Shoppers Are Surprised to See Dead Fish in a PetSmart Tank in Viral Video

Thanks to social media, nothing comes as much of a surprise to the general public anymore. Over the years, we’ve learned that workplace harassment is still at an all-time high, racism continues to rear its ugly head, and folks know how to be creative with limited circumstances. Not to mention, some chain stores are guilty of not following protocol.

In one TikTok video, a user shared that they walked into a Virginia Beach, VA., PetSmart location and saw the unthinkable. The store had dead fish in a tank with live fish present. Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s the 4-1-1.

Now this is nasty! In a July 15, 2023, TikTok video, creator garlic bread (@garlic_bread_lol0) shared a video of a couple making an interesting discovery at a Virginia Beach, Va.

“Bro, PetSmart is horrible,” the video caption reads.

As the video starts, a woman with copper hair is seen with a surprised look on her face. As the camera pans into the fish tank that shows tons of dead fish at the bottom of the tank.

Interestingly, there were other live fish in the tank swimming around.

The woman with copper hair and another woman with glasses are stunned. The women were shouting as they look at the tank and at each other in astonishment.

We live in a time where people take the welfare of pets very seriously, and rightfully so. That said, folks have a no tolerance policy for pets being treated badly or having to be housed in less than adequate conditions.

So, when the creator shared the video of the huge pile of orange dead fish with other fish swimming around it, folks wasted no time ripping PetSmart to shreds in the comment section.

“I saw some goldfish eating the dead ones,” one person said.

“Every time I go to Petco to look at beta fish there’s at least three dead ones,” another person shared.

Interestingly, some folks commented that maybe the dead fish could have been feeder fish for the live fish in the tank. On the flip side, some believe that the fish could have been sleeping.

“I used to work at PetSmart and this happened with new shipments. They told me they add something to the water to sedate them, idk though,” one person said.

“I’m a PetSmart employee and most of the stores have been getting our feeder fish in like this. We can’t control how they come in when they get shipped 😭,” another user confirmed.

Feeder fish or not, the presentation does look a bit inappropriate, especially to prospective customers.

Oddly, in a Part 2 of the video, the creator revealed that she witnessed animal abuse and snakes in tiny cages that don't allow them to grow comfortably. Not to mention, the creator said that when she tried to get the attention of employees, she was met with a side-eye.