Walmart??What are thinkin'?

[littlefishie]

The WalMart where I live is pathetic.. I took a friend in to get some ADFs and guppies/platies to start her 10 gallon off with, before she moved onto more complicated things. I'd've taken her to a pet store, but there wasn't one.. nearest one was like, half an hour away and we had no one to take us there. The girl couldn't even catch any of the fish, so I did it myself. When Jess asked her what kind of food to give them, she pointed at Goldfish pellets.
WalMart sucks for fish. Pet products on the other hand aren't bad, but actual fish.. they shouldn't be allowed to sell them.

 

[tomadabomb]

The problem is, they will continue to sell fish as long as they sell "pet products". the fish probably have a considerable margin...especially since they do so little to ensure their health and safety. The appeal of live fish in the store draws people who don't know any better.

If people who DO know better continue to spend their money there, wally will continue to have live fish.

If you only buy live fish from the local LFS and not the other things (tanks, filters, etc.) you discourage/reduce the vialbility of the small business while encouraging wally world to continue it's marketing plan.

 

[Swordtail8]

The Wal-Mart in my area is horrible also. They sell dying clown loaches for $6+ when the LFS sells them around $3. I only buy their Bettas and Snails so I don't have to find a useless employee to help me out and I can choose which one I wanna buy. I'd boycott their pet supplies but my LFS doesn't always have all pet supplies in stock.

 

[jonny sqee]

omg down wit walmart evil eeeeeeeeeeviiiiiiiillllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
crule haterisers

 

[BrownBullhead]

Originally posted by Swordtail8
The Wal-Mart in my area is horrible also. They sell dying clown loaches for $6+ when the LFS sells them around $3.

You're lucky you can get Clown Loaches that cheap. The Wal-Mart stores in Manitoba don't have 'em, and they are anywhere from $11.99 to $16.99 at local shops. When I was back in Toronto in 2003 visiting family I was jealous seeing 60 gallon tanks in the stores with 100+ 1.5" Clown Loaches for $6.99. Screw CL though, I need some female Typhlonectes Natans.

 

[Revolt]

My walmart fish tanks are alright, their in better shape than some pet stores I've visited. They do sell Pacus, but its the buyers responsibly as well to research a fish before buying it.

Personal responsibly would solve alot of things.

 

[Biorium]

I totally agree.

... but when you sale fish as such as store as walmart, A 3 year old might say " Mommy ! I want the Nice fish !!!" and results that the nice fish is a Red Pacu that can grow 60cm !!

I've seen this many times !!

the sad thing is that there is no one to tell the kid or his parent about the fish, some people just like its colors and buy it

Lets remember that walmart isn't specialized on fish, not even in pets. Wholesale is their thing.

I'm happy that there are some walmarts are an exception

and you're right some other fishstores are as bad or worse !

 

[Sandtiger]

I live in SoCal and the Wal-Mart here is really rotten. One time I went there to by my sister a betta and an other customer came in looking for a goldfish, he saw one that he liked and the employee who worked there neted it out. When the guy looked at his fish he noticed tha there was a patch of white on it's head, he asked the employee about it and said it ws a small scale deformity. I looked at the fish, mainly because I like goldfish, and told him that it was body fungus. So the guy got another fish but the employee didn't seem to happy. I did get the betta for my sister. He was really beautiful, all green with a white tail veined with blue, and guess what? He died the next day! I could tell more storys about Wal-Mart but instead I'll just say this: I HATE WAL-MART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Boycotting WalMart because you don't like how they keep their fish would be like voting for a particular candidate for president of the US because he promised to fund the building of a new park in your neighborhood. I agree that the single issue here at hand is the maintenance of their fish dept, but there are a lot of other departments there that are in good shape; household items, music, toys, clothing, etc.

I just really think looking at the big picture on topics is better in life than focusing in on one small aspect. But the great thing about America is that the market decides who sells what. Regrettably, we here at MFT are a very small segment of the aquarium community. Most fish-keepers do not research their pets to find out what they require, instead they buy them impulsively and then replace them when they die without a 2nd thought or considering what went wrong.

 

[zombiegrrll]

uggg walmart fish

never ever never buy fish at walmart, i see them they have ich half the time the ppl taking care of the fish have no clue what they are talking about, the fish look sick, just not a nice place to buy a fish, why they sell fish is beyond me. i look at them there and feel bad for the little guys.

 

[Jadenblack]

586. Amber Jay Ambuehl Vacaville, Ca 95688

I have NEVER bought ANY pet products from WalMart and NEVER will!

 

[DarkMuse]

I was in the local walmart the other day and walked past the fish. There had to be atleast 20 dead fish in EACH tank. I felt so bad for the fish. They also had like 30 bettas and all but maybe 3 were just laying in the bottom of their little containers with the lids on. But what was sad was when this 7 year old boy came running to the fish tanks and his mom called him back and he said "Hold on, I'm looking for the dead fish." Then he exclaimed "HERE THEY ARE." as if he had found his favorite toy that he had been looking a long time for. They have nothing but fish and water in most their tanks. My husband and I have completely banned shopping at walmart for numerous reasons. The only reason I had went was because my mom wanted to look at the hairstyles and haircolors on the haircoloring boxes. lol

 

[sbsociety]

Ya. Went there yesterday to pick up a surge protector for my new 80G setup (yaaay!) and decided to take a look at the fish section. (I brought this up in another thread this morning by the way) I checked out their mollies, and about 4 or 5 out of their 15 had ich. Two were dead, and one was lying motionless but alive... They had torn up lips and other untreated injuries. And to make matters worse, when I looked at their pacu description, it said grows to 10"!!! What the?!? I was this <---> close to telling them to change that to 3x that length!!!

 

[etres]

Gotta admit I buy groceries and paper products at Walmart....Stop by there at least a couple of times a week for one thing or another. Every time I went past the fish they would have the betta cups stacked 2 or 3 deep. I wanted to buy them all and bring them home. I would stand there and spread them out every time. Finally about a month ago, I left a note after my task telling them they were smothering the bottom ones. To my surprise, ever since, they have not been stacked! Someone actually paid attention to my note. But I would never buy fish there.

 

[Cutlass]

I do a lot of my shopping at Wal-Mart because it really is much cheaper than other grocery stores. I've checked out their live fish, and yes it's pretty depressing. But why boycott Wal-mart because they don't take care of their fish? They would have to hire a full-time lackey to clean all of those tanks and look after the fish on a regular basis. That would be like refusing to buy gas at the neighborhood BP because their lottery machine is broken. Wal-mart isn't a fish store. I'm just glad I have a nice mom-and-pop LFS and an Aquarium Adventure fairly close by.

 

[SarahCdnNanny]

our walmart is where I get my advice...

I've never bought any fish there... *BUT* I do hang out there a lot or check in every week when they get their new stock in (thursdays) because our Walmart has a hired FT employee who has a masters in fish care for lack of a better word LOL He was a marine biologist, has pictures of his old aquariums in bulletin board form at the store, in fact he hosts classes, and Friday nights and Saturdays they move a couple displays and he has an assistant who works with him. He consults the families, and the assistant does as he/shes told showing customers where things are, or helping to catch fish... By tuesday their stock is empty and its because of what a great "catch" this employee is.

I've been absolutely sick to my stomach after realizing the horrible care I've gotten at other LFS's including Petcetera who recently sold me ALUMINUM (NOT an aquatic plant) and tried to sell me two others like it, and their aquarium kits come with hoods that have a warning right on them NOT to use them over open water but yet does not provide the glass/acrylic top for the tank, and doesn't even sell it, so basically sells a product that is unsafe! I've written to Petcetera about this.

I can also go 45 mins to a little mom and pop shop, but they are new to fish too, or I can go 5 mins to a huge mall fish store, where they don't know anything.....

blah Then there is this fish store... called My Fish Tank, where they are just bossy and so far I've gone home with ich, planaria, and bad advice on more than one occasion.... at least they will take back the feeders petcetera sent me home with for a 10 gallon!!! grrrr

There is so much I wish I had known before I started with my 10 and 25 gallons! But I must admit, learning is fun

Sarah
(who is cheap, does shop at Walmart, and is very thankful that her store has an expert so dedicated to the work he does there!)

 

[Avalon]

I don't understand why Wal-Mart sells fish. Selling fish alone at Wal-Mart makes zero profit, and it's possibly a loss. Any LFS owner will tell you the money is in equipment and services. Good LFS's will turn a small profit on fish, and even higher for SW fish. Must be a psychological thing. Buy fish, buy a tank, filter, heater, food, conditioner, etc. Hmmm...I guess I do understand it...if I were to have no morals but simply a vision, and didn't mind slaughtering life by the masses. Kind of reminds me of a certain anti-christ.

But hey, why spend more on toilet paper and other disposable items? I still shop for groceries at a grocery store. I like having options. But Wal-Mart is useful...just not for fish.

 

[ashleigh]

I like having options too. I am pretty cheap about a lot of things but I avoid Wal mart like the plauge.

 

[fibrechunk]

My local Wal-Mart is pretty good on fish knowledge. Well atleast a couple of the main ones in charge. But get this they have been talking about maybe putting in a SALTWATER system. The pet selection manager was talking about it. Personally I don't see it...but then anything is possible with Wal-mart. It would be a bad day for saltwater fish!!!

 

[ashleigh]

that makes me sick. That would not just be a bad day for saltwater fish- but if wal mart and chains start stocking saltwater- that will be the death of the LFS in ten years at the most.