Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
Today I went to Walmart (and I swear, if you people dwell on that and get my thread closed I will strangle you 
) and went to check on the fish... there on the counter, sitting by the sink, were three female bettas that had been there for two weeks. They were separated from the rest of the bettas on display, which can only mean one thing... they were no longer considered worth trying to sell and were doomed for the toilet bowl.
I knew I had to do something, but I didn't have room for them to come home with me. I grabbed a bottle of Stress Coat off the shelf and proceeded to clean out their filthy, disgusting cups. The water was stained and the bottom was literally covered with a yellow-ish layer of gunk and black chunks of what could only have been whatever was left in the poor girl's stomachs after two weeks of not being fed at all. One of the girls had dropsy, but the others were, amazingly, still relatively healthy (which is the real crime here, since they would have been flushed anyway.)
I left the bottle of stress coat on the counter by the sink so no customer would be buying a used bottle... maybe it was technically stealing, but damnit, they ought to be using it anyway.
I cleaned them, actually filled their cups instead of leaving them half-empty like the rest, and returned them to the display shelf with the rest of the bettas. I was told the manager was away, so I wrote a lovely little note on my post-it pad I always keep in my purse and stuck it to the betta shelf.
"I, a customer, have changed the water in the cups of three female bettas who have been living in filth for TWO WEEKS. If I ever seen conditions like this again I will be notifying the home office. Please start feeding the bettas and cleaning their cups regularly."
I intend to make good on my claims, too. I'm giving them two weeks at the most to shape up and start doing right by those bettas (during which time I will contact the manager and complain as much as necessary to get the job done.) After that, the home office will be hearing from me once again, and once again I will be recommending that this store in particular no longer be allowed to carry live fish. This is just absolutely unacceptable.
) and went to check on the fish... there on the counter, sitting by the sink, were three female bettas that had been there for two weeks. They were separated from the rest of the bettas on display, which can only mean one thing... they were no longer considered worth trying to sell and were doomed for the toilet bowl. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't have room for them to come home with me. I grabbed a bottle of Stress Coat off the shelf and proceeded to clean out their filthy, disgusting cups. The water was stained and the bottom was literally covered with a yellow-ish layer of gunk and black chunks of what could only have been whatever was left in the poor girl's stomachs after two weeks of not being fed at all. One of the girls had dropsy, but the others were, amazingly, still relatively healthy (which is the real crime here, since they would have been flushed anyway.)
I left the bottle of stress coat on the counter by the sink so no customer would be buying a used bottle... maybe it was technically stealing, but damnit, they ought to be using it anyway.
I cleaned them, actually filled their cups instead of leaving them half-empty like the rest, and returned them to the display shelf with the rest of the bettas. I was told the manager was away, so I wrote a lovely little note on my post-it pad I always keep in my purse and stuck it to the betta shelf.
"I, a customer, have changed the water in the cups of three female bettas who have been living in filth for TWO WEEKS. If I ever seen conditions like this again I will be notifying the home office. Please start feeding the bettas and cleaning their cups regularly."
I intend to make good on my claims, too. I'm giving them two weeks at the most to shape up and start doing right by those bettas (during which time I will contact the manager and complain as much as necessary to get the job done.) After that, the home office will be hearing from me once again, and once again I will be recommending that this store in particular no longer be allowed to carry live fish. This is just absolutely unacceptable.
you are those poor lil girl's hero 
that was a nice story, would have liked to seen the employees when they read the note!
(you're welcome, sweetie)
