Hey there
I work in a Petsmart in NC - I think our store is pretty nice; we have four "hospital" tanks with different meds, so we can keep things under control, and my manager is semi-anal about keeping up with cleaning and proper feeding. She will hold associates accountable if it's obvious we missed something in a sick-run, and she's not afraid to dose all the systems if the problem is widespread (happens sometimes after new stock arrives). Management has a lot to do with how good the fish stock is, buuuuut...
I think your stock in Alabama is probably the same as our store - some company based out of Atlanta. Our Neons have been coming in just like that - it's really upsetting, because no matter how much my manager complains, they won't do anything about it. I believe it's because they pack those Neons in the bags so tight when they ship them - they're small, but active, and I think they're stressed from ammonia burn. You put them in the tanks, loose about 1/8 the first day, 1/8 the second day, and so on for about 4 or 5 days.
Ah, the disadvantages of chain stores -even if 20 employees care, 1 person in the bureaucracy can send it all to hell