Walmart's Bettas (Just Read.)

[Desi]

Originally Posted by jetajockey

If it's the same, then why isn't someone outraged that they net hundreds of thousands of fish daily to die on boat decks? The analogy just doesn't work, if a dog ate it's puppies we would be appalled, but if some guppies do it, well it's no biggie.

Here's the thing, people ARE. I have guppies, and went through having a few "batches", and it near broke my heart when Mama guppy got to a few of them. They could only get separated so fast, but most were fine.

[/QUOTE]I'm not saying fish are no more complex than plants, but they are different than mammals, and they are treated differently even by the best advocates.

But the ones you 'help' are just replaced with more that are left to die, that's the entire point. So you save one while killing 2 more, and promoting the very thing we are against. The argument that they are going to be there anyway is invalid, and this is why. Many big box stores around the country have gotten rid of their live fish sections all together, in large part due to community activism. So hit them where it hurts, in their wallet, and take a stand as a consumer.[/QUOTE]
Yep, and that's great! But there is still a majority of the other way, the way we're all here talking about. It's still going to happen, at least for now. It's the way it currently is. It'd be awesome, if they sold quickly to good homes all the time to be sold like this, but alas, we're in a broken world. There are two sides to this argument, my friend, and were obviously on opposing sides.

[/QUOTE]This is just my opinion. Saving one fish knowing that you are dooming others and perpetuating the problem is not chivalrous, it is selfish.[/QUOTE]
This made me laugh, not to be rude, sorry. But this is about so much more than feeling good about one's self. People who really care, are a little bit less shallow than that. Keep in mind, you're talking to someone who was raised in a world of rescue animals and care, a vegetarian, and someone who does what she can.

[Desi]

Smh. It's not about "chivalry".

[Surfer]

I only buy female bettas now haha. I don't know if that helps but I guess it drives the money away from males that are most desirable. Alot of people don't like the females, so even if they began to stock them more, the demand still wouldn't be big.

[Alyxx]

My best find pricewise was a ct female at Walmart for like $4. They are around $7 at the LFS and I have to special order. This Walmart betta is the momma to my current batch of fry! Usually their females suck, though. But I check for another lucky find whenever I go in. I've gotten males there before too, but none I would breed. My Walmart takes pretty good care of the bettas, in comparison to their tanks of fish and the other walmarts I've seen. And there is only one other place in town for bettas, and they only stock a few at a time. So it's not like there's much to be done in the whole boycotting arena. People want them and they almost have to get them there. Actually, I forgot about our only general pet store in town - I would much rather have people boycott them than walmarts bettas. They keep their fish in terrible conditions as well as the animals they sell. And they sell puppy mill puppies. And they had an 8 foot python in a 4 foot square wire cage for a long time, I think it died there. Then they put another in. I used to go in partly just to check on him since I could not get him.

Just remember that lots of fish and animals have it a lot worse than living in a cup for a couple weeks on a shelf. Fish that are biologically able to live in small bodies of water, and can take oxygen from the air.