[Aus]

I am so, so happy to be able to say that my LFS has seen the light, and has improved conditions for their bettas.

Formerly, it was much like the nasty Walmart scenario - rows upon 6-deep rows of fish stuffed in tiny cups, all half dead, some really dead, all the cups dirty... it was abysmal, considering this is the biggest aquarium store in my area. Just disgusting, so much so that on our next-to-last visit, Daughter cried.. I went totally ballistic at them, for that. Buying a pet should NOT be a traumatic experience for a child! Daughter gave them a serve, as well, she was so upset. :-?

Anyhow, I haven't been back there in quite some time - I didn't want to give them my money unless I realllllly had to. I needed some shrimp, so off I went..

And I find all the manky rows of sick bettas gone! In thier place is ONE fish per shelf space, none stuffed behind it. Bigger jars, at least double the amount of water, and each fish has a little plant in with it. CLEAN water! Omg. :-D

I made sure to compliment both the staff working out back with the tanks, and the manager, for the improvement. Daughter said to them, "Oh it's SO much nicer now your shop isn't full of pathetic, dead fish! It doesn't make me sick anymore!" lol...

There's still a few finrotty-looking fellows in there, but I'm assuming they're old stock. The new fish are all sleek-looking and healthy. So much so, I actually bought one, after swearing to never buy a fish from there again.

I really hope they keep this standard up. My next 'suggestion' to them is to NOT include a 'free fish' with the nasty 1 liter heart-shaped tank... no room for a heater.. death traps for fish. But one step at a time, I guess!

 

[lvandert]

Yay!!!

 

[MollyJean]

That's awesome, one point for betta-fish-kind!

 

[SamJustice]

cool.

Where's this at?
If I'm close enough I want to get one from there. ...

 

[Hopeseeker]

That's Awesome!!!!
My local Petco is having really bad luck with their fish, as of late. A couple weeks ago, I was doing my usual browsing and found tons of dead, almost dead, alive but fungus covered bettas. Even asked to talk to a manager. Last few times I went there and they have almost no bettas, even overheard a gal talking to a higher up about most bettas died on her weekend. It used to have a large variety of pretty healthy fishies.....not getting anything live from the fish dept until it improves.

 

[Sheldon31]

Well done! Think of all the bettas you've saved from that awful treatment and give yourself a massive pat on the back and how cute is that of your daughter! One shop at a time

 

[ZubinBetta]

Joy to the fishes! If you get an opportunity, Aus, you might ask at your LFS some time why they changed--and then (please) share with us what was the precipitating cause. No doubt you and your daughter made a strong impression, but I have a hard time believing that a little girl's tears would move cold hearts--if they are cold--to effect real change that doesn't get reflected in the "bottom line." Perhaps this is my bias. Maybe they realized it would be more profitable, as well as humane, to house the bettas as they do now. Whatever the reason(s), it might be worthwhile digging a little deeper and uncovering what you can about those reason(s). (No one will kick you out of the store for asking.) I'm inclined to think it would take more than one customer and possibly quite a few, to convince them that what they are doing is wrong. But it is comforting to know that each of us can do something about the deplorable conditions of our fishy friends, without having to give up our lives and become crusaders. (On the other hand, it's a good thing there are crusaders!)

 

[Alcemistnv]

That's awesome.

Luckily for me, our Petsmart has good, taken care of fish, and I never have a problem going there. Our Walmart is also okay, surprisingly. I myself get little panic attacks and sick if I see dead fish, not including my own. Going to the pet store and seeing dead fish everywhere traumatized me when I was young, and it still bothers me.

But I enjoy knowing that my Walmart and Petsmart are okay xD

But I'm happy to know that your LFS is being productive and making everything better for the fishies!!!!

 

[LittleBettaFish]

I was there the other day and while the jars were bigger the fish still looked pretty unhappy. I really wish they would scrap that whole system and use a barracks, I mean they custom build tanks on site so it's not an impossible task.

I don't know why they persist with blue and red VT and CTs. No one wants them. They used to get in nice stock and then just let them run right down so you ended up having to pay $50 for a half-dead betta. There is a definite market here for fancy, show-quality bettas as is evident by Jodi-Lea's business. But only a couple suppliers in Melbourne seem to realise that.

I wish stores would realise that in a Melbourne winter you really need to house your bettas somewhere consistently warm or else you end up with lethargic and diseased stock.

 

[Jessicatm137]

Hooray!!!

 

[Bombalurina]

From the mouths of babes.

Most of the shops here are using barracks - our local Petbarn is even housing some of the fish in with the peaceful community fish. I don't understand how Sydney isn't doing this too.

Of course, expecting some of the Pets' Paradise shops to change is like expecting a rat to turn his nose up at a slice of cheese.

 

[Cargo]

Tell it to my local PetSmart...

 

[TheCheese909]

That's great to hear. My LFS, Elliot's, keeps their Bettas in cups smaller then the Walmart & PetSmart cups. They are basically shot glasses (just barely larger) and only hold enough room for the fish to fit. The poor guys (and girls) have to keep their nose pointing up or pointing down to fit all the way in there. They even charge you extra if you want to take them home in the cups!
They used to keep their Bettas in their own tanks but now they have them in these depressingly small cups.

 

[aqua001]

Woohoo! My walmart actually has some knowledge and they keep 1 betta per a 10 gallon planted tank, heated filtered and clean with 7 or 8 friendly neon tetras. They do better than my LPS! (crowded tanks, bare except a rock, dead fish floating around etc).

 

[Aus]

Thanks all - it was only a little improvement. But it was one! Not up to par yet as LBF points out:

I was there the other day and while the jars were bigger the fish still looked pretty unhappy. I really wish they would scrap that whole system and use a barracks, I mean they custom build tanks on site so it's not an impossible task.

I don't know why they persist with blue and red VT and CTs. No one wants them. They used to get in nice stock and then just let them run right down so you ended up having to pay $50 for a half-dead betta. There is a definite market here for fancy, show-quality bettas as is evident by Jodi-Lea's business. But only a couple suppliers in Melbourne seem to realise that.

I wish stores would realise that in a Melbourne winter you really need to house your bettas somewhere consistently warm or else you end up with lethargic and diseased stock.

I wholly agree with this... but I have the feeling whoever was looking out for the fish out back may have left (or been sacked, and rightfully so..!) as all the other tanks appeared to show improvement as well, no more dozen dead fish per tank, etc.. So hopefully, somebody a bit more personable's there to talk to. The main guy out back was .. well, hardly approachable, I hope he's not still there...

I see this as a very small victory for all the people, including myself and Daughter, who've made complaints to the staff and in the business' online reviews... very few of which were positive. Small, but it's a start? Just the fact that there's probably 30 less bettas dying in cups, and a little more water that's actually clean.. I think that's something to celebrate.

I'm of course still unhappy with the fact they are selling tropical fish in small jars of cold water, and offering those tiny death-tanks with 'free fish'..

But perhaps given that they made this shift upward in betta care, they might in time come around to even more improvements. And yes, the fact they build tanks but haven't provided barracks.. it's pretty shameful, considering the big tank they were building in the middle costs upward of 50 grand...

I'm sending a written letter to management pretty soon, re the barracks, and better heating, and perhaps free fish with --bigger, heated-- tanks..

 

[inareverie85]

Any improvement for the sake of some of the most mistreated fish in the business is a very good thing

Sadly, things at my local Petco have gone downhill. They lost one of their workers in the aquatics department, the one that changed the betta water more often. Now when I go, there are tons of fish half-dead or dead, and some of the cups have water so dirty that it is BROWN. I used to like browsing Petco, and on occasion Id find some really pretty fish, but I don't know that I want to give them my business anymore. Lately I've been buying fish from breeders and having a great experience.

 

[TheCheese909]

Several of my local PetCo employees know me very well. Whenever I come in they know i'm there for the Bettas. Any sick fish I find or anyone who needs their water changed i'll take and place by their sink and then get someone to care for them. They always take care of them right away and the store has gotten alot better as of lately. I'm not finding as many dead in cups as i used to, it's still sad, but they are typically carrying around 50 Bettas at a time and on average I find 6 who need their water changed and maybe one or two who didn't make it. Nothing like before where I used to find 15+ who needed their water changed and about 7 on average who were dead.