Murder Most Foul At Walmart

fishguy_1955 · Post by **fishguy_1955** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:33 am

Though I'd never think of buying any livestock at Walmart, Fish Geek that I am I always look at the aquarium aisle anyway. Last night the carnage there was enough to just about make you sick. In every tank there were hordes of dead fish, some eels, and yes in one tank shrimp as well. While I realize that these are cold blooded creatures we sometimes eat or catch for sport, this is just plain abuse. Not to mention the disease spread by the survivors when hapless civilians buy them and take them home for Junior's fish tank!

D'ya think there are enough of us on the internet to cause the Walmart Giant to even notice if there were a major letter writing campaign?

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:22 am

This topic comes up in almost every fish forum I've ever seen. The level of care given varies from store to store, although it seems to be generally poor.

My local store has a fish bone substrate covering the bottom of every tank.

However, I travel to rural Tennessee several times a year and stop at one store on my way to the Smoky Mountains that is outstanding. It is consistently maintained as well as a quality local fish store, and actually has a surprisingly nice selection of very interesting stock. The last time I was there, the pet department manager was training a new employee how to properly conduct water changes and test the water for nitrate, etc.

I struck up a conversation and learned that she was an enthusiast and that this store was the only store that sold fish within almost 100 miles. I told her how impressed I was and complimented her on how good the stock looked and that her efforts to train everyone so well really showed.

But, unfortunately, the livestock in most of these stores is cared for by people who are barely qualified to stack cans of cat food on shelves.

If you want to do something about it, your best solution would be to take the time to speak with the actual #1 general manager of your local store. Maybe you could even offer to help train some of the staff to better care for their fish.

Shady · Post by **Shady** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:30 am

Unfortunately, it is usually the neglect of Walmart personnel, or malicious customers. The systems Walmart uses are, I think, MARS systems, which are excellent when used propoerly.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:27 am

But, unfortunately, the livestock in most of these stores is cared for by people who are barely qualified to stack cans of cat food on shelves.

If you want to do something about it, your best solution would be to take the time to speak with the actual #1 general manager of your local store. Maybe you could even offer to help train some of the staff to better care for their fish.

I agree with Yucca, it does depend on how well the staff are trained in any store. But whenever we see such abuse we need to say something and the suggetion above is a good way to do it.

blinster · Post by **blinster** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:25 am

Interesting story. I was at Petsmart buying an oto (the ones at my local LFS is 5 bucks each!) and the manager had to teach the guy how to properly catch and bag the fish. The manager then promptly scoop water out from another tank

and spent the next 5 minutes trying to net otos, sometimes squishing them against the glass or scraping them along the gravel...fortunately my oto survived the ordeal...

p.s. what is the MARS system?

xerxeswasachump · Post by **xerxeswasachump** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:56 am

MARS systems are commercial aquarium systems by Marineland. They are ok, but i haven't had a good experience with them. The store i work in uses them and we constantly have problems.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:35 pm

Don't even get me started about WalMart and pufferfish...

They keep a brackish/marine puffer in freshwater! Not to mention, they cram 30 of these into a 10g tank, where they all kill each other. I know people who have been banned from WalMart for raising so much complaint.

I've never seen shrimp there.

-John

FISH WORLD ERIE · Post by **FISH WORLD ERIE** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 7:55 pm

the only shrimp I have seen in Walmart are ghost shrimp. I am very familiar with the mars systems also.(Marineland Aquatic Retailer System) The newer ones are real nice when properly cared for. They seem to have alot of issues with their light and timers though. And remember folks Wal-mart is in it for the money not the love of the hobby. They do not give a rat's ass how many fish die. Every once in a while the one in charge of the department will care. It does not happen that often though. Great place to shop for everything else though.