Bad fish treatment in stores

So zcpetty mentioned about making this a thread, thought it would be interesting so here it is. I'll start out with saying I was able to save a betta from Walmart a few months ago. He was in a container that was cracked and they used tape, yes the packing tape, to 'fix' it. He had barely any water and was sad. A few days later I took him to my LFS and gave them him. Glad to say they will make more money then Walmart. That being said I do like that they have Tetra products there and would buy them. Other problems I see are mislabeling at fish stores and selling balloon fish. As well as giving bad advice, I've seen a store progressively let their puffers get ich, on week on had, next week one had, the week after that, every one had it... So share your stories of what your fish stores or general stores do wrong. This could be vary helpful in learning for us all what not to do.

 

Fiddler crabs in freshwater with no way to get out of the tank. I've gently suggested they either set up a crabitat or at least put a turtle dock in the tank, but they keep on selling waterlogged crabs.

Too bad because they're nice people otherwise.

 

First off.... this thread is such a good thread honestly!!!! love it!!

my LFS is horrible! (yelling omg (>o--o)> ) they just let there fish die all the time, might as well be considered fishy abuse lol. but seriously when they have a fish such as an Oscar (not huge yet) that's sick they just look at it and are like "yea hes good 100% great nothings wrong here"
next day I look at it... half the Oscar is missing and hes dead. (just kidding) but hes like horribly discolored like omg take better care of your fish I swear FDA

 

I just wanted to point out that by buying fish (be it betta or whatever) from Walmart or other poorly kept stores, you're not rescuing them - you're buying them, and encouraging the store to replace them with another fish.

 

Fiddler crabs in freshwater with no way to get out of the tank. I've gently suggested they either set up a crabitat or at least put a turtle dock in the tank, but they keep on selling waterlogged crabs.

Too bad because they're nice people otherwise.

Omg my aquatics specialist at work is constantly ordering and selling crabs to people in community tanks. When I took over the ordering that was the first thing to become what I call a Special Order Request Only. Same with clown loaches, common plecos and Bala sharks. I can't realistically verify that every Special Order is going into a proper habitat but just taking the ability to impulsively buy them on the spot helps.

Btw, I see nothing wrong with using tape to repair a cup. The company that sends the Bettas don't ever send spare cups. At least, ours doesn't. If I have a spare, it's because someone else died. But then Walmart never puts much water in their cups. And then my Walmart stacks them so they can't get fresh air. I can't even.

 

I just wanted to point out that by buying fish (be it betta or whatever) from Walmart or other poorly kept stores, you're not rescuing them - you're buying them, and encouraging the store to replace them with another fish.

that's true

 

I know that it's really only supporting them, but it was only a one time thing and Id usually never do that. Thanks for telling me though. I was going to report it, but they asked for a phone number and address(why would you need that for a complaint?) and figured they would just have sold my information so I didn't report it. The reason for me being upset about the tape is for 1. It's Walmart, their fish will more than likely die and they should have an extra cup.
2. It's Walmart, they have containers, vases, anything everywhere, they even have bowls.
3. His water was just enough for him to be upright.(sorry, just hate Walmart... They should not have pets of any kind) It just annoys me that they do that when they have hundreds of containers. But hey, they'd sell you a poisoned dog if they knew you'd come back and buy another one. I've seen them stack probably 20ish fish together, two containers, one on top for probably three or four rows
That's nice that your store has a special order for the 'cooler' fish. I've tried to special order at Petco, never came in... I enjoy hearing that your store is responsible! FreshAquariums, maybe call a shelter or someone who's in charge of animal cruelty, I've learned that it's illegal to miss treat fish. I can't believe they did that, poor Oscar. maggiethecat, that's just plain bad... Why would they put them into freshwater when they are saltwater? Kind of like the freshwater flounder who need brackish water instead...

 

I know that it's really only supporting them, but it was only a one time thing and Id usually never do that. Thanks for telling me though. I was going to report it, but they asked for a phone number and address(why would you need that for a complaint?) and figured they would just have sold my information so I didn't report it. The reason for me being upset about the tape is for 1. It's Walmart, their fish will more than likely die and they should have an extra cup.
2. It's Walmart, they have containers, vases, anything everywhere, they even have bowls.
3. His water was just enough for him to be upright.(sorry, just hate Walmart... They should not have pets of any kind) It just annoys me that they do that when they have hundreds of containers. But hey, they'd sell you a poisoned dog if they knew you'd come back and buy another one.
That's nice that your store has a special order for the 'cooler' fish. I've tried to special order at Petco, never came in... I enjoy hearing that your store is responsible! @, maybe call a shelter or someone who's in charge of animal cruelty, I've learned that it's illegal to miss treat fish. I can't believe they did that, poor Oscar.

I was at there store once and they had another Oscar with one fin stuck to his body... crI

 

I was at there store once and they had another Oscar with one fin stuck to his body... crI

He only had one fin? Or literally had one stuck too him? Wow... Just sad, just sad...

 

He only had one fin? Or literally had one stuck too him? Wow... Just sad, just sad...

(this isn't sarcasm->) you know how fish have 2 regular fins to swim right, well his right fin was stuck against his body and his left fin was regular. but like... how does your fin get stuck against your body... idk but I don't wanna know cause its sad a bit. but I'm more angry for them not doing anything about it

 

(this isn't sarcasm->) you know how fish have 2 regular fins to swim right, well his right fin was stuck against his body and his left fin was regular. but like... how does your fin get stuck against your body... idk but I don't wanna know cause its sad a bit. but I'm more angry for them not doing anything about it

No kidding, I'd be mad too...

 

Fish can get injured during transport. It wasn't necessarily the store's fault.

 

Fish can get injured during transport. It wasn't necessarily the store's fault.

That is true, but them saying ones a 100% fine and it isn't... Well I haven't been there, but some stores I wouldn't put it past them not caring.

 

So zcpetty mentioned about making this a thread, thought it would be interesting so here it is. I'll start out with saying I was able to save a betta from Walmart a few months ago. He was in a container that was cracked and they used tape, yes the packing tape, to 'fix' it. He had barely any water and was sad. A few days later I took him to my LFS and gave them him. Glad to say they will make more money then Walmart. That being said I do like that they have Tetra products there and would buy them. Other problems I see are mislabeling at fish stores and selling balloon fish. As well as giving bad advice, I've seen a store progressively let their puffers get ich, on week on had, next week one had, the week after that, every one had it... So share your stories of what your fish stores or general stores do wrong. This could be vary helpful in learning for us all what not to do.

Thanks for the tag! As I mentioned before I have a petpeev about the red tail cats that they sell as babies. This fish should not be put in a tank unless its a professional massive tank! I see them all the time in petshops where they were returned because they got too big. They belong in their native river! Watch river monsters! He accidentally catches these giant red tails constantly. They get huge! This applies to several species of fish especially cats!

 

That's such a huge and pretty fish omg! And what a large fish tank, wish I could afford that lol

 

That's such a huge and pretty fish omg! And what a large fish tank, wish I could afford that lol

That's at tropical world pets in STL MO. They are awesome!

 

I am lucky to have pretty decent petland and petco nearby and a couple more individually owned in the closest big city.

 

I am lucky to have pretty decent petland and petco nearby and a couple more individually owned in the closest big city.

my petsmart carrriest the best fish ever, wanna know the biggest seller they have? (in the petsmart near me) tfreema

 

I live in Fenton MO so I have 2 Petcos, a big petsmart, and Tropical World Pets within 25 mile radius

 

So lucky! T-T

 

I window shop a lot. TWP gave me a basic set up plan but idk if it will work. 20 gal long tank(my pref) 30 gal HOB, some live rock, and dry argonite(sp?) sand. They said that will work to make a simple tank.. But I feel salt tanks are more complicates than that..

 

Something my local LFS has started to do is put a single male Betta in most of its tanks that contain safe fish such as small tetras, guppies, platies, sword tails, rasboras, etc. The new manager explained they have better success selling the Bettas when customers can see them swimming around with correct lighting. I'm sure the Bettas are happier. Still, when they get a new shipment of Bettas many remain in small glass cups with lids.

I raise Bettas and when I sell one, unless the customer is well known to me and/or can prove they know what they are doing, I only sell them with a minimum 2.5 gallon tank and printed out instructions on how to care for the guys. So far I have a steady base of return customers and most classes in the nearby elementary schools all have at least one or two Bettas as class mascots. Good for you saving the little critter from the evil Walmart.

 

Something my local LFS has started to do is put a single male Betta in most of its tanks that contain safe fish such as small tetras, guppies, platies, sword tails, rasboras, etc. The new manager explained they have better success selling the Bettas when customers can see them swimming around with correct lighting. I'm sure the Bettas are happier. Still, when they get a new shipment of Bettas many remain in small glass cups with lids.

I raise Bettas and when I sell one, unless the customer is well known to me and/or can prove they know what they are doing, I only sell them with a minimum 2.5 gallon tank and printed out instructions on how to care for the guys. So far I have a steady base of return customers and most classes in the nearby elementary schools all have at least one or two Bettas as class mascots. Good for you saving the little critter from the evil Walmart.

Kmart was the worst. Put in TINY vases with old water and a GIANT fake plant. And you see where people ditched them on random shelves and met their fate because no one knew they were there to care for them

 

Thanks for the tag! As I mentioned before I have a petpeev about the red tail cats that they sell as babies. This fish should not be put in a tank unless its a professional massive tank! I see them all the time in petshops where they were returned because they got too big. They belong in their native river! Watch river monsters! He accidentally catches these giant red tails constantly. They get huge! This applies to several species of fish especially cats!

No problem! Your the one that gave me the idea and you wanted to know if I made it, so here you go! I know, they are one of my favourite fish, but it's just cruel to sell them. They really should be kept in their wild habitat unless you have one of those huge aquariums that they need.

I am lucky to have pretty decent petland and petco nearby and a couple more individually owned in the closest big city.

I've been pretty lucky as well, most fish stores near me are alright. Glad you have good ones!

Something my local LFS has started to do is put a single male Betta in most of its tanks that contain safe fish such as small tetras, guppies, platies, sword tails, rasboras, etc. The new manager explained they have better success selling the Bettas when customers can see them swimming around with correct lighting. I'm sure the Bettas are happier. Still, when they get a new shipment of Bettas many remain in small glass cups with lids.

I raise Bettas and when I sell one, unless the customer is well known to me and/or can prove they know what they are doing, I only sell them with a minimum 2.5 gallon tank and printed out instructions on how to care for the guys. So far I have a steady base of return customers and most classes in the nearby elementary schools all have at least one or two Bettas as class mascots. Good for you saving the little critter from the evil Walmart.

Kmart was the worst. Put in TINY vases with old water and a GIANT fake plant. And you see where people ditched them on random shelves and met their fate because no one knew they were there to care for them

I didn't even know they put them in glass(seems a bit dangerous with little ones seeing 'oh fishy! Let me hold!') that's horrible that people ditch them around. I didn't think of people doing that, I bet it happens a lot. At least the store is letting them swim around, it would be nice if they only ordered as many as they could give proper homes. Even if it's temporary. I'm glad that you are so responsible with your bettas and the response you have received is great! And that you require the knowledge or give them the knowledge. Kudos to you and thanks, I normally wouldn't do it since it does support them, but this just wasn't ok...

 

I just wanted to point out that by buying fish (be it betta or whatever) from Walmart or other poorly kept stores, you're not rescuing them - you're buying them, and encouraging the store to replace them with another fish.

Unfortunately, its a double sided sword in that situation.

 

Walmart likes to stock tons of pictus cats and I bet many people shove them in small tanks. I almost did.. Until I read they need like 55g.. And school!

 

Why does everyone sell iridescent sharks, common plecos, clown loaches, Bala sharks, elephant noses, etc? That's what drives me nuts. Even Oscars. I don't even want to know the statistics for how few of those fish are kept properly but you can buy most of them at any major store.
There's a local store where everyone wants to dump off their monster fish. Usually Oscars. They put them in a 100 gallon drum and humanely euthanize them. And yet I can applaud that because if there wasn't a store who took in all the large ones (most of us don't have a tank to even hold them in temporarily) then they would all go into the lake. But it's still such a ridiculous loss of life because people can't be bothered to be responsible.

 

Ugh. If I only lived in a tropical location then I'd have a giant swimming pool just for unwanted fish. Especially Oscars! I love them. I wince every time I see a poorly kept fish on my local classifieds and it's usually Oscars, Goldfish and Common Plecos. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of those unwanted fish get dumped in the ocean. Just like people don't seem to realize that you can't keep Dory and Nemo in freshwater, there are probably people who think that Oscars can live in saltwater:'(

 

I didn't think about people dumping them in the ocean... People do your research! Agh... This is crazy... Another thing I forgot to bring it up, but I hate seeing blue tangs in the stores. They steal them from the ocean since they can't breed in captivity so the solution? Steal them... Grrr...

 

Yep. And they don't merely catch them, they use poison and other methods that end up killing lots of tangs as well as other species

 

I went to petco the other day and I was just looking around, and I happen over hear this:
Lady: can I make a return?

Employee: Yea sure, on what?

Lady: well I have the bag *pulls out fish bag* *dead fish inside*

Employee: what happened to him?

Lady: I put him in the fridge

Me: *uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhghghghgh*

 

I didn't think about people dumping them in the ocean... People do your research! Agh... This is crazy... Another thing I forgot to bring it up, but I hate seeing blue tangs in the stores. They steal them from the ocean since they can't breed in captivity so the solution? Steal them... Grrr...

Nemo and dory on display..

 

That tank looks dead without any live inverts. Nemo at least needs an anemone to look after!

 

I went to petco the other day and I was just looking around, and I happen over hear this:
Lady: can I make a return?

Employee: Yea sure, on what?

Lady: well I have the bag *pulls out fish bag* *dead fish inside*

Employee: what happened to him?

Lady: I put him in the fridge

Me: *uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhghghghgh*

What? Put him in the fridge? What was the fish? That's just sad...

 

I'm hoping she misunderstood the employee and was just telling him that's where she stored the already dead fish

 

What? Put him in the fridge? What was the fish? That's just sad...

I'm not sure of the fish type, but yea its sad... and doesn't that count as some kind of animal abuse people? I mean really!

 

I had a Wal-Mart employee here in Texas this afternoon try to convince me that a molly they had was an actually an Angel fish. lol

Worst part was I asked him about they're dragon fish.....and he tells me most of them are probably dead. So I ask why don't they remove them or do something about it. He flat out laughed and told me they don't have time for such minor task.

 

I had a Wal-Mart employee here in Texas this afternoon try to convince me that a molly they had was an actually an Angel fish. lol

Worst part was I asked him about they're dragon fish.....and he tells me most of them are probably dead. So I ask why don't they remove them or do something about it. He flat out laughed and told me they don't have time for such minor task.

Wow... They don't know they are dealing with fish addicts so they try to get one over us... Haha. But that's really horrible that they don't scoop them out... I wouldn't want to be there with that horrible smell since it's just a 'minor task'... I went to one of my LBS and I'll never buy fish from them since the really good fish guy has left. It had gone down hill... But they had at least 10 dead fish and a vanilla lobster in with small cichlids(cichlids where attacking it). Told the manager that they had a some dead fish in there tanks, he said "I had some scoopers here a little bit ago,(believe he said this->) I need to get them back." So what I took from that is that there had already been a ton of dead fish already and that they don't care about why they are dying... I like this store and all, I've got both my bettas from there, but I'll never buy their other fish. I also saw a 16(ish) girl with a betta and some gravel talking on the phone about how her dad let her have a fish is somebody could watch it. I imagine she doesn't already have accord tank for her betta and I'm just hoping she got a 2.5g tank, de chlorinator, and some TTS...

 

omg that sounds brutal #FIREHIMMMMMMM

 

I had a Wal-Mart employee here in Texas this afternoon try to convince me that a molly they had was an actually an Angel fish. lol

Worst part was I asked him about they're dragon fish.....and he tells me most of them are probably dead. So I ask why don't they remove them or do something about it. He flat out laughed and told me they don't have time for such minor task.

I WISH my walmart had a dragonfish.. I would drop my scary idea of a salt tank to get one of them.. Cant find them and I have 2 petcos, petsmart, and tropical world pets right by my house... Only thing similar is the larger species of bichir.. I like eely lizard type fish. Fish that look like they are sturdy..