Going into my local petco, I was thankful I know the IBC standards for fish, because the "halfmoons" they were selling were at best super deltas, and mostly just deltas. I got kinda mad before I chilled out and was like, "Non of the people shopping here are breeders, they are pretty, they will get homes."
I love breeding, and sometimes I can find a gem, and I love they work and mystery of spawning out a good line.
Well I have a story too , I just got my betta a month ago as a gift so I had gone to this local pet store to buy some dechlorinator and plastic plants I was having a look at the plants and a girl was buying an aquarium when I saw the fish she was looking at they were bettas put in plastic bags which were floating in the tanks. She wanted to buy a betta but the employee told her that they are aggressive so she should take some other fish for the 20 gal she was buying and then what I saw shocked me. He shows her a plastic attachment for the tank which is roughly 6 inches by 2 inches by2 inches and has been divided into 3 parts to keep the bettas so she could keep 3 betta.i couldn't stop myself and I told that girl that bettas require larger spaces and that this is no place for any fish. Luckily she got my point but that shopkeeper was all pissed he started shouting at me and said he would call the authoroties I shouted back saying ill call animal welfare authoroties thts when he realised Im serious he simply asked me to leave and i complied but luckily that girl too left . But what shocks me is how long will any fish survive in that small cell plus they keep their bettas tied in bags for 4 days without feeding them they just put food once in 4 days and I cant do anything about it because here in india animal welfare authorities aren't that strict.
As much as I prefer Petco I am begining to realize how much they suck. This is of course after going into Petsmart today. Petsmart has a whole half an aisle for bettas. This includes several small heaters for smaller tanks. A line up of food, themomiters, and other what not that would keep a betta happy. The smaller tanks are yes below the bettas but not so easily seen. The larger tanks are around the corner as well so you can view the other tanks as well. Considering next to the bettas at Petsmart is all decorations I can see easy tempation for a bigger tank just to fit these pretty decorations in. XD
Petco? Well all I find for bettas is small tanks and food. I have never seen any small heaters, or float logs or other things for bettas at either petco.
Kinda wish I had room and knowledge to take in that black and green baby betta they had last time I was there.
Well I have a story too , I just got my betta a month ago as a gift so I had gone to this local pet store to buy some dechlorinator and plastic plants I was having a look at the plants and a girl was buying an aquarium when I saw the fish she was looking at they were bettas put in plastic bags which were floating in the tanks. She wanted to buy a betta but the employee told her that they are aggressive so she should take some other fish for the 20 gal she was buying and then what I saw shocked me. He shows her a plastic attachment for the tank which is roughly 6 inches by 2 inches by2 inches and has been divided into 3 parts to keep the bettas so she could keep 3 betta.i couldn't stop myself and I told that girl that bettas require larger spaces and that this is no place for any fish. Luckily she got my point but that shopkeeper was all pissed he started shouting at me and said he would call the authoroties I shouted back saying ill call animal welfare authoroties thts when he realised Im serious he simply asked me to leave and i complied but luckily that girl too left . But what shocks me is how long will any fish survive in that small cell plus they keep their bettas tied in bags for 4 days without feeding them they just put food once in 4 days and I cant do anything about it because here in india animal welfare authorities aren't that strict.
Sounds like a well earned fist fight. 4 days? Seriously?
yup 4 days in a plastic bag its shocking!!!... I actually wanted to shove that shopkeepers face into the 30 gal tank of an adult oscar kept there and let it get a taste of human flesh. I was all prepared to use my fists against those 3 employees but luckily I maintained my calm .
I've been to Walmart, Petco and Petsmart in my area and I've noticed that all three don't take very good care of their bettas.
Walmart - Found dead fish on multiple occasions, some obviously dead for quite a while in brown water. Their storage area for the bettas is also very bad as they are stacked on two shelves. Whenever I go in there, I rearrange the shelves so that everyone can get air and move as many to the front as I can. The last time I went in, it looked like someone had beat me to it. At least there are some kind people out there! I've purchased two red VT bettas from there. My first one got stuck in the filter and died. :( The second one, Trigg, is now in a divided 10g tank and loving it.
Petco - Actually found more sickly looking fish here than Walmart and a couple of dead ones that were actually molding! They have a much larger selection, as Walmart only has VT and occasionally CT. They have male and female as well as babies. Their displays are somewhat better as no one is stacked. They have a wooden display with dividers on an endcap and then racks on the sides that fits one row of cups each. The last couple of times that I've gone, they've also had a lot of cups stacked on the 'fish station' where they have the sink.
I got my dark blue HM, Myron and my blue/lavender/red DT, Tuffy from there. Like Trigg, they are doing great in the divided tank. They are like puppies and get all excited whenever I enter the room. So cute!
Petsmart - I've only looked once at this location, but I was horrified by the storage. It's even worse than Walmart. Tons of poor little guys shoved to the back of the second (rusty) shelf with barely enough water to cover them. They had a 2 gallon tank on the top shelf with what looked like a baby betta in it. I didn't see any dead fish, but they had so many cups stacked on the shelves that it would have taken forever to rearrange so I could look at all of them. I did find a blue/red CT that I wanted to bring home so badly. He kept looking at me with sad eyes.
The only time I've spoken with an employee of any of these places was when I purchased Tuffy and Myron at Petco. The cashier made sure I wasn't going to put the boys in the same tank without a divider because they would fight. She said that she had her betta in a heated 2 gallon tank. We chatted a little about them. She seemed to know what she was talking about.
I just wish these places would educate their employees - and hire people that actually CARE about animals and fish. I'm sure there are some who care, but they can only do so much. Education would go a long way toward stopping some of the awful things that happen in these places.
I'm sure you've seen that, but I haven't. It's like customer service. Some stores are better than others. Perhaps in your stores the employees care more or the management holds them to a certain standard. In mine, it doesn't appear to be so.
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