There HAS to something we can do!!!!

[Sinsarity]

I was at Walmart the other day and saw no less than 4 DEAD BETTAS!!! (there were atleast 75 overall)
All because they:
a) they were forgotten and weren't fed
b) hadn't had any water changes (some of the cups had brown water they were so dirty!)
or c) the water level was too high and the air hole was covered and they couldn't breathe!!!

Isn't there anything we can do about this?!?!?!

 

[CoNMaN]

probably not. They are a cheap money maker for them.

 

[Iggy]

Call the store manager and complain, or even better, write a letter to the district manager to let them know how we feel about the cruel fish keeping practises they have at certain stores.

If Walmart wants to be in the fish business, they need to have properly trained employees that are responsible for taking care of the fish. For god's stake they have a bathroom cleaning sign-off sheet, why not the same for the fish feeding and betta water changes?

My local Walmart gets about 8 bettas a week (small rural city here) and they are kept in the tanks, with other fish. This is better than cups, but there are still accidents (bettas killed by other fish or disease). The saving grace is that the ones in my local store are sold within a few days.

Walmart needs to hear from us, they need to be told what we expect!

1. Don't order more bettas than you can sell in a week, period! 75 bettas is a lot of fish for any store. If they sell 25 a week, then have a running order of 25. If sales go down, put the fish on special for a few days to clear the stock.

2. Have a daily sign-off sheet for bettas water changes for 'cup' stores or buld a betta barrack system

3. Build betta barracks (I am designing one for my breeding) that will give the bettas adaquate space (1 gal) so water changes need only be weekly.

That and stay vocal! My local Wal-mart fish manager knows about me, and she takes a lot of care in tending her fish. I have run-into (chewed out/complained) many other Walmart store managers in my area, and I will not back down. If I see a problem with the fish condition, I ask someone to page the store manager and point it out to them personally along with my suggested course of action.

In my opinion, I should NEVER see a dead fish. They should be removed immediately and the fish checked on serveral times a day (hey this is livestock after all). Customers don't like to see dead fish, and any half-decent LFS owner would know that fact and remove it. Nothing says more about the quality of the store than the number of dead fish showing in sale tanks.

 

[Sinsarity]

Thanks Iggy, those are great ideas. Do I need to modify them in any way since this a "Super Walmart"? Thanks

 

[Twinbot]

Considering how Walmart treats it's employees, I doubt the fish will do much better.

 

[Iggy]

Ask the 'fish' manager (call them up) how many bettas they sell in a week. Tell him/her what you have been seeing and how much it turns you off to see a bunch of dead fish every time you visit the store.

Bettas are one of the hardiest tropical fish there are, and people only need a fraction the knowledge to keep them alive for a week. Air, food, water and room temperature - it cannot be easier than that. Heck, bettas can go a week without food if they are healthy in the first place, even months without good water condition (I have seen a 4 month no water change betta - imagine! - NOT ME!)

Wal-mart is very protective of their family friendly image, and they called 'Associates' not employees Twinbot ()

This board is not the only one that has brought this up, and sooner or later, Walmart will start to listen. I am going to see if I cannot sell them my betta barracks design (once it is done and patented!!!)

In the mean time, try to keep a good relationship with the store managers, and keep him/her informed if any 'Associate' gives you attitude.

I was at my local Walmart a few weeks ago, on Sunday, to return a dead goldfish and exchange it for another. When I walked intot the fish department, I noticed all the tank lights were off (it was in the afternoon still) and when I got closer, about 40% of the fish where either sick, dieing or dead, including some tank bettas. I tried to find and associate, and ended up paging someone to the fish department. A young man came to help me, and he told me he did not know much about fish. I pointed out the missing tank lights and carnage of fish bodies, and he called the manager. I asked him if it was 'Tammy' (the fish manager), and he said it was one of the assistants. Well, the manager arrived shortly after, and I showed him the tanks. He did not even acknoledge me, he just walked right past me. I asked him if maybe there was a power outtage and suggested he move the struggeling bettas to some small fish bowls so they could reach the surface. He promptly told me 'I know everything about fish' and walked away from me. I turned to the young associate and asked if I could exchange my dead goldfish. Well the manager returned, grabbed the bag out of my hand, and told the kid to get me another fish. He did (the goldfish were fine, they did not need the heat from the power outtage), and I asked if I needed anything so the people at the door would not stop me on the way out. He said "just go', so as I was leaving the door associate asked me to stop, and I told him to call the manager because it was an exchange. He did, and I left in a real bad mood.

The next day, I called 'Tammy' and informed her how rude 'Micheal' the assitant manager was to me. She then told the store manager.

Anyway, to end this post, sometimes you get assholes for associates, sometimes you get angels. Fine, they had a power outtage, shit happens, but you NEVER EVER take it out on your customers.

 

[beaver8888]

ya walmart is probably the worst store to buy fish

 

[Leopardess]

well, I doubt you can trust them to keep the fish clean and healthy So, upon seeing the condition they keep the fish in (deplorable, at best) I have resigned myself to stopping by the walmart (which isn't even the one I go to) about once a week. I check the betta cups to see if they are clean. I also check for dead fish/uncleaned tanks/ich, etc. I then tell the floor manager, and then I wait by the fish department for someone to come over - and I stand there until they have cleaned the betta bowls and removed the dead fish. And that is the only way that has worked. Very sad, and quite pathetic, but true

 

[Bill2k1]

The local wal-mart keeps 1 betta to a tank. I would say they have 12 or 16 different tanks. I have never seen a dead fish in them, but a few sick ones.

 

[FroggyFox]

Also (I was going to write this yesterday but my computer was wiggin out) walmarts website has feedback forms that you can send in if you don't think you're getting through at your local store...try sending in those one or two times a day for awhile and see if there is any improvements.

Another thing that bothers me about walmart is that their website doesn't even mention pets...even though they have a pretty extensive pet section! I have sent in feed back forms a few times about this. I know a lot of people on this board go to Walmart just for their supplies (like me) even though I don't buy fish there...and it would be nice to be able to compare walmart prices online to petsmart and the like.

Course...I don't know about you guys...but around here there is a Petsmart next to nearly every Walmart...so why doesn't Walmart either try to compete with the Petsmart or just give up?? They CANT be making much money at this.

Although...I have to put in props for my local walmart...they hired a new gal who is very nice and helpful and does her best with the fish. I have seen the bettas being taken better care of (and even medicated!) since she started working there...as well as the rest of the fish. Of course I am hugely vocal anytime I see people looking at the fish there....I go up to the tanks and go "EWW there are like 20 dead fish in there, I would NEVER buy fish from this place" and then if anyone is paying attention to me I say "the petsmart across the parking lot takes MUCH better care of their fish" hehe its some kind of reward to see people nod their heads and walk away.

 

[Iggy]

The only fish I ever purchased from Wal-mart were my 6 baby goldfish. I had to return 4 of them within a week from sudden death. They are the only fish store in town, but I am not all that far from the major chains and some really nice private stores, so I will only by my emergency supplies there, and no more fish.

Like it or not, Wal-mart sells fish (especially bettas) because there is a big enough demand for it. Like it or not, Wal-mart associates are not highly trained or motivated to care for fish, so either due to ignorance or ambivalence, fish are going to die that did not have to die.

I can imagine how pissed-off Walmart 'associates' get after a while because every now we walk into the store and remind them how bad a job they are doing, or slander them in front of other customers while in their store ("you know prices are better at.....")

The problem is, its not the 'associates' or managers but the executive that make the decisions about what they sell. Every single Walmart has a fish tank section, even if they do not have a properly trained manager to care for fish at the time. The 'associates' and managers hear our complaints, but I highly doubt the exective hear it or care!

The only way to get through to the people that matter is to attack Wal-marts corporate image publicly. I do not believe the Internet alone is a strong public forum to generate enought bad-press. Most anti-anything websites (or 'Gripe' sites) are summarily dismissed by the media and public at large.

We need to attack the entity not the staff. Hey, this is only their job, they have nothing to loose or gain by how well the fish are doing. You need to poke the people who make the profit.

So, what would make us buy from Walmart? Maybe if the executive heard that, the dollar signs in there eyes would open up and they might start listening.

In order for me to by livestock from Walmart, they need to:
1. Create a proper, heated, sufficient water system for individual fish like bettas.
2. They need to have at least 1 trained staff in charge of livestock in the store during all hours of operation.
3. They need to have clean tanks, quarantine tanks (out of customers view) and remove dead fish on a regular basis.

Thats about it! I have no issues with corporations like some people, as long as they do the job right.

If you think about it, those 3 issues I listed above are not all that difficult to do, and they certainly have the payroll to pull it off!

Sorry for the 3rd long post guys, but I hope this helps us get some ideas and take some coordinated action.

 

[PreciousGems]

My walmart has a pretty nice filtration/heating system, ect, because its a brand new Super Walmart. Still, they treat their fish like crap. Bettas especially. The bettas have 1 inch of water in their cups, NO air holes (we all know how long they can live without atmospheric air...), and are sometimes fed. The breeder gives away OLD OLD bettas usually, probably his/her ex-breeders, although the females are generally young. I am a little more optimistic after last night, when I saw blue water in their cups...which means someone is medicating them . Still, it took me a while to partially remove the lids so the fish could breathe.

The main problem is over crowding and ich in the main tanks. There are about 200 feeder goldfish stuffed in a few 10 gallons, 80 or so fancy baby goldies in a 10 gallon, and 10 koi/large goldies in a 15 gallon. There are at least 30 guppies, mollies, ect in 10 gallons, and 20 chiclids (including oscars and pacus!) per 10 gallon. Due to lack of sales in plecos, they have a few 8" (+/-) plecos in most of the tanks! I feel so bad for the plecos, but I know that I would never have the room to "rescue" them.

Its a never ending battle for me (after scolding the fish guy more than "a few" times), as employees will comment on how bad they take care of their fish when they see I have been in the fish section. I know a few of them are planning to talk to the executives about their fish section. Unfortunately, they will probably be told to "shut up" or lose their job. I thought about working at walmart in the fish section. Besides the employee discounts, I would have the satisfaction of taking care of their fish.

Alexa

 

[Iggy]

Ya...

Add another requirement to the list above....

4. Do not overstock your tanks. Order only enought fish that the tank system can support or what you can sell in a few weeks. For bettas, only order what you can sell in a week.

Infiltrate them eh Alexa, thats one way

 

[MarkRW89]

One think ive noticed on this site is that all you guys in america seem to get your fish from two or three brands of supermarkets/ petstores. With very little competition they are obviously not going to be too concerned with the welfare of their "stock" because they will still get a large amount of sales.

I know this isnt your fault but i would be interested to know whether there are many specialist aquatic stores in the USA. People in these stores would at least be fairly knowledgable and the fish would probably be at least decently kept.

I say this because in the UK hardly any supermarkets have a fish section and even the very large pet stores have quite well kept fish.However it is the multitude of specialist stores that probably keeps standards quite high and there must be a large demand because i could get fish from at least 15 stores in a 8 mile radius.
Is it because america is too large with a spread out population that there are this few stores, or am I being misled or just plain wrong.

 

[MarkRW89]

PS This isn't a rant against america, just about the affects of corporate globalisation

 

[Iggy]

Well Mark from UK, I cannot speak for US residents, but here in Canada we have a good variety of chain vs. private stores in the bigger cities, the smaller cities usually have 1 major store and that's it. Here in Leduc (a rural city 20mins away from a major city), we have Walmart as our only local fish supply store. However, the next closest private store is about 15 minutes away.

I guess it is easy to lump all chain stores together, or even one chain like Walmart. However, most of the anti-Walmart sentiment out there I feel is not only due to the condition of some store's fish department, but more about the general anti-corportate image people harbor when a big chain moves in and wipes out (starves) local competition. In some cases, chain stores actually bring necessary or missing services to smaller communities, however the mom & pop stores tend to loose so much market share, they either quit or go bankrupt!

Regardless, most fish are sourced from the same supplier, so its really only the few days or weeks the fish are at the retailer that matters. A good store will have a good balance of supply vs. demand so that the livestock keep moving.

The issue Walmart really has is the fact they do not have quarantine tanks, so they get a big shipment in on one day (say Friday), then then next day (Saturday) there is 10-20% fish loss (which is normal) showing in their tanks. Most smaller fish store owners keep the fish in the back rooms (hidden) for a day or more so that the fish that die due to transportation (aka 'loss') are not visible to the buying public. Walmart does not have that system, so the public always sees the dead fish bodies.

 

[c_paan]

I was at my local wal mart the other day, checkin out the fish for somethin to do. i not only noticed as i alwasy do, all the dead fish stuck up against the filter, but a whole tank of fish was quarantined due to fin rot. Some of the fishin ther were so sick they just sort of floated there until a fish would try to nibble on it then it would try to swim off and stop and wait for another fish to do the same...horrible.

Not all wal marts are this horrible but mine sure is.

Its hard fo them to really care for these fish if for starters the person in that department really doesnt care, its just a job. And the fact that if there is like 10 different people there in a week, the care will jump up and down, causing lots of stress id imagine on the fish.

 

[Rosesny]

I just buy 3 goldfish from wal mart i been have them for 2 weeks now

 

[c_paan]

So last night my girlfriend comes home with a new fish, i tell her to just put it in a smaller tank we have for now until we can figure out where to put it.

She bought an angel fish from walmart. I thought to myself dont those get big where am i gunna put it it cant go in the 20 itll probably outgrow it and if i put it in my 55 the cichilds will probably rip it apart.

But to my luck , and not that of the fish or my girlfiend, it had fin rot, she put it in a little tank and it just sort sank sideways and tried to swim, the guy at walmart unloaded an half dead fish on her, the thing had almost know rear fin and these two little fins at the font were bent and fallin apart as well!

We went straight back to walmart gave it back got my money and left....friggin walmart!