Walked into petsmart today

[RandomWiktor]

The Petsmart near us really takes poor care of its fish. The betta cups there are smaller than the ones Wallmart uses, and I see tons of sickies there every day. They're also overpriced and keep their tanks overstocked. But stores need to be judged individually; the petsmart back home is awesome.

That said, here's some tips on your sicky guy; who knows, might help him pull throught:
- Heat the tank to 82 degrees
- Add salt
- Keep the lights off so he rests
- Add stress coat and maybe a mild anti-bacterial, but since you don't know the cause of illness, maybe just leave well enough alone.
- Add a mild airstone in case he has trouble coming to the surface to breath.
- Feed him plenty of nutrient-dense foods while he recovers
- Make sure there are lots of plants to "perch" on when he's feeling to weak to swim.

Good luck!

 

[guppymonkey]

If a betta gets sick most pet shops can't really do much to treat them. Its not a great idea to use most medications in a betta bowl because there is already a low oxygen content. Transfering the betta to a bigger tank to treat it would be a great idea but most pet stores aren't going to go to all that effort to try to save one betta. Bettas are bought in large quantities usually twice a week by most chain stores. It wouldn't be "cost effective" to "waste" time medicating a betta. A lot of pet stores put the sick bettas off to the side and treat them with aquarium salt but nothing more than that because: 1) medications cost money and they don't want to waste money on a fish thats probably going to die anyways 2) most medications reduce oxygen content and that would kill the betta even though they can breath atmospheric air.

Oh, and petsmart isn't that great with their humanitary efforts toward animals anyways. I have seen probably dozens of sick fish being sold there! (I have even bought one by mistake and had to try to nurse it back to health) And if they care so much about treating their animals humanely (ie not euthanizing them) why do they still sell feeder fish? Eh, it doesn't matter anyways, I just wanted to rant a little bit.

 

[Javentule]

I think it's helpful to put this in perspective - Petsmart, and probably other pet stores, recieve about 1000 new fish each week. In addition to caring for the fish, Petsmart employees are in charge of taking care of the reptiles, birds, and small mammals. Not only do they have to know nearly EVERYTHING about the care of ALL of these animals, but if any of the animals in their care gets sick (even fish) they have to care for them. When you have GOOD employees working at your local store they treat each animal as if they were their own pet. When you deal with the volume of animals petstores like Petsmart deals with you will get sick fish (especially when they are shoddily shipped in bags from one source/breeder in Florida, to Arizona, to various Petsmarts around the country).

As for Petsmart being Humane.. they are LEAGUES ahead of most stores. Not only do they have CareLines where you can call and talk to someone about your concerns for the animals, but as I said, there are strict guidelines in place for animal care and treatment. Sick animals are seen by vets, and are never euthansized unless by a vet (except for fish). Petsmart more than happily medicates their pets.

As for the feeder fish issue - yes, they DO sell feeder fish. But only because they sell various animals that eat feeder fish, and there is a high demand for them. Petsmart does NOT sell feeder mice, because they don't sell animals that eat them, either. Petsmart also doesn't carry Saltwater fish because they don't want to contribute to the destruction of coral reef ecosystems. Nevermind that Petsmart dedicates space in their stores for the adoption of humane society pets (mostly cats - who otherwise would be euthanised in 3 days if left at the shelter). They also donate TONS of money to various pet charities - money not only from customers, but from associates who typically donate at least one dollar per paycheck to petsmart charities.

I think Petsmart does okay, as far as petstores go..

 

[mm_simb]

I think since the bettas are in such smalls containers already (smaller than the walmarts by me) it wouldn't be so much trouble to clean them everyday. I know they don't clean them everyday. It would be impossible for all of the bettas to have such dirty water in the middle of the day. It just cant happen. Especially if the water is green. It's not so much as sick bettas. I know they have to have some but to have most of them sick is just not right. The Petco by me keeps them nicer than this Petsmart. They also have very knowledgeable employees.

 

[Javentule]

Petsmart cleans their bettas every other day. The water is blue because they use a "Betta Conditioner" manufactured by Jungle. Not sure why it's blue, but I'm sure it has something to do with it being "specially formulated" for bettas who live in small amounts of water, etc.

I think the bottom line with pet stores is this: There are Good Ones and there are Bad Ones. I like Petsmart because they have very strict guidelines regarding pet care. That doesn't mean that their employees follow it to the letter all the time, though.

 

[mm_simb]

They should be cleaning the cups everyday since they are not big. I know the water is supposed to be blue when they are clean. But there is no excuse for the water being green with s*** all over it.

 

[Javentule]

Next time you see green, poopy betta cups in a Petsmart find the Manager On Duty and ask them to check the Pet Care opening checklist to see if the Bettas have been changed. There should be no reason for the betta cups to be dirty if they are cleaned on schedule - maybe they over feed them at your store?

 

[BettaMomma]

Petsmart cleans their bettas every other day.

Ours for sure doesn't.

I wish they did, but they don't.

 

[jacblades]

the betta cups get changed monday, wednesday and friday. if you go in on one of those days and it hasnt been done, please notify a manager.
often times its actually my manager (of the pet care dept.) that signs the checklist saying he ahs done the betta cups when of course he hasnt (he hates fish)
make sure you are speaking wiht the store manager if you complain. (his name tag will say 'store manager')

we never have sick bettas at our store and if we do, you better be sure im all over it. the only time the cups look really dirty is if i feed them frozen food (which i dont usually do unless the cups have to be changed that day anyways)

the only times bettas die at our store is if they jump from the barracks into a tank of agressive fish...usually cichlids


but i know my petsmart is leagues above many others. most of us in the specialty department are friends and our whole lives revolve around animals. if they hire someone who doesnt put their heart and soul into caring for animals, we run them off. now our manager is quite a different story. sadly, this is just a job for him.

 

[Dane]

i have never in my life been to petsmart, i always figured it was just another store exactly like petco.. only a different logo and management Oo;

And yeah, sneak that bad boy home, even though he sounds like he's buying the stairway to heaven.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

my petsmart is great, they dont sell you nothing until they know your tank size. too bad they believe to those little kid that tell their parents to say they have a big tank, and they can handle bala sharks. they even ask you if the ghost shrimp you buy are going to be fed to other fish.

 

[Javentule]

Yep - Petsmart associates are trained to be "pet detectives" and ask you all KINDS of questions about your fish. If the associate you're talking to isn't grilling you one what size your tank is and how many and what kind of fish you have, they aren't doing their job

I know most of us employees got into the job because we wanted to make a difference in the pet care animals recieve both in the store, and the education their new owners get to help insure great care out of the store.

I would still have you remember that not only are Petsmart specialty employees responsible for take care of fish, small mammals, reptiles, and birds but they are also responsible for customer service and inventory. If they get huffy with you because you point out a dead fish in the tank it's probably because they have a million other responsiblities at the moment. Nothin' personal, and nothing to do with how much they care for fish.

 

[mm_simb]

Hmmm...I remember a time that I went to Petsmart and told one of the employees that I wanted to put the fish that I was buying into a small (less than .5 gallon) bowl without a filter or heater and they still sold me the fish. Of course then I came on here and now know better. I also remember that after that fish died I bought five others and that were not compatible and they still told me they were. I have bad luck with tropical fish so they died also. And I also remember seeing a poor male betta with some neon tetras that had it's fins all torn. This being with different employees. So I'd say the Petsmart by me had a load of crappy employees in the fish department.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

only wrong info most of them give out is that dwarf puffers are brackish.

 

[Javentule]

Some employees feel obligated to sell the fish that customers want. The customer is always right, right? So if you go in and act like you know what you're doing a lot of employees will be wusses and give you whatever you want. This has a lot to do with management as well - the manager of your store might be a cutthroat who just wants to make quota all the time. Fortunately the two stores I've worked for have had pretty good management. Petsmart Managers can cancel the 14 day guarantee on fish if you're putting them in an unsuitable environment, for instance. But the bottom line is that refusing a sale isn't really good business. I'm sorry your store gave you a crummy experience