Alessa

So, once upon a time, I went to petsmart (today lol) and I was going to get food for my betta and my red-tail shark...

When I walk in, I see a 1 1/2 ish gallon bowl, with no substrate and no heater... only a miserable fake piece of lucky bamboo and OH! surprise guess what was in there?

No, It was not a betta.

No, It was not a goldfish.

No, it wasnt a tetra.


It was... (drumroll) ...

A PARADISE GOURAMI! with a lonely ghost shrimp


Then, I go in and find my friend who works there, we begin our usual conversation and then another employee joins the conversation.

My friend asks me: "so what do you think of the bowl?"

I say: " I was going to address it, since I really can't understand why would anyone put a paradise gourami in there. I dont agree with any fish being put in bowls in general; but a paradise gourami? they are huge fish who need plenty of swiming space! there isnt even substrate in that tiny bowl!"

Then, my friend refering to the other employee (who had begun to look at the floor) said: "she arranged it like that".

Then I say: "Oh really? I hope you change it, because really, no fish should ever be in a bowl with no heat or filtration, or cycle... and specially such a big fish in such a tiny little space!"


Then, the employee left discreetly... (I dont know if she was angry at me or embarrased) and my friend changed the tone of her voice, again refering to the employee who had done the bowl thing...

"Oh, she is really obsessed with fish stuff, she is like a genius when it comes to fish. She even knows the whole genetics of angelfish and stuff"



Excuse ME! I could be a marine biologist and still be wrong placing an Oscar in a bowl. SHESH! I am soooo angry really, and on top of everything there I was, the ugly villain that does not like the cute bowl!


I dont think I am ever going there again...

CHoffman

What is wrong with people..Really..I guess I don't get it....That is not ok...I would be speaking with the manager asap...

Nicolas Rodriguez

That is messed up, when my betta was alive i changed its water everday until i got my tank, im already about to slap my stepbrother for not cleaning his betta's bowl...

Gourami+Bowl=NO!

TFA101

oh man an they call themselves pet "SMART". we need to all address these problems and have them fixed. Why can't animal humane societys do anything, or the health department? I mean, the conditions are far from substandard AND its animal cruelty

Lucy

Oh, Alessa, that's terrible! I'm so glad you spoke up. That employee should know better. Geez!

fishlover78

don't go there, I am sick and tired of petco and petsmart and their employees I had a polite loud conversation with one of them about a month ago, everyone who heard me followed me out the door. It is so sad and ridiculous that this happens, petco is okay but petsmart is where people are constantly decieved and what annoys me most is that their bottom line is mony, money, money! I can't stand that place, I now have two local mom and pop pet shops and a mom and pop fish store. those are the ONLY places I go. the treatment of the animals in petsmart is a disgrace. I am done with them, those money thirsty managers. reguarding what you siad TFA101, as long as a animal has food and water it is not considered cruealty, sure most of us here would love to get rid of petsmart but it just uisn't going to happen. we should boycott petsmart! I am serious not joking. I know this seems extreme but you don't have any Idea how man of these stories I have heard about that whreched place. I am ready to puke if I here one more seesh! I had a friend who in the past worked at petmsart and petco, comparing the two petsmart animal treatment policies are very lax and not tightly gone by and on the other hand petco is better, they have tight animal treatment policies and regulations and if they are not followed ut oh for you! I am gonna puke if I read one more of these stories

Fish Addict

Fishlover, I don't think you are the first one to think about boycotting Petsmart, I think a few other members already have!

fishlover78

they have? maybe we should take it to action, I mean if most fishlorians didn't go to petsmart it may have some effect, but then members who belong to other forums can start it ther too, I am not trying to be evil just trying to get petsmart to understand that we don't like the way the treat animals ther. who thinks this could work?

Butterfly

Alessa, sounds like to me your friend used you to say what she knew but didn't want to say to a fellow employee.
Go back at least one more time....just to see if the bowl is still there with the paradise fish
Carol

fishlover78

I like Butterfly's idea, maybe just one last time Alessa...

Alessa

My "friend" is the manager...

And Butterfly: Yeah, maybe... I hope she wasn't just brave enough to talk to her... I hope that our conversation really made them think about bringing that down.

Fish Guy

Thats interesting my visits to PetSmart have been good, and the workers are always friendly.

FL CommunityFans

Our local Petsmart has turned their stuff around for the most part. They still have tons of bettas in bowls but the girl has no choice really. It's how the company keeps it 'efficient'. She knows her stuff though and gives excellent advice to folks.. making sure they have everything needed adn setup and cycled prior to buying fish. Being a chain store she's not able to refuse the sale like a mon-n-pop store could, but she definitely does her best to deter these type of sales.

Our Petland has really done a 180* now as well. The guy managing the fish department seems like a real stand up guy, and since he took over about 6 months ago I have not seen 1 dead fish in there, or sickly one for that matter.

Chain stores may not have the best habitat for their animals, god knows I would refuse to buy a dog from petland with their puppy mills hidden in secrecy(conspiracy theorists unite!) but there's not much to be done for the fish sections that I can think of. Even the mom-n-pop stores have similar setups.. they just have cleaner looking water the majority of the time. I don't think I've ever seen a betta in anything bigger than a 1 gallon bowl, in any sort of store.


Just my

drbenfield

As a veterinarian, I am not getting on the PetsMart riff. I will only say...I dislike them.

GouramiGirl1221

I don't shop at PetSmart unless absolutely necessary. One of my LFS's equipment/medication/etc. is only a tiny bit more expensive, so I'd much rather give them the little bit of extra money than go there.

Don't think that the chain stores are the only ones who keep fish in poor conditions. I went to check out a new LFS a couple months ago and counted 12 tanks with ick, and I wasn't looking very hard, so there were probably more than that. Needless to say I quickly left.

fishyuser63

I agree. I've been to a few small pet stores that had conditions worse than any chain store I've seen. It's sad, but I just don't buy fish from those places. I've found that there's no use trying to tell someone that the conditions of their tanks are terrible. It's usually pretty obvious and complaints usually fall on def ears. Sad

Tavel

you wouldn't happen to work at the banfield, now would you? My girlfriend is a nurse at one around here.

As for the whole "chain stores = evil"...it really depends on the people there. I think that the best way to make money is through customer satisfaction. Keep healthy fish and give good advice, people come back.

People are going to give up on fish keeping if their fish always die...but if their fish live, maybe they'll catch the MTS and buy all kinds of stuff. I hate to put it in economic terms. but face it, those places aren't keeping hundreds of fish and a warehouse full of goods just for giggles.

One time I was buying a 10 gallon aquarium for my little sister, and decided to also purchase some new fish for myself...the girl almost freaked out on me because she thought i was buying a bunch of fish for a tank that was still in the shopping cart. lol.

URFisher35

when i first was starting out, the guy at my local petco said a rainbow shark would be more than happy in a 2.5gallon "just as long as he has enough room to turn around." i bought one as a baby...about an inch long, as i was told he wouldn't get much bigger. as soon as I read this site...I was horrified!

agabr123

As posted in another thread, I live in Virginia in the Hampton Roads area and since quite recently picking up on fishkeepeing, I've been to just about every store in the area that sells fish. Unfortunately, there really isn't an LFS that is close to me, and some people would never be able to keep fish if it weren't for Petsmart. I have found that the quality of the advice as well as the condition of the fish almost entirely depends on who is working. I've gotten to know very well at a local All Pet who I can trust and who I can't. For the first time in a chain store (the All Pet) one of the guys that I CAN trust was telling a woman who had come in with her husband and kids that they would have to cycle the tank first, and explained what the cycle was. I was incredibly impressed (although ALL employees should know and give this information, I've certainly never heard it before), and had to speak to him afterwards about a few things so I made a comment, and he told me basically to only come during the evening, because that is when he and the manager, who also is fairly knowledgeable about fish, work.

It takes a little extra work, and I say this with the caveat that I already know about the cycle and now also have a pretty good idea of what fish can fit into the size tanks that I have.

Also, it depends entirely on what you get and if you know what most major diseases are and what they look like, I purchased three guppies from Petsmart for my 10 gallon and they are doing wonderfully.

Having said all that, I still agree to a very large degree that people need to know what they are selling. You wouldn't buy wood at an electronics store, because none of the employees would be able to tell you about it. That's largely how I feel about this. And honestly, most people (not all, but most), actually ask the right questions in a roundabout way. (Is this enough space for him? Can I just put him in right away? Etc.) And employees need to be able to answer them correctly, and set an example by keeping their fish in the proper manner.

drbenfield

I can happily say I do NOT work at Banfield, The Pet Hospital anywhere. I have also seen some pretty sad local pet shop disasters. I am in a private practice and I agree with Tavel...you just have to shop around. If the owners care, it will show in their merchandise, live or otherwise.

URFisher35

i just got back from a new LFS i was trying out. a sign was posted on the large tank of comet goldfish. "goldfish aren't meant for living in a bowl. get a betta for that" i immediately made a complaint to the manager. i then noticed bettas were stacked in little cups so their air holes were covered. i then unstacked every betta on the rack...only to get yelled at by the manager. i just walked out. needless to say i'll never go back there again

Red1313

can't blame you for that.