My 2 New Rescues - Very Sad

[omgitsapibble]

I cannot believe someone did this. I was at Walmart shopping earlier, and decided to go look at the fish. I was looking at their betta fish and they had them stacked on these shelves, like 3 rows deep. Way at the top, in the very, very back, I found a container and decided to see what color betta fishy was in it.

This is what I found...



Yes... 2 male betta fish... crammed into one cup. Either someone thought this would be funny as hell to do, and then hide them in the back of the shelf, or they ran out of extra cups, and decided what the he!!, and stick both of them together. Either way it's sick, appalling, and downright sad. I didn't want to support this type of abuse, but I couldn't leave them there like that, they would've just suffered and died ... so I bought both of them.

The blue male must've been the alpha, he's got some major fin nippage, but the other male is just... a sad sight to see.



*Shakes head* He's in bad shape, breathing with his mouth open, but still swimming around a bit in his new container. Here's a few more photo's...



The other male...



For now, I have the larger blue male is a 2 gallon container, and the smaller one that's in bad shape in a 1 gallon container. I'm going to give it till Monday to see if the one in bad shape makes it. If he does, I have a 10 gallon and all supplies, and I'm going to get a divider and divide it, so they'll each have 5 gallons. If he doesn't make it (I really hope he makes it... poor guy), I'm going to pick up a 5 gallon tank kit like Tofu is in.

There's a possibility that the one in bad shape is a female, but so many fins are missing, it's hard to tell right now. However, this particular Walmart does not carry females. Ever. So... that's why I keep thinking it's likely another male. Either way... it was a sick and depraved thing for someone to do. They're not called fighting fish for nothing.

The better off male in his new, temporary 2 gallon home...



The new temporary 1 gallon home of the one that's in bad shape...



Poor baby... hiding in his plant...



That's all the pics I have.

[amberlynn]

man that is just so horriable and im glad that you caught it before something really bad would happen....well i hope everything works out well

[chocolatepuppy]

That just makes me sick!!! Bless you for saving them, I hope they both do ok.

[Cinder & Smoke]

... I was at Walmart ...

... 2 male betta fish... crammed into one cup.

.. I didn't want to support this type of abuse ... so I bought both of them.

They're not called fighting fish for nothing.

And did you seek out the store MANAGER to register a complaint ??

That's the best way to prevent repeats of the abuse -
Find the guy who's "SUPPOSED to Know" what's right and wrong,
and point out the problems.

If he doesn't seem to give a hoot - ask him if he'd like a "visit" from
a hundred of your closest friends from the Humane Society?

Then ask how he spells his name - so you get it right when you alert the
local News outlets about the Animal Abuse at Walmart.
He might start to pay attention then.

[omgitsapibble]

LOL, probably would've scared the manager crapless. And you are very, very right... that is exactly what I should've done. I was just so upset, and in a rush to get them home, because I kept watching the big one nip the sick one. I just rushed to a register, payed and got home as quick as I could. I should've asked for a manager right then and there, and it honestly never crossed my mind.

[IRescue452]

I'll bet some teenagers did this and it wasn't caught yet, not the store doing it on purpose. Cups are the safest way to transport bettas, but they should put all the fish behind lock and key so customers have to ask for assistance. They do make the flip lids for the commercial tanks that can be locked down to prevent access.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

poor thing. I love bettas. Do you have some medication for the beat up one? Maybe some Miracyn or Stresscoat?

[omgitsapibble]

poor thing. I love bettas. Do you have some medication for the beat up one? Maybe some Miracyn or Stresscoat?

Yes, I currently have Stress Coat and aquarium salt in his water.

Update and a few pics from this morning.

Taco (the one in bad shape) is doing really well. He's swimming all around his little habitat, even came to the glass begging for food, and happily ate his breakfast. I am *so* glad to see good signs from him like that, it gives me hope that he'll actually survive.

Tuna is also doing good, though he wasn't in nearly as bad of shape, other than some ripped fins. He's been swimming all around his habitat too, and happily ate his breakfast this morning as well.

A few pics from this morning...

Taco:









And a couple of Tuna...

[Christmas_Hamster]

Make sure you keep the water really clean in order to prevent infection. Despite their fins they look like they are going to make it. (((Goodvibes)))

Taco definitely looks male by the way.

Next time talk to the manager no matter what. Sometimes they aren't completely hopeless and will at least listen.

Sadly it's pretty common, some idiot (not necessarily a teen, by the way) just thought it was funny and a lot of the time the fish section isn't well supervised and it's easy to do. :/

[Taz_Zoee]

People just keep giving me reasons not to like WalMart. I can't handle that store. And now for VARIOUS reasons. This is not okay!!
Thank goodness you found these two and saved them. I hope they both live out their lives to the fullest.

[Alysser]

I don't see why is always a "teenager" to blame...

Anyway, I'm sorry for those poor fish! That's awful, I would've bought them too, I think you did the right thing. I wish Wal-mart didn't sell fish, I really do. I hope they both survive, and I am glad to see Taco doing a little better! We know you will definitely try your best to save them.

[Freedom]

Horrible!

Yeah i you had reported it, they may have given you a separate container to take them home in, a plastic cup from housewares or something.

BUT they may not have let you buy either one. You could go back for a refund if the fish don't live x days (no idea how long that is w/ Walmart).

Anyway, looks like they are all set now!

Do they regrow the missing fins? I don't know.

[king2005]

I don't see why is always a "teenager" to blame...

Totally agree, esp after what I saw today while I was working the Turtle Rescue booth at the Reptile Expo in Mississauga. More men in their 30's acted like idiots saying how they like to watch their turtles rip apart fish & other stupid comments. Not one teen was bad at my booth. Many were punks of some sort (crazy hair, earrings everywhere, tattoos all over, not the cleanest mouths around.. you know the look), nearly every single one of them awwwwwwwwwwwed over the turtles. They listened to my long educational speech about invasive species & our rescues (same species sadly). About 99%, if not all of them, got upset after hearing how we got many of them. They couldn't believe how someone could treat an animal like that.

[cassiesmom]

OMGItsapibble, how are these two doing?

I have the same question as Freedom, do they re-grow their fins?

I wonder if the person/s in the pet department at Walmart weren't trained to care for betta fish correctly. Or maybe someone from another department was covering who had not been trained at all.

[omgitsapibble]

I agree, it shouldn't always been a teenager to blame, that was a flub on my part. I've met many, many immature adults. Probably more immature adults than I have immature teens.

And their fins will grow back, it'll only take a few weeks and they'll be back to normal looking. Fins grow back pretty quick.

Alright, so here's an update on them!

Tuna, the one who wasn't as bad off, is doing fine. Taco, the one who was in severely bad shape, is doing great too.

I initially took a 10 gallon and divided it with a tank divider, and each had 5 gallons. I lined the divider with plants to try and inhibit Tuna from being able to see Taco as easily, but without inhibiting the water flow through the divider too much.

Betta's have different personalities. Some are very aggressive, and some can be very submissive. Tuna is very, very aggressive. Taco is very, very submissive. And Tuna spent every waking second ramming and stalking the divider, trying to get to Taco. Taco spent every waking moment hiding in his plants and probably hoping Tuna would go away. So obviously, this stressed Taco out badly.

So I took out the divider, redecorated the tank, and now Taco has the 10 gallon tank to himself. Tuna is in a temporary 2.5 gallon container, and is getting a new 5 gallon tank this week.

I made Taco's tank heavily planted, so he'd have lots of hiding spots. Poor little guy has had so much traumatic stuff happening, I want him to feel secure in his new tank now. I wake up every morning to find him at the glass, staring at me in bed (his tank is next to my bed). What an awesome little dude.

Here's a photo of Taco's tank...



And if you'd like to watch Taco swimming around his tank (and eating a bit of dinner), here's a short video clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtK5Ad2jdkY

The plastic water bottle you see, is something I rigged up to the outflow of his filter, so the current wouldn't push him around or agitate the water too much. Works great.