BTW I agree that the workers and conditions at these stores are all variable. For instance I've never kept bettas before but feigned ignorance at several stores just to see what they would say... the woman at a locally run mom and pop store told me that bettas could survive as long as they had a "drop of water" on their gills.... I swear, those were her words . All the bettas had fin rot. No surprise. Meanwhile, Petco had tons of brochures on cycling, water quality, and pamphlets on all the fish they sold. The fish tanks were extremely clean, not crowded, all with gravel and decorations, and the woman who worked there said I shouldn't put a betta in anything smaller than a 1 gallon and advised me on cleaning, filtration, and diet. I was pleasantly surprised.