I think I stole a fish..lol

[strokinbyeu]

iv never had a prob with fishiv bought from wal mart. never had sick ones, or helf dead ones, and iv bought prob more than half of my stock from there. im sure conditions vary store to store and iv seen dead fish in the tank but iv also seen dead ones in the tanks at jacks, pet supplies, and petsmart to were im at its a 45 min drive minimum to get to a jacks or pet supplies. and only 15 to walmart. if i had a nice pet/fish store localy i would prob go there but theres nothing in my town anymore (left far before walmar) yea iv heard horror stories about walmart but I (knock on wood) never had a issue myself

 

[dkpate]

What a sad story!!! This is exactly why I am a sucker for bettas, because they are treated as badly as goldfish. Poor babies.
Good for you Mel!!! I hope he makes it and has a great life with you!
BTW, he looks pretty good actually! I was expecting a pic of a betta with hardly any fins.

 

[Ilikefishes]

I just don't get it. Wal-Mart employs so many workers, why can't they pay people to just take care of the fish section. I'd do it! The Wal-Mart in Hackettstown NJ has nice fish most of the time, but that's the only Wal-Mart I've been in that I can say that for. the WM in Phillipsburg, NJ, disgusts me.

 

[dkpate]

The one in the Wally World sort of close to me is terrible. I was in there one day, and there were some people were getting some feeder goldies, and the lady helping them had NO idea what she was doing. I had to tell her how to put the bag in the plastic box, and then she was going to put the fish in there with no water!!! I mean seriously, how dumb can you get? They might just be feeder fish, but that doesn't matter to me....

 

[Ilikefishes]

OMG me too! While I was browsing the WM in Phillipsburg. I heard a women helping another women with her fish. I had to step in because she was so misinformed. I told her what to get and to invest in a QT to prevent her other fish from getting sick, and helped her buy the right products for her main tank. She wanted to tip me!!!! I politely declined and wished her the best of luck.

 

[dkpate]

Good for you!!! I tried helping people once there, but they didn't want to listen to me, and scurried away. I have helped people in PetSmart save money though, on other pets beside fish too.

 

[Ilikefishes]

I applied for petco, but the online app didn't go through. I really wanna work there so that the workers can't embarass themselves anymore.

 

[mellawson]

I openly admit these pictures suck but no matter what I tried Felony would not say "cheese"



Other than his obvious dislike of the camera he seems to be happy in his new home.

 

[mellawson]

What a sad story!!! This is exactly why I am a sucker for bettas, because they are treated as badly as goldfish. Poor babies.
Good for you Mel!!! I hope he makes it and has a great life with you!
BTW, he looks pretty good actually! I was expecting a pic of a betta with hardly any fins.

At first I thought his fins were ragged on the ends but once he started swimming around I figured out they are supposed to look that way...LOL

 

[Etunes]

Actually that second pic is great. She is really pretty. Good save. The walmart near me is the same way. They had a tank packed full with goldfish and EVERY single 1 of them was dead. And the worst part about that part of the long line of tanks is there is that that is were they had the power head coming out so it was just a tornado of dead goldfish going around and around from the current.

 

[mellawson]

Actually that second pic is great. She is really pretty. Good save. The walmart near me is the same way. They had a tank packed full with goldfish and EVERY single 1 of them was dead. And the worst part about that part of the long line of tanks is there is that that is were they had the power head coming out so it was just a tornado of dead goldfish going around and around from the current.

Thank you.

Some times our walmart isn't too bad it's just painfully obvious they don't give anyone the time to take care of the tanks. Someone there must know a little something about how to do it because on occasion the tanks actually look pretty good.

 

[dkpate]

I don't think the fins are supposed to be ragged, I believe he's a veil tail. But clean and warm water will heal him up in no time!

 

[Jason7894561230]

Yeah very nice i have been following and decided to say some cheers to you. Well done i love it when complete strangers help you with things it makes the world a better and nicer place and that Betta is beautiful

 

[brian242pa]

congrats and good save!!!!

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

What some may not realize is that Walmart gets new shipments of fish every single week. Usually the dead(ish) ones you see are the ones who were either left over from the previous week or some that had a really rough shipment. I once (very recently) watched a guy picking dead fish out of the tanks and wiping down the walls. They looked great. I went back the next day, and there were dead fish all over again. So they do take care of the fish the best they can, atleast around here, considering their knowlege and resources, but there's only so much you can do when they are that crowded, not to mention the employees handling the fish often don't have much experience with them. The reason it's possible to buy healthy fish there is the amount of time the fish are there. They usually only spend a few days there before they are bought. Even throughout my predicament here, my fish all seem very happy and healthy and active, despite coming from Walmart.

I once scored on a betta at Walmart. Some nimrod had stuck two males in the same container and I bought them for the price of one. I almost thought they were mismarked girls because their fins were so short. They both made it.

EDITED:
Btw, I love that you named your betta Felony.
I stole a New Hampshire cockerel ($1.69) from L&M once and named him Larseny. I called him Lars. I had paid ($4.50) for a feather-footed bantam chick and it died before I had even left the parking lot. I went back in, and she said she'd give me a BROILER ($1.26) for HALF PRICE, after I had paid FULLY for one of their most expensive chicks. I got really mad, and I didn't want another bantam chick for fear that they were all ill, so I grabbed one of their little cockerels and left. Nobody stopped me either. :x

 

[TCool]

What some may not realize is that Walmart gets new shipments of fish every single week. Usually the dead(ish) ones you see are the ones who were either left over from the previous week or some that had a really rough shipment. I once (very recently) watched a guy picking dead fish out of the tanks and wiping down the walls. They looked great. I went back the next day, and there were dead fish all over again. So they do take care of the fish the best they can, atleast around here, considering their knowlege and resources, but there's only so much you can do when they are that crowded, not to mention the employees handling the fish often don't have much experience with them. The reason it's possible to buy healthy fish there is the amount of time the fish are there. They usually only spend a few days there before they are bought. Even throughout my predicament here, my fish all seem very happy and healthy and active, despite coming from Walmart.

I once scored on a betta at Walmart. Some nimrod had stuck two males in the same container and I bought them for the price of one. I almost thought they were mismarked girls because their fins were so short. They both made it.

I think that is exactly the point. Walmart doesn't provide proper training to take care of these fish, and if they can't keep them alive for more than a week that is a problem. Also, if they are getting a bunch of dead ones from their suppliers then that can be put on Walmart too because they have a ton of influence over their suppliers.

Don't get me wrong, I love Walmart. I think they are an incredible company who is so good due to their mastery of their supply chain (I'm a supply chain guy ). But, I think whoever made the decision to start carrying fish was like many of us were when we first started out in the hobby (thinking it took no effort to keep them alive and healthy), but their system just doesn't work well for live animals.

I've heard they are going to stop carrying fish soon. So, my guess is they figured out that it takes a little bit of effort to keep fish alive and healthy. It probably doesn't make sense to put more money into training employees, and providing all the things necessary for proper care. I'm confident Walmart could easily turn things around in this area and make some money, but Walmart is all about moving volume. I just don't think there is enough demand for that. Properly keeping and selling fish would require Walmart to stray from their core competencies which is a big no no in the business realm.

 

[mellawson]

I got Felony some tank mates 2 small cories that he has completely ignored.

 

[Etunes]

He wont bother cories but i would put atleast 3 more in with them as 2 is not enough for cories to be happy, the like to school.

 

[mellawson]

They only had the two, I'll have to hit another store it's just a 10 gallon tank do you think 5 cories and a betta will be ok? I'm a little nervous about overstocking.

 

[Etunes]

I would do 4 as a minimum. They need the numbers, trust me, it is much better that way. They will get very playful. You will be fine with 4 or 5 as they should be the only bottom dwellers you will have. The betta is not aggressive with anyone but its own kind.