so she's a little grease monkey. But I don't dare bathe her, she'd kill me dead, the little stinker. She's so high-strung she has to be anaesthesized at the vet for her shots. I use those wipe things to keep her fur under control.


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

she had a really thick undercoat of fur though so the wipes probably wouldn't have done more than clean the surface


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

I had to bathe my maine coony (avatar cat) once and he clawed up over my shoulder and down my back..:lol:...._will not do that again_...


----------



## Echo (May 18, 2011)

i don't need to bathe my cat for that.. my dermatologist asked me once if i was a cutter.. i said no, but my cat likes to try to skin me on a regular basis


----------



## Schwannsee (Jan 19, 2011)

Y'all know that there is a fish called the spearfish right? Marlin are also known as spearfish and billfish, they have essentially a big spear for an upper lip! It's not just another way to catch dinner.. and they can defend themselves...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article700043.ece Fluffy might have been getting ideas there, little turd bit my arm again!

And my own not-a-sea-kitten fell into the tub with me one day....I nearly did not survive the experience. At hubby's insistence we bathed her once...I held her in the warm water, and he washed everything I wasn't holding. Rinsing her was....painful. 
All those pointy, deceptively strong fingers grasping for a toehold on/in anything....*shudder*. 

She is nicknamed Demon-icka for a reason....


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Echo said:


> i don't need to bathe my cat for that.. my dermatologist asked me once if i was a cutter.. i said no, but my cat likes to try to skin me on a regular basis


I hear ya there. When I got the doctor I feel like wearing a T-shirt that says "I have 8 cats. What do I need to cut myself for?" But I suppose the principle is the same: I'm a sucker for punishment. :roll:


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Schwannsee said:


> Y'all know that there is a fish called the spearfish right? Marlin are also known as spearfish and billfish, they have essentially a big spear for an upper lip! It's not just another way to catch dinner.. and they can defend themselves...
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article700043.ece Fluffy might have been getting ideas there, little turd bit my arm again!
> 
> And my own not-a-sea-kitten fell into the tub with me one day....I nearly did not survive the experience. At hubby's insistence we bathed her once...I held her in the warm water, and he washed everything I wasn't holding. Rinsing her was....painful.
> ...


haha demon icka. Lucky you had someone to help..I tried to do it alone...:lol:

Bent over in tub trying to hold the cat from going at my face..._was fun_...as soon as I went to rinse him he somehow flipped with claws going up near my face so i moved him to the side a bit and then he dug his claws into my shoulder and climbed down my back...:lol:
human 0
cat 1
:tongue:

the next time I am going to call a professional...and maybe get some kitty valium from the vet first...:lol:
Luckily though I haven't had to bath him since then... I use those kitty wipes for his face and use the spray showerless shampoo stuff while i'm brushing him now.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

We have a cat whose former owners - our neighbors - used to bath their cats once a week. I suspect it was because they were bored, not because the cats were that dirty. I think Gremy ran away from them from a combo of the baths and the yippy dogs. Now, when he sees me hauling the tank cleaning buckets, he runs for the hills.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I picked a fight with a Petco employee today over bettas and heaters. I swear, normally I'm afraid to even ask where a product is, let alone argue but I got so mad! She was talking to a guy and asking if he had everything he needed for his betta so I said, "Oh, you need a heater!" The employee was like, no, you don't. 
Me: Yes. You do. 
Her: No. You don't. 
Me: There are countless books that say you do. Every responsible owner in my betta forum says you do.
Her: What temperature? We keep ours at room temperature.
Me: 78-80* ideally.
Her: I heard it was 70-82*, room temperature. Well, I'll look into it but we've always told our customers they can go in room temperature.

I almost said, "And you also tell them they can live in .5 gallon bowls eating plant roots!" 

I just don't understand why the pet stores fight this so much. I mean, it makes money for them. It's one more expensive piece of equipment they can sell so why do they argue against it so? 

So I let it go there but a few minutes later I saw her follow the guy up to the cash register and spend several minutes talking to him while looking back at the fish section where I was. I can guess she was saying "Don't mind the crazy chick about the heaters, he'll be fine."

*shakes head in despair*


----------



## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

what really gets me going is their idea on water changes. i told them i had an unfilitered 1 gal. they said 25% wc each week, some private betta owners i know only do wc when the water gets slimy. the person at the shop said that 100wc are dangerous and never remove over 25% of the water level during wc.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'm so cynical I think it's a conspiracy to get people to just keep coming back to buy more bettas. Sadly, it's given bettas a bad reputation for being short-lived. Well, you'd be short-lived too if you lived in vast quantities of your own waste and toxic air, you ignorant pet store employees! It's like sticking a human in a port-o-potty, sealing it up tight, and then pumping cigarette smoke in 24 hours a day.


----------



## Schwannsee (Jan 19, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> I'm so cynical I think it's a conspiracy to get people to just keep coming back to buy more bettas. Sadly, it's given bettas a bad reputation for being short-lived. Well, you'd be short-lived too if you lived in vast quantities of your own waste and toxic air, you ignorant pet store employees! It's like sticking a human in a port-o-potty, sealing it up tight, and then pumping cigarette smoke in 24 hours a day.


 
Oh. Ew. 
Thank you for a wonderfully descriptive, yet completely disgusting, analogy.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Effective, ain't it? We should make it our betta rights slogan.


----------



## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

I don't worry too much about my Petco's betta's because I know their usual fish-care person will take care of it and nearly all the usual employee's have betta's of their own and know how to properly care for them. It breaks my heart when they do get hurt and the usual employee's aren't there. But every other time they were fine.

Now WalMart.....


----------



## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

See I had the problem at PetCo. I went last week and 50% or more of the bettas were dead in their cups, full of brown water. They had ich and bacterial infections up to wazoo. It was ridiculously sad. The bf didn't get why I was so upset, but no one would ever let a cat suffocate to death in it's own waste with out crying abuse and the owner being charged, why is it different for a betta?


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

MikiMaki said:


> See I had the problem at PetCo. I went last week and 50% or more of the bettas were dead in their cups, full of brown water. They had ich and bacterial infections up to wazoo. It was ridiculously sad. The bf didn't get why I was so upset, but no one would ever let a cat suffocate to death in it's own waste with out crying abuse and the owner being charged, why is it different for a betta?


Yup, so true. But for some reason most humans don't "identify" with fish because they aren't furry cute mammals. Fish are disposable. There were several females at my Petsmart who had parasites. A cat with tapeworms gets meds immediately. But a fish? Nah.


----------

