its irresponsible for any store to sell fish that couldn't live for life in a tank they sell and have in stock.
wal-mart doesn't carry anything bigger than a 55, they shouldn't carry clown knives. probably shouldn't even carry oscars (not for $15 at 3", anyway. ripoff).
That is a good point, but it really isn't Wal-Mart's problem to fix, it is up to customers. If the customers stop being fish and sales go bad they will just phase out the aquarium section of the store as they have done in the past
Does anyone remember Kmart, Target, or even Pier 1 selling fish? If it wasn't for Pier 1 being one of the first places I ever saw marine fishkeeping I might have never got into the hobby. There are alot of places that just don't have a good lfs and wallyworld might be the only place around to get stuff.
These are all very good points. and i'm not arguing that wal-mart should phase out fish completely. As one of the previous posters said it was stores like this that got them into fish keeping. I'm simply saying that this fish is one we here on MFK consider to be a monster. And most people will see a cool silver fish with cool stripes and want it.
And as far as the tags go. many of those tags are incorrect and we all still come accross people who believe that a fish will only grow to the size of its aquarium. So it would be nice for wal mart to hire someone to work the fish who has worked with fish before.
I was in a wal mart in wyoming once that had a larger selection of fish that one of the private stores here in denver. And where my aunt and uncle live the only fish they will ever get their hands on is through wal-mart as other members on here i have read are their source of fish.
And i dont think every person that shops for fish at wal mart are a novice. Hell i stop and look everytime im there. I know that they arent much different than petsmart and petco. But lets be honest the people working at those stores get at least some training. But thats not even saying much. I was in petsmart just the other day and the guy was telling this couple that it only takes a week cycle the tank. and all you have to do is sprinkle a little fish food in the water to get it started. If i wasnt running late i would have stopped because i usually do correct these people.
All i am saying is that this particular fish seems inappropriate for the tanks that they provide for its costomers
killerfish- this was the southlands wal-mart Smokey Hill and roughly E-470
You make good points and I don't neccessarily disagree with any of them. Bearing this in mind, most of my fishes are inappropriate for the tanks that the chain and non-chain fish stores around me sell. Where would I get my fishes if these places couldn't sell big fishes without selling giant tanks?
Again, no offense meant. Just an honest question using your reasoning. I understand your point, none of us want to see pacus or Oscars in 20g tanks. None of us want to see fishes suffer. There just has to be a better way to do something about it other than what your quote suggests.
When i first started the fish hobby, I swore I'd never buy any fish from Wal-Mart. Then I started looking around at prices. I still stood my ground. Then, I bought over $100 of tropicals at one time from Petland. Every last one died the first week. Their policy, 48 hrs. They would not do anything to make it right. Well, long story short. I broke my own rule and went to wal-mart. I still buy from Petsamart and 2 other Mom and Pops, but man! You just can't beat Wal-marts prices on anything. Sadly, that includes fish.
I have figured out which Wal-mrts near me to buy from and which to avoid. The key for me was to look for the dead fish. every lfs (almost) will have a few dead floating around. Some WM's have a ton of dead. not hard to figure out, they don't take care of their tanks. Some WM's however do get an employee that cares about their dept. Those are easily identified b/c they have just 1 or 2 or 0 dead fish, the sink and fish tank area are cleaned and the dept. Is well orginized. Basically, it's obvious that someone is staying on top of things.
i agree that they probaly shouldnt be selling clown knifes, but...this is capitalism and if selling two clown knifes to responsible buyers vs 20 to idiots with a fish bowl makes no difference in their bottom line..thats business
i agree that they probaly shouldnt be selling clown knifes, but...this is capitalism and if selling two clown knifes to responsible buyers vs 20 to idiots with a fish bowl makes no difference in their bottom line..thats business
