Betta's at Petco WAY Underweight

[LadyVictorian]

So when I went to petco to get more stuff for Hollow's recovery and everything I did what we all do. I stopped to look at the betta they had for sale. Of course unlike before i didn't expect to see what I did. I saw every single betta they had was reduced to skin and bones. Spines visible from their sides, bodies sunken in, and fish too weak to swim. They were all withering away. Not a single one of them was well feed and it made me wonder if petco feeds these fish at all. I can't imagine they feed the betta assuming they can do just fine without food for a month but if they arrive like that they won't survive and was clear they weren't from the 10 dead thin betta I counted in the cups.

[pittipuppylove]

Jeez. Makes you want to break open a bottle of food on the shelf and give them something In all honesty, I'd say something to an employee.

[Laki]

I am generally passive but when something really gets my goat I will approach an employee. Makes you sick to think the stores see bettas as dollars.

[LadyVictorian]

Originally Posted by Laki

I am generally passive but when something really gets my goat I will approach an employee. Makes you sick to think the stores see bettas as dollars.

+1 I told the employees this fish looked underweight. They removed the dead ones off the shelf and i told them they might need to be fed twice a day. I'll go back and see if any are doing better but I'm betting they don't feed at all to save money. I bet they don't even have access to fish food to give their fish.

[sainthogan]

One of my cousins worked for a petco, and she told me that they have a list of responsibilities that they are supposed to do when caring for the animals, but unfortunately, most of the people there were in it for a paycheck and didn't really give a flip about the animals, so most of the chores went undone, including feeding them. She hated that about working there, and did report them to management, but it didn't always help.

[aokashi]

the petco bettas should not be fed twice a day... they probably should be fed every other day, due to a few reasons:

1) cold water, slower metabolism
2) small cup faster ammonia build up. more food = more poop = deadly amounts of ammonia

my petco feeds theor bettas fd bloodworms. this is really sad since the babys cant eat such big foods

[rubinthebetta]

I am extremely mad now....just came here from reading the thread about that teddy tank thingamabob,so I picked a random thread with my eyes closed, hoping it would be happy but ended up here. So much for that. I feel so bad for the bettas at that store! There's too much betta fish abuse in this world....

[LadyVictorian]

There is and it's sickening. Honestly there is abuse in all the animal species i love most, betta, mice, and rats. Human beings are just an abusive race who gets off on the suffering of smaller animals and petshops shouldn't be allowed to carry any live animals unless they are specialists. (But 100% NO puppies or kittens, shelters are a better place for that sort of thing). Like have an only fish store where the fish are cared for properly and the workers are knowledgeable about them.

[betaTHE betta12]

I bought my betta from petco and they told me to feed him every 3 days. So me not being fish smart I listened and I think that's a factor in my poor fishies death :(

[betaTHE betta12]

I am definitely doing more research to care for a new fishy