Don't Ever Buy Fish From Wal-Mart

[littlefishie]

Fish rescues in WalMart.. That's too awesome. And I thought my random WalMart adventures with my friends were crazy. Tossing balls over the aisles, adding things to people's carts when they're not looking, figuring out the paging system..

Though I did have to scream at some guy in the St. Catharines WalMart on Welland Ave..
BettaMomma, this is one you'd love..
He told a customer that the bettas loved being in their tiny cups and that it was healthy for them to be swimming in their own poo.
And then another customer asked if they would ever carry saltwater fish. The same employee told them that they should be getting a shipment next week and to come back then.
Walmart.. Saltwater fish.. My friend Sarah had to drag me out of the store to stop me from strangling the guy.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Im glad you liked my little story

 

[BettaMomma]

Fish rescues in WalMart.. That's too awesome. And I thought my random WalMart adventures with my friends were crazy. Tossing balls over the aisles, adding things to people's carts when they're not looking, figuring out the paging system..

Though I did have to scream at some guy in the St. Catharines WalMart on Welland Ave..
BettaMomma, this is one you'd love..
He told a customer that the bettas loved being in their tiny cups and that it was healthy for them to be swimming in their own poo.
And then another customer asked if they would ever carry saltwater fish. The same employee told them that they should be getting a shipment next week and to come back then.
Walmart.. Saltwater fish.. My friend Sarah had to drag me out of the store to stop me from strangling the guy.

Yeah, I'd have had to be escorted out too.
I've almost gotten to that point a few times but somehow managed to somewhat keep my cool.

Someday I just may go off and really seriously be banned from the store or even get arrested. But, that wouldn't be of much benefit to my fishies at home if I was stuck in jail and not able to take care of them!

 

[littlefishie]

My friends have to drag me out of WalMart all the time, given how much I ***** at the employees for how crappily they take care of the fish. The one I was dragged out of had roughly 20 dead fish. I walked right up to the guy and glared and it was like this..

Guy: *Stacking dog/cat food on shelf, of course.* Can I help you?
Me: Yeah, would you care to tell me where your fish net is and where you dispose of your dead fish?
Guy: We keep it in the locked cupboard, why?
Me: Because, if you don't mind since you seem so busy attending to dry goods rather than living creatures, I'd be more than happy to scoop out the 20 dead fish I've counted in the tanks.
Guy: Well, we're not allowed to let customers do that.
Me: Then I suggest you take care of the fish and do it yourself.
Guy: I was going to do it in 5 minutes.
Me: I'll be back in ten minutes to check then, as it doesn't take that long to catch a dead fish.

Ten minutes pass, I go back.. and of course, he is STILL rearranging the damned dog and cat food! Still tons of dead fish in the tanks, not to mention they need a good cleaning.. so I started fiddling with the locked cupboard.

Guy: Um, you're not allowed to touch that.
Me: Can I speak to your supervisor, please?
Guy: Uhh.. *getting nervous.* Why?
Me: Because clearly you can't take care of the tanks like you are supposed to, and as you said ten minutes ago that you would be cleaning out the dead fish, something needs to be done about it. Perhaps you don't understand that leaving them in there will kill the OTHER fish, because dead fish produce ammonia when they rot, and ammonia is toxic to fish.
Guy: Um.. okay.. I'll go get him.

He never came back, I asked around for the supervisor and was told he wasn't in..
I haven't been back to that WalMart since.

 

[wrs]

aw. I love my walmart. The fish do have ich from time to time, but they do treat them. They ask all questions about your tank and will not sell you fish if they are not going to work with it, or other fish you have. They change the bettas and take great care of them.

They do have goldfish in bowls though, but they tell people not to to put them in there and to get the tank with afilter because they need the filter.

I have bought many fish from there, mostly bettas, and they all do very well, except for acidents on my own part of theirs, like the female getting stuck under a fake plant. I also have a feeder goldfish from there, and some others that have lived.

I am quite pleased with the staff at my walmart, and the fish section.

also, the cups the bettas in are big, not like the one bettamamas fish was in.

 

[cookie22]

i havent seen those betta cups before or knew they were sold like that , horrific!

 

[MAM]

Threads like these show how poorly many Walmarts DO treat their fish. But as said, just complaining on here doesn't do any good. If more of you were like BettaMomma, who were proactive about it, maybe you wouldn't need to start a new "Why Walmart is Horrible" thread every week. Write letters, make phone calls, start e-petitions. Make your voices heard where it will actually have some results!! Flood Walmart office and local management with your complaints. Cite example stores and exactly what you saw and when. Take pictures if you can sneak that in. Go to the fish department and write down all the problems. Keep a log, go weekly. Talk to management there, write down what you said and what their responses were. Check to see if improvements were made. Then send all this off to head honchos of Walmart. They don't use this forum, they don't see threads. You need to shake them up, rattle their brains to remind them they are selling living creatures, and I'm not just talking bettas here, I'm talking all their fish.

Just my two cents on the Walmart issue.......................

 

[cookie22]

i understand your point but im new here so havent seen walmart posts before and i'm not in US!

 

[Dorkhedeos]

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.....

i agree, but not with the word that starts with a b.

 

[gaya]

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.....

i agree, but not with the word that starts with a b.

I don’t think that is very kind guys and from my reading standpoint it kind of looks like a dig. It’s completely positive that people discuss the suffering of animals if to only remind us that it’s going on. Until this thread today I was not thinking of all the fish that are suffering in these chain stores and at least I’m conscious of it now. Why be negative? Instead of complaining about this thread why don’t you drive to your Wal-Mart to see what’s going on and you take action.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i dont have a car, and the nearest walmart that i know of is about 50 minutes away

 

[littlefishie]

I've been to the local WalMarts and complained..

The employees run when I come to the fish department.

 

[Undawada]

I'd love to work in the wal-mart fish department, but only on 3 conditions :

1. I have total say in how I look after, sell and order the fish

2. I have enough time to dedicate to their well being

3. I am paid enough to live off of

Since I don't think that will be acceptable by wal-mart, I doubt I'll be working there anytime soon

 

[bobwumba]

walmart is good for everything but fish.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

eh, but at what cost? i understand that its hard (extremely hard) to convince people not to go there for just everyday items, but the more i know about their business practices...

its not just fish. walmart abuses illegal immigrants, female employees, contracted suppliers... they nearly put rubbermaid out of business by capping the cost of their goods; rubber prices went up but walmart told rubbermaid that they weren't going to pay anymore for rubbermaid goods. rubbermaid had no choice but to eat those costs... not kosher. walmart treats everyone like that.

they're the ultimate corporate monolith and until the consumer refuses to hand over the cash, nothing will change. i try to spend as little of my money there as possible, so do most of my friends. it is the cheapest, but again, at what cost? the workers? the suppliers? someone is paying the dividend somewhere.

if you have the option, i strongly encourage you not to spend money at walmart or any of it associated stores.