Walmart stops selling live fish (Reuters)
Pet fish got a boost in their popularity after the 2003 hit animated film "Finding Nemo," but the aquatics trend has since faded for some fans.The leading pet store chains, Petsmart Inc.
and privately held Petco, have large aquatic departments. Chappell said that Wal-Mart does not have the appeal of such chains or independent aquatics stores for fish aficionados. "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.
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 13.9 million U.S. households own freshwater fish as pets as compared to 43.5 million U.S.households with dogs and 37.7 million with cats.