I am absolutely HORRIFIED

[Mina]

I was wandering about Petco today, hoping to find a new little boy or girl (Betta that is, not human) the take away with me. I wandered past the ferrets, reptiles and other aquatic life straight to the betta shelf. Nothing was wrong with the fish themselves, clear water, large cups, apparantly well fed with little fin damage...however I read this happy-looking bright yellow sign that said basically 'Hey! Guess what? You can keep you betta as a decoration in a tenny 8-10 ounce cup and the fish will love you for it! Yep, go on and plunk them in there because in the wild they live in small puddles of water. In fact, why not buy a decorative vase with a plant on top to sit on you desk. You don't need to feed them, they'll eat the roots!' I HATE THEM SO MUCH NOW!

Just imagine the tantrum I threw. My boyfriend literally had to drag me out of the store as a yelled at the manager...probably not the best way for me to handle that but come on! Wal-mart is treating the Bettas better! (I'm actually really impressed with my Wal-Mart right now, they are doing an excellent job! ) I was absolutely shocked and appalled that a store that professes it is so great that pets want to go there would knowingly induce such torture on their animals.

I'm not sure what to do. Any advice so I can fix this atrocity?

 

[BettaMomma]

Give them a call - the headquarters, that is.
1-888-824-PALS

Tell them you were horrified and that they should stop selling them in vases, it's just not humane. That's about the only way to get thru to big chain pet stores like that, unfortunately! PetSmart and a whole slew of other places around here do the same thing. I've raised a ruckus, they ignored me, and so on. It's a hard battle to fight.

Around mother's day I had to stay out of all stores like that because it made me LIVID to see these stores raking in a profit from the exploitation of these fish as people would be staring at these saying to their spouse/sig. other "Hey - My mom would LOVE one of these things!" and toted off the whole thing to the checkout.

The ones at PetSmart probably hold about 6 cups of water, and then they cram a big hunk of roots down into it, giving them not much more room to swim in than their original cups.

Good luck - if there's something I can do to help I certainly will!
OH WAIT - i'll call their headquarters, too, and ask them to stop selling them also.
It can't hurt.

 

[Mina]

Thank you so Much BettaMomma! *weeps* I was just so livid, I wish I had spoken more rationally. I feel bad for the employees though. I had to...re-educate them for a good twenty minutes...and then I stood and watched themmove the little cups so air could get to them all.

They looked at me like I was crazy....

 

[OrkyBetta]

You aren't crazy. These people have no right to call themselves fish keepers.

 

[BettaMomma]

I get looked at like I'm crazy all the time too.
I know exactly how you feel.

WAIT wait wait...

did the sign in the store actually say you didn't have to feed them? because they'll eat the roots? If so, I'm going to call there and go absolutely balistic on them to a manager, AND i will call the headquarters and go balistic on them too.

If that's not the case, I'll call anyway and be rational but tell them I don't like the idea and wish they'd stop.

 

[Mina]

The sign didn't say specifically that they could just eat roots, but they were pushing heavy on the death traps and the employee by them said 'Those are great, you don't even need to feed the fish!' They had about five of the vases with several (3-4) -little- (As in so little that I have never seen them so young for sale, just barely out of fry stage) femme betta in them, and they could barely even move because of the plant and overcrowding. Poor girlies. I wanted to save them but I wasn't going to encourage their mistreatment.

So no, Momma, the sign didn't say so; but I was told -by an employee- that they could eat the roots and would be fine. Gawd, what's a beginner gonna do when they follow what they think to be directions from an experienced fish owner.

My local Petsmart is pretty good with their betta. I wish they'd get bigger cups...and put a lid on them, but they treat with rid-ich and othr things so they don't have disease, and they feed live food too. I'm pretty happy with them, and I told them so. I think they were pleased to hear they were doing a good job, and they actually check you Ph and ammonia levels for free whenever you want. Such nice people, may they crush Petco into changing their foul ways.

 

[50000_tears]

hmmm this is werid..my petco has been great this month..only one dead betta ,it died of fungus he was bein medicated he was on the sick shelf...they have alot of sick tanks but the people at mine tell people to atleast get a gallon..they usually put the aquaviews and mini bows near the bettas..i think the sick fish has increased at mine (not dead i rarely see a dead fish if i do its a guppy) ,i think tis becase the most helpfull worker quit since she was going back to school.mine is better than some..heck its either that or pass pets (has the nicest bettas bettas iv never seen a dead one there)

 

[BettaMomma]

So I called the headquarters last night and told them that we don't like the vases and they need to get rid of them. I just told her I wanted to file something that said I am in petition of getting rid of them. Hopefully lots of other people will do the same.

She was pretty cool about the whole thing - and she went on to tell me that they actually have an advisory board that has to approve EVERY single product that gets sold at their stores. I asked her to pass a message along to the board. First, i asked her to have SOMEONE from that team come to this website and research what a lot of us regular average fish keepers think, do and say. I also told her that they should consider having things in their store that are for the good of fish - rather than the good of their bottom line. For instance, toss around the idea of imposing rules such as "anything sold to house a fish must be at LEAST 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon".

She said she would make sure the information got passed along.
And I gave them my contact info and told them if they wanted to discuss it further to give me a call. heh

What store was this in? This also warrants a call being made to the store so a manager can handle the "they can eat the roots, they don't need to be fed" issue. Lemme know what city and state and I'll call em.

 

[Saucy]

Yeah, definitely call the manager and tell them what they told you. I recently had a really bad thing like that happen to me. I bought my dwarf puffer and the lady told me they're brackish. Yeah, the second day he couldn't swim horizontally and just sat floating at the top of the tank. They're 100% FRESHWATER fish. I called up the store and told them what she had told me. They guy asked me to look at my receipt and tell him who it was. He was going to tell her she was wrong. 1 Tbsp per 5-gallons isn't brackish, but she said it was. Ignorant people...

 

[50000_tears]

mine has smart people. they know not to put bettas in vases i am going to take a quiz there and ask them questions il put the answers on here.

 

[daudy_dojo]

well i think this site as pretty much proved that petsmart petco and walmart can stop selling fish they get rid of sick fish to stupid people (i was one... when i bought my angel fish from petsmart he had ick and a torn fin... but i knew nothing)

 

[50000_tears]

petco around here atleast keeps them clean and the seem to look happy (they're either flarein at the male near them or giving me the 'BUY ME NOW YOU GULLIBULE HUMAN!! NOW!!" look..they do that too me too much thats why i have 4 )

 

[cuba408]

just to let you guys know i gave a albino betta to my mother over a year and a half ago in a vase. i came back to visit her like two weeks later and she had put plants in it. THEY DO LIVE its been alive ever since. she does feed it every once in a while. He is happy and has lots of swimming room.

 

[mm_simb]

just to let you guys know i gave a albino betta to my mother over a year and a half ago in a vase. i came back to visit her like two weeks later and she had put plants in it. THEY DO LIVE its been alive ever since. she does feed it every once in a while. He is happy and has lots of swimming room.

If you're talking about the vases that I've seen around in stores, I hardly doubt they have "lots" of swimming space...unless you count the laps they do in circles. Try putting him in an actual tank or big bowl and then tell me that he was happier in the vase. I'm sure it's alive and I'm sure it'll stay alive for a while with frequent water changes but I doubt it's really happy. But I'm sure it knows no different if he's at least content. To go from a little cup to a vase is pretty good but for someone who really loves and cares about these fishes, it is not even close to being good. Vases are supposed to be for decoration...not for the fishes' well-being and happiness.
Where I work (at the animal hospital at petsmart) they also have a little red betta in a vase. Even if I don't say anything about it because I would hate to be fired, they will be getting some calls from people about it. It's horrible and stupid at the same time to be a hospital that supposedly cares about animals and still have a betta as a decoration up front.
Rant over...

 

[afireinside]

wow, i am glad i hardly buy any bettas from petsmart or petsco anymore. My lfs is way better. they actually care for them, clean water, fead them. and they come in nice clean glass bowls.