# :( abused bettas at walmart + thrown into same cups



## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

Oy... I went to walmart to look at the dieing betta in their mini cups and I always go in that section to see if they're doing okay, usually not of course.

Someone put two betta in the same bowl and they were fighting, I use my hand and snatched it out and put it back in its own cup again. I guess people think its funny to make animals kill each other, though they don't find it funny when humans shoots each other. I don't understand this since we're all organisms.

I saw a blue crowntail betta who couldn't swim, I tried moving its container to check on it but it wouldn't swim at all. It sat there moving its fins, i'm hoping it will get a better care taker. I'm sorry I couldn't do much to help all of you poor betta D: so many fins were destroyed.... ugh. Did PETA ever consider passing laws?


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

I used to see this all the time at my local WalMart. They also would throw Bettas in with the Oscars and Goldfish exc. Someone once put two girls together, two girls who my friend and I had seen a few days before (she wanted both but couldn't afford to get them at the time).. we actually took them up to checkout (they weren't fighting at all) and the person who checked us out didn't even look at the cup, so we ended up getting both girls for the price of one. lol

CT males from our WalMart ALWAYS have problems swimming, they sit on their tail at the bottom of the cup kinda hunched over. It's only ever the CTs, never the VTs. It's very easily corrected, we have rescued 3 different male CTs from there all with the same problem and got them all back to normal by just putting them in a shallow tank with plenty of horizontal swimming room and daily exercise with a mirror. All boys recovered.

The state of misery of all their fish had gotten to a point where it was just too frustrating to look at anymore. I went to WalMart.com and wrote in a complaint about the store and how they took care of their fish and how horrible and dirty their tanks were. I got a reply back within a few days as well as a call from the manager from that store. They hired in a new employee who was trained specifically in treating and caring for the fish, this employee also trained a few other people on how to care for them as well. All the fish now are doing SO much better and still are, I wrote that complaint back in November and they actually are still taking care of their fish. They even have heaters for the tropical fish and the goldfish & koi water is nice and cool.

It's amazing what a well written complaint can do.


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## RainbowSocks (May 31, 2012)

A common misconception among Walmart employees is that bettas rarely spend over a week on the shelf. From what I've seen, some females can stay there for over a month.

And TheCheese, your post gives me hope!


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

There is a great page on facebook called Betta Fish Awareness Day...they have some links to sign various petitions there. You can also google petition sites to start a petition for a specific reason i.e. "Walmart stop selling bettas". I have meant to start one myself, but haven't gotten back on to do it. One of the petitions going right now is for Petsmart to stop selling containers under 1g. I was going to post the link, but wasn't sure if it's against the rules here. We all need to keep speaking out for these creatures. sigh


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

Bettanewbie60 said:


> There is a great page on facebook called Betta Fish Awareness Day...they have some links to sign various petitions there. You can also google petition sites to start a petition for a specific reason i.e. "Walmart stop selling bettas". I have meant to start one myself, but haven't gotten back on to do it. One of the petitions going right now is for Petsmart to stop selling containers under 1g. I was going to post the link, but wasn't sure if it's against the rules here. We all need to keep speaking out for these creatures. sigh


Can there be a way to share petitions on here for the masses? Maybe contact the admins/owners! We need to start taking action no matter what.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

TheCheese909 said:


> I used to see this all the time at my local WalMart. They also would throw Bettas in with the Oscars and Goldfish exc. Someone once put two girls together, two girls who my friend and I had seen a few days before (she wanted both but couldn't afford to get them at the time).. we actually took them up to checkout (they weren't fighting at all) and the person who checked us out didn't even look at the cup, so we ended up getting both girls for the price of one. lol
> 
> CT males from our WalMart ALWAYS have problems swimming, they sit on their tail at the bottom of the cup kinda hunched over. It's only ever the CTs, never the VTs. It's very easily corrected, we have rescued 3 different male CTs from there all with the same problem and got them all back to normal by just putting them in a shallow tank with plenty of horizontal swimming room and daily exercise with a mirror. All boys recovered.
> 
> ...


That's awesome. I'm more interested in stopping the abuse worldwide though, can't wait until we take action to do so! Poor fish ><


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

LugiaChan said:


> Can there be a way to share petitions on here for the masses? Maybe contact the admins/owners! We need to start taking action no matter what.


I will ask a moderator if it is allowed. I think the only links not allowed are to other Betta forums, but I'll check.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

Bettanewbie60 said:


> I will ask a moderator if it is allowed. I think the only links not allowed are to other Betta forums, but I'll check.


Great =D


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm not sure since several people have left notes at different stores complaining about the small containers/tanks they sell and left our web address on the notes. That is not allowed. If you're going to sign petitions or send e mail please do not post our web address.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Cheese, your story gives us all hope!



LugiaChan said:


> Can there be a way to share petitions on here for the masses?


I think you can share petitions here. The person who started Betta Fish Awareness Day is a member of this forum, and I believe s/he shared a link to a petition to Petsmart to stop selling tanks under 1 gal here.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

I honestly do not believe online petitions do anything at all. I've never heard of one actually making a change in the real world, though it's a nice idea and all I just don't see it working.

We need to take action that we know will help, and writing letters does help so long as you make valid points and don't sound as if you're (no offence to anyone who is)10 years old. I took photos as well as writing that letter, they didn't ask for any but I did mention that I had them and they may come in handy to anyone who does write a complaint. They will ask for a store # exc. so make sure you have that. Also tell the employees there at the store before writing in- so that you can add in your letter that you did tell someone.

It helps, our store has proved that to me.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

PETA kills animals and makes others become vegan including cats they are hypocrites you should complain to there headquarters or a local shelter. PETA gives violent pictures to ypung kids and gives money to the ALF a recognized terrorist group.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

sorry meant to say young.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

dramaqueen said:


> I'm not sure since several people have left notes at different stores complaining about the small containers/tanks they sell and left our web address on the notes. That is not allowed. If you're going to sign petitions or send e mail please do not post our web address.


....?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> I honestly do not believe online petitions do anything at all. I've never heard of one actually making a change in the real world, though it's a nice idea and all I just don't see it working.


Not true. There was one on change.org that actually worked. I forget the specifics but it involved a solder in Iraq and a dog. The petition was to allow the dog to be reunited with the soldier.

I wish I remembered more details


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> Not true. There was one on change.org that actually worked. I forget the specifics but it involved a solder in Iraq and a dog. The petition was to allow the dog to be reunited with the soldier.
> 
> I wish I remembered more details


There are many examples of petitions which worked, including PIPA and SOPA.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

I think on most cases, the only thing that works against big corporations is bad press, losing money, or annoying the crap out of employees enough that they would rather make sure the water is changed than see our annoying faces in their store bothering them again.

Just my take on the psychology of it all!

Now, I get nervous to make a scene, I am not so comfortable complaining, but when I get really really mad, I will complain anyway. But I do my best work when I write something and take a deep breath and edit it. I also think visual statements work sometimes. I mentioned this on other threads but the other day after I complained at my Petco about the growing number of dead and diseased fish a couple days in a row . . I just posted photos on Yelp. My complaining wasn't helping so I thought maybe posting evidence would. I am going to write a review but I wanted to think about an intelligent and "to-the-point", concise way to say it. I was too angry to write anything that day. 

Maybe we can collectively figure out a few basic complaint letters to email or send to stores that don't take decent care of the bettas. I think it's important to use correct grammar, spelling, and like someone here said, not "sound 10 years old" . . . not that a young person couldn't sound intelligent, of course.


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## Sivan (Aug 30, 2010)

thekoimaiden said:


> Cheese, your story gives us all hope!
> 
> 
> I think you can share petitions here. The person who started Betta Fish Awareness Day is a member of this forum, and I believe s/he shared a link to a petition to Petsmart to stop selling tanks under 1 gal here.


Hello! 

Yes, I founded Betta Fish Awareness Day and the petition against PetSmart selling fish tanks that hold less than 1 gallon of water. The petition is, at the very least, a way to gain awareness on behalf of betta fish welfare.

Just to make clear: I never have supported or told supporters of the page to use this website in any activism because it is not affiliated with the Facebook page. Unfortunately, I cannot control what some people do. I instead encourage people to leave the url to the Facebook page if they do feel that they need to link people to an online resource.


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## Pixielator (Jul 22, 2012)

TheCheese909 said:


> We need to take action that we know will help, and writing letters does help so long as you make valid points and don't sound as if you're (no offence to anyone who is)10 years old. I took photos as well as writing that letter, they didn't ask for any but I did mention that I had them and they may come in handy to anyone who does write a complaint. They will ask for a store # exc. so make sure you have that. Also tell the employees there at the store before writing in- so that you can add in your letter that you did tell someone.
> 
> It helps, our store has proved that to me.


Regardless of wether or not petitions work, I think this is a good idea. ^


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Sivan said:


> Hello!
> 
> Yes, I founded Betta Fish Awareness Day and the petition against PetSmart selling fish tanks that hold less than 1 gallon of water. The petition is, at the very least, a way to gain awareness on behalf of betta fish welfare.
> 
> Just to make clear: I never have supported or told supporters of the page to use this website in any activism because it is not affiliated with the Facebook page. Unfortunately, I cannot control what some people do. I instead encourage people to leave the url to the Facebook page if they do feel that they need to link people to an online resource.


I'm sorry if you thought my comment was aimed at you. It wasn't but some members posted awhile back that they were going to Walmart or other places, writing and leaving notes with this forum 's web address. We were told there could be legal consequences from this and that's why I said what I did. I think the reason they wanted to leave our web address is that they we're hoping people would come here to learn to take proper care of their bettas.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Sivan I signed & joined on FB too.  Good work.


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## Sivan (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks! 

I try to do what I can and encourage people to speak up about mistreatment of bettas in stores. I strongly support education as the #1 tool toward the better treatment of all animals.

On topic: I have heard of Walmart killing the betta fish that are too sickly to be sold. I saw a terribly treated fish in a store and took a picture, sent Walmart a post on their Facebook. At first they left it up and directed me to the individual store's report form but then they removed the photo and post all together. They also did not correct me when I said that the fish was more than likely taken to the back and killed because it looked unsellable, since it was gone the next day. Walmart also makes money off dead fish by filling a claims form for a broken product, essentially. There is SO much wrong with Walmart and live animal care.


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## lelei (Apr 30, 2012)

this one was just recently started by a forum member, go to this site, and sign..

The link to this petition is: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/343/175/958/stop-the-abuse-of-betta-fish/


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My Walmart has not sold Fish in a long time unfortunately they sell bowls.


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