Exposing PetSmart | Save the Bettas 
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- Опубликовано: 5 янв 2024
- The best way to bring about change is awareness and action. Feel free to share the video for awareness. If you want to take action, stop shopping at PetSmart. Instead you can order off Amazon along of the same products. Below is a link to my Amazon Store to help you find better choices
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#bettafish #betta #savethefish 
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the thing is.. people have been talking about this for decades... and it hasn't stopped... it's horrifying..
That's so sad, but I think it also depends on the country. Everytime I've seen fighting fish/ betta fish they're in spaces about the same size as shown here, but glass, with clean aerated water. Like a big tank with custom slots which have little mesh holes to allow water flow...
It’s because people still go there to shop
@cherrelleg8276 yeah.. You're completely right.. it's not new information, but it doesn't seem to matter...
It will only stop when people will stop buying them altogether. Normies outside of hobby don't care as long as its a cheap pet that survives.
Yea even employees try to say something and nothing happens...
Speaking from experience 😢
Absolutely horrible! They should all be kept in the same (oxygenated, filtered tank) separated by dividers. This is horrific
I agree! Awareness is the 1st step to making them stop! Feel free to share this to others!
Heck, they don't even need bubbles (bettas are surface breathers). Just turn down that harsh harsh light. Please.
@@CalmSheJaguar Exactly this! Those stupid end caps for the bettas that have the lights underneath were the worst thing PetSmart ever introduced. When I worked there we wouldn't turn the lights on, the manager would yell at us about it, but we refused. It made the bettas stressed out, made that algae grow in the cups and just overall made our job to care for them harder.
I have heard bettas will attack each others fins if they are kept together.
@rebekah4761 true-- but if divided to the degree that they don't see each other/ perceive one another as a threat, they could thrive
I worked as a groomer for petsmart just call corporate. They will show up to that store for a surprise visit without management knowing they are coming they will destroy that manager
It's not really the managers problem it's a PetSmart problem they're all like this petcos too
Noo..no not really. I work petcare, corporate WANT the cups. The cups just need to be clean (hard to do even with 3x a week cleanings). I've begged to let the bettas in some of our community tanks, or even currently empty ones, and management has said "sorry, it's POG, can't do it".
I did too. This is literally how every single petsmart is. They won’t do anything. They don’t care.
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@@Roarar literally you can’t put any Betta fish together male or female they literally will fight to the death at least this is what I heard
I went to a local pet store the other day and I was so impressed to see he was keeping his bettas in large filtered heated tanks! It’s refreshing to see some people DO care. They looked so happy! These are the people we should be supporting!
Just a reminder! Please make sure you talk to the appropriate people and DO NOT TAKE IT OUT ON THE STAFF WHO WORK THERE. A lot of people who work at PetSmart are part timers who vary from agreeing with you whole heartedly to not caring at all. But please don’t take it out on the people who do care but are LITERALLY the bottom of the rung of this corporation pole.
If you want actual change, please consider mailing your local law makers and/or people with actual power like the people who sit at their desks arranging how the store looks without ever stepping foot in an actual store.
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We care just can't do anything about it. So we just get to a point where when they day we go open there's another and move on because it's the best we can do with 1: the tools we are given 2: the training our staff is given and 3: the hours given ( wich is usually bare minimum and never enough time to properly care for any of the animals.)
When I worked at Petsmart, it was the managers. They don’t schedule enough people they don’t give any extra hours. The store leader I had was very ignorant to animals, and people. No common sense guy. Take it out on the store Lead, they make the difference between a decent PetSmart or a very bad one. I’ve heard some stories of good PetSmarts but they’re rare.
I agree but telling the top people does NOTHING either!! They don’t care bc they don’t have to see it. They just wanna get paid!! Same as the government!! They have no clue how us normal people live and r treated bc they’re on another level. So y would they care!! It doesn’t mean anything to them and doesn’t help their bank account to make any changes!!
Idk.. i agree but i also think the workers could atleast be changing out the water. They not always busy, ive gone and seen workers just chatting and laughing.
big pet stores like petco and petsmart are usually a bad place to get animals. I got a hamster there and it got sick and died in a few weeks. I can’t believe that people would do things like this to animals. Fish are not treated well at all. I have never had one but I know a lot about them, and just because they don’t communicate in the same way that land animals like cats and dogs do doesn’t mean they deserve to get sick and die like this.
You are absolutely right! Change starts with us! Feel free to share this video to help spread awareness!!
My fish tank is actually very social! They all know my hands, they come up to the side of the tank or the top depending on where im at. They will follow my hand back and forth. And i sometiimes hand feed them, and they all brush against me or let me touch them. So depending on how you much time you spend near their tank, they become social butterflies! And i have like 10 different kinds of fish in my tank (like 26 fish total in a 75 gallon tank) they are so cute and so awesome. But can be very expensive!
I hope u took it to a vet right when u got it there’s also a possibility it was stressed too
@@rosestorms5396 I did take her to the vet and then when she got sick I took her to the vet but they gave us meds for her and said that there wasn’t anything they could do unfortunately
NoT all pet stores! these big chains, ABSOLUTELY. The Houston aquarium warehouse is AMAZING!!!!!! They keep their bettas in 10 gal tanks with a heater and bubble filters! They run free diagnosis on your water sample. They always care so much about my fish. Support educated small buissnesses instead of petsmart and petco.
Worked at Petco. Quit in less than a year;
I was the ONLY employee who cleaned the Betta cups, and they had me do so while on register, so I couldn’t actually fully clean or devote attention to them.
The birds are always over stocked, with too few perches, small cages, and two toys total. I asked to add more, they told me no, it’s protocol to only have what was currently in the cages.
I was also the ONLY employee who knew how to care for birds and notice signs of illness. Told them about multiple parakeets that were showing distress or illness, they ignored me. Multiple did end up dying while I worked there. One was actively attacked daily by other parakeets, that was the only one I could convince my manager to separate.
Hermit crabs there died regularly, and due to the cleaning schedules would sit in the tanks long enough that when they were finally cleaned, the bodies just fell apart.
Had a rat escape due to another employee not being properly trained to clean cages while opening, that rat lived in the store for well over two months, nobody could ever catch it, I don’t know what ultimately happened to the rat.
We had multiple employees pick up mice by the tails because managers said that was fine (for those who don’t know, that can break their spines). Had multiple that ended up paralyzed and LEFT in the cages because “well, they’ll just end up as feeders anyway.”
PetSmart isn’t the only one. Any chain pet store has a huge tendency to mistreat small animals. There isn’t nearly the same government regulation on fish, rodent, and avian “trade” as there is on cat and dog.
THIS!!! I worked at multiple chains of petstores but by far the petsmart in my county was the best. Not because it's petsmart but because everyone I worked with were passionate and educated. We maintained everything to the best of our abilities, had groupchats discussions on what animals needed extra attention, if we noticed a sick animal we immediately quarantined and got it checked by our vet. I have seen some horrific things at other stores don't get me wrong, but I was so blessed to work in an environment were my coworkers truly cared for the well-being of our animals. We would never sell hamsters in critter trails, always recommend MORE than a minimum, and made sure the customers knew what they were truly getting into. My short time working there before I moved I was so relieved to see that some places could be nice. Our management was also amazing! It truly depends on how much people actually put into the care of the animals. All my coworkers hated where we got the animals, but we tried our best to provide them a comfortable environment!
i worked at petco and it’s the same. it broke my heart to see how the animals are treated. me and over half my coworkers (usually the younger ones, the older ones don’t care) would frequently do things that were AGAINST THE RULES and could cause us to GET IN TROUBLE or FIRED simply because it improved the quality of the animals lives. these things were against the rules because it either didn’t follow the BS “protocol” (terrible policy), cost the company more money, or took us TIME that we “could’ve been spending putting away shipment or facing shelves”.
i became a manager at one point and got in trouble multiple different times because i never got shipment done or left the store a bit messy as i spent nearly my entire shift giving the animals extra care and instructing everyone who worked under me for that shift to do the same. i’ve sat in my bosses office SO MANY TIMES, on the verge of (or actually getting) WRITTEN UP, because i was FIGHTING FOR THE ANIMALS IN A F’ING PET STORE. i stayed later than i was supposed to so i could do extra animal care and got in trouble for using up hours. i started clocking out and doing animal care OFF THE CLOCK and got in trouble for that too.
i’m not saying this as a “oh look at me, i’m so great i care so much” i’m saying this to point out how HORRIFYING these companies and the policies are. imagine reprimanding your employees for giving LIVE ANIMALS CARE THEY NEED in a PET STORE because SHIPMENT AND MONEY ARE MORE IMPORTANT. it’s disgusting and this is the reality. i’d go off about the borderline abusive “protocols” and policies too but that’s a whole different story that enrages me and i’ve already typed too much.
i’d say don’t buy animals at these stores, because F giving money to these horrifying companies, but it breaks my heart to think of these animals just sitting in these conditions until they die. they need homes too, with people who actually care about them. *save the animals, boycott the companies. they don’t make majority of their money from animal sales, they make it from product sales like food and supplies.*
also please don’t hate on the people who work for these companies, only the ones who blatantly don’t care. i promise you that majority of us do, a LOT, that’s why we seeked out jobs with animals. many of us try our hardest to give these animals what they need, but we risk getting in trouble or fired, and many of us take that risk. personally i’m proud i was fired because while i was there, the quality of life for those helpless babies were temporarily improved.
also forgot to mention, our animal license (to sell and get new ones) got revoked for a MONTH because we didn’t pass our animal inspection. many pet stores will spend a day doing intense animal care RIGHT BEFORE the inspection, just to pass, and once passed it goes straight back to abusive conditions.
animal misinformation gets spread easily because these companies DO NOT train employees thoroughly to sell or speak about these animals. they give a quick online course for basic care that does not include majority of what these animals need to survive long term and flourish. many employees don’t even know they’re spreading misinformation or are lacking important pieces.
the companies do not care. they push animal sales with zero thought of how you take care of said animal because they know they’ll get $$$ from the food and supplies you’ll need and continue to need.
*the best way to boycott these companies is to STOP buying their FOOD AND SUPPLIES. they will never stop selling animals unless their license to is revoked. if you see horrible animal conditions, DO NOT CONTACT THE STORE MANAGER. THEY WILL NOT DO ANYTHING. go DIRECTLY to the DISTRICT MANAGER!!! or better yet, the ANIMAL HEALTH INSPECTORS.*
the inspections are not normally frequent unless required to be, and the only way they’ll be required is if they’re REPORTED. *NOT TO THE EMPLOYEES OR STORE MANAGER* you need to go to who’s actually in charge!!
the more inspections these stores get, the more they’ll be forced to give proper animal care. and without $ from food and supply sales, they’ll lose business. they will NOT lose business from lack of animal sales, they get their money from PRODUCT SALES!!
is every petsmart/petco the same? the animals i get from my petsmart are super well behaved and healthy. the betta and other fish are in large tanks.
@@ca174_ kinda but not exactly! every store has the same policies and protocols since it’s put in place by the company as a whole, but they also have completely different staffing including regular associates, managers, store managers and district managers. some stores are better than others because they actually have staff who care and go the extra mile to care for the animals properly, however they still need to follow the companies policies (for the most part, when i worked there a lot of smaller “rules” were broken in secret to better the lives of the animals)
every petco/petsmart has the same sh*tty policies but they all have different staff. so it truly depends on who is working there, and who is willing to break policy to give the animals better care.
I don't think pet stores should sell anything but pet supplies and training lessons. Live animals need cared for by people who know how.
Uh... How would people buy them??? Just- idk- take care of them properly?!
Personally i think the workers just need to be taught how to care for them. The people at my pet smart have either had training on it or have their own pets, they keep all the animals as healthy as they can.
@@LavenderLemon77 local breeders
@@wutsit2ya There should be much stricter laws on pet shops for sure. The way they keep animals is horrible and sets low standards of care for the people buying them because they assume how it is in the shop is okay
@@T13GUY i wasnt trying to say thats not the case, thats 100% true, but i also think hiring competent pet owners would help
I ended up with 3 beta fish at one point because someone bought them as table decor for a party (she didn't want them after the party was over). I did research and took care of them, and they lived for 2-3 years. It's sad when people use living creatures as decor. 😢
This is more common than you think Betas are used for sweet 15 parties im latina and its common for those type of parties and weeding.
Same, it was a part of wedding decor at each table and they didn't want to keep any of them and pushed them off to the guests at the tables. Mine lived somewhere between 3-4 yrs and he was my first fish that introduced me to the hobby. Also, I got him a proper setup within a few weeks (I had to wait for money).
Same here except with goldfish. There were maybe 20 of them, it was for a baby shower. I luckily had a tank still running with a lone goldfish. I took 5 (they were sick unfortunately, didn't last long) and saw a couple people take one or two but wouldn't be surprised if she flushed the rest...
I could Never use Creatures for Decor. Thank you for Saving them !😢😊
People shouldn't use them for decor unless everyone on board taking a free pet home.
I’m glad I’m not the only one this infuriates. I’ve been keeping bettas my whole life and I’m almost 21. I’ve put my heart and soul into all three (very long lived) bettas I’ve had and every time I go into a pet store I have to physically restrain myself from just buying them all to save them. It’s insane the inhumane conditions stores like this can get away with
It has always been this way. Pet stores are terrible.
I quit petsmart recently and one of the reasons was the bettas and how they were mistreated. I managed to take one home that had swim bladder. I had watched him struggling for weeks and when I brought it to a manger’s she told me there was nothing we could do for him, even though we had a isolation tank FOR fish!
He’s doing great now, though! I got him healthy again and he went from being grey to a bright blue and purple!
God bless you-thank you so much for saving that sweet boy! 🙏🏻♥️
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I will never shop at petsmart not only because of this but becauae of tainted dog food making dogs sick.
Wasn't it your job to clean the animals cages and tanks as an employee? Wow, I don't know what to say about you because the employees are supposed to CLEAN and CARE for the critters otherwise you are letting this happen and the business loses money. Please tell me you will never get another job at another pet store ever!
@@lumindina699I get where you’re coming from, friend, but let me explain. The employees are put into ‘departments’ when they are hired. And man I WISH I was put in charge of the cleaning. If it was me doing the pet care the animal cages and the fish would have been spotless. I have had years of pet care experience and I have raised several reptiles and small mammals. No, unfortunately, the whole time they exclusively had me on register. For the five months I was at that job I kept asking my managers to train me in the pet care department and every time they kept saying ‘we will get around to it’. And it never happened. I was glued to the register the whole time. I wasn’t even allowed to leave to go help customers. I got in trouble for helping people find products in the store because it was too far from the front. The only other things they told me I could do was organize the treat section near the register and bring in carts from the parking lot. It was awful. I was actually losing my mind. :/
So, yeah, I was more or less forced to just sit there and take it until I had enough and quit.
I rescued mine from my old job. They were using his tank as an ashtray and a garbage bin and never fed him. When I found out I brought him home. I had a huge plan for him and was in love. He ended up being more than I could handle, I didn’t realize so much went into them. So my friend who is HUGE into fish and is always rescuing beta and actually has the money got him and I included the 25 gallon tank I bought just for him. Almost a year later and he’s doing so good🥰
What the hell is wrong with people
@@KeshLenae my thought exactly
This reminds me of when some peers and I stopped by Pet Supermarket after getting lunch on the same block hoping to dote on the animals for sale and were horrified to find a goldfish tank with a bunch of dismembered fish caught in the filter. What’s even worse is that, even if it was a sudden malfunction and they all died at once, you’d think someone would’ve disposed of the literal pieces of fish before customers could see them, but either they somehow didn’t notice or just didn’t care.
I got my beta from the back because of that, he was in the back behind everyone else. Lived out his days in a 10 gallon I got for him and he seemed happier and was very responsive with me. I loved him.
Its even worse than that.. I used to work at Petco and had to quit due to the animal abuse. The betas are shipped to us in fortune cookie sized bags that they can’t even turn around in, and my old managers just gave us scissors to cut them out and would often cut the fish in the process.. about 20% would be DOA..
Please never buy from big brand stores.. there were about 100 fish that died a day and so many of the other bigger animals (guinea pigs, bearded dragons, ex..) on a weekly death basis..
I wish people understood! As a kid I loved big pet stores and bought pets all the time! Often these pets would not live very long, and I always thought I was a crappy pet owner, even though I had my parents help and seem to be doing everything right. It turns out most of their animals are overbred and already so sick that they don’t survive no matter what you do.
mmmm yummy fish
Thats how most fish are shipped, the bag was full of oxygen but it leaks out.
Now bettas ate usually shipped in the cups.
@Aronthebernard not to mention the horrific breeding mills that they get all their pets from! Exposing those hamster farms etc makes me sick
@@ruthannfreeman4329 yeah, i do leopard gecko rescue and I have gotten 3 rescues from petco. 1st is my baby Ghost who has a cleft lip and had a weird deformity kink in the tip of his tail before he dropped it, 2nd is Ghost who also had a cleft lip, and 3rd was Snips who had a leg that bent the wrong way when he walked as well as a dropped tail and lots of cuts and bite marks. Have also seen reptiles with sunken eyes, too large of heads, or crooked bones/underbites. Its really bad.
I worked for petsmart. They were more concerned about getting things done im a certain amount of time instead of what was best for the animals.
I “broke many protocols” so that the animals would get better treatment. I treated all those animals like my own and the customers saw it in my work.
I was left to run it all by myself when I was only there 3-4 days a week. So things never got done. Only when I was there, were things done, and done properly. But it was time consuming as I had to pick up slack and give the best care.
Short version. No matter how good the employee is…petsmart policies suck and they care more about time and money.
True. Its more about getting things done fast than quality. I work in the hotel and for the dogs that don't get group play time, it sucks. Now they're getting rid of the overnight position, so it's gonna be a shit show by summertime
Same at petco. 2 people will run a whole store and we are expected to sign up memberships on people's phones, of course all the tasking from receiving random shit every day, stocking shelves, working truck, no dedicated animal care position, everything is crosss trained to save on staff and hours, to such a point we have to choose whether we take care of animals or get written up or documented for not doing something on the retail end. It's ridiculous.
i heard some stuff about petsmart (or it could have been another large pet store) throwing out fish that dont sell, do u happen to know about that and theoretically is it possible for employees to take home any animal’s that the store plans on dumping? even if the taking allegedly wasnt legal
What is it like working at a pet store? I've been considering getting a part time job at one to solely give people good advice and care for the animals, but I don't want to follow rules that lead the animals to hurting under my watch
This is literally my life right now working as the Aquatics specialist for Petco. I’m left to pick up the work of 4 people but it’s just me. If I’m not there the entire fish department and reptiles are neglected entirely. And the other worker who does care is just as burnt out as I am but all the managers do is sit on their ass and bark at us to get more phone signups and customer engagement while fish tanks are filling up with green algae and ammonia spikes. It’s hell on my heart and it never gets better no matter how hard I try.
THANK YOU!! I keep telling them that their hurting the little guys and they very much don’t care. The fish don’t deserve this torture.
That is strait up cruelty and they need to either stop selling them or set up individual small even nano tanks for them 💯
If we wouldn't buy fish at Pet Smart they will stop selling them.
Not really they don't lose much money for them and not everyone won't buy one so all you can do is just save them
True, just buying animals from these places are just encouraging them to keep getting animals and leave them in horrible conditions because they get money
They would still be in business because of the non-animals they sell.
They're more than a place to get animals from so they really wouldn't suffer.
@@missyjo2475 well I don’t know about other people, but I don’t care if they lose business or not just that they stop selling animals. They can be successful by just selling products like toys, food and stuff like that for animals and not hurting them in the process.
@@pupture9328 if they don’t lose much money from not selling the fish that means they don’t make much money from selling the fish so if enough people stop buying their fish, they would want to stop selling them because it’s not like they give them that much money anyways. At least that’s what I think.
I am the same way when it comes to Pet Smart and some other places. They have little to no knowledge of how to properly take care of animals
I think they know… they just don’t care because it would coast more money to do it right
Its also a store so i doubt there hiring people that are experts with animals. And most animal experts dont want to work for 12$ a hour
Support reptible breeders for that exact purpose.
I heard the Petco in my town (not PetSmart but essentially the same) telling people ALL the wrong information about the Beta fish. It's ridiculous. I did my civic duty and went to tell the people they had misinformed, all the correct information on how to care for their fish. The fact that they are TELLING people to buy the wrong things for their fish just to gain a buck is horrendous.
@@Courtney........it's likely not the staffs fault but management. Hey only teach staff what they want them to tell customers. If management doesn't care, staff will never learn why they should.
I witnessed horrible conditions at my local store and contacted corporate. Within a days, the situation had improved.
That’s the total opposite of my experience at PetSmart. I got a beta fish there and he lived for a total of 5 years, which is pretty impressive because I believe that most fish only live a couple of years. When I got him all of the fish to choose from seemed healthy and were in clean water. 🐟❤️
The corporate monsters don't give a crap.
Let’s just ban corporations all together and go back to small business.
When I was ten I got a beta fish, and it was the healthiest looking one in the entire store. After a few weeks he went from blue to light pink and then bleached white, I didn’t know what I was doing wrong, I read everything about taking care of betas. I acclimated him to his tank, I cleaned it often. I read him bedtime stories because I was a ten year old. But he died after a month. I was devastated and I held a funeral and wore only black for at least a month.
I’m so sorry that happened! It sounds like you really loved him. It could have been the water hardness or the PH, things that we didn’t know to check as kids. Or it could have just been sick when you got him. Pet stores often over breed them producing weak genetic that lead to disease and health problems. I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself, you did your research and tried your best! I’m sure he felt loved with every story you read him.
I did the same with a hamster when I was younger, and I was devastated, so I had a funeral with my parents and my grandma.
i’m sure he loved his bedtime stories and spending time with you though :) it seems like you were a good owner and that he was probably sick at the store.
Maybe the tank was too clean? Cleaning off all of the healthy bacteria, cleaning all decorations and gravel with soap, not using a dechlorinator, all things people might do that they're unaware of that they shouldn't do.
Never use soap to clean any fish containers. Also never clean the entire tank at the same time. They need that film. It acts as a bacteria blocker.
I can't believe that that's the way Betta are sold in the U. S.
Betas in my local petsmart are like this too. Sickly and dying. Once bought a beta from them for my daughter and it didn’t live long at all.
I feel the same way about Pet smart !!! They feed parrots only seeds ! That’s like giving candies to a 2years old constantly! They are setting up the bids for liver failure and new owners for major vet bills or a dying parrot! They don’t fly so they need a much lighter diet!!!!
And the fish now!!! It’s like they know NOTHING about pets! Not too SMART after all!!!
I think they know about pets, it’s just proper care would cost them more money.
You don’t need to be qualified to work there.. that’s why. The hire at SIXTEEN like any other retail job
As a rat owner, same thing goes for small mammals. Kept in terrible condition as well as marketing unsafe products.
They also spread misinformation about small mammals.
People worry about rats, but have no problems killing an innocent baby inside the womb. Shame on all of us.
@@westerlywinds5684 agreed.
I am a hamster owner, and I had to learn everything through extensive research! Petsmart sells these awful cages that are easily a third of the size of what’s necessary! They are cute cages that look fun but really kill the hamsters! I also learned that hamsters need these giant wheels to run on safely when petsmart sells four inch wheels. Heartbreaking.
God the enclosures! It’s so sad. Like just google a proper one you can make it cheaper than their shitty kits too!
@@westerlywinds5684why would you assume we don’t worry about that too? Animals don’t have value or?
Ofc that’s wrong and it’s horrible but it’s not what we’re talking about. That’s like saying well what about this like yeah many things are bad.
Doesn’t mean we can’t make strides to make somethings better!
Some people dumpster diving have found live fish and other critters that they just dumped.
Awful conditions. Those fish have almost no chance to survive...😢
Thank you for the post. It makes me crazy when I see this in pet stores
Thank you for your support! I want to see some real change happen though, and you seem like you do too! The best way to bring about change is through awareness. Please share this video with 3 people to help me expose what is happening! If enough people know we can stand together and demand change!
I am a former Petsmart employee I really think it depends on the store. We used to do water changes on the betas multiple times a week.
This seems like lazy store management. Which is so sad because those poor fish don’t deserve that.
Did you keep them in tanks and not cups? No? Did you keep bearded dragons or leopard geckos together? Yea? That's not proper care
@@reptilelover597They are kept in cups with lids because unlike other fish you can't have all your betta together in a tank. Petland doesn't even care that much because their betta sit in open glass bowls on an open shelf where anyone can knock them over or dump stuff inside. And I've never seen a Pet Smart keep any reptiles in the same enclosure, let alone 2 different species, because reptiles aren't social animals. Only the hamsters gerbils guinea pigs and birds.
@@reptilelover597To be clear, I'm not defending big chain pet stores, I'm defending the good people who work in those stores giving the best care they can to those animals while dealing with understaffing, poor scheduling and the head office ordering too many animals from sketchy backyard breeders.
@@cursedGalataea I never said two different species!! I mean multiple baby bearded dragons in one tank and multiple leopard geckos in another tank! And I'm not stupid. I KNOW Bettas cannot be kept together, except sometimes the females are kept in a small group but I don't like that bc it's too risky and can stress them out if done improperly. I never said keep them in a 20 gallon enclosure in the pet store. Just keep them in a bigger tank, even just 2 1/2 gallons until adopted them tell the person that's adopting them to get them a filtered heated 10 gallon tank minimum. I'm saying people are stupid and treat animals, especially fish, like objects. So they see a betta in a cup, take it home for their toddler, put the fish in a tiny 1/2 gallon tank or bowl with no heat or filter then set it up on a desk as a decoration letting their kid dump fish food in the tank or bowl whenever they want or to be tapping or hitting the glass to scare the fish. People are stupid, don't do any of their research, then listen to pet stores and rely on information from them. Put bearded dragons and leopard geckos on sand, keep ball python humidity no more then 40% or some places will tell you to keep your ball python humidity 90-100%!! Never keep a betta with other fish. Yes, that is true for colored fish, but I've had an employee tell me that a betta will fight and kill FEMALE guppies, catfish, and even a SNAIL! If you know anything about Bettas, which you seem to know your stuff, you'll know that's not true. Bettas can live peacefully with those kind of animals. They just cannot live with anyone who is brightly colored. They insisted my garter snake was a desert species. And what's worse, is they even tell people to keep bunnies in CAGES!!!!! Have you seen the cages at a pet store made for bunnies that are advertised as their "dream home"?Those things are horrible! Bunnies need to be free roam indoors or in a bedroom just like a cat or dog!! Never kept in a cage. A large dog exercise pen is the bare minimum until they can be fixed and fully litterbox trained! Sorry for the rant lol I hate how people never do their research and think animals are objects. Like, I used to work at a pet supplies plus and a lady wanted a baby ball python bc he looked cool. She probably would of abandoned him when she realized how big he got. She even tried to buy CRICKETS bc she figured that's what snakes eat since lizards do too! Even before I got into reptiles and I didn't know much as a kid, I knew the majority of snakes eat rodents, except garter snakes eat a variety of other prey that aren't rodents and that one snake (I forgot the name) eats insects, but pythons don't! I've had someone come in, buy two baby bearded dragons to keep together, then came back a few days later screaming at us bc one became sick. Why? BECAUSE bearded dragons should never be kept together! Even the babies. We took the sick one back, I wish we could have taken both, and nursed the poor guy back to health. He barely made it. One of the employees adopted him.
I completely agree. This seems like negligence on the part of the management and workers. At my local Petsmart, the fish are always very healthy. I have purchased over 40 fish from there, and not a single one has died or had any disease. I wish all chains treated their fish like my local Petsmart does. Management works the fish department every time I am there and even questions each buyer on tank size and water parameters. I would never buy from a place that treated their fish like this video. However, all Petsmarts are not like mine, apparently.
Oh my gosh, yes!!! I felt this way when I went to my local PetSmart! Shame on PetSmart! That should be considered animal cruelty! I wanted to raise hell, but I don't have a platform where I could make a difference. Thank you for sharing this with others and spreading awareness for these poor, innocent fish! I hope more people share this and can make a difference.
I’ve done the “buy and save” quite a few times. I had multiple 3-5 gallon tanks all over my house. I purchased a male Dumbo that was white with grey spots. He turned into the most gorgeous solid bluish grey with solid white fins. He was stunning. There is no excuse for this treatment. I once worked at a fish shop in Des Moines, Iowa. We had a filtration system. The Bettas were kept separate in cups and the cups were filtered by a drip system. When it was time for a water change; you just had to do one big one. It didn’t take much time at all. The fish were healthy and stayed healthy. ❤️✌️
There is no need to have so many in stock at once. The pet store I work at only has maybe 5 at most at once and this helps them get adopted within two weeks. I think even if they just lowered the amount they get in at once it would one, be easier to care for the ones there and two, be easier for them to get adopted faster and not have to sit on the shelf and rot 😭😭
I worked at PetSmart after going to uni for marine bio. I told them the beta system was horrible. They didn’t want to hear it. I told them the regular fish wall system was horrible. They told me to stop talking about it. I left. It’s disgusting and my GM only cared about money, not the animals in our care.
This is absolutely awful and heartbreaking... I had these fish as a child and I love them so much they were so much fun to watch I had a little divider tank and I had two of them and it was so much fun to watch them look at each other and puff up but I would never let them be with each other because I didn't want them to get hurt I always kept their water so clear and they were so happy and they would even come to the top of the tank when I would put their food in and I could even hand feed them they lived for much longer then they normally do because I kept such good care of them it breaks my heart to see how people can be so evil and cruel...
I used to have a ton of goldfish from PetSmart all deceased (died from ick) but we had one goldfish and he was quite a fighter we watched him in his last moments as he passed away fly high Tommy 💖
Hey pet store worker, absolutely hate that we can't keep them in better conditions. At my store we try to keep all of our animals in the best condition we can with the budget Corp. gives us. Please remember don't take your anger out on the workers unless they are deliberately being cruel to the animals. Also, remember that the company literally only sees everything, pets and supplies we sell, and are all for profit to make money. The company I work for won't give us the hours to have 3 workers on the floor when we close or open so it can get very very stressful, as well they have cut down on our budget to care for the animals. It's very frustrating, I work here still because I love my coworkers and to care for the animals because I love them.
Why can't the workers give them better living conditions?
@DyreElsker78 because we'd have to buy the things ourselves for the animals then. And working minimum wage I barely have enough to even live on, let alone my coworkers. The economy has gotten so bad it's hard to live off minimum wage. We try to give them the best opportunity and enrichment we can give them tho
No, if u are ok taking money from the Corp that abuses animals, you are the issue too. Plenty of jobs out there that don't require watching animals suffer.
@scy1038 With me working here, the least I can do is give them a life well taken care of here. Not every employee's intention is like that
This breaks my heart. Just why?? 😢 American corporations are the worst!
Lol no. I'd check out a few other countries before you say American businesses are the worst. Go buy a pet in Thailand, Mexico, Somalia, China, Vietnam, most of Africa, India, Korea, Russia along with most of the rest of the world and you'll see really quick we're better off than most of the world. Not that we don't need to get better but definitely not the worst or even the top 20 for worst.
I haven’t been to America before but I can tell you this is all around the world. From big chain stores to small local market.
It breaks my heart, but EVERY PETSTORE THAT SELLS BETTA FISH DO THIS
Hey what if we all got together and just... walked out with bettas? We all just storm in peacefully, pick a fish, and all walk out. They cant really stop us at that point.
This is everywhere I went to a local pet store I had never been to and I was so disgusted by the fact that they still had ALL the Betta's in the bags they came in and more then 50% were dead! I screamed at the owner that he shouldn't keep them in bags they need oxygen and that's why they're dying I proceeded to hand him all the items I was going to buy said I refuse to support this business and will never be back. It's really so sad what they do to these poor fish.
@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 It's better than doing absolutely nothing.
@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 What does it even matter what you're saying, because you're making absolutely NO sense! Maybe if I had mentioned a "manager" or "Franchise" you might have a leg to stand on however I specifically said I yelled at the "owner" as in the actual owner of the "LOCAL Pet Store" I didn't say local Franchise owner, have you ever heard of a small business?!
So you obviously didn't bother really reading my original comment you just clearly made up your own version in a weird attempt at trying to make this about you and how smart you think you are? 🤔 FYI this local pet shop is now closed due to these exact types of things long story short a few locals filed animal abuse complaints and sent photos of the condition of the pets and eventually they were shut down.
That's appalling!
Had a similar experience with Walmart, back when they sold live (-ish) pets. There was a gerbil decomposing in the same tank as its kin. When I reported it, the staff person laughed. I didn't go to Walmart again for more than a decade, and by then they no longer carried pets.
Even now, Walmart is a last resort.
I get my pets and supplies from an ethical, local small business that I am happy to see outgrew their last location and has spacious now facilities 😺
Same thing was going on with a pet store down the road from me, I had gotten a blue betta (male) and had at least made his last few days amazing, barely had him for a week and still cried for over three hours on the floor after waking up to his death, then shortly after my other betta died and I had stayed up all night crying.
THANK YOU. I don’t go there anymore because I feel so bad for those fish in tiny cups, not even swimming, just floating and looking sad. Even the ones in aquariums. They are way over crowded and tons of dead ones. So messed up.
This is absolutely disgusting! How tf are they still allowed to do this? I’ve never seen fish in tubs in a pet store, they are all in clean fishtanks never in tubs! This is so inhumane, they need to be stopped!
All betas are sold this way
@@JessicaSimonson1976 well here in my country they aren’t. Must be an American thing, either way it doesn’t make it okay.
@@Naomi_NaeNae they come in tiny glass bowls, or tiny plastic tubs.
@@JessicaSimonson1976 not here they don’t. They come in small fish tanks with filters. Not in little cups. That’s an American thing and it’s cruel.
all chain pet stores should go out of business in all honesty, i feel the same about wanting to by the sad and sick fish but my boyfriend says exactly what you said- that would support them and just give more room for even more fish to abuse. it just absolutely breaks my heart.
i’ve been going to a box store in my area called blake’s aqua den and i will never go back to a chain store
Literally been that way my entire life and I'm pushing 40. My local Walmart doesn't carry pet fish anymore, but they used to, including betas, and it was this bad too. I bought one once from Walmart and it died the same night I brought it home. They're never going to change.
We should sign a petition for PetSmart and Other retail stores to stop selling bettas. I would sign in a heartbeat. I had my betta for 3 years until the cold weather hit, and my poor baby had an infection and I did my best and researched as much as I could. But he sadly passed away and since then my heart hurt to own another baby betta. So I would love to go to that store and take them all home but she’s right. My money would buy more to be put in place of those I take. 😢makes me 😡
THANK YOU!! CALL! I DID ON WALMART AND THEY CLOSED THE SECTION!😮
But I feel like Walmart is entirely different Walmart has everything it would be difficult for them to keep up taking care of the fish a pet stores main focus is around pets
@@rosestorms5396 Walmart used to have fish
I’m so sorry for your loss. This broke my heart as an ex beta owner. Beta fish are beautiful creatures inside and out and I wish these so called pet stores were more cognizant of their needs
Thank you. Me too. Someone needs to hold them accountable. The first step is awareness, so feel free to share this.
Everytime we get fishes they don’t last at all. 😢They always die. But anytime we go to an aquarium store or just somewhere else. They don’t die at all. There’s something up with petsmart. We stopped buying from them a long time ago. Freaking 😞
Say it louder for the people in the back!!! 🗣💯
Remember when Walmart had fish?
No one bought them.
I did, once. I bought a purple betta who had terrible water in his cup, and I bought a clown loach. This was about three months before they stopped selling fish. Their bettas were all in cups on a shelf, and I'd think most of them never saw light because they were so far back. I don't regret it. Those two were the spunkiest fish I've ever had. That betta had so much personality, flared at snails, and he was just so awesome.
Honestly petsmart needs to be called out on a lot of things. Ive seen so many dead fish, too many fish in the same tank, and stressed animals. They dont even tell you how to properly care for the animals. I remember when i was younger it started with 1 fair hermit crab to buying over a dozen hermit crabs from petsmart. I just couldnt get them to live for long and it broke my poor heart. I tried googling but it was so many different things. I bought bettas from petsmart but my longest living one was from a different store and had a messed up gill. May all the animals rest in peace 😢
I’m sorry for all your loss but it’s not all your fault. Many animals from there are over breed with poor genetics. I agree it’s time for them to take responsibility.
Exactly!!!!! Finally a message I can stand behind....... not someone actually buying all the fish and taking them home! I know it's extremely sad in not purchasing them and you feel like you're making it worse but you're not... PetSmart totally sucks for this
There was a petition that went around years ago and idk why it didn't stop this from happening. We should all keep trying
Betas hard treated so awful in every store. I remember when Walmart decided to sell green spotted puffers (I had one and they are not beginner friendly, need brackish water in a bare minimum 20 gallon tank just for one puffer, and lots of attention, when I started nursing school and couldn’t keep it anymore I returned it to the specialty fish store I bought it from and they were shocked at how big he was and how healthy I kept him - most people reported that theirs died). Walmarts puffers were all sick with inverted bellies. It was so sad!!! Don’t sell fish if you won’t keep them healthy in the store!!
I completely agree! It’s time we hold these businesses accountable! The 1st step is awareness, which comes from sharing videos like this one. People need to understand just how wrong this is!
Whats actually effective is making laws. Someone else with no fish knowlage is gonna now come along and fund the pet store. You're still funding the store by purchasing from them, so just standing by and thinking that not purchasing the fish is gonna stop them from selling them is not going to work. We need to make laws and campaign to provide these fish propper care
It's been like this for years, not enough people are stopping
Pet Smart has had a bad rep for how they keep animals for YEARS.
It’s always been a bad idea for stores like these to sell pets. They should only sell supplies.
Wherever I’ve been in the world, my heart has broken at the way animals are kept in these stores. Not just Pet Smart but also at so many Home Stores.
What they do to them is horrible! Being in those tiny little containers for days and hrs just wasting away! Sickining!
Something I notice is this is a real hit or miss and it's honestly so weird. The Petco where I live the Bettas are healthy even if not ideal but they're still swimming and very active, But in the next city they're dying with the most disgusting water. Some people just don't care and something does need to be done about the workers that don't care. A lot of pet shops have a very poor choice of who works there, and I feel like that's one of the biggest impact when it comes to their animals living situations, especially fish.
I know what you mean. Iv talked to the fish employees at this PetSmart before and most of them seem to genuinely care about the fish. I saw one employee refuse to sell a guppy and a goldfish to the same person who said they were going to put them together in a 10 gallon. For some stores I don’t think it’s the employees I think it’s the lack of resources they have and the rules they have to follow. Side note the employees even lets me have the bladder snails for free to feed my puffers.
This is absolutely true. I have an amazing Petco with a department that takes this section seriously. And, all the employees are "fish folk". I have personally seen all of them refuse a sale of a fish or reptile based on what they were observing or a customer's absolute refusal to get a properly sized tank.
Because here in Florida, where there is a petco there is a petsmart, they are in competition. The petsmart has removed all of the small tank kits. You can get 3 - gallons and up. While a 3-gal isn't great for a betta, a long finned betta might be thankful as long as the water is good, and it's great for shrimp. It's a start. These videos and posts are becoming constant- and it's making a difference.
How Can they think this is O. K? In England they keep the fish In Different Aquariums. The way the Dogs are Kept in Cages In pet Shops too is Upsetting. There is no need for Such Carelessness.😢
Seen this too. I literally just took the last 5 fish that were alive home with me without paying. Had the police at my door a few hours later and I showed them the footage that I had and one of them said I done the right thing. I let them in to show them the new living conditions they were in and the one that didn't say anything before piped up and said this was infinitely better for them. They both thanked me for getting those fish away from a shit life before leaving with a smile on they're face
I completely understand not wanting to buy from them to stand ground and show that this is not okay. but also if you think about it, you don’t want all the fish to die because you’re trying to prove a point. I totally understand where you’re coming from though it’s such a tough choice! This is not okay either way and then definitely need to do something about this ASAP.
You Will never see a Beta hold like this in shops here in Germany
This is most definitely an American chain pet store thing. Disturbs me, whenever I go to get cat toys there is always at least one dead betta and most of them have fin rot or swimming issues
@@Equines_and_Animalsnot just America. Thailand. Asia. They will throw these fish on the ground and leave them to die at those markets while "cleaning" the bowls they were in. That's a HUGE red flag. Besides, no animal should ever be kept in a bowl or tiny tank or cup
Exactly what i was thinking !!
I see many people buy these fish because they feel sorry for them , but in reality they are encouraging the pet store to keep the fish in bad conditions so that people would buy them
You can save lives and fight against it too.
Having fish shipped to you is another option. There's some small businesses that specialize in certain fish and have the means and resources to send a healthy beta through the mail.
Petco sucks too. I had to return an aggressive fish to them and they just dumped it back in a tank without acclimating it to the water. The fish sunk straight to the bottom of their tank flat. I’m sure it passed. It’s so frustrating to see the conditions in pet stores
This is one of the few reasons why I left my pet store job. Treating creatures like table decorations just breaks my heart.. I couldnt do it anymore
They don’t care at the store level, but corporate understands how this can affect their reputation and paychecks, so, even if it’s not for the right reasons, they will correct this QUICKLY. Give ‘em a call
Petsmarts has done so many horrible things to their animals and it breaks my heart 😢 we need to stand up and do something
Edit: ty for the likes 👍
I've had to do this with Pet Smart so many times with their Beta fish not to mention other animals. They need to just sell food, toys, supplies, etc. Whatever governing body can stop them from selling animals needs to get involved. This has been happening for too many years!
They lady seemed actually sad, I feel bad for employees
It's literally corporate that is so detached from reality. The floor employees care, management only cares about numbers.
Nobody seemed to care when I let them know of the dead fish. It was more in the sense of yeah will get around to cleaning it up eventually. Pet Smart either needs to close down or go to a strictly supply store for food, treats, toys, etc. They should not be allowed to sell any pets/animals anymore.
What about the animal shelters that go to these stores?
@XxforevercandygirlXx Fortunately most of the animals are there for the weekend or special adoption events. To the best of my knowledge when the PetSmart in my city was discovered adopting out sick cats and dogs, some with dogs with parvo and cats with FIV (?), the city fined them, closed them for six months, and once they were inspected and passed they were given the limited events I mentioned above.
i just cant, i will literally sit and cry its heartbreaking seeing the conditions and treatment.
You shouldn’t buy pets from these places because it creates a market for more, meaning more animals are gonna end up in places like that.
Putting a fish in a cup like that with no oxygenation is a death sentence, I always try to not look when I go to a pet store because there’s almost always a dead or dying one and it’s so upsetting. Unfortunately the company doesn’t care because they’re cheap. Edit: just remembered I once had a petco employee tell me a one gallon tank was a good size for two goldfish, not really his fault he was just a teen but petco needs to start actually caring for these animals and teaching the employees the basics
Betta fish don’t necessarily need the water to be oxygenated. They have something called a labyrinth organ, which is essentially a kind of lung that allows them to breathe air (you can see them come to the surface of the water to take a breath every now and then). Still doesn’t excuse the treatment of betta fish in chain stores.
I actually work in a chain pet store, and as soon as I see someone looking at the bettas, I go right over to them and try my hardest to get them to put down the one gallon prison… um… I mean, tank, and get something larger. It usually just takes a quick “hey! I see you’ve got one of those one gallon tanks with everything included. It’s actually much easier to take care of them in something like a five gallon, and much better for the fish, too. They’re right over here. And they’re only a quarter of the price, so you’ll have a lot more money to spend on fun decor and a lot more space to decorate!” One of my other coworkers was much more blunt about putting fish in small tanks and would tell them “well, your child can live their entire life locked in a closet, but that would be cruel wouldn’t it?”
Unfortunately, as you mentioned, the company doesn’t care. So those of us who do care try our best, but inevitably we get burnt out.
@@pendelschabehaha your co-worker sounds brilliant tbh. i hope they got the message
I’m so glad I have most of my bettas from more responsible stores. I got five of my eleven from a local breeder that kept them in temporary vases with super clean water, and decor. The other six I got from a store, not a big pet chain store though. They were healthy and well although.
I took over an office that no one had been using for months. Under a pile of papers I found a poor betta fish, barely alive! The water had evaporated out of the bowl so much it barely had 1/4 water left. Took it home and gave it a 10gallon tank, it lived for two more years
:( I just got my betta from a petsmart near me but all the fish there were taken care of really well. the woman who helped me get the stuff I needed for him was very informative and was glad I was listening because she knew "the fish was going to a good home" We talked for like an hour and she showed me her own betta tanks and such. petsmart can have thise rare moments when a worker really does care for the fish. sorry to all the rest
This is why I buy fish from my local shop. It’s more expensive but they take WAYYY better care of their fish.
My local shop does only the bare minimum, a filtered oxygenated tank with small dividers, not ideal but the fish aren’t dying! The bettas there cost only around 5-10 dollars as well, ridiculous that chain pet stores can’t do even the slightest in favor of bettas.
Currently working at petsmart and can say it’s just laziness of the company not to have tanks for them, they come in cup we sell them in cups but usually don’t die to water quality but the cold temperature in the cup which usually gives them fin rot and other health issues. It’s sad but literally nothing can be done it’s just a corporate thing and i promise you it’s the last thing they care about.
This hurts me so much because they do this not only to fish but hamsters, mice, rabbits, and a lot of other pets they sell. Most people don’t realize that the care at a pet store is not usually proper and animals cannot get what they need. The big chain pet stores also mass produce a lot of their animals, leading to millions of animal deaths. it’s horrible and i wish it was stopped.😢
It’s been like this with PetSmart for over 2 years. They are aware of their practice and does not care. I stop shopping with them and start going to stores that care.
It breaks my heart I can’t save them all I try to avoid going to the stores now .
I understand. I want to save them but not support them.
@@ruthannfreeman4329 I save my betta Steve he was a good betta he was injured but passed on before I got him healthy . Now I have 4 I’ve saved and are all happy . When I become a multimillionaire I’m gonna buy a whole bunch of these babies and give them the best life .
That’s wonderful
My boyfriend is now only allowed to shop at pet stores that don’t sell animals in tiny cages/cups. He’s an animal lover thru and thru but he kept shopping at petsmart until I told him no.
Sounds a bit controlling but I get where you're coming from.
I agree with you thank you for bringing this to light. You’re the first person that I’ve ever heard stand up for the betas. I’ve seen them myself and felt sorry for them, and want to do the same thing that you suggested take them all home and give them a better environment, but like you said we would be supporting their business I’m surprised they’re allowed to get away with it it should be considered abuse but because it’s just a fish nobody does anything about it
Girl between the fish dying and “supporting the business” just buy them 😭
i was thinking the same. if you have the money it might fund their sales but you could have a chance to save those fish and turn their lives around. ultimately thats what matters not the money or where it goes. And you can appeal against them outside the shop too. theres no reason you can't do both
@@vvelvettearss my thoughts exactly ):
Petsmart is one of the worst pet stores ever. They buy their ferrets from a breeder company called Marshall's and they inbreed on purpose!! They keep their critters in tight spots and over breed and inbred over and over. We bought two ferrets from there and didn't realize how dark the Marshalls industry is until after the fact they had a ton of medical issues. The vet clarified they didn't understand why the ferrets were having so many issues like enlarged kidney and terrible blood levels and rotting teeth, they were barely a year old when they died.
Yes this is so true , I was looking for a betta fish for my 3.5 tank, I was gonna get a small one but I saw how bad all of the fish were looking, it was so sad so I asked a person who worked there and they told he they change the water, that was a lie so I grabbed 2 betta fish and left, it’s super sad but the betta I got is in awesome condition and now he is in a 5.5 gallon tank with filter!!
I went to petsmart one year in 2008...saw a blue beta without an eye and asked if I could have him. They gave him to me for free and he lived a happy life for years after that. Went back after Roy passed and saw a white beta that looked like he was on his on his last breath. Again, I asked if I could have him, and they gave him to me for free for the poor condition. Bought a 10 gallon tank, a tank warmer, and a filter for this one tiny beta! Haha He only lived 2 years, but I loved him. He was so smart and loved playing follow the finger and swimming through rings. Miss you Pocky! Petsmart has been doing this to betas for DECADES.
The fish that were sold in Walmart years ago, unfortunately, was treated the same way, and we, as consumers, continued to buy them whenever they died.
That’s exactly how I ended up buying my Betta from Walmart. Had him for 4+ years before he died
This is every petsmart I’ve been too. It’s disgusting. I’ve let the workers know how I felt and let them know about the dead ones and they just say ok thank for letting us know. They need to make better arrangements for these poor fish.
Every time I go in that store I leave in tears bcs of how the animals are kept. I don’t ever want to go in there again unless I’m saving them
All
They should make it to where you have to order online in order to get one instead of having them sit in cups all day, and the rest of their lives with no filtration or air pumps. This is cruelty, legitimate animal cruelty!!!! 😢😡