Question About Unsold Bettas At Pet Stores.

[PaPeRo]

I've always wondered what big pet stores like Petsmart/Petco do with Bettas that they cannot sell? Do they dispose of the fish? I've seen many Bettas almost dead in their cups and was just wondering if they just throw them away or what?

 

[l.michelle]

As far as i know, they rotate them between stores until they die or are sold.

That's why there is always a different selection. So the ones you buy you really never know how old they are, because there is no way of telling how many pet stores they have been to before the one you got them at.

They do the same thing (at least here) with puppies. Except those, they have the birthdates on them.

 

[lisa_perry75]

From what I've seen they put them out til they die... And when one sells or dies they take another one from out the back...

I know some bettas have stayed in their cups for about 5 weeks... There is one guy that gives them 100% w/c every day he works (which is about 6/7) and feeds them too.

 

[PaPeRo]

Hmm..if they put them out till they die then they must not care for them because Bettas can live for years in a cup if properly maintained. That is if they die within a couple months. That's pretty sad. So many times I see lots of Bettas not get sold compared to other fish because people usually choose the pretty ones. Other fish like say tetras all get sold out then restocked because all the tetras of a certain type all look the same so people don't choose which tetra they want. They just come in the LPS and ask for 5 tetras of X type etc.

It's sad that so many Bettas are left to die considering they're rather intelligent fish.

If goldfish die in the LPS, we wouldn't normally care because they're dumb fish.

 

[Mugen]

<:C I care if goldfish die. The poor little guys! Just because they're dumb doesn't mean they don't deserve love!

 

[K.J.]

Hmm..if they put them out till they die then they must not care for them because Bettas can live for years in a cup if properly maintained. That is if they die within a couple months. That's pretty sad. So many times I see lots of Bettas not get sold compared to other fish because people usually choose the pretty ones. Other fish like say tetras all get sold out then restocked because all the tetras of a certain type all look the same so people don't choose which tetra they want. They just come in the LPS and ask for 5 tetras of X type etc.

It's sad that so many Bettas are left to die considering they're rather intelligent fish.

If goldfish die in the LPS, we wouldn't normally care because they're dumb fish.

Where'd you get the idea that goldifsh are dumb?

 

[littlelegs]

you are right goldfish are far from dumb. They are nice fish.

 

[Squid]

Where'd you get the idea that goldifsh are dumb?

I've never seen one doing Sudoku....... yet i've seen a betta doing the Times advanced one.

Squid

 

[lisa_perry75]

Normally the bettas die anyway cos of all the stress. If fish die, they die... What can you do once they are dead?

And by the way probably 10-20 fish die a day, but you have to do "dead runs" so customers don't see too much. Out of this I've had 2 dead goldfish in 6 weeks, so don't worry Mugen

Generally its cos the fish go through so much stress to get there they just die...

 

[PaPeRo]

When I say dumb I'm talking about their intelligence or lack thereof compared to Bettas.

 

[jenny6165]

i work at pets at home at the weekend and im sometimes on the fish section. we get about 20 fish die a day, as said above some just die of the stress of being moved about.
When we have bettas in, the ones that dont get sold are rarely there for more than 2 weeks, they seem to die, and im guessing its because of the stress.
we've never had bettas in for more than a month, theyve always been sold, they are quite popular fish, or they have died quite quickly.

the lfs near to there keep them in cups, and they have 4 at the moment who are just lying on the bottom. one has lost all of his finnage i guess he must be biting himself cos hes not in with any fish. is it common for bettas to bite their own fins and is there a reason for it?

 

[PaPeRo]

It could also be finrot.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Considering that goldfish in the laboratory setting have been taught how to navagiate complex mazes and perform simple tricks, I'd say they're far from dumb. The 3 second memory thing is just stupid folk-knowledge with no factual basis; anything that can be trained into peforming tasks or recognizing daily schedules can not possibly have so brief a memory. They have amazing social intelligence, can peform many skillful tasks, are known to have owner-recognicion. They are also remarkably tame and friendly due to their long history of domestication (since 800AD in fact), and many enjoy interacting with pets or being stroked by a human owner. If you think goldfish are stupid and unworthy of humane care and a long, healthy lifespan, I pity you; you are missing out on a wonderful fish by being so narrow-minded towards them.
Also, consider the fact that we should not be questioning if an animal's intelligence makes it worthy of life; in suffering, all fish are equals. Saying that a fish that is less intelligent than another does not deserve compassionate care would be like saying an infant or profoundly retarded adult human can be mistreated because they're "stupid."

As for unnsold bettas in pet stores, they generally stay until they die... which from my experience takes anywhere from a week to a month due to horrible husbandry practices in the majority of pet stores. The main issues, I think, are temperature and water quality. The air temp in your average pet store is what, mid to low 60's? Bettas tend to do poorly if kept long term in anything under 72, especially in poor water quality. Considering how rapidly waste and ammonia builds in those tiny cups, it is safe to say that the bettas have poor water quality after about a DAY. So if whoever is caring for them is not cleaning them extremely frequently, the deadly combo of poor water quality and temp inevitably kills them. I've seen bettas in the same uncleaned cup for over a week, when even in a 1g tank they'd need to be cleaned at least twice in that time to maintain water quality. Is it any wonder they languish and die after only a short time in stores?

 

[starrynightxxi]

well said, random.

i agree, the bettas in cups die largely because of store/employee laziness and/or ignorance. The pet shop that i frequent keeps their bettas in cups even smaller than the ones walmart keeps them in. They're just little plastic drinking cups that you might see next to a water cooler, but even so, they get 100% water changes every day and are eating bloodworm. For all the lack of room, they are healthier than any other pet store bettas I have ever seen, and sell very quickly.

 

[PaPeRo]

Considering that goldfish in the laboratory setting have been taught how to navagiate complex mazes and perform simple tricks, I'd say they're far from dumb. The 3 second memory thing is just stupid folk-knowledge with no factual basis; anything that can be trained into peforming tasks or recognizing daily schedules can not possibly have so brief a memory. They have amazing social intelligence, can peform many skillful tasks, are known to have owner-recognicion. They are also remarkably tame and friendly due to their long history of domestication (since 800AD in fact), and many enjoy interacting with pets or being stroked by a human owner. If you think goldfish are stupid and unworthy of humane care and a long, healthy lifespan, I pity you; you are missing out on a wonderful fish by being so narrow-minded towards them.
Also, consider the fact that we should not be questioning if an animal's intelligence makes it worthy of life; in suffering, all fish are equals. Saying that a fish that is less intelligent than another does not deserve compassionate care would be like saying an infant or profoundly retarded adult human can be mistreated because they're "stupid."

I don't know maybe it's just me, but everytime I go into a LFS and see those standard orange carp-like gold fish they sell 10 to a $1 as food for bigger fish, all I see them do is swim around waiting to be fed. They have no personality or special antics whatsoever. It seems all they're good at is eat poop eat poop and eat poop some more.

BTW is there any sites I can goto to read about these lab experiments on goldfish? You bringing it up really sparked my interest in they social behavior.