Fish From Meijer's

[Fierce Critter]

For shits and giggles, I went through the pet section at Meijer's today. Just wanted to see the guinea piggies and hamsters.

There's this shopping cart parked there, nobody to be seen. And the shopping cart is packed to overflowing with bags and bags and bags of fish.

I had to take a hard look and try to figure out if they were just taken out of the tanks, or ready to be put in. I realized they were new stock ready to be put into the tanks.

It just sickened me. About a dozen individual bags with male Betas in them (those colorful fighting fish for those who don't know), one with about 8 catfish, one with sharks, etc.

But the real sick thing were the number of dead fish I saw floating in the bags. Particular this REALLY big bag of goldfish. Like, 5-gallon bags just packed with fish, and a lot floating on the top or dead on the bottoms.

Seeing that many fish dumped into barely-air-filled bags just sitting there was bad enough. Then the realization of the "collateral damage" involved in the retail fish trade. I got truly nauseated.

Jon and I started an aquarium late last year. We found a beautiful 20-gallon tall set-up with EVERYTHING in new condition on the curb, set it up, and have enjoyed it. Our first fish were a half dozen minnows Jon brought home from fishing on the river. Put them in there just for the hell of it, and they all lived. Came time to let them go back to the river, and Jon took them all back (even fishermen can have respect & treat fish well, even baitfish). But one hid behind plants and we still have her to this day.

We added a couple small fish from Wal-Mart. They died quickly. Learned our lesson.

Got a few more from a nice fish store in Woodhaven that ended up closing. Too bad, they knew their stuff, maintained their tanks religiously, had exceptionally healthy fish.

We aren't adding any more, with the possibility of moving in the next year or so maybe. And don't know where we'd go for nice, healthy fish now that the other place closed. All the other stores we go to seem to have such cruddy set-ups.

DEFINITELY won't ever buy from Meijer's or Wal-Mart anymore (not shopping Wal-Mart period anymore anyway).