petsmart buy
- Thread starter mfkguy
- Start date
I worked at petco and honestly, after a point I wouldn't divulge information unless you asked and then, it depended how I felt about you..
I had people who INSISTED on a pair of guppies, a pair of swordtails, a pair of mollies, a pair of DANIOS, etc. They want a male and female of everything - even if I explained that there was no way for me to know- they'd still insist on "pairs" and I'd say yep, looks like a pair to me. Even after I explain that breeding is only successful with DOZENS.. They buy no matter how unfeasible it is these things will or won't breed. Oh, you only have a ten gallon tank for those 8 pairs of fish you just bought, thanks for not listening.
Oh, you didn't realize I was serious when I said that male convict/angel will kill off EVERYTHING in your tank even though it's a 29G with only 50 fish in it?? Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you knew more about preventing/encouraging fish breeding than anyone else due to this ridiculously limited scope of this or a similar fish and thus you are an expert..
Big box stores, petsmart, walmart, petco, pet supplies plus, COUNTLESS other places.. They don't know WTF they're doing, they just know you'll buy their ****.
STOP. Don't buy their pets and don't buy their supplies, they can't afford bad practices if YOU stop supporting them! (and tell your friends!)
I had people who INSISTED on a pair of guppies, a pair of swordtails, a pair of mollies, a pair of DANIOS, etc. They want a male and female of everything - even if I explained that there was no way for me to know- they'd still insist on "pairs" and I'd say yep, looks like a pair to me. Even after I explain that breeding is only successful with DOZENS.. They buy no matter how unfeasible it is these things will or won't breed. Oh, you only have a ten gallon tank for those 8 pairs of fish you just bought, thanks for not listening.
Oh, you didn't realize I was serious when I said that male convict/angel will kill off EVERYTHING in your tank even though it's a 29G with only 50 fish in it?? Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you knew more about preventing/encouraging fish breeding than anyone else due to this ridiculously limited scope of this or a similar fish and thus you are an expert..Big box stores, petsmart, walmart, petco, pet supplies plus, COUNTLESS other places.. They don't know WTF they're doing, they just know you'll buy their ****.
STOP. Don't buy their pets and don't buy their supplies, they can't afford bad practices if YOU stop supporting them! (and tell your friends!)
lol I bought two female convicts for that very same reason. I didn't want a bunch of fry running around, although sometimes I wish I did because I heard how great the male and female are together. I once thought maybe my oscar could eat the fry but I don't want to feed him live fish it makes him too aggressive and convicts I heard will give a fish a smack down if they come near their fry. My two female convicts are doing well nonetheless.
@staerus what about people buying fish online which is becoming popular ? They aren't going to ask you any questions, if someone orders 50 fish online that's exactly what they will get. To tell people not to buy from stores is absurd, even the small mom and pops will sell you a great white shark if you ask for one and can afford it. It's all about the mighty dollar. I go into a petsmart or petco knowing full well that the aqua guy may not be experienced that's fine as long as I have an idea of what to look for. It's a business and a business is in it to make money and yes even your favorite LFS has their bottom line on their mind always, not your interests or needs.
@staerus what about people buying fish online which is becoming popular ? They aren't going to ask you any questions, if someone orders 50 fish online that's exactly what they will get. To tell people not to buy from stores is absurd, even the small mom and pops will sell you a great white shark if you ask for one and can afford it. It's all about the mighty dollar. I go into a petsmart or petco knowing full well that the aqua guy may not be experienced that's fine as long as I have an idea of what to look for. It's a business and a business is in it to make money and yes even your favorite LFS has their bottom line on their mind always, not your interests or needs.
LOL I am the same, i research all night sometimes, on the fish i have or on fish i want to get.
But i know this is true and anyone who denies it is lying. . .SOmetimes you go fish window shopping, you dont really go to all the LFS to buy anything specific, but just to have a look see. . .and then in one tank in the corner, they have this cichlid that some guy brought in and no-one knows anything about it, but its colours are amazing and you just have to grab this before anyone else does. In that case you buy the fish and do the research when you get home
Now that happend to me here in South Africa, only i never saw a cichlid in the corner tank, it was a fish with an elongated body, some stripes, large teeth and streamline body, when i saw it with my initial glimpse, i immediately knew it was what i thought it was. . .A SNAKEHEAD, in my LFS, i couldnt belive it!!! I knew the guys in the shop and said to them, do they know that they are not allowed to sell that fish or transport it. They spoke to their boss and in the end I got a great deal on both. . . I was like probably the only guy in Cape Town to own snakeheads, a truly once in a lifetime experience!!! I was so stoked! The happiest guy ever.
My malawis killed both overnight. :-(((( Yep I know I know, I am now kinda famous among my fish friends for the idiot who killed two snakeheads.
Well in the end. . .I did my country a favour))
Sorry about the way off topic story, but i get like that sometimes
But i know this is true and anyone who denies it is lying. . .SOmetimes you go fish window shopping, you dont really go to all the LFS to buy anything specific, but just to have a look see. . .and then in one tank in the corner, they have this cichlid that some guy brought in and no-one knows anything about it, but its colours are amazing and you just have to grab this before anyone else does. In that case you buy the fish and do the research when you get home
Now that happend to me here in South Africa, only i never saw a cichlid in the corner tank, it was a fish with an elongated body, some stripes, large teeth and streamline body, when i saw it with my initial glimpse, i immediately knew it was what i thought it was. . .A SNAKEHEAD, in my LFS, i couldnt belive it!!! I knew the guys in the shop and said to them, do they know that they are not allowed to sell that fish or transport it. They spoke to their boss and in the end I got a great deal on both. . .
I was like probably the only guy in Cape Town to own snakeheads, a truly once in a lifetime experience!!! I was so stoked! The happiest guy ever.My malawis killed both overnight. :-(((( Yep I know I know, I am now kinda famous among my fish friends for the idiot who killed two snakeheads.
Well in the end. . .I did my country a favour
))Sorry about the way off topic story, but i get like that sometimes
Always try and resrtch a fish you want beofre you buy it. Never no...Looks all cute and small in tank at the store but it very well might get huge later and swallow the rest of your little buddys!! 
Sometimes petsmart carry decent specimens of common species...convicts are nice...they impress upon the novice how good we are at fish keeping
I don't reccomend buying from Petco/Petsmart, unless the tank setup is good, the fish that it is pared with are good, and you run it past someone as knowledgable as yourself to okay it. Or simply research the fish you want before you buy it.
Lol I did the same thing!!! My girlfriends daughter wouldn't let me leave the petco without these two mollys. I caved in pretty quick thinking they'd die pretty quick with her because she's like darla from nemo....one day after her birthday about 40 itty bitty mollys were noticeable.....now a year later she has a 55gallon and about 150ish mollys....lesson learned.
