I did a good deed.

[BettaMomma]

I was in WM today checking out the females. (female BETTAS)

I overheard a couple of girls talking about their betta that had just died. They were there to pick out a new one. She was looking at a really, REALLY pretty white one with just one tiny blue spot on his fin. Anyway... I asked her how long she had her betta that died. She said only a couple of days. I asked her what kind of tank she had him in, and it was of course just a 1 gallon fish bowl.

Anyway, she asked me how to pick one out. I explained to her that for someone like her, she should look for one that's active, doesn't have any cottony crap on it and has nice flowing fins. She took the white one - and before she left, she asked me if I had any way of knowing why her fish might have died. She said she dumped the water in and then dumped the fish in and he just kinda sat there. I asked her if she had added dechlor, and she said she didn't even know she had to! eek! I got her a bottle of it and sent her on her way

 

[littlefishie]

I do that all the time in WalMart.. 1 gallon fish bowls aren't so bad, I use them.. but I don't have room for more 2.5g tanks.

It kills me when they're like 'I'm getting this 5g hex tank for my betta!' ..which you would think is good.

But then they go..

"And I'm going to add 5 neons and an oscar in with it!"

..That's when I freak out.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yep, know what you mean.
I told a couple the other day that they should probably get something a TAD bit bigger than one of those divided betta keepers for the (3) two-inch goldfish they had in the bag ready to go home.

Apparently the idiot who bagged the fish for them offered them no info on goldfish keeping.

Uugh.

And I have Six and Lucky in 1G tanks.
One day they'll be upgraded but they seem to be perfectly happy and content right where they are for now It's a heckuva lot bigger than the cups they came home in!

 

[Dorkhedeos]

nice

 

[RandomWiktor]

I told a couple the other day that they should probably get something a TAD bit bigger than one of those divided betta keepers for the (3) two-inch goldfish they had in the bag ready to go home.

This seriously makes me foam-at-the-mouth angry. Why is it that people will usually look into things like adult size, needed space, etc. fot just about every other animal on the face of the planet but fish?! Are they not animals as well?
Those goldfish will be dead in days from ammonia poisoning; my mom's one inch goldfish almost got it in a 5 gallon tank, and that was with filtration and frequent water changes.
I can't believe the store would be so irresponsible as to not tell people how big they get and what large housing they need. Oh wait, yes I can, because pet stores were created by evil people who will sell an animal to just about anyone if it means making a few bucks.
::boils silently with anger::

 

[BettaMomma]

I completely agree. IT makes me really mad too!!!
I told them they should have something in the 10gallon range, at least.
They left the store that day w/a 10 gallon starter kit aquarium. Thank goodness for those fish I was standing there, I guess.

On a good note, today at WM someone had come into the store with a computer printout with info on it about tiger sharks. They had drawn diagrams and arrows pointing to the tanks where they were. And they had taken a bunch of mailing tape and taped this piece of paper to the wall above the tanks and NO ONE is gonna be getting that off that wall ANY time soon.

However, a few tanks over, their clown loaches were COVERED in ick.
They'll be getting a call from me tomorrow when I know the mgr of the fish department is in. And I"m also going to tell them they should take the poor betta out that was dumped into the tank with the mollies and guppies - like 70 of them in a tank about 1.5 feet square.

idiots.

 

[ManyFISH4Me]

Too many people out there see an animal, think it is cute, and bring it home.
Of course they have no idea what it needs, and most don't bother to find out. I can say 1 good thing about PETCO, is that they have those fact sheets. It may not be much, but at least there people may go home with a chance of providing an adequate live for what ever animal they take home. You did a good thing, maybe this time her betta won't die. I love animals and always try to help people with animals in the petstore. (And I don't work at one)

 

[Styx]

Kiarra and I do that all the time. ^^

 

[Kiarra]

Styx is right...we do.... We're the LFS information department, I tell you.

And the Petco and Petsmart around here aren't TOO bad. They make you sign a sheet when buying lizards, amphibians, small mammals, etc., and they absolutely MAKE SURE you leave with a caresheet for them. I don't know if that's standard policy everywhere, but it is here. They don't do it for fish, though....

 

[BettaMomma]

It's not par for the course with PetCo for them to be resposible pet vendors.

Petco Website

BE WARNED - this site is very graphic and will piss you off, make you sad and make you want to go kick someone's ass (if you haven't already seen it, beware).

I really don't like PetCo or PetSmart, but we don't have a PC around here and the PS stores around here are not too bad.

 

[MegTheFish]

I know what you mean...the other day I saw a mother and her daughter, and the daughter (who was probably 6 years old) was holding a bag with 3 feeder goldfish in it (and swishing it around like crazy... ). And the mother was looking at the tanks...she looked at those 1/2 BETTA tanks. You'd think the woman would be smart enough to relize that this tank is suppost to be for a betta, not a goldfish you doorknob. (Not that its even suitable for a betta) But wait, there it is! A goldfish kit! Right beside the evil betta kit. WOW...it includes plants, clorinator, and EVEN food! This is just fantastic! Everything I need to kill my own fish and watch my daughter cry when her poor fishies die because nobody enformed her mother how to properly care for them!
By then, I walked away before I said anything...now I'm know I should've told her that that tank wouldn't be suitable for a goldfish, but she didn't look like the kind of woman who wanted information

 

[Haiku]

PetCo and PetsMart should be taken on an individual basis. Some are really good about their pet care, and some aren't. They are a chain, but they aren't all owned and managed by one person or one group of people. That PetCo site was, from what I understand by seeing a lot of debate about it in the past on another board, put out by PETA and had to do with one store. I know a couple animal lovers who work at various stores, and believe me they would NOT work there if the stores they worked at were in that kind of condition. The PetsMart here is so-so, leaning toward the neglectful side in my opinion. The PetCo here (which used to be a different pet store, but was bought by PetCo and kept the old management) is really good. Their birds, fish, and other pets look really good. The worst thing I've seen so far with the bettas is the one I know had been there over a week that had some curling fins, looking like the beginnings of fin rot. But his water didn't look nasty.

PETA is an extremist group, and I take what they put out with a grain of salt for many reasons, but one of which is they have advocated against pet ownership at all, saying dogs, cats and other pets should not be lorded over by humans. They actually fund the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a group considered by the FBI to be terrorists. Ah well.. I'm not going to get deeply into this, but I've done a lot of research on PETA and have found many shocking and disturbing things. Therefore, I honestly don't put a lot of stock in things released by them, although I'm sure some may be true at at least an extent.

 

[RandomWiktor]

PETA is an extremist group, and I take what they put out with a grain of salt for many reasons, but one of which is they have advocated against pet ownership at all, saying dogs, cats and other pets should not be lorded over by humans. They actually fund the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a group considered by the FBI to be terrorists. Ah well.. I'm not going to get deeply into this, but I've done a lot of research on PETA and have found many shocking and disturbing things. Therefore, I honestly don't put a lot of stock in things released by them, although I'm sure some may be true at at least an extent

Agreed. While they usually have fairly accurate info when it comes to documentation, they have some pretty extremist ideals. Your example of "Liberating" domesticated animals is just one of them. They also advocate killing feral cats to help wildlife, even though its proven that TNR is much more effective in long term population control (if killing cats did the trick, then I think we'd have seen a lot fewer cats back when this country was putting down a good 14 million of them a year). They also are pro-breed bans, not caring that only good owners would be effected by it since those who do illegal things with animals will do it, well, even more illegally. Their stance on it is that it would reduce the population of some breeds, thus reducing the number being put down in shelters. Yea..... after millions of innocent, perfectly human-safe dogs are killed. ::rolls eyes:: I dislike the way they go about things; they can grab your attention sure enough, but then they end up pulling the stupid stunts that cause the animal rights and animal welfare movement to lose all of its credibility, ultimately turning people against the cause.

Ahem. ::steps off soap box::

As for goldies, they need 20 gal per fish, but a 10 gal starter sounds great ^^

And as for Petco/Petsmart.... lemme put it this way. They provide fact sheets, but what else to they provide? Oh, I see. Hundreds of cheap little tiny betta habitats, and a few hugely overpriced appropriate-sized tanks. A massive amount of tiny "parakeet" cages unsuitible for a finch, and about one model of aviary-sized cage. A ton of little 5 gallon "reptile homes," and maybe 2 very pricey aquariums that are the only ones fit for a reptile there. In short, they give out the care sheets to keep the animal welfarists from harassing them, but they also sell everything you need to have a miserable, unhealthy animal. So far as I'm concerned, they should put their money where their mouth is and sell appropriating caging, nutritious food, and safe toys.

 

[Haiku]

You are right about the cages, aquariums and habitats. In this, they act like a typical corporation out to sell what makes money. I fully agree with you on that. Some do better on caring for the pets they sell than others, I think that depends on the store's management. Of course what they sell doesn't depend on the management so much, but on the corporation as a whole. I really miss the small "ma and pop" pet stores that used to be around more. Of course some of them participated in selling dogs and cats from 'mills' but others were really actually conscientious about animal care. Unfortunately the big warehouse chains have put them all out of business in this area.

I had thought about mentioning how PETA also supported breed bans, but figured I'd end up getting too deep into a PETA discussion . Some of the things they do and promote absolutely infuriate me.

 

[BettaMomma]

PetCo and PetsMart should be taken on an individual basis. Some are really good about their pet care, and some aren't. They are a chain, but they aren't all owned and managed by one person or one group of people. That PetCo site was, from what I understand by seeing a lot of debate about it in the past on another board, put out by PETA and had to do with one store

I went through a good hunk of that site (crying my eyes out as I did, getting madder by the minute) and if I remember correctly, it lists several different stores on it that were found to be in blatant violation of several things - I don't think it was just one store.