Something Pet Shops Should Do That Could Help Save More Bettas

keithp

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In my local pet shop I always visit the bettas even though i'm not buying any, and I always put the one's who look the most sick/underfed/dirty water in the front of the display (most of them are in the back and forgotten about). That way buyers or people who may actually be knowledgeable on betta care may decide to help one, and then the workers have to give them attention if there in the front. Well, this gave me an idea.

My idea is, every betta that gets shipped to them, a sticker should be placed on the cup cover with the arrival date, so workers/buyers know how long they have been in the store. Common sense would be put the "older" bettas in the front and newer stock in back.

Another idea is to also have barcodes on the cover, this way during feeding time, each cup must be scanned (if you cant reach the fish to scan the code then you are obviously neglecting the fish.) The scan would be to show when the last date the betta had "care" done (feeding,water change) They have wireless scanners in Petco so scanning is easy. They would make a rule such as every 3 days a betta MUST be fed/water change by a worker, so, when they scan they see the date it was last fed/cleaned, and they would put all the bettas that need attention to the side and have another person feed them, and have another person put the ones who are full/clean back on the shelf. This way no fish left are left in the back for an extended period of time and forgotten about to starve to death or die of bad water.
I assume they would have make some sort of online database first so when they scan is automatically brings up info on that betta instead of reading a hand written chart matching barcodes.

They already do that for there products, so for mabye 50 bettas it wouldnt take that long to "register" them, and with about 5 people doing various things, the whole scan,feed, and clean routine would be easy. If I was boss that is what I would make them do.
 
It wont happen :no: Its all to do with profit margin, so they aren't going to implement ideas that cut the profit.
 
Funny, cause betta breeders who care about there bettas have more to sell who are healthier, so because they care they make more money. All i'm saying is it is possible to sell healthy fish in a pet store if they wanted to.
 
All i'm saying is that the profit margin on $4 betta is low, whereas other more expensive fish demand higher profits. Is this an independant store or one of the big chains?
 
Petco. It's a chain of stores. I knew someone who actually worked there and they said there isnt much help only about 4 people in the whole store to help the animals, and the frequently dispose of old bettas even if they are alive.
 
Yep, i can well believe it.

The thing is, the bosses of Petco are profit lead. They want to run the stores with as little expenditure as possible, whilst gaining the most profit they can. Its sad but true.

The best thing that people could do is not buy any fish from them and support an independant if you have one :good:
 
Everyone told me to work there because I like animals, but I told them I wont because I have no say how to care for them, so why would I work to do something I dont support. I will continue when I visit to put the attention needing bettas in front though! :good:
 
True, you wouldn't have been able to change their policies :no:

Until Countries change laws regarding this type of thing, it will continue.
 
Everyone told me to work there because I like animals, but I told them I wont because I have no say how to care for them, so why would I work to do something I dont support. I will continue when I visit to put the attention needing bettas in front though! :good:

Perhaps if you got a job there you might be able to show and teach them basic care while the fish remain in the care of the store. :good:
 
You state that you do this with one hope that someone who cares will buy one? why on earth do this? you are making the stores job easier. I'm gunna be frank now and I really do not care on the response I get from you. Its people like yourself that actually encourage the sales of these bettas that you say are not being looked after, YOU! are the one who is letting the store know that they are selling the bettas. YOU! are the one who is encouraging more bettas to be kept in bad conditions. What you are doing when you go in the shop is the wrong thing to do, full stop!

I'm sorry but this has really got my goats fur fluffing. You can not save the worlds bettas keithp, the little things that you think are helping are sometimes making this betta ina cup situation carry on in the same way you originally dislike.
 
The best thing that people could do is not buy any fish from them and support an independant if you have one :good:

Okay I honestly don't understand you people. In general, those who have read the posts and seen the pictures ***** at me about only keeping my fish in a 2 gallon bowl. They get their water changes, temperature is maintained, and are taken better care of than 95% of bettas out there.

Petco is a so-called corporate "giant." They are in it for the bottom dollar. Also, with your idea, it is very time consuming. What most pet stores do is get all their fish on the same feeding and water change schedule. Do you realize how long scanning each individual cup would take? As a businessman myself, what they are doing makes sound fiscal sense. If a product does not sell, it is typically either discounted to the point that it does sell, or it is written off and discarded. Now, do I agree with this being done to a live fish? Not at all.

However, I think those of you who have attempted to persecute me for keeping a single male betta in a 2 gallon bowl should take a step back to think before continuing on that rampage. Where did you buy your fish? A designer breeder, individual shop, or a chain such as Petco?

Well I'll tell you this - I bought mine from a Pet Supermarket (another large chain.) He was very sickly looking, and probably wouldn't have lasted very much longer. So before you go get all self righteous telling me I need a bigger tank ask yourself - would you have done the same thing? Potentially wasting your hard earned dollar on a sick looking fish which was mass bred for a pet store chain? Or would you have paid the exact same amount for a prettier, healthier looking fish, because you foresaw a better return on investment?

While the fact is most of you would have opted for the healthier specimen, most likely from an independent store (as the individual above chose to say,) it is not *truly* a proper ethical choice. This will cause more fish to get destroyed - which seems to be what you're bitching about in the first place.
 
Everyone told me to work there because I like animals, but I told them I wont because I have no say how to care for them, so why would I work to do something I dont support. I will continue when I visit to put the attention needing bettas in front though! :good:

Perhaps if you got a job there you might be able to show and teach them basic care while the fish remain in the care of the store. :good:


Nice thought...but would never happen. Every single store has "guidelines" for animal care that is sent from the corporate office.



I also bought one of my bettas from Petco. The other was from a smaller chain pet store called Kahoots. IMO, if anyone doesnt like the fact that I didnt get them from a breeder; well thats just their problem and not mine.
 
the good thing about my pet shop
they only get 4 bettas at a time! its good cuz they are well looked after but means there is less selection
 

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