fish at wal-mart

[wishiwasafish]

hello it's been a long time sence i've posted or been in chat and i'mn sorry i have been working too much latly ... any how here is the reason for my post ... they want me to care for all the fish at my wal-mart which is awesome and i'mn verry excited because this can give me alot of experence in dealing with sick fish and i really need your help with all this ok?

here is how it's set up i think it is set up one wet/dry filter per 9 tanks which i think is verry stupid but i guess it saves space and money anyway all the tanks are bare bottem and there is nothing i can do about it there is a bunch of diffrent types of fish also and they die so fast it's mind numbing i think its because the filtration is spreding the sickness to every tank but i might be wrong pleas help me make life for my new fishy friends better and thing you recomend any thing i can do pleas say it thanks in advance
- jeff -
p.s. if you hate wal-mart and are just going to bash me then don't wast your time thank you

 

[Redbled]

Jeff, its super neat you are excited. Promise no bashing Wal-Mart fish to you. I've always been puzzled by companies that use that sort of filtration, so seems to hurt the fish more, yet I have heard, and I have no idea if this is correct, that those systems are better. Likely a big company lie that got spread, but regardless. One of the biggest things I've seen when I go into Wal-Mart is all the dead fish in the tanks. That would be one of the best places to start, just make sure to retrieve those quickly. Be prepared for lots of heartache, as I fear you will have to retrieve many. Another challenge, especially with a big company like that, will be you'll likely get people that know less about fish than the ones at a lfs. Think it will be fun and very important to try to educate people, especially the ones who come in with the snotty 6 year old who want 35 fish in their 10 gallon tank, what they can do to help the fish live. Good luck, please keep us posted on this venture.

 

[littlefishie]

Try doing some research on the fish that you carry. Ignore the labels on the tanks, because chances are they could be somewhat misleading. I've seen common plec labels at Wal-Mart claiming that they grow to 4" max. If you know enough about the fish you have, you'll be better able to serve the customers.

I hate when I go in and the employees try to BS their way through it.. like 'We're treating that tank with Nox-Ich, we just dosed it ten minutes ago.' Hmm.. water isn't blue, now is it? Nope. I mentioned that they shouldn't sell an oscar and 8 goldfish to the 10 year old who was buying a ten gallon kit that day, since they have massively different requirements, require more space, and the oscar would eventually eat the surviving goldfish..
As long as you have a decent idea of what you're talking about, you should be fine.
Try reading up on medications, to see what ones will treat which disease. http/www.bigalsonline.com has a medication section, and often lists what diseases can be treated with each med. Once you can diagnose the disease, you'll know what meds to use.

Good luck!

 

[Mr Miagi]

I agree, no body should bash you, thats awsome. Now u can help the fish, instead of just doin nothing. Awsome dude!

If you do add medicine etc to the tanks, it would work out quite well because the filtration would treat all the water in all the tanks efected! lol.

But congrats anywyas! Goodluck and keep us posted!

 

[BettaMomma]

Amen for someone that is excited about taking care of those poor guys things at WalMart.

My only suggestion to you is to not forget about the bettas, frogs, snails and whatever else sits there on the shelf. They sit in those HORRID little cups day in and day out waiting to be rescued. Please make sure they get proper water changes (daily in containers that size) and make SURE you look at them everyday so you can treat the sick ones.

Good luck to you in your WM ventures, and hopefully you can make a difference in a LOT of fishes lives.

also, make sure that whatever you learn about the fishes in those tanks you share with other WM employees that will be working there when you're not there, so the fish have 24 hour chance of a good life ahead.

 

[wishiwasafish]

thanks for the posts everone today is my first day working on the tanks i'll write down every type of fish we have what i added to the tanks and anything els that i think is important thanks agin i'll post agin tonight after i get off work
-jeff-

 

[BettaMomma]

Good luck!

 

[SRC]

Just be sure to check the water parameters often....I knwo my Walmart has fairly nice tanks, but there is always several dead fish floating in numerous tanks..and with all the tanks functioning on one filtration system....I'm certain the Nitrates are probably off the charts most days.

Personally, I think the betta cups need to be changed twice a day, since they are only in *about* a cup of water. I would also print out some care sheets for the fish you sell and give them to customers when they purchase a fish (especially betta's. I read ona cup yesterday at the LPS change water 1-2 times a week , feed 1-2 times a week..sparingly ), but that's just me lol.

I think if I ever get another PT job..I'd like to work PT at wal-mart fish department..or one of the LPS.

 

[Redbled]

I think if I ever get another PT job..I'd like to work PT at wal-mart fish department..or one of the LPS.

I've always thought that as well, even been tempted to own a fish store at times.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi.
I hope your first day at WalMart went better than my shopping trip to WM went today.
IT was distressing.

I posted about it in this forum.
I wish I had gone to the WM you worked at - the ones at my WM are NOT the right ppl for the job obviously.

 

[Yenko]

About non-blue ich treatments: I've used methylyne blue to treat ich, and my tank water didn't look any different. It has a lot to do with the lighting over the tank; that tank was lit with incadescent light, which has very little blue, so the dye didn't show up very well. But yes, they probably lied, and treating a system that has more than one tank to a filter that way is stupid.

 

[Olakytrion]

although im not walmarts biggest fan, im glad there is someone out there looking out for those little guys, they definately need it. good luck!

 

[pahansen]

I think SRC had a good idea about care sheets for potential customers. I'd suggest going a step further for yourself. If I were to take on this potentially overwhelming task (and changing over a commercial store's fish department alone is pretty overwhelming), I'd get a binder and print out whatever useful info I could find.

Go through the pinned articles on the various TFF boards and print out the applicable ones (A to Z of Disease, Fish Diseases, Advice for the Absolute Beginner, whatever you think will help). Since you're also going to make a list of the fish Wal-Mart stocks, you could look through the fish index and make print-outs of the applicable entries as well. This way you'll have a resource of some of the best information about fishkeeping at your fingertips, and you won't have to wait until you get home to look things up. If there's room for it, you might be able to store it in the cabinets with the fish equipment. Maybe you could get some of your co-workers interested as well and educate them in the process.

Good luck with your ventures. Which Wal-Mart is it? I live in Pgh. too.

-- Pamela