Wal-Mart Fish - Page 2

ahill3780 · 08-01-2006, 06:45 PM

Alas, this is far too often the type of service that you will get from Wallyworld. I would not even bother trying to get fish from there if their tanks look malnurished, if there are any dead fish present, or if they have to pull a clerk from some other department to try helping you. Just tell them Thanks, but no thanks, you will wait and get them from a more capable source.

Jay · 08-01-2006, 09:24 PM

Just say NO

Jay

Kathy · 08-02-2006, 08:08 PM

Actually, the fish are zapped by the laser going out the door not going in, and it doesn't matter if you hold them above or below it, they still get some amount of it. In their already immune weakened state this could affect them no matter how close they come to the laser.

IMO, there was nothing superior in the way this information was offered to me at the pet store where I bought my last fish. I just mentioned that we weren't having good luck with the fish we got at WalMart, that they all died. And was told that the main problem with WalMart fish is that they have to go through the laser. Then I said some people told us to hold them above the laser, and was told that didn't matter. Now she could have gone into how terribly the tanks are kept etc, but she didn't.

The tanks in this pet store, which sells only fish, were very well kept, not overstocked, and completely cycled. I asked how many 4 inch fish I could put in a 30 gallon tank, and she said 5 or 6, but don't buy them all today, start with 3. She could have pushed to sell us all 6. And although 3 is the best number for 30 gal, 5-6 would do fine with regular water changes and good care. I had 3 in a 10 gal that lived for 18 mos until a 4th was added and stressed the tank.

As I said, I do a lot of shopping at WalMart, but I probably won't buy fish there again.

Smiles,

Kathy

ahill3780 · 08-02-2006, 08:55 PM

I keep seeing reference to the 'laser' when speaking of fish and Wal-mart. In my experience fish purchased at WM are placed in bags that are marked with a marker to indicate quantity/product code. The check-out clerk keys in this UPC# along with the quantity in order to ring up the order - there are no bar codes on the bags and therefore the bags are not scanned. When getting fish from there the consumer themselves would be guilty of placing the bag onto the conveyor causing the fish to be passed over the scanner when the clerk lifted it to check the markings on the bag. Had the consumer kept the bag in hand the whole time and simply showed the clerk when they were ready then the situation would have been avoided altogether.

Now let me go one step further here and just say that fish are mostly indifferent to light levels and they notice the red spectrum least of all. A bright red light would not bother them very much beyond a little startlement when they passed through it. The radiation in the laser would cause more harm than the level of light and the brief time (less than 5/8 of a second) they are exposed to that light is really insufficient to cause permamnent damage. Yeah, startling them in this mannor may cause stress, but that relatively small level of stress is nothing compared to the stress of being carried through a warehouse sized store in a plastic bag where they can see everything going on all around them. Stress is indeed the main factor in loss of life in fish from WM but that is because of the chaotic turmoil that is everyday human life going on all around them 24/7 until they are whisked away. Not to mention the (probable) mishandling that the fish would have endured in the shipping to the chain store - WM stockers are not known for their gentleness in handling arriving merchandise.

It just goes to show that there are many factors that contribute to the downfall of these guys...

But I seriously discredit the claim that the lasers have anything to do with it.

Kathy · 08-02-2006, 09:24 PM

ahill,

Yours is the most logical explanation I've heard about the lasers. The laser the pet store owner was referring to was the one as you go out the main doors, the one that scans everyone for stolen merchandise. I don't know if that would have any more power than the cash register ones or not.

In agreement with you that the fish suffer most of their stress at WalMart while in the tanks and being bagged, bought, and transported. Goldfish are more sensative to their environment than most people realize.

Smiles,

Kathy

drfong · 08-02-2006, 11:50 PM

I don't work a WM, but my wife manages a retail store and I don't believe the detectors are Lasers.

ahill3780 · 08-03-2006, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drfong

I don't work a WM, but my wife manages a retail store and I don't believe the detectors are Lasers.

True. The standing post scanners at the doors are more of a magnetic detection device that scans for the presence of magnetically charged metal strips within certain product packaging - mostly in things like DVDs, games, or CD's. They do not rely on laser beams.

An easy way to tell is that you can always see a laser either from its source, or as is bounces off of the target. Being only a concentrated beam of light, lasers cannot pass through solid objects and rely on an open window to pass through - such as the scanners found at the register.

If you are interested in seeing the detection strip that the post scans for do this: Open up one of your DVD cases and inspect the inside. The most common version found is a little black strip that is about an inch long. Peel this off the case and look at the bottom of it and you will find the hidden metal strip. These strips hold a magnetic charge until they are passed over a stronger magnet which 'decharges' them at the counter when the item is purchased. This is why the clerk rubs the case back and forth over an apparently empty metal surface near their register.

Of course the black strip is not the only version of these types of devices. Some come in the form of concentric layers of square boxlike strip stickers that are placed onto a piece of cardboard or a paper sleeve and inserted behind the advertisement pamphlets that come with most DVDs or behind the instruction booklet of most games.

And IME, I have yet to see a fish that is stressed out by a magnet.

Richard · 08-03-2006, 02:32 PM

Well nobody should hate the fish from walmart because it isnt their fault. Every time i go inthat superstore and go to the pet section they have at least 4 dead fish in every tank. And they have like 20 of the tanks. That is alot of fish. if walmart isnt going to stop selling fish, they should at least hire personnel that know their fish stuff. It is just ridiculus.

drfong · 08-03-2006, 03:33 PM

I don't hate the fish. I also have bought some pond fish there and they did great. It would probably be better if we didn't buy from them though. If they didn't sell many fish, they would quit selling them.

Kathy · 08-03-2006, 08:20 PM

Thanks for the information on the lasers/scanners.

I think I must have misunderstood what the fish store owner was referring to because I thought it was a laser scanner at the doors and assumed that is what she was talking about. I have also been told by a few employees at WalMart when purchasing fish to hold them above the scanner going out the door. You can see my confusion.

Maybe the fish store owner was referring to the cash registers and scanners on them, she didn't specify and I didn't ask.

I have also seen at other fish boards questions and comments about the scanners harming fish.

Smiles,

Kathy