New PetCo Betta Variety

 
 
Petco has another new betta variety. "Paradise Bettas". Great. If your going to advertise "Dory look a likes" at least provide the proper care requirements.
Tank size- 1/4th a gallon
Temperature- 65-72
Temperament- Community
I am banging my head against the wall about how wrong this is.
It should be
Tank size- 5+ gallons
Temperature- 78-82
Temperament- Aggressive
*Insert sarcasm here*
But hey, they're just fish, right? Anything to make money.
*Sarcasm over*
This pains me to see.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just really upset over this. But of course, nothing will change.

 

They honestly look like mustard gases, there is one at my local petco that has some fin rot - but the normal fish lady is not there so I don't think they are getting the best care anyway. You can always ask the store if they will allow you to post pamphlets there (i mean, they only stand to make more money by selling tanks, heaters, and other thing tropicals like bettas require but it might also get the bettas better care by their new owners..).

 

They are definitely PetCo's play on mustard gas. They just gave them a more appealing name. *Face Palm*
I'm buddies with the fish person at ours, hopefully I can put some pamphlets there.

 

Yes, it's terrible advice.

BUT!

At least they're doing something semi-right to try to deal with the Nemo-fish craze by pointing out actual care requirements for saltwater fish.

Gotta look on the bright side

I'm with Mcasella, you need to see about getting the right info out there for the Nemo alternatives now!

 

Wow, when Petco was impressing us they decided to destroy it. Sigh... I would write to them about this if they would respond, but they don't. I've sent them an email about how balloon mollies shouldn't be sold, did I ever hear back? Nope. The only time they responded when threatened to go to another petstore because their employee killed 7 fish. I don't mind Petco, but I hate how they don't care about you(unless you are going to their competitor) or the fish. Not to say some people that work there are completely different and do care about you and the fish/animal. I actually know one Petco had a rat, yes a rat that doesn't sell for too much, I'm oxygen for a few days. It depends on the people, but I don't like the corporation. I barely ever go there any more as I've found better places. But I have gotten two great bettas from there. This is so annoying, and how in the world does it look anything like "Dory"?

 

I would lean towards a 3+ gallon as a starter tank, as I know most people are looking for something smaller and "easy" to care for.
What does your pamphlet cover? (I know you may not have started one, but get down the basics for a couple types of fish - bettas, anything else you have that might not get as much attention..)

 

I know nothing about swordtails, so I can't help there.
People are more likely to buy FW though, so even if they say the correct requirements for SW, the bettas still get the worst of it. I always look for the worst in things though, it's one of my many flaws.

Edit: I haven't started one yet. If someone could help with the sword tail requirements I could do a Nemo and Dory one.
Edit 2: They would have been better off trying to pass off an acei chiclid(obviously a bad choice), live-bearer, or possibly a tetra. They look more similar than bettas. But I'm assuming bettas are a big seller.

 

What kind of tail type is that supposed to be? It looks like some bizzare CT/PK mix up...

 

I think they picked the target audience of the Nemo films (kids) to market fish to and since kids don't usually get expensive pets (parents tend to buy something cheap and "disposable") they opted for the cheapest fish in the store with similar colours.

I'll just go have a good cry now about the heartlessness of the corporate thought process, the blindness of the average consumer...and a few other things

 

They are 20$ though, that's the most expensive betta variety. It's just really sad. They don't care enough to actually give proper advice.

 

Aaaaaaargh.

I asked a Petco employee (one of the best fish department pet store employees Ive met), about her feelings towards the bettas living in cups at the store. This well-educated caring pet store employee cited the rice patty/fish can survive in a shallow mud puddle, and have to at times in their environment. Therefore, comparatively, the store conditions are very humane.

I dont know what to say. I respect the quality of care she supplies compare to many other employees, and I dont know how to reconcile that respect with this attitude.

Like, yes, a cup is more humane that a puddle during the most severe of droughtsthat likely does not iccur annually, however, I do not feel that humane treatment is simply marginally better than the worst case scenario. I believe that humane care is providing a living being with conditions that minimize as close to eradication as possible suffering and disease.

It's disheartening to witness this attitude perpetuated not only on a corporate level, but by the educated employees as well.

She was surprused I hadnt realized how humane the cups are for bettas after all my research. *shrieks*

I understand that a betta can tolerate worse conditions better than a tang, and the situation is still immensely frustrating.

 

A lot of people were raised on the"knowledge" that Bettas live in water-filled hoofprints. It was printed in books for heaven's sake! Nobody questioned it. It's still being repeated on the internet. You have to dig deeper to find the truth and when you don't know it's wrong why dig?

 

Is there a good source of research i can quote?

My only evidence to nay say this perspective is anecdotal. I'd love to provide people with an evidentially-supported paper or something, rather than arguing my experience against theirs (an exercise in futility).

 

Not exactly research but definitely an interesting read!

 

 

Thank you! At the very least it is an eloquent resource. I'll save it and just carry it around, and politely wave it in peoples faces.

 

Has anyone tried petitioning, calling and writing to their head office about their misinformed guidelines? I would do it but I'm in Australia, we don't have Petco where I am and I doubt their HO world listen to a nobody from down under that's never set foot in their store!

 

It's sad to see how far Petco has fallen. When I worked for them in the early 90's, and they were just breaking out of SoCal. They would only sell pet supplies and nothing alive. Each store also had a shop cat that roamed the stores.

My district and regional managers would always say "A negative experience will go 10 times farther then a positive experience. So make sure you give great accurate service!"

Now look at them today. Hire people with no experience in any department, and sell live animals with out accurate information. How the mighty have fallen in their standards.

 

I've tried emailing them before about balloon mollies, never heard back. Only heard back when threatened to go to their competitor. They just don't seem to care, at least their head quarters don't. And I don't want to get mad at the people that work their since it's not really their choice.