I've also seen several dead betta fish!

We've discussed this already in other threads on the forum. And YES, most of us have.

wow Hanna! Then why did the guy tell you the store was a great retailer for fish if he knew it was supposed to be closed down? Did i understand right???

Naaaa, the guy we got the business card from a guy who only sells food for pets, including for fish.
I believe this young bloke doesn't know much about the reality in this other petstore, think he was given those business cards and he was treated like a mushroom: kept in the dark and fed bullsh....it.

So Brian and I drove down there, very excited to see beautiful fishies.....but the excitement chaged very quick into being disgusted....

After this we drove to "our" fishguy where we buy our fish and told him about that other store and what we've seen. He informed us about the fact that it should have been closed down.

We just cannot understand how stores like this still can exist 

( So there are two guys, the "foodguy" and the "fishguy" )

There is a reptile and fish shop out in a little outskirt town outside where I live that when I used to go in there his tanks are so overstocked it is awful but fish were usually alive and looked disease free so that is why I would still come.   But what made me stop going is I was in there one day and looked in this overstocked cichlid tank and there was this beautiful white oranda about 5 inches long just getting chased and ripped and bitten, slowly being eaten alive. Tank was so overstocked I didn't even notice it right away. The fish attacking it were all less than half it's size and smaller but must have been at least 30-40 of them parrot fish and red devils ect..( I had been asking this seller for an oranda for weeks which he said he had none of) I immediately ran to front and begged them to help even after I said what was happening they made me wait my turn. I asked to take the fish to try to save it but i still had to pay for that fish just to try to save it ( worth every penny just to get it out of that tank) Poor baby never even made it home with me would have been my first goldfish. Was heartbreaking. I have never stepped foot in that store again. Didn't even try to get my money back was afraid I would strangle him. I named it shimmer and we burried it. I was hooked on goldfish after that. Strange way to get hooked but I had already been trying to find one I liked and it got into my heart so quickly. I really don't count it as a goldfish I lost because when one of mine dies I feel at fault always except this time there wasn't much more I could do.

aimee: That's horrible I had a similar experience with my golden oranda, he had been moved to an empty tank when I was there last time, and then they added some carps with him. When I came back, just a few days later, my poor baby had been bullied to the degree that his fins were torn and he had wounds on his belly.
I took him home anyway, but he died, bloated and broken. I feel horrible for that poor thing, and I cried for days because he was my little oranda that I fell in love with (In exchange I got a pom pom for free and I've still got him)

Saw the worst thing today, they had about 15 fighting fish and every single one looked sick or in terrible water conditions. The worst one had this white growth all over it's body and I mean ALL over it. It looked so sick!! The people were working in the shop are like 14/15  Not point in complaining to them, obviously they don't even check on them or have never heard of prober water conditions or medicine!! I'm going to ring up the company on Monday, it just made me soooo angry and sad 

Omg
Omg I never even considered they did it on purpose. Always kindof chalked it up to a st*pid worker who thought since it was more then twice the size it would be ok. I don't think they knew what an oranda was since I had been asking for one for weeks. But geesh if someone did that on purpose. Gosh I just can't think it I still think it was a st*pid mistake ( gotta think this way or I will go set the place on fire)kidding! That would hurt the fish!

Most likely something like "These fish came in sick, what would we do?" or "it'd be a waste treating them for this and that reason" "We'll order more if necessary"

That's so... <-- let the face talk.

I think it's a very important thing to keep some nice space between the fish so that the customer can observe their behavior and look for possible symptoms of disease!! It's a waste of money and soul (sob) to buy a sick fish!!

I would smack that guy so hard! Fish are a living species! No different than cats or dogs! They need food, air, oxygen... They're as needy as any other animal or child, and should be treated as such! Just because they don't make noise and swim in a tank does not make them any less of a living organism. And I use the term "organism" loosely. They are a companion, A friend when you need one. They're sole purpose is to live, and It is up to us to provide for them. Therefore I condemn all that say "they're just fish... easy to replace" How would you feel if you got sick and no one took care of you? I tell you now, How would you like it if your family, friends, co-workers knew you were infected with something, and incapacitating disease, and no one even bothered to call 911??

I will take it upon myself to seek out any person that believes fish are "just fish" and will promptly smash their face in with a steel toed boot.

[/rant]


I feel better. Does anyone else feel better?

Right now Petsmart has a real problem with sick fish!
I got my really nice orandas from them and they were so healthy too but gosh they have gone down hill in the last few months when it comes to keeping healthy fish!!
I pointed out some sick fish to the fish manager at the store and he said he knew they were sick and they were treating all the tanks but he couldn't take them out and put them in hospital tanks in the back because they were already full.
Today I saw fish for the first time come into the store in big boxes.  Some of the fish were dead.
He said they are imported from Japan, thailand and China.
They fly into an airport and then they are sent by truck to the petsmart stores.  This all happens in a matter of two days!
There were huge boxes of fish on a big pallet almost up to the celing!!!  He said they get that many fish in every week.

I wasn't suppose to buy the sick oranda but I had a not too bright employee fish it out of the tank for me, while the rest were busy unloading fish! He must have thought it looked  alright and so he dumped it in a bag and away i went to chek out! LOL! I got out of there fast with my poor sick fish!

Hanna! LOL! You're so funny!
Hey I have no doubt you would have done the same thing!  Good souls have to stick together!
I dunno but that wine looks good!  I could use a nip right about now! LOL!

Yes. I started out my first tank with guppies, had a tiny tank and figured tiny fish would work well. I had just moved into our town and went to the local fish/pet store. Needless to say it turned into more of a rescue mission. It was terrible, fish were dead and decaying in almost every tank. They also had a sad looking bunny and a poor mangy little dog running around. I was horrified. So, I went home placed a call to the local SPCA. The fish store closed within a few weeks.

The worst in Walmart!! They have fish kept in such poor conditions and like each tank has a dead fish or a fish that's on it's way, with the other fish just nipping at it. I once told someone who worked there and she just walked away and did nothing!!