now i know how all the betta people feel...

[pica_nuttalli]

i try not to go to walmart anyways, but i didn't know where else to buy some shelf-liner. on a whim, i decided to check out the fish.

they had at least 30 green-spotted puffers. there was no label, no warnings, no indication that GSP are brackish, nothing. i can't remember the last time i felt so sick. i wrote a note saying that these are brackish fish and left the forum address on it. then i left my shopping cart and walked out.

i don't think i can ever spend another penny at that place.

 

[Carnia]

I know all about Walmart and its sickening fish department. I hope one day that either the fish will be removed from their stores or they will be required to treat them well. At any rate, I am a mostly cichlid person although looking into getting a puffer for one of my empty tanks. I will not buy fish from Walmart simply because I saw a 10 gallon tank with around 25 Oscars in it. That is so cruel. I encourage anyone to stay away from that place and support your local pet store instead.
--Carnia

 

[Snailguy101]

I hate wal-mart fish abusers they have the bettas sitting in cloudy cups filled with waste and untrained People that are at the fish section how terriable

 

[KeddyPie]

I went to our local Walmart today to pick up a very specific fish tank my mom wanted that we could not find around anywhere else. I try to avoid buying things there... I had to look at the betta's of course, simply because I can't help it. They must have gotten a new shipment, because they were less sickly than usual... And they had the prettiest in-a-cup-at-the-petstore betta's I've ever seem... Pure white ones, white ones with purple spots... All sorts of variations that I rarely see, and some I have NEVER seen before... I felt so bad, because these were exceptional Betta's in their beauty... They deserved to have a great home to go... As much as I hate Walmart and NEVER buy live animals there, I probably would of that day if I didn't already have a betta in my only tank... Just the thought of taking one of these beautiful specimins before they were showing the signs of ill health most Walmart fish do...

Not that they deserve more care than any other betta.. It just caught my attention a bit more, and made me realize how bad I felt for those fish.

 

[wrs]

Ive never seen any GSP at my walmarts before

 

[Jts_Fish]

The Walmarts around here just started carrying GSP. When I saw them the other day, my heart just sunk! I never thought they would carry these. As someone else stated, there were NO SIGNS SAYING BRACKISH ...NOT EVEN A SIGN SAYING IT WAS A PUFFERFISH!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Its highly annoying isn't it... the lfs does some brackish fish, all it says is 'likes a bit of tonic salt in the water'. Umm.... ever heard of brackish?

 

[jasonl]

Please keep in mind that not ALL Walmarts are as bad you you say they are. I worked in the pet department at walmart for a few years. I always made sure that my fish where healthy and well taken care off.

but then again i was also trained at a REAL pet store on how to take care of fish. I also worked for a aquarium cleaning company that specialized in salt water fish. Having this training before i worked at walmart is probably what made the difference.

Alot of people don't know this but the department manager of walmart is the one to blame for this. the department manager is the one that does the ordering. If the manager knew anything about fish he would have never of hordered them. If this was at the walmart that i worked at you would have never of seen then there. Walmart stores do not have the facilities to have brackish water aquariums. As far as i know the all have one main filter that cleans ALL of the aquariums. These types of filters are what kills the fish. Passing sickness on from one tank to another in a matter of minutes.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

heh, i just made a similar post up in the petco thread--but talking to you! how ironic for us both... at least i know you'll understand what i mean.

my experience with the green spotted puffers isn't the sole reason i will no longer make purchases with walmart. there are also the (stereo)typical conditions that their average fish are kept in, including bettas. beyond that are a number of business/employment practices that the company as a whole is guilty of, to the degree that legal action has been taken on the behalf of employees. i had been of mixed feelings regarding walmart to begin with--the puffers are just what pushed me over the edge.

so you say that its the department manager responsible for this nonsense? i think i have someone i need to carry some information... thanks for the heads-up.

--EDIT--
"What can you do, there are places where all people have are Walmarts"
another itchy spot for me...

 

[Soaup]

What can you do, there are places where all people have are Walmarts. I mean i know you guys all mean well and i completely agree but walmart needs some informative people and if you guys wanted to make a positive change then say hey you know i want to be the person in charge of this department. Not a bad idea for some teenagers in the hobby looking to make a couple of bucks and positive change.

 

[jasonl]

in most areas the only people that they can get are teenagers. and to be frank the teenagers that are going to work at walmart simply don't care. Most of them are just looking to make a quick buck and collect their paychecks.

if walmart is all you have i am sorry. In my area i can count atleast 15 different petstores off the bat.

Where i used to live was very rural but we still had a choice of atleast 4 pet sotres. there is no mall next to you? Every mall has alteast 1 pet store.

 

[Malkavian]

The funny thing is, I know a fish section manager for one of the local wally worlds.

He's been at it for about six months and already presumes to know more about the keeping of fish than anyone else. Nevermind that I worked at an independant petstore for years.

 

[Kajuki18]

Its all those stores like Wal-Mart. I went to a Meijer yesterday and I saw tons of small oscars crammed into a small and dirty tank.