Walmart Not Selling Live Fish



walmart.jpgCichlid-Man pointed this out in his thread that an article a few months ago said that Walmart would no longer be selling fish at some of it’s US stores.

Some bits from the article…

The world’s largest retailer said it would stop selling live pet fish at some U.S. stores in response to consumer demand.

Wal-Mart, which has more than 3,000 U.S. discount stores, declined to say how many stores would stop selling live fish and that it is “certainly” not abandoning the business.

“You see too many floaters,” Chappell said of its displays. “You walk in there and there are a bunch of dead fish….It’s not that consumers don’t want fish, it’s just, in my opinion, it’s just consumers don’t want to buy fish there and it’s in large part because they don’t look particularly healthy,” Chappell said.


{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

Bob April 30, 2007 at 4:52 pm

Target sells fish?
Yep im a sucker for walmart fish. Our LFS closed down this month so that stinks.

Johnny April 30, 2007 at 4:54 pm

oh yea..i guess target doesn’t sell fish…YET! 🙂

Pure April 30, 2007 at 6:12 pm

This fish are less than desirable, but it does depend on the store. I will say that the local plant selection sucks and wallyworld always seems to have nice healthy potted plants.

Bob April 30, 2007 at 6:35 pm

Ya the plants rock too.

Scott May 30, 2008 at 3:22 pm

My local walmart uses has a few fish laying on the bottom. I used to just walk by and take a look but the last 8 or 9 months I just don’t even bother. It’s hard to find a really good but not Expensive LFS…

Xavier June 5, 2010 at 7:50 am

Yeah Walmart doesnt have great fish. The only thing they have is the fish supplies. I go to walmart for the supplies because they are particularly cheap. I am 12 and i ahve been a fish owner for 4 years. I have created a tank all on my own. And from my proffesional opinion Walmart is a good place to buy fish supplies not fish.

Kayla June 6, 2010 at 4:21 pm

I was about to complain to the Walmart pet department about their fish. They don’t take care (let me rephrase that,….never) take care of their fish. It’s really sad, I am 25 years old and have been breeding fish for over 10 years, I have bred multifarious types of fish, from simple goldfish to lion fishes. Since I love fishes, while waiting for my husband in Walmart I looked at some of their live fish, I was heartbroken to see their state. The poor Bettas were dull and gray without their vibrant touch and active character, (this only takes place when they are stressed out, sick, or about to die, and trust me most of them were like this), and in the goldfish tank, hundreds of the goldfish were stuffed and on the bottom lay most of them, dead, with the other goldfishes feeding on them. They don’t even properly clean the tank, I know this for a fact because a clean tank would not have algae or foreign floating objects in it, and these tanks, all they had were algae and unknown things floating about…..most of all they had dead fish, who probably suffered from Walmart’s inappropriate care. It was a terrible sight. I really hoped that if they have no clue whatsoever on how to breed fish, that they abandon this department, Walmart may be a good place to shop for countless items, but for live fish it is is the worst……….WHOEVER DOES NOT WANT THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES TO SUFFER WOULD STOP BUYING FISH FROM WALMART!!!! IT IS A TERRIBLE ACT OF ANIMAL (fish) CRUELTY!!! (their fish supplies though are fine)…..

Natalie December 16, 2011 at 11:58 am

I totally agree. However, I don’t think stopping people from buying them would do much. WalMart doesn’t seem to care about their fish. they don’t (thank God) sell dogs or cats or hamsters, so why fish? Leave that to the pet store who know what they are doing, and care about the well being of their fish. I saw several catfish dead in a tank way too small for the at least 20+ catfish in there. We also saw at least 5 Oscars in yet another tiny tank with numerous other fish. Oscars get huge, and im sure the poor people trying to make ends meet that work there have no idea on proper care or conditions to school the customers to be sure they are properly aware of the needs of these fish. WALMART GIVE UP THE FISH, YOU MAKE PLENTY OF MONEY!!!

Megan January 30, 2012 at 1:31 pm

Walmart cant possibly make a high profit margin on these fish. They are one of the largest retailers in the world and though I’ve grown to love this monopoly we all know, but if they do not stop selling live animals then I will no longer be a customer. There is 6 Walmarts within a few mile radius from my house and not ONE has any ability to take care of a live being. Stop your cruelty I hope you burn.

fabian tiscareno February 24, 2012 at 2:52 am

Wal-Mart kills fish just to make a dollar please help to make wal-mart stop selling any live animals , Fish in poor conditions , fish in there own waste like the poor bettas in the cups with nasty low water left to die in a damn cup! of water .

Eddie July 15, 2013 at 8:05 pm

I have been buying fish from Walmart since i was a child now i my kids buy there fish from there, people don’t wanna see the died fish o my bad “the floaters”, then close your eyes or just don’t walk by there duh.

Ellen November 20, 2014 at 9:39 am

I’m soooooo glad, thrilled, and relieved that Walmart has FINALLY stopped selling fish. I once bought a betta from that and there was no price tag on the cup, or a price code of any kind. So the lady at the register kept flipping the cup upside down and ever which way, trying to find a price. I almost flipped out and asked the lady to please stop. Poor fish! To top it off, she looked at me like I was in the wrong. Awful, awful, awful!!! Now we just need to work on walmart selling the right supplies as far as getting rid of those stupid betta cubes or fish bowls that are waaaay to small for any fish. Walmart stop selling live fish calls for a celebration!!!!!!

Lauren falco December 16, 2014 at 6:36 pm

I went to wal Mart on Friday and seen a few dead fish and I saved another a week ago that has body rot. I walked out with out paying for it one on Friday through self check out they will never even know he’s gone they were all dyeing anyway fuk wal mart

Jme January 15, 2015 at 6:35 pm

Unfortunately, my Wal-Mart wasn’t one of those to stop selling fish. They are kept in deplorable conditions that no living creature should have to endure. I complained to corporate FOUR times over the course of three years. More recently, I complained to three different managers. No one at my local store #2910 know anything about fish. Two of the pet managers told me that they had no knowledge of fish husbandry. The assistant manager told me that he, nor anyone else working there has been trained in proper care of these animals. Ask a worker about the nitrogen cycle and they give you the ‘deer in headlights’ look. Despite being told a month ago that my store would considerably cut back on stocking (right after my 3rd complaint to corporate), it never happened. I explained this to the associate manager last night, and he called me a liar and adamantly claimed that the tanks weren’t overstocked. Upon meeting this guy for the first time, he greeted me with, “I heard about you, I just haven’t had to deal with you yet” in a very condescending and cocky tone of voice. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to punch this dude in the face for how rude he was to me throughout the whole conversation. I tried to show him pictures that were taken 3 days prior of fish that were dead and still in the aquarium, left decaying. I tried to show him the fish inflicted with ick and a fish with an ulcerated sore that developed a severe fungal infection on top of it, but he refused to even look into the tanks or hear what I was saying. I pointed at the black moors, which could barely move due to how many were in there, and told him it was overstocked. He told me it wasn’t because his “supplier” said so. I told him that his supplier was full of sh*t. This battle isn’t over and won’t be until they quit selling them at my local store.

Randello January 23, 2015 at 2:42 pm

It’s too true, and too often..Walmart doesn’t give a crap about fish health or well-being, just money.. There fish are not specialized for dieting, they just feed every fish the same food.. Which any aquarium hobbyist knows is ridiculous..
that being said, I always try to get my cichlids from Walmart, simply to save their lives! Nothing makes me feel better as a fish lover,then to take the skinniest, sick liest looking african cichlid in the entire tank,.. And nurse it back to health and raise it up with care and love,to see it bounce back..rewarding..☺..but, if you don’t have that kind of time to devote to keeping your fish, it’s best to get them at Petsmart or Petco, or your local pet supply place. I totally agree with the former comments about Fish Supplies being cheaper.. I most often purchase all my stuff at Walmart for upkeep

Gina Baker September 26, 2018 at 5:10 pm

The Wal-Mart in Madison, Ohio needs to stop selling fish. I rescued 3 Bettas this week that were in filthy water. All of them were extremely hungry when I fed them. One tiny air hole in the top of the lid. Really?? The best part was the dead Betta that sat there for 2 days. I was appalled. I was audibly complaining to every worker I passed in the store. I wish I could save them all. There are 5 more Bettas on the shelf there. It makes me sad that I can’t save them all. I think that they should not be allowed to sell fish. I am going to actively complain until they do something.

Brian Rogers August 3, 2019 at 9:53 am

I worked in the Walmart pet Dept. back in the early 80s and we took care of our fish and animals. We sold hampsters, birds, and guennea pigs too. I’m sure I misspelled that.

Josh Marks August 7, 2019 at 9:05 am

I was a live fidh retailer for walmarts in texas. Walmart marked up fish up to 50%+ The reason they had so many “floaters” was because the Department managers that actually cared for the fish never got extra help on their days off. So on their days off the fish would not get the stress coat and food needed and not pulling the dead out(needs to be done 2 times a day) causing ammonia spikes killing more fish. They would come in from their weekend to a ton of dead. And a very unhealthy water levels. It was not the suppliers giving sick fish. It was walmart not giving a crap to make sure the fish were taken care of properly.

Justine October 5, 2019 at 2:56 am

Well just fucked me over.. closes fish store to me now is over 3 hours away.. I got one goldfish in my tank and it keeps getting icky in there.. I want a pleco. So I orderd one online that’s all I got now.. and 2 guppies for more fish in the big tank.. but the pleco arrived dead and the guppies soon after died.. guess I cant have fish like I always wanted.. once this goldfish dies I throw the tank and all that away.. thanks walmart… I cant buy fish unless they make it 3 hours or more (I got to kids) in the car on the way home.

Jessie December 3, 2019 at 5:58 am

I like get my fish an other thing like that from there I had get my fish there when she was just a baby and what her name is and am keep it that away I like too get my fishes from there I plan on go too see what they get because I need too get her a little bit big house I dont like the one she in so I hope Walmart get what I need

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