# How Walmart Ships Bettas



## purplecandle (Mar 3, 2013)

Went into Wal-Mart today and was lucky enough to catch the fish lady unloading the bettas. Really nice lady. I was able to take pictures. I don't know how the bettas survive this!

First they come in a cooler










The bettas are individually bagged. Their individual bags have about 3 tablespoons of water. The individually bagged bettas are then put into a bag the size of a bag of potato chips and then their cups and lids go in the same bag. So on one side are the cups and lids and the other side is about a dozen individually bagged bettas.


















Then the lady sets up the little bowls and adds tank water to each cup. The individually bagged betta are put into the cup to adjust to temp for a few minutes. Then the lady cuts open the bettas bags and pours them into the cups containing tank water. They are then given lids and put on display.



































So this is how the big box stores ship these guys. I can imagine the ammonia in 3 tablespoons of water. I always assumed they weren't shipped well...but I had no idea!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

The fish in Petsmart are the same but the betta's come in betta cups.


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## free2battle1 (Feb 9, 2013)

do they use those blue water as well or is it just petco? i agree petco and petsmart do the same thing when shipments of betta arrives.


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

That is horrible...


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## kimt (Mar 5, 2013)

Walmart isn't shipping the bettas this way. This is how the breeders who sell the fish are shipping their bettas. I think walmart is shameful the way they take care of their fish but I cannot fault them for the ways the bettas are shipped. They order the fish and it is up to the breeder to ship them. And shame on them for treating the fish in this manner. I am amazed they can survive in such tiny bags with very little water. This is no better than puppy mills who keep dogs in terrible conditions.


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## purplecandle (Mar 3, 2013)

I agree that technically it is not Wal-Mart's fault, however, at the end of the day if Wal-Mart turns a blind eye to it, they are just as guilty as the shipper.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

It's exactly like a pull mill. The bettas are massed produced by people who don't care about them past how much money they will make. Because of the mass breeding and the care they receive after they often have health problems and/or shortened life spans!


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Do you think that any pet store or exporter ships them any differently? Not that I agree with it...


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

That is really sad and just horrible..... I mean do they not see that as animal abuse? They may just be fish to them but they need to realize *THEY ARE ANIMALS TOO!*


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## blu the betta (Dec 31, 2012)

poor poor bettas. ):


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks purplecandle, you documented this well  

I believe most breeders ship them this way. Plus, don't walmart get theirs from USA anyway? They're not coming from Asia or anything. Not for 2$ per fish.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

This is how I brought home my baby betta,
straight from the shipping box, from Petco.

http://www.bettafish.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=66959&stc=1&d=1350780848


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Individual Bettas are usually shipped in a similar fashion except that instead of a whole lot of them in an insulated box in a bag, there's just one. I know... my male came to me in a bag in a box in the mail. Yes, he was more carefully packed, and yes, he was in more water, and double bagged, but that is how they are shipped.


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## pittipuppylove (Feb 23, 2012)

I'm not saying I agree with this, but is it a possibility that there is a reason that bettas are shipped in this way? While water quality is an issue, would the small amount of water prevent the fish from getting sloshed around and hurt during transport? I know that when I transport my snakes, the safest way to transport them is in a snug-fitting, breathable mesh bag inside of a cooler to keep them from thrashing around in transit and harming themselves - could this be a similar situation?


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

pittipuppylove said:


> I'm not saying I agree with this, but is it a possibility that there is a reason that bettas are shipped in this way? While water quality is an issue, would the small amount of water prevent the fish from getting sloshed around and hurt during transport? I know that when I transport my snakes, the safest way to transport them is in a snug-fitting, breathable mesh bag inside of a cooler to keep them from thrashing around in transit and harming themselves - could this be a similar situation?



Well, when moving, it's always recommended to put them in a small transport container and place them in a cooler with heat packs, rather than drain some of the water out of the tank and transport them that way. And when my male was shipped to me, he was in about 6-8 oz of water, and packed with lots of cushioning in an insulated box. My only concern with this way is that cups are shipped in the same bag as all the fish, I would be worried that the cups would bump into them, or squish them. But I can see putting in small amounts of water in individual bags and packing them in together in another bag and cushioning the container that they are in. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart probably doesn't have much control over how they are shipped from the breeders to them, except that they are saying that they want the most cost effective way of shipping, and this is what the breeders came up with.


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## veilmist (Dec 24, 2012)

3 tbsps?! How would they like to have all of 6 by 3ft of space to fly in?!


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## pittipuppylove (Feb 23, 2012)

sainthogan said:


> Well, when moving, it's always recommended to put them in a small transport container and place them in a cooler with heat packs, rather than drain some of the water out of the tank and transport them that way. And when my male was shipped to me, he was in about 6-8 oz of water, and packed with lots of cushioning in an insulated box. My only concern with this way is that cups are shipped in the same bag as all the fish, I would be worried that the cups would bump into them, or squish them. But I can see putting in small amounts of water in individual bags and packing them in together in another bag and cushioning the container that they are in. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart probably doesn't have much control over how they are shipped from the breeders to them, except that they are saying that they want the most cost effective way of shipping, and this is what the breeders came up with.


Ah, gotcha - I must have misread that the cups are in the same bag. I can definately see how that would be a major hazard.


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## cookiemonster3180 (Mar 6, 2013)

That's terrible! I've always wondered what the blue water is...


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## veilmist (Dec 24, 2012)

However much this is sad to me... I want that male in the close-up


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

Haha, that's what I thought veilmist!


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## BettaGirl48 (May 27, 2014)

That's so sad. Poor bettas.


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

For those of you who say Walmart has no control of how they are shipped, that is rubbish. I've worked for a factory that supplied Walmart, and a warehouse that stored Walmart stuff. Walmart was VERY particular in both cases and everything had to be just so. It had to be shipped in certain boxes, labelled in certain ways, and even put on pallets in a certain fashion. I guarantee if Walmart WANTED, the breeders would ship the fish however Walmart specified, because its freaking Walmart, and if one company/breeder won't do it their way, dozens of others will. So, while the breeders may be responsible for how they are shipped, I guarantee it's because Walmart specified that is how they wanted them shipped.


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