The other day at work, a lady came into the store and sets down two items on the counter as she began to talk to the lady I was currently ringing up. As the ladies were talking, I noticed the topic of conversation was how cruel it is of pet stores to sell baby betta fish. I looked down to notice the items she laid on the counter were two baby bettas. She explained to the lady in front of her that she was going to "take them home to try to save them."

I don't get offended very easily, but this lady was getting very close to it. She went on to explain how they never live and how pet stores keep stocking these baby fish in order to make profit since they sell fast. This is what offended me. At my store, each and every employee takes care of every animal as if they were their own, and we also make 100% sure people know what they are getting into before they make an animal purchase, even with fish.

I bit my tongue as it was time to ring the baby bettas up. "They're still $1.99, right?" she asked. I apologized and said they are ringing up $2.99 a piece. This infuriated the customer since the price was, apparently, $1 lower a few weeks ago. I later confirmed the baby bettas were $1.99 several months ago, way before I started in January. "I'll just put them back. Take me off. I don't want them," she huffed and puffed while she took the bettas with her.

I noticed before she left that she had the two cups stacked on top of one another. This is a #1 no-no when it comes to betta care, as bettas are surface breathers. That little hole in the lid is for air for them to breathe. Not decoration. Noticing this, I realized this lady really had no idea what she was doing.

A few minutes pass by and I realized I don't remember seeing her walk out of the store. Being not entirely suspicious, I decided to walk over to the baby bettas anyways. I found 1 empty betta cup with the water half-full. Completely astonished, I tell my other co-workers, and we couldn't find an extra fish anywhere. Note: this is not the first time customers have done this in our store. We go about the rest of our day, keeping an eye out for an extra fish, but saw none.

This story now brings me to today. I was told by an employee that was there that day, that she found out what had happened. Later that day, another customer had pointed out two baby bettas in a cup together. Why is this such an issue? Betta fish are also known as Siamese fighting fish. This is why they cannot be with other fish; they will kill each other. As every employee knows this, and no bettas were put together by our hands, we can assume who it was that did this. Luckily, both fish were okay and separated immediately.

My point of this article is to not only inform people a bit on betta fish, but to express what I have to deal with some days. As a retail worker to fellow customers, please do not take corporate things out on store employees. We do not have a say what goes into our store and put on our shelves. This doesn't make your day any better, and will not solve any problems. They have a 800 number for that.

Also, please don't try to damage, or in this case, kill any store merchandise in an episode of rage. Especially over $2. Bettas are one of, if not, the most hardy freshwater fish a person can own. This is why we sell baby bettas versus a hard to keep fish as a baby. The concept of getting a baby is to watch it grow, which I promise they will live if you take care of them properly. I've had my baby betta for about 5 months now and he is doing fantastic.

So, please. Respect your local retail workers if they are giving you theirs. I encourage everyone to not be like this lady as it will not solve any problems, but may actually get someone, or something killed.