# fish abuse



## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

i was at petco the other day because my tank broke and i ask the manager about the tanks he reccomends this 2 gal i take it. then, i look at the bettas (just for fun :roll and the manager comes by (i guess he thinks i was gonna buy a betta) and he tells me that i could put two female bettas in there,one per gallon (how stupid ).... i didnt want him to look dumb so i just buy the tank and leave but ,now that i think of it that was really stupid cause ,he might be telling people that dont have a clue about bettas:-(


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Yeah unfortunately, it seems people that work at petstores don't know much about bettas. 

The place I got Felix from, I was staring at him before a lady came and asked if I needed advice about him. I told her no thanks, but later she came with a few other employees and started talking about how great he would look in one of the little 'betta kits' they were selling...less that .5 gallons bowls. So I can just imagine the type of advice she would have given me. :/

Though they did ask if I had everything set up when I went to pay for him, which is good...


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## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

it's very common for pet store employees to give bad advice about bettas- which is part of why this forum exists in the first place 
of course its not just betta who suffer, but all manner of aquarium fish- and especially aquatic turtles. my idiot sister thought she could handle baby turtles and dumped them on me after less than two weeks when they got sick.
it doesn't help when the boxes fish supplies come in have photos of overcrowded fish on them as an example of use


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Once, a checker asked me what size tank I had. One of these days, I'm going to ask what size tank they recommend for 2 female bettas and see what they tell me. lol I'll report my findings on bettafish.com. lol


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## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

i'm freaked out by how many people show up on this site thinking betta live in pairs like love birds


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## AlexXx (Aug 23, 2009)

ive been told some idiotic things by pet store people, even the local fish stores you would think are more mom and pop kind of owned, where people do it cuz they love, are just as bad. But petsmart is by far the worst ive seen. Such idiots....


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## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

I don't think it's the fact they are idiots. I think they are just undereducated. Pet stores (especially large chains) don't take the time to educate their employees. They are more concerned about getting the employee on the floor and trained ASAP and making money. Sadly, they just don't care to take the extra time to pay the employee to be educated in their designated department...and usually the fish department is the worst of all. I mean honestly, how hard is it to tell someone how to take care of a dog, cat, bird, etc. I mean any average Joe could do that...


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## iheartmyfishies (Sep 14, 2009)

Yes! Creating a fish tank is a delicate process. You're making an ecosystem for your pet to live in. A lot of people just don't get it.


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

i once overheard a conversation about snails...........the customer asked if she bought two, would they breed, she didnt want them to. the salesgirl told her snails dont breed, they come OUT OF ROCKS!!!!

lmao


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## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

ChristinaRoss said:


> i once overheard a conversation about snails...........the customer asked if she bought two, would they breed, she didnt want them to. the salesgirl told her snails dont breed, they come OUT OF ROCKS!!!!
> 
> lmao


Okay well that salesgirl was an idiot. In this case I would use my motto "you can't fix stupid!"


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

lol, right


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

LOL!!! Snails come from Rocks!?! Haahah!

Thatpetplace/Thatfishplace is the petstore that I love!!!! They are all experts and I almost cheered when I heard one of the employees saying that goldfish need 20 gallons as a minimum! LOL


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Snails come out of rocks?? lol!!


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

well unfortunately the only stores near me are petsmart and petco........i do visit a mom n pop every few months, but, they are 45 miles from me. i get my guppies from them.

i go to petsmart for my female bettas, their usually healthier looking and every time i go in, they are changing their water.
i go to petco for the male bettas, they have a great selection and tail variety.

i remember the days back in the 80's when my family owned a pet store. makes me wanna open my own. anyone wanna be an investor? lol


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

ya drama, isnt that hysterical, i almost peed myself laughing so hard. i then pulled the customer aside and helped her decide which snails to get. because, of course, their "mystery snails" were actually apple snails. i explained to her how to tell the difference. 

i went in on monday to petsmart and a guy was buying 3 male bettas. the dork at the register tells him they will be fine together in an aquarium and to only feed them 2 pellets 2 times a week. the guy looks at me, i have 5 female bettas with me. so he says "is that correct". i said, "oh no" blah blah blah, so i helped him pick out some supplies and he went and got 2 2.5 gallon aquariums for the other 2 males. 

so they should realize if they took the time to explain the truth, they could even sell more products.

dumb a**es!


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## gaevren (Oct 7, 2009)

dr2b said:


> I don't think it's the fact they are idiots. I think they are just undereducated. Pet stores (especially large chains) don't take the time to educate their employees. They are more concerned about getting the employee on the floor and trained ASAP and making money. Sadly, they just don't care to take the extra time to pay the employee to be educated in their designated department...and usually the fish department is the worst of all. *I mean honestly, how hard is it to tell someone how to take care of a dog, cat, bird, etc. I mean any average Joe could do that...*


It makes me cringe to hear that about ANY kind of a pet. There are so many kinds of birds that require different care...some that require gravel in their diet to aid digestion, some that will die if you give them gravel. There are so many other things to know, some things that are common to all birds and some that are specific to the species of bird you own. Some can be housed together with other species, some cannot.

You will hear people say the same thing about Bettas...I mean any average Joe could do that...if that statement is incorrect for Bettas it's incorrect for any kind of exotic pet.

Shoot, people get it wrong half the time even when you're talking about dogs and cats!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Birds are actually pretty tricky to take care of...I'm not really experienced with them, but my dad used to have a room full of canaries in the basement. 

Today I went to the same store that I mentioned already to pick up the new guy. His water was dirty, but the girls at the sales register were pretty friendly...the girl asked me again if I had all the supplies ready for him at home, and if I knew that I had to float him in his baggie for about 15 minutes. She also offered to give me a free caresheet, but I told her I already had 4 girls at home and she seemed impressed. Lol.


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## Kitty Whiskers (Sep 28, 2009)

ChristinaRoss said:


> i once overheard a conversation about snails...........the customer asked if she bought two, would they breed, she didnt want them to. the salesgirl told her snails dont breed, they come OUT OF ROCKS!!!!
> 
> lmao


Out of Rocks?!?!? LOL!!!! I can't stop laughing!:rofl: Thanks for the good laugh with that story today! I love snails by the way


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## TianTian (Apr 14, 2009)

I used to keep Parakeets (aka, "Budgies"). They're just as tricky to keep as Bettas. 
(random note: Cinder was doing vertical diving the other day while I was cleaning his tank!! Turns out he was attacking his reflection on the bottom of the tank!!  )

Snails come from rocks???

BRB LOLING FOREVER.


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## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

oh it's true- snails come from rocks- as do wallabies and tuataras- but not pangolins- they come from sand- little bit of a distinction there 

srsly? rocks?


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## giypsy (Sep 23, 2009)

I was trying so hard not to post my irritation re: big-box petstores. I went last saturday, the friend who went with me was asking all sorts of questions re: bettas.
I took him over to see the livestock, the crowntails had such bad fin-rot I wanted to drag the manager of the store over and give him a piece of my mind. I restrained myself and explained the fin thing to my friend. That's how I ended up with Miss No-Name. At least she is healthy and a lot more swimmy than temperamental old FredFish.

When I was a kid, there was a mom & pop in my hometown; they were great! They helped my dad and I pick out all the stuff for a 5g & a 20g. Someday I'll cop to the unfortunate guppy tank in Fish-tales.


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## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

dr2b said:


> I don't think it's the fact they are idiots. I think they are just undereducated. Pet stores (especially large chains) don't take the time to educate their employees. They are more concerned about getting the employee on the floor and trained ASAP and making money. Sadly, they just don't care to take the extra time to pay the employee to be educated in their designated department...and usually the fish department is the worst of all. I mean honestly, how hard is it to tell someone how to take care of a dog, cat, bird, etc. I mean any average Joe could do that...


Okay so why don't we all just omit I said birds. I was just trying to make a point - and it obviously backfired. So everyone ignore the birds in that statement.


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

i think most of us got your point


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## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

ChristinaRoss said:


> i think most of us got your point


Well when I said "birds" I wasn't talking about the really exotic birds. I meant a in general bird that didn't require a lot of specialized conditions. lol. Plus, I was running short on thoughts that day...I need to get back out to life - being confined to your room gets to ya lol.


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## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

there's a shopping center i go to in san diego where a bird rescuer takes donations- he brings his most friendly parrots and lets people hold them for free- and talks to people about how to take care of birds and sets them up to adopt- he has more than 40 parrots at his home
so some of these birds have bald places where they plucked themselves from stress- it's really sad- but my Boo was thrilled to pieces to have parrots crawling around on him


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## giypsy (Sep 23, 2009)

*Fish Dying*

I ran across a non-prof website last night dedicated to preventing the practice of dying fish by injection. I was so hoping our species had not made the list; sadly no. After further reading, I came to the conclusion I need to watch FredFish pretty closely once he goes into the cycling-tears-up-my-patience tank. 

I have also resolved not to buy any more fish from sources unknown. I will pay the outrageous shipping to deal only with reputable hobbyists & breeders.
If these "disco" fish are not purchased, there will be no profit & the practice will die an unprofitable death. The practice did pretty much die off thirty or so years ago but made a comeback. Seems people are not as concerned or do not take the time to do any fish-keeping research these days.
What really nailed it for me was the fact that some of the dying process uses carcinogenic chemistry according to the non-prof. Sad.


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## ChristinaRoss (Sep 4, 2009)

whats the website? im sure many of us would be interested in reading it


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## giypsy (Sep 23, 2009)

In the interest of full disclosure and not getting my ears pinned back; there is a forum link on this persons page; however it does not go to an aqua-related forum, or any forum at all as of this writing.

Having said that: http://www.deathbydyeing.org 
The site has no "last-update", so it is difficult to ascertain how old it is, it does seem to be a work-in-progress. Due to that fact, I chose to support his cause with personal action, not cash.


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

that sound like a good idea ask how many gallons do two female bettas need i am going to petsmart later today i will tell you gys what he/she says =)


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## giypsy (Sep 23, 2009)

Not sure to whom the 2f betta question was directed; however I have one male and one female, separately housed. I do not house bettas together in the same tank unless I have conditioned a male and female for breeding.
Further reading on painted fish: http://www.firsttankguide.net


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I wouldn't put 2 females together in any size tank.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I think she is just asking them that to see what they say.  Like if they tell her that she has to have 4+ females.


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

doggyhog said:


> I think she is just asking them that to see what they say.  Like if they tell her that she has to have 4+ females.


yeah that was what i meant


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh, you were going to ask at the petstore? I was going to do that to see what answer I got.


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## loppy656 (Jul 31, 2009)

me and 5green are planing to go to a pet store and ask about the bettas and what they need just to see what they say. we will tell you everything.=)


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

ok so i went there today and the fish guy said that females cant be put togrther but males can! stupid petstore people }=(


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

WHAT!?!?! That is crazy.


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## La Reina (Oct 25, 2009)

The reason why I bought my Betta was because I really felt bad for him sitting in a Dixie cup on a dark shelf with 20 others. My fishy was the most active and is very happy in a nice 1 Gallon now. Many others seemed to have lost the will to live.


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## ninjafish (Oct 25, 2009)

I always wish I had enough tanks and time to take them all home. =(


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Just wanted to share my story of the day...

Went to Petsmart to kill some time. The males all looked pretty well. They each had a piece of live plant in their cups and a lot of them had bubblenests. I saw a pastel version of my guy, with pinkish-red on the bottom of his fins instead of white. Sooo cute. 

But anyway, the problem was that I saw a female in a tank with some fish. Major stress stripes and nipped fins. And the cause was soon noticable, there was a male betta in there with her! 

I finally racked up enough courage to tell the employee working there about it. She was really nice about it, though. She seemed to have enough sense that she knew right away what I was talking about, and said they shouldn't be kept together. So she scooped out the girl and put her in a tank with ADFs and thanked me for telling her. 

Well, if I coulld, I would have gotten the girl. She was violet and soo cute. But at least now I can have peace of mind knowing that she's safe.


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