# Moonshadow Betta Fish Rescue - Update Thread



## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

I thought it would be easier to keep one thread going about the rescues coming in and out of the rescue instead of continuously posting new threads when a new rescue comes in! 

So here is who we currently have! 

Ra was rescued from Petco. He was stressed out, suffering from fin rot and severely emaciated. He has begun improving, gaining weight, and his fin rot is healed. 



















Gunner was rescued from Petco. He is missing the majority of his anal and tail fins. He is stressed out, has fin rot, and ammonia poisioning. He has a long road ahead of him, but he's eating and active and I am hopeful that in time he will make a full recovery.



















Dash was rescued from Petco. He has chunks of fins missing, and fin rot. He is happy and active and eating well. His fin rot has cleared up and his fins are just starting to grow back. 



















Kristoff was rescued from Petsmart. He was emaciated, his fins were almost gone, I really thought that I was going to lose him. But he is finally starting to improve. he's eating, he's active, his fins are growing back and I anticipate that he will make a full recovery.



















Juniper was rescued from a small and horrible pet store in Kingston, NY. Juniper is severely emaciated and has fin rot. I'm still not positive if Juniper is a long finned female or a young/stunted male.



















Deacon was rescued from Petco. He was listless, depressed, stressed out and suffering from ammonia poisoning. He is now improving each day and just about ready for a forever home.



















Tango was given to me by a lady up near Binghamton who could no longer care for him. He is a healthy old man and is going to his forever home on Friday.



















Greenbean is a Petco baby betta. I believe Greenbean is a female. She has never swam properly, since the day I got her she swims tail down, and may be that way for life. There's a very good chance I will keep her, unless I can find the absolute perfect forever home for her! 



















Duke was rescued from Petco, he was stressed out, skinny with ammonia burns, He is now completely healed and will be going to his forever home on Monday! 



























Killian was purchased from Petsmart back in October, he is not a rescue, just a beautiful boy and a pet. 



























My girls, not rescues, just my sorority girls. Alex (white VT), Piper (Yellow VT), Martha (Multi VT), Scarlet (Red VT), Monique (Black CT), Sparkes (Green/red Plakat no picture yet)



























































I need to get pictures of Avery (red marble Delta) and Blake (baby betta) when I do water changes later, so I'll tell you their stories then!


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## Bettabubble3 (Aug 17, 2009)

I just wanted to say thank you for being such an amazing person and saving all of these fish. They look great and I can't wait to see them fully healed and in their forever homes.


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## ChattyFish (Nov 27, 2014)

So many lovely fish! What a brilliant person you are to dedicate all that time to doing this for them


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Beautiful little guys and girls.

But did Zero not make it?


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Zero unfortunately did not make it...


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh, sorry. ):

I love your sorority girls. They're all so different from one another.


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

Awesome MoonShadow! Great job, I love this thread and the work you do.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Awww thanks guys!! I'll be posting more pictures later!! I'm getting my fishies from Chard56 today and my fishies from Hrutan.


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

thank you for doing such a wonderful work..


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm so glad you're able to rescue and foster so many! You're an amazing person.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Alright an update! 

First of all some updated pictures of some of the rescues for y'all to compare to earlier pictures and let me know if you see improvement!! 

Gunner


































Ra


























Juniper










Greenbean










And a couple new beauties have made their way here! 

Got 3 new ones from Chard56, a girl and 2 boys. One boy had no interest in being photographed, so I will let him settle in and then try again. 

This is Minty


































This is Roo


















And I also adopted 2 beauties from our Hrutan!

Embry


















Dolly


























And this is the baby betta I'm fostering for my friend, meet Blake. 


















And for those who might be wondering what my fish setup looks like


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## Poro (Jan 3, 2015)

Very nice


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## PandaKami (Jan 22, 2015)

I'm jealous of all your tanks. I currently have two (1g and 5.5g) and my mom already hates that xD


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

....Wow. Hrutan's boy got much, MUCH darker than he did in the adoption thread. He's gorgeous!

I've got two boys coming, but it's been too cold here for us to feel comfortable shipping. I can't wait to see mine now though!!!


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Greenbean is coloring up nicely!


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## KitDewStein (Jan 20, 2015)

Love your set up for your tanks! They made a good job of colouring up!


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## Cthulhu (Jan 24, 2015)

It's truly wonderful to see these beat up fish recover and given a second chance, but please remember that it is not a rescue if you are paying for it. Remember, all these big-chain pet stores want is your money, they don't care about the condition of their fish. By buying fish off them, you are only encouraging them to ship in new batches, and the cycle begins anew. The best way to stop this is through educating others around you and boycotting big-chains such as petco, petsmart, and walmart.

Side note: If you do see beat up/abused fish in a petstore, speak to the manager.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

@Cthulhu - I acknolwedge that you do have a point, but I don't see it as a black-and-white issue.

One - some big-chain stores take better care of their fish than others, and while it would be lovely if everyone had a local breeder or LFS about that often isn't the case. The closest thing to a LFS in my area is a Petland - Aquatic World....and though they have a very VERY wide selection of fish their selection of bettas is very small. The bettas there also don't seem to be cared for as well as in some of the Petco's i've been in. I know it's big-box to big-box...but all the same I've seen some Petcos that have treated their fish well and others that....well....haven't.

Secondly, in one of the Petco's that doesn't do quite as well I've seen them willing to try. On the day I got one of my new boys, there was a rosetail there with severe fin rot. I saw him on the shelf, and brought him over to the employee that was prepping cups for the new shipment that had just arrived. When I pointed the rot out, she grimaced, set him aside, and said that she'd treat him for the rot in back. Now - I don't work at Petco so I don't know what care he actually did receive, but this employee acknowledged the fish's struggles and seemed unhappy with it's state.

I've also "rescued" a poor little guy from a Petsmart not far from me that was literally lying on his side in the cup and had such sever issues that attempting to swim had him flipping around the cup. I brought him to the attention of an employee, and negotiated a much reduced price for him. He sadly didn't survive, so I brought him back and had the purchase price refunded.

So yes....ideally a full-out boycott might make a dent, but honestly I don't see that happening anyway and there is a lot of gray area with the guys still there. I agree that when possible a struggling fish should be brought to the attention of the store (especially if the store is one that might actually care), but sometimes you'll see a fish and want to see it have a chance (or at least a comfortable environment to spend it's last hours).


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## Cthulhu (Jan 24, 2015)

Allow me to clarify myself. I have nothing against people buying fish from petco/smart/mart/ect. in fact, I bought my first betta from my local petco. Now here comes the important part, there is a fine line between a "rescue" and a "purchase". Moonshadow is purchasing a fish, not rescuing it. 

Of course I am well aware that she is just trying to do what is the best for them; however, the problem with "rescuing" is that she is encouraging this abusive act. It's like giving them an "It's okay if you don't treat your fish well, I will still buy them"

You also mentioned that some petcos treat their fish well. Petcos are all related, if you buy fish from a responsible petco then you are supporting other petcos that aren't. (The quality of the fishes' living conditions aren't dependent on the company but the employees, and that is why the quality of each shop varies so much). On a side note, in my opinion the problem lies within the whole concept of "let's mass produce bettas and sell them in 1/2 L cups" 

Even if you buy a fish to let him/her die peacefully, you are putting more fish in his/her position. 

Well my bottom line is that I don't have anything against people buying from big-chains, but if Moonshine's priority is "rescuing fish" she should stay away from them. A purchase is not the same as a rescue. All in all I think we have come a long way from the 1 G fish bowl boom to recognizing that bettas deserve better. Let's hope there is more improvement in the near future.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Cthulhu said:


> Allow me to clarify myself. I have nothing against people buying fish from petco/smart/mart/ect. in fact, I bought my first betta from my local petco. Now here comes the important part, there is a fine line between a "rescue" and a "purchase". Moonshadow is purchasing a fish, not rescuing it.
> 
> Of course I am well aware that she is just trying to do what is the best for them; however, the problem with "rescuing" is that she is encouraging this abusive act. It's like giving them an "It's okay if you don't treat your fish well, I will still buy them"
> 
> ...



Excuse me, where did I say that I purchase these fish? It is very very rare that I pay full price for a betta. And on the off chance that I do I still make sure to talk to the manager and point out the issues. Half of my fish were given to the rescue because someone else found them in poor condition and wanted to give them a second chance. 

Petsmart will adopt out fish that won't sell (and other animals too) any fish that came to me from petsmart were adopted for $0.01. Petco is a little more difficult, but I have spent a lot of time of on the phone with the district and regional managers of petco. I DO NOT just purchase fish and call them rescues. So please do not assume, and ask me first. Thank you.


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## Cthulhu (Jan 24, 2015)

Apologies for jumping into assumptions. After seeing all the tumblr "rescues" I have become a bit impulsive, especially when I don't see specifications on how the fish is bought. Again, it was wrong of me to assume, but I won't delete my previous comments. I still feel that it is important to spread awareness on this matter, I hope you can understand. 

To Greenapple- It seems like we both jumped into conclusion to quickly, but you did bring up some good points that is worth a debate which I will keep in mind for the future.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Cthulhu said:


> Apologies for jumping into assumptions. After seeing all the tumblr "rescues" I have become a bit impulsive, especially when I don't see specifications on how the fish is bought. Again, it was wrong of me to assume, but I won't delete my previous comments. I still feel that it is important to spread awareness on this matter, I hope you can understand.
> 
> To Greenapple- It seems like we both jumped into conclusion to quickly, but you did bring up some good points that is worth a debate which I will keep in mind for the future.


It's perfectly fine I understand.


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## PandaKami (Jan 22, 2015)

Moonshadow, how do you talk to Petsmart empolyees about rescues? I was hoping to do the same, but I'm not sure how do go about asking.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

PandaKami said:


> Moonshadow, how do you talk to Petsmart empolyees about rescues? I was hoping to do the same, but I'm not sure how do go about asking.


Point out the issues. Explain that youre Well informed about proper fish care and since no one wants to buy a sick fish you were hoping you could adopt him and see if you can save him


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## minikin (Dec 4, 2014)

You're such a good person for doing this. I would love to but I'm not sure I could stand the heartache when they don't make it, and I don't think I could give them away! They're so easy to get attached to; they really worm their way into a person's heart.


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

Have you thought of creating an amazon wish list so people can donate to the rescue and hopefully one day it will become an official non profit?


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Ok everyone big update!!

Tango, Kristoff and Duke have all been adopted! Yay!!!


We have 3 beauties currently ready for adoption!! 


Deacon - Pick up Only!










Ra - Can be Shipped


























Chili - Can be Shipped


















And some of our new rescues

Lazer - Baby betta from Petco. Bought by a friend and given to the rescue. I got him about 2 weeks ago (I've been so busy!) These pictures are from today, he's doubled in size in the last 2 weeks


























Hunter - Blue marble piebald VT rescued from Petco. He's emaciated, has sticky fins, and has rot.


















Riley - Baby betta, super teenie teenie tiny and emaciated, almost too small to take pictures of.


















Sharkbait - Was found at petco in a cup with another male. Other male was just fine but this boy sustained injuried to his anal fin, caudal fin and body.


















And last but not least a couple before and afters!!

Blake










Ra










Gunner










Dash


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

I feel bad for Sharkbait. Whoever did that should be put in a jar with another betta and see how they like that. I pray he makes a full recovery.


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

i must ask, what is sticky fins, one of my resent rescue boys has something like that.( i found i him in a trashcan out in a walmart parking lot, so i got him for free). i have been treating with just warm water and frequent water changes. i was just wondering how your treating it.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Are Blake and Hunter spoken for? They both remind me of two of mine that have passed.

EDIT: Oh, I just read that you were fostering Blake for your friend. Sorry!


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## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

Nova betta said:


> i must ask, what is sticky fins, one of my resent rescue boys has something like that.( i found i him in a trashcan out in a walmart parking lot, so i got him for free). i have been treating with just warm water and frequent water changes. i was just wondering how your treating it.


in a trashcan? is that how they get rid of the ones that do not sell? that should be reported if ASPCA covers fish.. how sad.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Nova betta said:


> i must ask, what is sticky fins, one of my resent rescue boys has something like that.( i found i him in a trashcan out in a walmart parking lot, so i got him for free). i have been treating with just warm water and frequent water changes. i was just wondering how your treating it.


From my experience they are caused by poor water quality and high ammonia. I treat sticky fins with ultra clean water, prime, stresscoat and a high protein diet (Frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, beefheart and high quality food such as Omega one or Atison's Betta Pro) 



Fenghuang said:


> Are Blake and Hunter spoken for? They both remind me of two of mine that have passed.


Blake belongs to a friend who rescued him/her I am just raising him/her until (s)he is big enough to go home.

Hunter is not spoken for but I don't think he'll be ready for a new home for at least a month or so.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh, yeah, I just read that about Blake. Really sorry. ><

Ah, okay. Hunter really looks like the VT incarnation of our Smile.

(Pic was taken during a W/C, promise that wasn't his real home)


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Good morning betta lovers!! Just a small update!!

Deacon
Ra
Chili
and Lazer 

Have found forever homes!!! Yay!! 

This is our newest baby, Clarke, my friend bought it and then decided he didn't feel like he was experienced enough to grow it up from such a small size, so (s)he came here!! 










I finally got some pictures of 2 very infamous fish who hate having their pictures taken!

The first is Hiccup who was given to me by a friend because he was tail biting and nothing that my friend did helped! 


























The second is Diablo, one of my personal fish who I bought from breeder chard56


























And here is my newest girl who was marked as a baby betta at petco. Their whole new shipment was full of SD and HM females labeled as baby bettas. This is Liliana.


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## FishyWater2525 (Jan 28, 2014)

Omw.... That girl is GORGEOUS!!!


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

Pretty! Hope you get new rescues soon!!


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## MissMicki (Feb 15, 2015)

Awe they are all so gorgeous! 
Even if sick I love their coloring.


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## minikin (Dec 4, 2014)

Yours are both stunning and the new rescue is a real looker too. I feel bad that the poor guy is biting himself; I hope you can figure out how to help him! I saw a little guy at PetSmart today that I wondered how his tail got messed up, I bet he was biting too, poor thing. I almost brought him home but I'm treating four sick fish right now, have little cash, and have no free tanks atm so that was a no go.


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

How is Juniper BTW? Did he every got adopted?


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

That new girl is stunning! How awesome to get a fish like that mislabeled as a baby!

My petco seems to have stopped selling babies. Their fish guy didn't like it, so maybe he did something to make things change.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Ok y'all! Another Update!! 

This is Coal, he has been with be since Tuesday, check him out already!! He was at Petco for over 2 months, I finally couldn't leave without him again!


































This is Monty, he came home with me today, Skinny, stressed with minor ammonia burns.


































This is Horton, one of 2 that were gotten by a friend of mine, and given to the rescue for rehabilitation. This one he is keeping, the other will be up for adoption. Horton is partially blind, and had insane amounts of ammonia in his water










































And this is Arthur, the second betta given to the rescue by my friend. Arthur has rot that has caused parts of his tail to bleed.


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Wow. Those conditions are actrocious. Poor fish. They deserve better. :-(


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## MissMicki (Feb 15, 2015)

I am in love with Coal!


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Oh, god! Coal is drop dead gorgeous.

If he'll be available for adoption and shipping, could I ask you to hold him for me until he's ready? He's just... wow.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Sorry guys! Coal has already been claimed, his adoption is pending and he will be going to his new home in 2 to 3 weeks.


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

OMG! Coal looks better! He look like he was going to die the first day you brought him home too.


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## ArtMachine (Feb 10, 2015)

You are really awesome! Good job buddy!


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Aw, shucks. Good to know he'll have a good home though! <3


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

A video look inside MoonShadow Betta Fish Rescue

http://youtu.be/4Zu-c7u09Zs


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

Great setup.

Is Hunter really ready for adoption?


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Fenghuang said:


> Great setup.
> 
> Is Hunter really ready for adoption?


He's healthy and he's eating well. I think his fins will need quite a bit more time to fully heal but I see no reason why he couldn't go to an experienced betta keeper.


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Some long over due updated pictures of Hunter!!



































Our newest rescue, this is Short Stuff. A Doubletail Halfmoon with really bad fin rot! 


























And Monty has already improved greatly since he came to us a couple days ago


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

New Update! 

New pictures of Short Stuff


















3 New Rescues came to us today!!

Watermelon - HMPK male, he has fuzz on his dorsal, rot on his tail and swelling on his head. 


























Echo - HMPK male, looks to have an external bacterial infection, possibly columnaris. I'm very worried that he won't make it through the night.


















Rose - Very emaciated veiltail female. She's skinny and stress out. 


































And this is Jewel. She was given to me by a friend who works at petsmart cause she wanted to see if I could save her. She has Dropsy, which as we know can either be caused by an internal bacterial infection, or kidney failure. She has 2 sores on her sides, it almost looks like they opened to so the swelling could drain. Shes active and her swelling has actually gone down a tiny bit since I got her 2 days ago.


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## FinnDublynn (Feb 27, 2015)

Oooooh... Arthur is gorgeous!!! I wish it weren't so cold in Alaska right now, I'd stake my claim on him when he's ready to go. I do know that once I'm more settled with Finn and I have a little more experience under my belt, It'll be warmer and I'll either rescue from my local store, or come see who you've got available!


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## konstargirl (Mar 9, 2010)

I hope the new rescues all recover. <3


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## Litzi1964 (Jun 1, 2014)

You are wonderful! I'm sad and disappointed that you had so many rescues from Petsmart and Petco. I live in suburban Chicago, and the Petsmarts and Petcos near me usually keep their fish in good condition. The only really atrocious betta care I've seen has been at a local Meijer, a grocery store chain in the Midwest. In fact I was so appalled by the betta care at Meijer I embarked on a mission for change. This is what I did:
I took photos of some of their mistreated fish
I emailed Meijer's corporate HQ, attaching pictures (I did this 2 or 3 times)
I went on to yelp and posted a negative review, with pictures.

It did help. I go into that Meijer fairly often and I check on their fish. Their conditions improved significantly. I think if you take the same steps with the offending Petsmarts and Petcos, you'll see a change. Meijer is a grocery store, so you figure there are likely a fair number of customers and staff who don't care about animals. Clearly anyone who shops at Petsmart and Petco cares for and about animals, and I imagine this is true for a lot of their staff. No business can stay in business for very long if their appall and offend their customer base. I say, email photos to their HQ and post a negative review with photos on yelp, and you'll see something happen.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

^I'm also in Suburban Chicago. I think it really depends on the Petsmart\Petco. There are a couple of Petco's by me that are really, really pretty good. I'll occasionally find boys with fin rot, but they'll take them and treat them. I've actually seen one of the boys I've pointed out in the *TANKS* of the store (not the cups) a couple weeks later recovering. The petsmart by me is....OK. Not awesome, but not terrible.

The worst by me is Wal-Mart. Last time I was in there there was one dead one and one quickly dying of columnaris.


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## Poro (Jan 3, 2015)

How do you treat fin rot? You seem to have good experience with fish disease so thought you might have some knowledge about treatnent


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

Following! Love what you are doing for these fish.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I feel so bad for that emaciated, stressed out little girl! Is she doing better, now?


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