A woman in Fort Worth, Texas, decided to visit her local Petco and encountered an arguably traumatizing scene. She showed a starfish that had pinned down one of the tank’s fish, priced at $60. Furthermore, the other fish were not shown in good shape, as one seemed terrified while the other looked dead.
The witness to the apparent “act of nature” was Camryn Bryant. She is a content creator who normally shares lifestyle, makeup, and even clothing clips. However, the clip attached above became one of her biggest ever, garnering 1.1 million views, 154,100 likes, and more than 1,600 comments.
The clip starts with an incredulous Camry talking to the camera, describing the scene: a starfish was apparently eating a $59.99 fish. The camera zoomed in on the scene, where a starfish, a $19.99 Chocolate Chip Sea Star, had pinned down a Coral Beauty Angel against the tank’s glass.
The Texas woman also showed three other fish in the tank. One was lying still in the corner, probably dead. A little purple fish was on top of the tank, still swimming in place. However, a third fish, which was also immobile but still alive, was behind a rock.
“This one’s terrified over here,” Camry said. “My friend’s got so scared he died.”
She then pointed out how the starfish was apparently eating the fish. Through enzymes, these creatures liquify their food from the inside out to feast on it later. This, as horrifying as it sounds, was probably what was happening there.
“I have never seen this in my life. I thought they ate algae or something…” the woman wrote on the clip’s description.
PETA Responds, More Details
The video quickly went viral, and it even got the attention of PETA, which commented on Instagram, “Not okay. When things like this happen, it’s a perfect reminder that people should never support Petco or others like it.”
Camry, in a follow-up clip reacting to the comment, said that what had occurred is that the fish had already died and the starfish feasted on the animal’s remains. On top of that, she also pointed out that the tank, as seen in the clip, was very dirty.
“Starfish don’t just hunt fish, [which] means that these fish are just not being taken care of, and the starfish ate the dead fish in the tank because he was hungry,” she added.
She also detailed that she contacted Petco after they commented that they were handling the situation. However, according to her, someone dropped by the store and reported that it was in the same state.
Reactions
Some viewers were just shocked to learn that something like what was seen in the clip was possible. One said, “I was today years old when I found out starfish eat fish.” Another one commented, “I didn’t know starfish ate fish, I thought they just existed lol.”
Other users limited themselves to joking about the situation. One wrote, “He has expensive taste. I mean, he is a star.” Another one added, referring to the fish hiding under the rock, “This isn’t his first rodeo, he’s a return.”
Petco has not issued a statement regarding this incident at their Fort Worth store, other than the comment they made on Camry’s post.
