Walmart & Bettas?

Question

I went to walmart today and was horrified by the condition the bettas were in. They had at the most a 1/2 of water in their cups and at least 2/3 of them were dead or dying. My sister and I were only going to get one betta and save $ for clothes but as soon as we saw that we were thinking screw the clothes. So we rescued 10 bettas. Then on the way home 4 bettas died do we went back and rescued 4 females and 1 male. We complained to Walmart and they gave the fish more water, but it didn't have any dechlor in it. I am happy that the fish got water but is there more I could do for them to have a better live. I don't think bettas should be kept in stupid cups anyway with the way they are treated so could I email something like and ASPCA to complain about the poor fish care? Thanks for all that answer.

Currently the females are in a 29 gallon and males in 5 gallons.

Of course the males aren't in the same tank. I have a 10 gallon w/ a tank divider and another male in a 5 gallon. The question is there anyone else I could complain to.

For everyone who thinks bettas can live in a 1 gallon or cup. Bettas live in rice paddie fields that are humongous. Here is a pic. http://www.cultureshocktherapy.com/pic/id/rice_paddy.jpg

Okay, I am NOT saying the cups themselves are 100% bad, I know that some betta breeders keep them in 1 gallon bowls, but they know what to do! I doubt many people would change 25% of the water everyday and do the other stuff betta breeders do. What I am saying is the bettas had about 1"-1 1/2" water each and the person in the fish department didn't care!!!! Our cashier got someone to fill them up, but with chlorinated water! So what I want to complain about is not the cups, but the fact they barely had enough water to lay on their sides and they fill the cups up with chlorinated water! Plus, they were getting fed not betta flakes but some sort of green pellet like I feed my algae eaters.

Answer 1

:) I had a 15gallon sorority of bettas and have 7male bettas. I love them dearly, all of them were rescues too. I even have one I found in a cup with another male, he was all torn up but is now almost fully healed and absolutely gorgeous.

there's isn't really anything you can do as far as reporting them. everyone knows how poorly walmart treats their fish, it's just a matter of caring. walmart won't change because they're "just fish" and most animal cruelty places spend their time on cases having to do with not "throw away pets." I think it's terrible the way fish are cared for an viewed. therefor I've taken matters into my own hands. it has worked well, I've improved the care the bettas receive and saved quite a few without having to bring them home.

I'd love to share with you way you can help, so if you're interested email me :)
[e-mail]

Answer 2

First of all its not just walmart that keep the fish in them small containers. I also think these fish should NOT be kept in these small containers The walmart around me keeps all the females in the tanks with the other fish and some of the males are keep in there tanks but they also have some in the cups. Which make me sick. But the 2 pet stores, I have never seen a male Betta in there tanks they always have them in them small containers. So When you or we as people can figure out what we can do. We need to do it for all the places that sell fish. I have brought a lot of fish at walmart and they do great. I have also brought at pet stores I have had very good luck with all the fish i have brought walmart or pet store. I am glad you save what Betta's you could WAY TO GO. Good Luck getting them back to health
So if your going to complain to walmart about this You really need to complain to all that sell fish. There doing noting different than the pet stores do.

Answer 3

First of all thumbs up for what you're doing
And it's great that you have the space to keep them all, and that you care that much

As for walmart, the one near me and others had to take down their fishsection because of the poor care and the many complaints they got from many many customers

As for the store keepers, I can understand their point of view, but just about 2 weeks ago or so, a guy on here made a big statement i really loved, he just opened a store and said that he wants to keep his betta's in a 16oz cup instead of these 4oz cups, I think that is a big step in the right direction, and only shows that he really cares, I think that it's great

As for bettachris, I understand his point of view, but tell me one person that starts keeping fish at home that will clean the a bowl every single day, I don't think anybody is willing to put that much effort in keeping a fish, and nobody ever said on here to have a 10 gallon as the minimum tank
In my opinion a 2.5 gallon tank filtered and heated is a great standard size as a minimum on keeping a betta
You as a petstore owner will clean the bowls or cups every day, because it's your job and you want to sell your fish, without beeing brought back because they died on the same day or a day later or?

As for joseph, it's just a myth that bettas kill every other fish, you should read up on them and look at compatibility charts for a betta, there are a bunch of them
the only things you can't do is putting male/male or femal/male together, but you can definately keep females together as well as a male or a female betta with other tropical fish, and I know that out of own experience

As for walmart, if you and others are going to complain enough, i'm sure they will have to take their fishsection down as well, just as the others had to already


Good luck
and happy fish keeping and keep up the good work


EB

Answer 4

Oh, I know, I never go over to the fish at Wal Mart because the condition is too depressing. It's not the small cups that are the problem, its the condition the water is in. It's disgusting and the poor guys don't look like they get fed or every have their water changed. My friend usually goes to Walmart to get some groceries but ends up coming hope with two bettas and two new tanks. I don't have the room or money to do this, unfortunatley. I don't really think there is anything you can do, except stop shopping at Wal Mart. :( It's sad but its the way it is there, cheap stuff, not enough care.

Answer 5

How could they do that to the poor Betta? They are so beautiful, I mean other pets stores like Petco or Pet Smart maintain their fish's tanks and everything but Walmart -eh!

I mean, a store can't do anything about the Betta's in a small cup because they can't have separate 1 gallons for them, but at least clean them! How would they like to live in their own waste in a tiny cup?

Also the people at WalMart are hired off the streets, so they
don't have experience but can't they get special fish people for that department?

Answer 6

What's really sad is that Walmart is PetSmarts number one competitor. They should lose their right to carry any type of live animal in stock based on the lack of care. But Pet land is the worst of all them. I could only stomach 2 months of work at this establishment.....stuffing dead dogs into a freezer so they could get a refund on a "defective dog" wasn't in the job description. I think it is great what you volunteered to do. You could contact www.peta.org or animalconcerns.org You can also contact the American zoo association www.aza.org , perhaps they could have some insight.

Answer 7

I have rescued two from Walmart myself. They are each happy and healthy in their own 5 gallon tanks. I think all we can do is everytime we are in the store, ask to speak to the manager and complain. If enough people do this they will either stop carrying them or take better care of them.

Answer 8

While it may not be like this at all walmarts the fact is they often don't have trained staff working in their pet departments so its hard to blame the staff when you come across such poor care and conditions for the fish. unfortuneately by BUYING the fish to rescue them you are encouraging walmart to continue to bring them in and care for them the same way. what you need to do is write a letter to your local SPCA regarding how you feel about the conditions of the fish you found and send a copy of this letter to both the manager of the store but also their local district manager at the same time mentioning that letters have gone to all three. feel free to send a copy to the local paper.
Keeping bettas isn't the problem ,knowing how to care for them is. imagine this store sending these fish home with people that are going to know even less than them on how to care for the fish. if they are going to sell them they must know how to care for them

Answer 9

I had a pet store myself,, and I can tell you that walmart should not sell livestock. They don't know how to take care of them.

Normally, a betta will live just fine in a small container, they have lived that way for centuries. Remember, they breath air off the top. So as long as they are covered, they should live, but naturally, they should have a nice full container.

Remember they are fighting fish. They will attempt to eat anytank mates they can. Also, other fish tend to nip at thier fins, which is why they do well on their own. Just make sure there is a lot of rock work in the tank so the beta can hide from fish trying to eat him and vice versa.

It is a small comfort that fish don't really suffer the way mammals do. They have very tiny brains. Still, that is no excuse. As the fish you saw were dying, they are being mistread and that isn't right.

Make sure you take the dead ones back to walmart for replacement. Get a camera phone, take picture of the tank conditions and send them to the walmart head quarters. Maybe things will improve.

Answer 10

i had a similar experience! i went in, and saw a discoloured cup. it was labeled 'female beta' and inside was a male betta and dead female! the water was disgusting! i went over to the sink to clean it out, but my partner stopped me, thinking that i might get into some kind of trouble... SO i took it to a worker, who was totally confused about my actions, and later called someone else to clean the cup. UGH! despicable! i shouldve bought the little guy- to save him- but i had already had a betta in my tank... so........ darn! i wonder if he survived. EFF walmart!