Boycott Walmart Fish

[lwstinkinsweet]

I was just at walmart and as I HATE their fish department, I always go to check on the health of the bettas and other fish. There were some golfish looking things with black orange and white speckles. They had HUGE bubbles around their eyes. They couldnt even see. I dont think it looked normal for any fish. They had bettas stacked five deep and five high on their little shelves in cups of course. two definitely had fin rot. there was green crap floating all over half of the cups. maybe two bettas were swimming. the rest were just sitting there. one was DEAD!! There were three tanks of little goldfish that were WAY OVERSTOCKED. the fish could barely swim without hitting each other. There had to be at least FIFTY fish in like five or ten gallons. OH MY GOD!! there was one tank that had two dead fish. so i hunted down the guy in pets (after ten minutes of standing in the same spot looking at one tank hoping someone would come help me) and i told him. "look there are two dead fish here there is one dead betta and two or three with major tail rot. the betta cups need to be changed they are SOOOOO dirty. And those tanks are overstocked." he just said "whatever did you need something?" i said "yeah how big do those ghost shrimp get. i am looking for something that will eat up the food my fish spit to the bottom of the tank. but i only have a two and a half gallon." he tells me "i dont know how big they get"

then i started to walk away. and i watched him as i left to see what he would do. he just freaking walked to the other side of the department and moved some dog food around. he did not do anything about the dead fish or the dirty water or the tank that the dead ones or in over the overstocked tanks. I am calling for a boycott of walmart pet departments. i am not even going to buy food or supplies there anymore. i did boycott the fish there and refused to buy those but now i am boycotting the whole darn department. but i love the rest of wallyworld.


Boycott walmart fish department. die walmart fish department die

[cheseboy]

lol, yeha well most pet stores that sell fish too or even super stores have bad salesmen that know nothing and sometimes dirty tanks with dieing fish.

Once I was at a petco looking for somthing like biospira. I ask the sales man if he has anything to cycle tanks the fishless method. The guy has to go into a back room. Then he comes out and says all you need is a conditioner, drop your fish in and they will be fine. lol he knew nothing.

It makes me sad to see a living animal suffer so much and so long

[Baby_Baby]

it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell if a tank is dirty and if there are dead fish in the tank. come on!

[euRasian32]

Go to their website, they have a complaint form. Also, write a letter to the coorporate office.

[solar-ton]

my walmart is getting better cause of me i keep telling the people there to do stuff cause i know a lot and they do it lol when im 14 they said i could work there lol so here comes the helathy fish

[Alisha]

I know, I got a betta there, and he was so sick when I got him, and he was the healthiest one there! And When I went there the other day I got so upset because I litterally watched 2 goldfish die! They were at the bottom of the tank BARELY breathing and I was like " MOM! You have to let me save this goldfish!!!" But I didn't have enough space for him, and my mom said he was too far gone to even save...it was so sad! But I agree with you! I just want to take ALL their bettas and sell them to you guys or keep them, but I can't...

[solar-ton]

dude you sound like an emotional teenager but its true they shouldnt be allowed to keep fish

[AshleytheGreat]

I was so impressed today. I went to Petsmart and all their Battas looked so good. I mean they were swimming around, Flaring at each other. Clean water. I was tempted to buy one, but i didnt. No room

[Fishfirst]

I think 3 fish out of the numbers they sell there isn't horrible. Although I like to see clean betta cups/tanks. Instead of going there and complaining then going and buying a fish to "save" it why not just not go there? lets face it, we can't do much about walmart selling fish, its just not in the cards, but we can keep tabs on the quality of their fish and the conditions they live in with a letter to the stores management asking them to do something about it. Demanding a guy to remove a dead fish and to clean betta cups isn't going to make him do it, infact if you would have said that to me and demanded it, I would have probably asked you to leave. Politeness gets you a lot farther in life, in fact working at petsmart I dictate who can replace fish for free under certain conditions. If you are very polite and take my advice, I almost always replace the fish for free or give the person their money back (even if the guarentee expired or they don't have their receipt). If they are snippy, bratty, or an (o) about it I just say there is nothing I can do (even with a reciept/dead fish/ within our guarentee).

[Imbrium]

All the petsmarts I have been in recently have been awesome. Healthy fish, and knowledgable employees. I'm really impressed with them.

[Im totally me]

Its just gets worse every day! I have seen fish over cramped, there were around 15 of them dead. Once, I got 2 fish from them, and within 2 days, they had died, and killed all the fish in my tank. They are not allowed to take care of the fish until there other joirs are done. Its just plain wrong.

They get on your nerve don't they? They like, just, heck, why should we take care of the fish, when we get paid by the Hour? Heck with you, heck with fish, I don't wanna waste my time on you. Thats how they act!

[maxpayne_lhp]

lol@ euRasian.... I have a sense of déjà vu lol
Well so pet dealers are creticized poorly ha?
In my own opinion, that varies from store to store, from ppl to ppl. Some petshops are good, others are poor. just same, some employees are good and experienced, the others are not...

[amelia]

Walmart does not pay their employees to know about the fish they deal with, or any of the products on the shelves. They pay their employees a minimal wage to stock shelves and direct people in the right direction. Walmart's fish department probably doesn't pull in enough money as it is to pay one or two people to know all about the fish and aquariums. The truth is, even if we fish lovers boycotted Walmart's fish sales, the majority of the buyers would brush our pleas and demands aside and continue to purchase fish from Walmart. After all, "Who wants to pay a lot for a deskside fish or a pet that won't live a week for their kid?".. as most would say. We can boycott and boycott all we want, but look around. Yes, petsmart's quality is good. Petco's quality is good. A lot of LFS quality is good, but their tanks are cramped as well. Not all of their fish are healthy. They all develop sickness. Even if WE boycott walmart's fish, the rest of the millions of people who buy fish from walmart and have no problem with the fish (And believe you me, a lot of those fish can make a 180 if they're put in proper conditions) won't buy our cause and will continue buying from walmart. It's a lost cause, really. A few fish lovers can picket all they want, but it's not going to do any good unless EVERYONE feels the same way.

Sorry for my negative view on the matter.. and the repitition.. and the confusion in my post.. I'm going through a lot right now and my thoughts are jumping back and forth.

[lwstinkinsweet]

I have not had a problem with the petsmart or petco near me. it was just the walmart. i was actually polite about it and the guy was hitting on me the whole time. i just told him the cups were dirty and the others were dead. it isnt necessarily his fault that he doesnt know anything about fish. it is walmarts fault for hiring unqualified people and not making it a priority. he is just doing what he is told. he was stocking dog food when i pulled him over to help me. he had to go back to doing it. i am not mad at the stock boy that i talked to because he needs a job and they gave him one and i am sure he is doing the best he can. but they should have put him in toys or something if he doesnt know anything about fish. but i think they should get the dead fish out at least because who wants to buy a fish from a tank that has three dead ones floating in it?? no one i know. he was rude before i was. i just let him know of the conditions then asked about shrimp. he was the one who ignored the dead fish.

[lwstinkinsweet]

lol my thoughts always jump around. i dont think that a boycott is really plausible. but i am very angry that the people are so rude and dont give a flying...you know...whether the fish live or not. just as long as they make their five whatever an hour to stock the shelves. it is very sad to see really. and i know it varies from walmart to walmart and from chain to chain and from lfs to lfs. but i am very angry and needed to rant about the way the fish are treated at my local wallyworld

[amelia]

Well, again.. A lot of the people walmart hires are high-school dropouts and people fresh out of high school. Honestly, very few people know what they're doing with fish.. And I'm sure that's not on their resume if they know about fish or one walmart's applications-- "do you have extensive knowledge about keeping and caring for fish?" It's hard enough to find good workers as it is.. :P I'm not arguing with you, just stating my point of view. I've always thought that walmart needs to put a qualified caretaker in charge of the fish, but honestly.. Their job would be sitting around all day, doing a few water changes every few days, and waiting an hour or so for a customer to want a fish.. I too am sickened by walmart's fish department.. Believe me I am.. But these kids that get into stocking shelves know nothing about fish and the people who help you get fish normally aren't even supposed to be working in the pet department.. They're just people that customer service sends to the pet department to dip your fish out of the aquarium. It pains me to see them bang around the other fish with their nets when catching fish, then waving the net, beating it against the sides of that plastic bag holder to get the fish out.. Normally I ask if I can get my own fish out of the aquariums and they more than gladly let me.

I do agree with you, though. Walmart's fish department conditions are horrible. I know that those fish don't come to walmart with those diseases they have--wholesalers couldn't get away with too many diseases like that. Uneducated people think dead fish floating around is no big deal and think "eh, the other fish will eat it. that's just a feeding I don't have to do." It's disappointing.. Very, very disappointing.

[lwstinkinsweet]

I agree completely. I know there is nothing we can do but it is crappy none the less and some are fine but the one here is not.

[MarkMI]

the walmart by me does not even carry bettas. They have a area for them near the counter in the fish department, but do not carry them. The Petco by me, has special little 'bowls' that they keep the bettas in, and everytime I have been in to look at what they have, the water is very clear.