Wal*Mart Question...

[abe]

I vowed never to buy fish at the mart again, but ehh I did. I was just going to buy a plant, but since their fish section has been pretty good lately, I bought a very very perty yellow lyretail/sailfin molly.

So now that he's home, there's something obviously wrong w/ him and I honestly don't expect him to make the night He looked just fine in the store...

The guy (who said he didn't bag a fish in a while) filled the bag w/ water out of the tap. I asked if that was tap water in the bag, he said it wasn't. As in the water out of that tap was safe for fish. Is that true? I never worked there or anything so I wouldn't know if it was some how treated or filtered, just thought I would ask so I can rule this as a bad walmart fish death or bad fish handler death.

Either way, grr! I have a thing for yellow fish, esp this one cause his fins were kinda sparkly looking. I swear I can't find ones I like this much at better fish stores, but I guess now I'll have to wait until I do

 

[littlefishie]

The only way that tap water is fish safe is if they have an R.O. unit installed under the sink.
But I highly doubt that Wal*Mart would even think of an R.O. unit. And even then I'd treat the water just to be on the safe side.

 

[Auratus]

Do you mean he was saying that the sink was hooked up to the tanks... like tank water comes out of the sink? Or that the water was already filtered?

They are just sinks.... the same kind of sinks that are in the bathrooms at wal-mart or in the back of the McDonalds at wal-mart. It's not hooked up to the tanks . Sorry if I'm not understanding ) but I think that guy was just too lazy to get a cup and scoop some water out of the tank, maybe he didn't want to get his hands dirty, or he just didn't know what he was doing.

If the fish doesn't make it, it's most likely from bad handling/care at the store, not anything you did wrong. Give him some aquarium salt and stresscoat and hope for the best. Good Luck.

 

[abe]

Seems like I've been saying this a lot lately, but I hate wal*mart....

I don't know why, but I was kinda trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I thought he had died, but he's still kickin Hopefully I can save the cute lil' guy.

& yeah, it was one of those normal looking sinks that most wallys have in the fish section. I didn't actually SEE him put it in there BUT he put the bag in the sink, I heard the water running, it was crystal clear (tank water wasn't dirty, but wasn't exactly clear either), and when I opened the bag w/ the plant in it I thought I smelled chlorine.

stupid walmart

 

[abe]

He's alive!!!!!!!!

I put him in a bowl (i don't have a hospital tank, or room for one) w/ my broken air pump (doesn't pump very well anymore, but just enough for a bowl it seems), some salt, and a touch of melafix. Last night he was barely breathing & on his side, and now hes upright & seems to be doing well. yay!!!

 

[yvez9]

good job!

Is he back in the tank yet?

 

[MrMashashin]

it could be both. If the fish lookd and acted healthy it could have been the handler. If it was in a croud of fish that acted all the same he could have been sick and you didn't notice. It goes both ways.

 

[SuckerLove86]

I'm glad the fish is doing well. I hate sad fish stories, particularly about the fish you like best.

The most successful fish I've had have been from the Wal-Mart here, but luckily the girl that's usually running the fish area is very wise about it all. She's always proven to be more help than my lfs and Petsmart.

From the way you described the guy that was working when you bought fishy, it sounds like he was either ignorant or just indifferent. I firmly believe that someone who isn't willing to get a little wet should not be handling so many lives.