My Visit To Petco

So today was the first day in many years, long enough that I could not tell you the last time I went, that I stepped foot in Petco. I was looking for plants to redo a tank and expanding my options outside of my usual LFS.

My initial thought walking in was how big the store and selection was for fish equipment compared to the nearest Petsmart, even to my LFS in some areas. The prices in some of the things they both carried were cheaper at my LFS however which was nice to know. Then I was fully reminded why I try to avoid these stores.

As I was looking at the plant cultures (the ones sold in plastic cylinders) there's always the ones that have been sitting for a while that have died and dried out, yet the shelf is fully stocked which makes me think they still intend to let them sit there for whatever reason because no one in the right mine would buy them. So I moved my attention to the smaller tissue cultures (the little cups like condiment cups) just to see and found what was surely a tissue culture but not one they could ever expect to sell. Gross picture warning



So I'm done with that isle and on my way out find some bettas they have for sale. They were all in the usual small plastic cups, however these were listed as babies with clear instructions on the lid about weekly water changes and specific food, etc. Things I'm sure the employees did not adhere to. In the typical fashion of these stores these baby bettas were laying in dirty water, one of which appeared to be suffering ammonia burns on their gills and another lay motionless and slightly sideways on the bottom until I tried to pick them up. They were all so cute and beautifully colored I felt sad to leave them.

 

that's so sad
but for the plant culture it looks like they ripped up grass from the lawn right??? what is that supposed to be even?
You should email corporate and tell them what's up and how it made you feel

 

that's so sad
but for the plant culture it looks like they ripped up grass from the lawn right??? what is that supposed to be even?
You should email corporate and tell them what's up and how it made you feel

I think the seal on the cup had been compromised and the jelly inside the cup began to mold. No joke I stared at it for a long minute thinking "wow that's cool these little rocks are growing grass" then I realized.. honestly I'm surprised the plant was still the least bit alive looking. I may end up going back today for some lily bulbs and will probably say something to the employees about the plants but the baby bettas bummed me out the most and I don't think they'd care to do much different with them.. if I had the space I'd buy the 7 of them and grow them out. I didn't even know they sold babies like that it just seems kind wrong to the fish putting them through that at that age.

 

I can't believe bettas are still sold in cups in America! Here they're always in tanks with other fish or on their own in smaller tanks if they're fancier/aggressive.

 

Petsmart and petco have got to stop that is just wrong they can't do that to those fish if they can't keep them then don't try if you have emploies that know their stuff then mabye a few I am sick of this my own baby betta Frosty who is a female had just a tiney bit of color when I bought her now she is completly blue (sorry for the rant)

 

That mold is gross (and possibly a health hazard)!
I always hate to see the betas in those tiny cups! Not only is it cruel, it also gives uninformed customers the impression that betta fish can live in teeny tiny unheated unfiltered "tanks"! I hear so many people say they keep betta in vases and minI fish bowls... my friends kept 2 in those critter keeper plastic things with a divider between them so each fish had 5"x6"x8" at most! I had discussed it several times with them!!! Unsurprisingly the fish died
Wal-Mart the other day had betta in the cups with yellow water they were in the back corner kinda hidden... out of site out of mind I guess.

 

That's strange. My petco has a large selection of plants and they are all submerged in a huge tank. They do sell bettas in cups but they aren't that gross. The selection varies by store. I guess

 

That mold is gross (and possibly a health hazard)!
I always hate to see the betas in those tiny cups! Not only is it cruel, it also gives uninformed customers the impression that betta fish can live in teeny tiny unheated unfiltered "tanks"! I hear so many people say they keep betta in vases and minI fish bowls... my friends kept 2 in those critter keeper plastic things with a divider between them so each fish had 5"x6"x8" at most! I had discussed it several times with them!!! Unsurprisingly the fish died
Wal-Mart the other day had betta in the cups with yellow water they were in the back corner kinda hidden... out of site out of mind I guess.

Took my wife to the doctor a few weeks ago & the girl running the front desk had a betta in a vase about the size of 2 of those cups stacked together with no heater, filter, substrate, nothing. It was really hard not to say something.

 

Petsmart and petco have got to stop that is just wrong they can't do that to those fish if they can't keep them then don't try if you have emploies that know their stuff then mabye a few I am sick of this my own baby betta Frosty who is a female had just a tiney bit of color when I bought her now she is completly blue (sorry for the rant)

Hey this is the place for it! Haha. Like I said I wish I could snag all 7 and just rehome them but I can't say I could give them a better home while they wait, I just don't have room..

 

That mold is gross (and possibly a health hazard)!
I always hate to see the betas in those tiny cups! Not only is it cruel, it also gives uninformed customers the impression that betta fish can live in teeny tiny unheated unfiltered "tanks"! I hear so many people say they keep betta in vases and minI fish bowls... my friends kept 2 in those critter keeper plastic things with a divider between them so each fish had 5"x6"x8" at most! I had discussed it several times with them!!! Unsurprisingly the fish died
Wal-Mart the other day had betta in the cups with yellow water they were in the back corner kinda hidden... out of site out of mind I guess.

I totally agree! Its misinformation on the shelf before the employee has a chance to do it themselves.. thankfully my walmarts around me don't sell fish but there's no way I'd trust the employees for proper information let alone care. Petco and Petsmart are bad enough, Walmart I could simply not imagine.

 

That's strange. My petco has a large selection of plants and they are all submerged in a huge tank. They do sell bettas in cups but they aren't that gross. The selection varies by store. I guess

Absolutely. I feel like 1 good employee is all it takes to do those extra things and make the difference but they're hard to find. Stores like that just need bodies on the payroll to take care of the customers, they don't all care for the animals.

 

I think the seal on the cup had been compromised and the jelly inside the cup began to mold. No joke I stared at it for a long minute thinking "wow that's cool these little rocks are growing grass" then I realized.. honestly I'm surprised the plant was still the least bit alive looking. I may end up going back today for some lily bulbs and will probably say something to the employees about the plants but the baby bettas bummed me out the most and I don't think they'd care to do much different with them.. if I had the space I'd buy the 7 of them and grow them out. I didn't even know they sold babies like that it just seems kind wrong to the fish putting them through that at that age.

I wish there was a reaction that just said “yikes”
The stress strikes on the blue green one makes me sad. I don’t let myself look at bettas in cups anymore in person it makes me too sad

 

Honestly the petco in my area is very nice compared to others. Betta are not in a small cup and each one has a tank, at least 3 gallons each. they have multiple tanks dedicated to just plants, submerged, and a nice variety of fish, both fresh and salt.

I don’t know if it’s just my petco or a good worker but i’m very pleased.