Don't Ever Buy Fish From Wal-Mart

[NinjaSmurf]

Sorry, but I wish everyone would just quit their bitching and actually get off their asses and do something about it if they are so horrible, instead of just putting up the same sort of posts day after day about walmart, petsmart, pets at home or whatever store it is. You got a problem, tell them, not us, because frankly we all know what diseased fish look like, so it's no good trying to warn us away from the awful tanks we can obviously see. Somehow these threads don't get deleted yet General got killed.....

 

[BettaMomma]

Unfortunately walmart is my only choice. And I kinda see myself as a savior when I go there looking for fish.

I hate when people knock on walmart - everything's so cheap there they think that only lower class people shop there. While their fish conditions aren't the best - it's because people in the know refuse to work there, so they hire people who could care less. Why don't you apply for a job there and try to fix the pets department instead of whine and complain about how horrible it is?

I wouldn't work at that monopolizing over-sized corporation if my life depended on it.
I will whine, *****, piss and moan about that store until the day that I die, or they stop selling fish in such conditions, whichever comes first.
The squeaky wheel WILL get the grease - SOMEday if I have anything to say about it.

The problem with a store like that is that BECAUSE they can buy in such huge massive quantities, they can sell their products for lower prices, so the lower working class chooses to go there over other stores, because that might be the only place they can afford to shop at. And, on the other side of the coin, that might be one of the only places that lower class (HARD working) folks can find a job, sadly.

AND then middle class folks shop there also because of the low prices, why not?
AND THEN the hard working middle class folks who own mom and pop shops are forced to close down their family businesses because of WalMart.

My blood boils whenever I talk about, drive past or go into a WalMart.
OOh grr

 

[Angry_Platy]

Heres something worse and its not even walmart....

I was in my LPS the other day looking at dog jackets, is getting cold here. I would never buy fish from there. BUT, I always look And this time was no different. There were "cristmas tetras" for sale at $0.99 each. Yup, red and green dyed skirt tetras. SOOOO sad. But not only that, they all had ich, lke really obvious ich, not just a few small dots.....they were COVERED. and EVEN worse than that.....some kid came and asked about them and said "what do the dots mean?" and the lady replied "They are the polka dot variety" and she bought 5. I saw the girl outside the store and I told her why they were polka dot and why they were coloured and she said "I don't care, they look so cool" and walked off.

The girl was olf enough to know better amd the shop owner should be shot

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

That sounds seriously bad...Didn't know the betta cups were that small...
One rule; if the tank water doesn't look clean enough to drink from its not clean enough for fish to live in.

The thing i don't get about the water in the betta cups is why is there so little water in them?? its not like water is exactly wallet bustingly expensive....

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Jason,

I too am wondering which store you work at.

Why not send a PM to rabbitlady and ask for her advice about what you can do to improve the conditions in your store? She runs a successful pet department in one of the Walmart stores in Texas. I'm sure she will be happy to help you.

 

[Dwarfs]

The only walmart I've been to on LI (Hi Jason, from another long islander ) had about 5 bettas and a pleco, with numerous dead fish. There were about 15 tanks there, most empty, or with dead/dying fish I don't think I'll go back there any time soon

 

[BettaMomma]

That sounds seriously bad...Didn't know the betta cups were that small...
One rule; if the tank water doesn't look clean enough to drink from its not clean enough for fish to live in.

The thing i don't get about the water in the betta cups is why is there so little water in them?? its not like water is exactly wallet bustingly expensive....

There's so little water in there because they leave them sit for days, and it evaporates, or they just don't care and just dump a teeny bit of water in them.


AND.....
FOR the record too, I think I am up and off my ass and in the face of every WalMart that I have heard is mistreating fish. I have thrown ruckuses in the stores, called managers, written letters, made long distance phone calls (even made international ones) to get my gripes heard.

I don't just keep quiet and run home and post on the TFF and leave my griping at that. I totally agree with the "get out there and do something about it" attitude. That is the ONLY way anything is going to be done about it.

 

[BettaMomma]

Okay, seriously - sorry for my ranting and raving.

Me = instant *****, just add WalMart

So, I apologize if it seemed as if I was biting anyone's head off.
That place just makes me turn ugly.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well...We all go about things in different ways. I respect you BettaMomma that you go out and make your voice heard.
Personally if i had a Wal-Mart near me i would go work there; not because i need the money but so i could help the fish without having to buy everyone of them; it would allow me to treat the fish and fix the tanks and educate the people who bought fish there about fish keeping.
When my lfs got new owners 5 or so months ago they knew nothing about fish and made alot of stupid mistakes; but every time i went there i asked how things were going and i told them whatever info they needed to know about fish and, they seemed to have listened to me cos when i was in there the other day i over-heard 2 conversations. The first one involved a guy trying to buy a m.betta to put in his tank but my lfs owner remembered he already had already a m.betta in the same tank and stopped the guy from buying the betta which realy impressed me cos he lost that guy as a customer in doing so and i have never seen him since...The second incident involved a guy buying cold water and freshwater fish to put in the same tank which my lfs owner also stopped .

I do think Wal Mart is beyond repair but i think working with it and working against it can be just as effective; besides, its only so bad because of the staff it has so maybe it needs some knolegable staff?

 

[BettaMomma]

Well...We all go about things in different ways. I respect you BettaMomma that you go out and make your voice heard.
Personally if i had a Wal-Mart near me i would go work there; not because i need the money but so i could help the fish without having to buy everyone of them; it would allow me to treat the fish and fix the tanks and educate the people who bought fish there about fish keeping.
When my lfs got new owners 5 or so months ago they knew nothing about fish and made alot of stupid mistakes; but every time i went there i asked how things were going and i told them whatever info they needed to know about fish and, they seemed to have listened to me cos when i was in there the other day i over-heard 2 conversations. The first one involved a guy trying to buy a m.betta to put in his tank but my lfs owner remembered he already had already a m.betta in the same tank and stopped the guy from buying the betta which realy impressed me cos he lost that guy as a customer in doing so and i have never seen him since...The second incident involved a guy buying cold water and freshwater fish to put in the same tank which my lfs owner also stopped .

I do think Wal Mart is beyond repair but i think working with it and working against it can be just as effective; besides, its only so bad because of the staff it has so maybe it needs some knolegable staff?

I do agree that it helps when folks work there who know something about fish.

But, the reason I got Jack in the first place is because he was in horrible condition. You can see above how his cup was, and he was also covered in cottony white crap everywhere with holes up the wazoo in his fins. I was just trying to tell one of the employees working in the fish aisle that they should do something for him, and she told me they aren't allowed to treat sick fish beyond methylene blue when they first come in.

I'd go ballistic and probably get fired if I worked there and they wouldn't allow me to treat the sickies.

 

[eudielynn]

You got a problem, tell them, not us...

Speak for yourself. There are many of us that are "telling them" as well. We are trying to do our best for the fish, if that bothers you, just skip these posts and let those of us who want to help share ideas and experiences on how best to deal with these people.

And as far as working for Walmart ... I was offered a head cashier job there years ago. Fortunately, I could not feed my betta on what they pay and found a job that paid enough to live on. Maybe they could get some experienced staff if they wanted to pay them. Oh, that's right. It wouldn't be "cost effective", just like not treating sick bettas. If you ever had to pull one through an illness that came from Walmart you might feel the same way.

 

[gaya]

I'm glad these wal-mart threads have been created because i would never have known about how they treat their fish because i don't shop there due to other reasons but this is just one more to add to the list. This forum is a good way to get the word out for those who dont know.

 

[BettaMomma]

And as far as working for Walmart ... I was offered a head cashier job there years ago. Fortunately, I could not feed my betta on what they pay and found a job that paid enough to live on.

LOL!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I do agree that it helps when folks work there who know something about fish.

But, the reason I got Jack in the first place is because he was in horrible condition. You can see above how his cup was, and he was also covered in cottony white crap everywhere with holes up the wazoo in his fins. I was just trying to tell one of the employees working in the fish aisle that they should do something for him, and she told me they aren't allowed to treat sick fish beyond methylene blue when they first come in.

I'd go ballistic and probably get fired if I worked there and they wouldn't allow me to treat the sickies. [/quote]
If i worked there and they didn't let me treat the fish i could imagine myself breaking into the store at night ninja style with some darts filled with Melafix...Watch as i lower myself from the air vents in the ceiling...The coast is clear. I do i stealthy somersault onto the floor in my black ninja costume and turn to look at the betta cups. With a quick swipe i land 7 Melafix darts in the betta cups.
Suddenly somone opens the door; security! :saddam:
I quickly finish off the spotty tennage workers with my samurai sword pausing only for a second to grab a betta cup that was about to fall off the shelf. I take a moment to bear greif for their grave situation .
Next, the fish tanks. With my hidden grenade i use it to destroy all tank stock for sale ensuring mass loss's in profits in Wal Mart- the place is on fire, i have to be quick. I open my backpack for my bag of cycled pre-prepared water and quickly swipe all the fish from their tanks and betta cups with delicate ease and put them in the bag. The fire alarms are ringing now; i quickly go around planting explosives and neatly somersault my way back up to the air vent pausing to check no more fish are left.
I see a platy on the floor ! Its still moving- i grab a rope from my backpack and tie one end to the air vent and the other to my conviently hidden harness under my black ninja cloths and swing matrix style around the burning roon gently picking up the platy in one swift motion and put it in the bag- i continue my course around the room before swiftly scrambling up the air vent like a cat.
..... ..... .....

I am outside Wal Mart now- people are everywhere. I hold the detonater for the explosives in my hands....



Eh, well maybe in my dreams!

 

[BettaMomma]

LOL!
What an awesome story.

LOVED IT!