New Petsmart... shock and happiness.

Que

Que

I wish I was a fish I wish.
Feb 15, 2007
2,449
12
38
Southern Berkshire county, MA
Real Name
Ken
Camera Used
cell phone
So I Needed a few things so I did my homework and visited Petsmarts on-line store to price out a few things. I was going in for a couple of 200 watt visitherm stealth heaters and a 25ft Python.
The store I was going to is on the corner of 2 busy highways... rt4 and rt17 in Paramus New Jersey. It sits right across the highway from the biggest shopping mall in the state. Some people drive over from NYC to shop up and down these highways. I planned on going late after dinner to miss the rush hours traffic. My wife said she clipped a coupon for the store for me and so I took a look. It was an expired coupon but it was for a new store just a few kliks up the highway... closer to me!
I got in the car and was there in no time. I parked my car in the nearly empty lot and went inside. I really wasn't sure the store was open because there were what seemed like only employees in there. I did spot another shopper coming from the lot but no one else. I walked through the door and stopped. I scanned right to left and AHA... there they were. the fish displays. "Be strong Q" I said to myself, "No fish this time, you're on a mission." I pulled my print outs from my back pocket and did my inventory check up and down each aisle a foot at a time until I found everything I came for. Sadly no Ehime filters were in the store or caulk gun cartriges of silicone but I did save a bundle. the heaters were 19.99 each and the Python was 26.06.

THEY HAVE FISH. I saw stuff in there that I've only seen in AC. Some dragon fish thing, a leaf fish and bichers. It was like a wonderland really. All the tanks were full. AND THEY HAD BETTAS IN HALF FILLED CUPS IN THE BLUE WATER THEY"RE SHIPPED IN!!!
I really had mixed feelings... here was a store with fully stocked shelves and tanks which made me happy like I struck gold and then the shock of the poor bettas. I took my prizes and left. who knows what will end up in my tank but I really felt like rescuing half a dozen fish from an unknown but likely fate.

Q
 
I understand, the treatment of bettas can be horrible! I once saw them in half filled glasses along a display (though they were for sale) brightened up with Christmas lights that surrounded each glass and went down the display. The glass of each cup felt warm and I'm pretty sure the fish were blinded. So sad. Glad you found the stuff you needed though.
 
I always notice that Betta's are always in small cups. Isn't that torture? Or is that what they're use to?
 
well, at the place i sued to work at, markheim pets (http://www.wnybiz.com/markheim/photogallery.html), we kept them in shallow bowls that had a total water change religiously every 2 days. the blue you see is methylene blue, an liquid cure for them. i highly doubt that the fish were still in the shipping water as it would have become soiled by now from wastes and excrements. even a betta on a tiny diet can make a mess in a little bowl in only a few days as i found out. more than likely they change the water on their schedule and that is the water you see there.

as for the bowl, i'll be honest here and say when i was a boy, i kept a betta alive for 4-5 years in a small fish bowl doing a total cleaning of the bowl with gravel, fake plants and the decorative clay whale ( he used to rest in there at night when i shut the light off) every week religiosuly. i am not condoning that; all i am saying is with proper care ( i fed mine dried blood worms and he had no shocks from fish or sudden movements from anyone- i treated him quite fairly) they can live long healthy lives like mine with no problem. maybe i was lucky, but i enjoyed mine and his behavior.
with mine, he was a beautiful crimson with shades of brilliant blue with long flowing fins. it can be done, but now i would keep a betta in 2.5 galon tank with a small air pump and some nice decor for hiding and such. just my 2 cents...
 
When I worked there we had to change the betta cups every two days too, and we added the "blue stuff". They weren't shipped in the blue water. Here's my take on the betta bowl/cup issue. It would be cruel if 1. they had to live their entire lives in that much of a confined environment, and 2. the water was not changed regularly. It isn't possible for a FS to house each betta in a separate tank and as we all know they will kill eachother if put in together so the FS only option is to temporarily house them in a small space. None of these fish last longer than two weeks on the shelves (meaning they are sold quite regularly), so it IS temporary for them. The cups/bowls should be fill three quarters full (any more and they sometimes jump out), although I've seen it where there was hardly enough water to keep the poor creature moist.

It would be nice, however, to have FS employees that would educate the public about betta housing once they go to a home. Most the time they are sold along with tiny bowls to a 4 year old who will probably get home and dump the whole thing of fish food in and then wonder why "Bubbles" isn't moving.

Anyway, if the employees are following the store rules then the bettas should be just fine untill finding a new home.
 
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I stand corrected about the blue water. I don't know how anyone could see what these guys really look like though... that water was bluuuuue.

My post was more about my happiness about a new store so well stocked and so close to home. I still can't get over how they honor the online price when the store prices are sooo high. I'm just glad they do.

Q
 
My area has 2, soon to be 3 petsmarts, all within 20 minutes of each other.

The new one, the largest one will have a pet hotel - not that I will use it but it is interesting.

Both of the existing Petsmarts have fairly good tank setups. The northern one had a big issue with diesase in one of their shipments and shut down the tank displays (closed to customer that is) for treatment. That was a good idea I thought. I also noticed that either every day or every other day, they change the betta water - i thought this was odd because it is not typical of a retailer. Nice thought that they care. Both have more rare fish, but nothing too uncommon imo. Glad to see petsmart is expanding their FW fish selections.

I prefer these massive chain stores over our local chain store (Jacks Pets) because Jacks does not take care of anything and they are mostly out for a sale (not all of them though). Then we have the one off lfs that are great.

Aries
 
I have to say that I am quite impressed with my local Petsmart. The fish section is far from perfect, but in general they have a decent selection of good, healthy fish. I prefer their fish to one of the LFS, although said LFS has more selection.

In particular, I have a pack of 9 glass catfish. I purchased 6 from the LFS and 5 from the Petsmart. The Petsmart ones were all healthy and happy and have had no problems to this day. The LFS ones were stressed and not looking too good, and I lost 2 of them. Each group was quarantined separately, but now reside together.
 
as soon as I get my 75 set and ready, I'm buying every leaf fish my local petsmart has. :D
 
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