You can tell a lot about a store by the way they treat their prisoners.
I thought I was reading about hand guns at first...
Not to defend Walmart or the practice, but what is the industry standard? I have seen Betas in those containers in many places. Did you take action like calling the ASPCA or (GASP)PETA? or just share your outrage here?
Hugh & Feries !!
It’s not too easy to sell a dead fish. I call BS.
(Joe, you be psychic?...give me today's Mega Millions numbers?)
Bettas are perfectly happy in very small containers. They originally lived in shallow mud puddles in Thailand (hence the name, Siamese fighting fish). They’re lung breathers, not gill breathers, so as long as they’re able to surface and get some air they’re okay.
However, it’s generally advisable to feed them every other day, so the thought of not feeding them for perhaps days or weeks at a time is a bit disturbing. OTOH, perhaps the staffer that said that was just pulling the busy-body’s leg by saying oh,no, of course they never feed them! (Ive been known to do that ... when people ask STUPID questions about our twin sons, I often make up the most outlandish thing I can think of just to see if I can get the nosey parker to believe it! LOL!) So I would inquire about Walmart’s actual official policy regarding bettas rather than just believe some blog or email.
I bought a Beta from Walmart once and have a couple Betas. I hate how Walmart keeps them in those tiny cups, and I hope it is not true that they don’t feed them. That’s cruelty right there. My Betas ate their food, and I had them in a small fish tank. They both swam around the whole thing. They each lived a couple years.