Hello everyone, 
I've been reading this board for a few weeks now and really like all the info! I have two VT male bettas and would love to get some HM and CTs. So far I haven't been able to find any locally and I hate the idea of shipping them.
Anyhoo I thought I might share some info for those of you who keep getting upset about your local lfs. I happen to work for Petsmart. I have worked for them for almost 6 years now. I have worked in two different stores, one in Florida, and my current one in Texas. At both stores the care and wellbeing of the animals including the bettas was/is always #1 priority. Now I know that this isn't the case at every store.
What makes the difference is wether the manager of that dept cares and knows what they are doing. Some stores have great employees, some don't. It can be really challenging to get good help when you don't pay crap (and retail always pays crap). My experience is that the really good people stay because they enjoy their job and care about the animals unfortunately they are few and far between.
That said, Petsmart as a company is really strict about the care of animals in their stores. If you see a problem at a store near you here is what I reccomend doing:
#1) Bring the problem to an employees attention, and try to politely educatue them.
#2) Talk to a manager, preferably the department mgr, or store manager.
#3) If none of the above helps then call or email corporate headquarters in Pheonix AZ. I can promise you they will care!
I am also happy to report that all the new stores being built have smaller (1-2gall) betta tanks built in to the main fish system, so no more little cups!
Also for those who think that only mass chains neglect bettas, I went across town to a specailty fish store to see if they had any non-VT bettas. They had row after row of beautiful saltwater and freshwater tanks. They also had about a dozen VT bettas in tiny little cups. All of them had severe fin rot, and at least half of them were dead. I was more than a little pissed....
I've been reading this board for a few weeks now and really like all the info! I have two VT male bettas and would love to get some HM and CTs. So far I haven't been able to find any locally and I hate the idea of shipping them.
Anyhoo I thought I might share some info for those of you who keep getting upset about your local lfs. I happen to work for Petsmart. I have worked for them for almost 6 years now. I have worked in two different stores, one in Florida, and my current one in Texas. At both stores the care and wellbeing of the animals including the bettas was/is always #1 priority. Now I know that this isn't the case at every store.
What makes the difference is wether the manager of that dept cares and knows what they are doing. Some stores have great employees, some don't. It can be really challenging to get good help when you don't pay crap (and retail always pays crap). My experience is that the really good people stay because they enjoy their job and care about the animals unfortunately they are few and far between.
That said, Petsmart as a company is really strict about the care of animals in their stores. If you see a problem at a store near you here is what I reccomend doing:
#1) Bring the problem to an employees attention, and try to politely educatue them.
#2) Talk to a manager, preferably the department mgr, or store manager.
#3) If none of the above helps then call or email corporate headquarters in Pheonix AZ. I can promise you they will care!
I am also happy to report that all the new stores being built have smaller (1-2gall) betta tanks built in to the main fish system, so no more little cups!
Also for those who think that only mass chains neglect bettas, I went across town to a specailty fish store to see if they had any non-VT bettas. They had row after row of beautiful saltwater and freshwater tanks. They also had about a dozen VT bettas in tiny little cups. All of them had severe fin rot, and at least half of them were dead. I was more than a little pissed....
