View Full Version : Saved some fish on Friday...
ChilDawg
08-24-2003, 1:47 AM
I was at the Rockford Wal-Mart (moth to a flame, that I am!) and saw the usual disarray, including a rotting Oscar swirling around the top of an unkempt tank. I was wondering why I kept going to the fish area of that "not-so-super store" when this woman and her kids almost purchased a Betta. Well, actually, almost purchased two Bettas...the little boy wanted to put two together to see if they would fight. The mom wasn't thrilled about that, but she almost gave into the "fact" (presented by the little boy) that male and female Bettas would not fight when placed together. She told him that she didn't know if that was true or not, but I was able to tell the true story for them...and they didn't buy either Betta because I told them that there were better Betta-buying locales in town. I felt good about myself and realized that it was my calling to go there each time I'm in that Wal-Mart (I helped teach two little kids that Os in tanks where fish are dying aren't worth buying...especially for that 2-1/2 gallon starter tank when I went last month!)
I tried to let a woman know her purchase wasn't a great idea at WalMart last weekend but doesn't look like she cared. She was buying a common pleco and I asked her how big her tank was. She said it was really big, though our walmart is the only place to get tanks in town and their biggest is a 30 gallon. I hope she has a bigger tank than that, cause then she said that she was getting this one to keep the other pleco company. And she also picked up about 6 tetras and a pictus catfish. Yikes!!!
The girl who was serving her didn't even know which fish were which.
ChilDawg
08-24-2003, 7:06 AM
Yeah, I get that all the time when I'm helping...I told one guy that a cooler could save fish's lives during his 60 minute drive home in the heat, humidity, and car with 4/55 AC (four windows down at 55 mph), but he wouldn't even take a complimentary one from PetCo...said I didn't know what I was talkin' about.
The PetCo guy stopped me when I walked in the next week and told me that that guy returned his fish...dead, of course...and thanked me for trying to help but said that some people are too ignorant to care. The PetCo guy's one of the good ones...well-trained, and loves to chat when I'm there...and loves it when I help even though it may not boost sales. (Nemo goes in a saltwater tank, kids...those are expensive. "But I want Nemo, Mommy!" "Listen to the nice man!" Fish guy: "I wanted to tell them!")