I've never pruchased fish from petsmart; accept maybe feeders. Just wanted to get some opinions, based on your experience, as to the quality of fish, particularly Red Devils, sold there. I saw some really nice ones the other day and was curious about there longevity and general health compared to other retailers, like LFS and private breeders.
PetsMart Cichlids?
- Thread starter Larz
- Start date
I'm sure it depends on your local petsmart, the employees that work there etc etc
But I purchased my Jack Dempsey from a local petsmart many months ago and he's doing great. He's a beautiful fish with a great temperament. Can't tell you anything about longevity or any of that business, but I'd have no problem going & getting another cichlid from petsmart if they had a healthy looking specimen that I was interested in.
One thing that I & another guy here have noticed though, our senegal bichirs that we buy from petsmart seem to grow like weeds until about 6" then they slow to what seems like a stop. Not sure if thats normal for sens, but he just bought a 6" sen from a different LFS & its still growing like a weed. I know thats not specific to cichlids, but it is something we noticed about petsmart.
But I purchased my Jack Dempsey from a local petsmart many months ago and he's doing great. He's a beautiful fish with a great temperament. Can't tell you anything about longevity or any of that business, but I'd have no problem going & getting another cichlid from petsmart if they had a healthy looking specimen that I was interested in.
One thing that I & another guy here have noticed though, our senegal bichirs that we buy from petsmart seem to grow like weeds until about 6" then they slow to what seems like a stop. Not sure if thats normal for sens, but he just bought a 6" sen from a different LFS & its still growing like a weed. I know thats not specific to cichlids, but it is something we noticed about petsmart.
the main issue with red devils from petsmart is that they are most likely RD x midas hybrids, but other than that, can be long lived and healthy fish
The general consensus on the Red Devils and Midas sold at Petco, Petsmart, and other chain stores is that they are actually hybrids of both fish. So you will actually be buying a Red Devil x Midas of which a member has coined the phrase "Midevil". Some people prefer a pure strain of either fish so they order them from reputable breeders. I personally have no problem with the Petsmart Midevils. I own one and he is my absolute favorite fish. He has grown very fast and is an active and beautiful fish. He's 6.5" now. I bought him from Petsmart in mid-October at about 2.5". Some people hate chain stores and will not buy livestock from them. But I believe if you understand what you may or may not be actually buying from these stores, there's no problem with them. I do get the vast majority of my fish from an established breeder. My Midevil, Clown Loaches, and Raphael Cat are currently my only Petsmart buys.
I agree with Gruff. Most I've seen posted on here are actually very nice looking fish. The Petsmart near me is where I get most of my "fill in fish" Corys, BATS, Mollies, Neons, Cardinals ect. Can't beat the dollar menue, the fish are always healthy and look good I can't remember having and issue with any of them. I've even seen some Petsmart Jags that looked very nice. Again it is dependant on your particular store and how the fish are cared for. I kinda hate to say this because I want to support LFS as much as possable but since you asked I gave you an honest assement of my experiance, opinoins I'm sure will vary from location to location.
I will have to agree with the above posts. You have to know what you're looking for when you go shopping. In my area, the PetCo has a little better quality of fish than the Petsmart.
also keep in mind that a lot of the LFS will get some of their common FW fish from places like Segrest just the same way that the big chains do...I'd assume that most of the bread and butter fish will come from similar places regardless of whether petco or a mom and pop place is the one retailing. Obviously, for rarer stuff, or non-hybrid cichlids, a reputable source is preferred
My local petsmart has nice fish but I'd recommend that you look at the specific fish you want to buy for a few hours if possible and try to notice anything that might be wrong with them, or their tanks. I also like to buy them as young as possible when they're less aggressive and adapt easily to different environments.
Last time I went to petsmart I saw a huge jack dempsey male in a tank full of corpses and he looked pretty sick just laying at the bottom. But overall they can have some nice healthy fish.
Last time I went to petsmart I saw a huge jack dempsey male in a tank full of corpses and he looked pretty sick just laying at the bottom. But overall they can have some nice healthy fish.
Petsmart sources their fish from the same farms that a lot of LFS do. The condition of the fish will be based on the local store's care of the fish.
If you want cichlids of more verifiable provenance, then some of the specialty suppliers here...or a local fish club...might be better choices.
Matt
If you want cichlids of more verifiable provenance, then some of the specialty suppliers here...or a local fish club...might be better choices.
Matt
It depends on the PetSmart... the region of the country you are in... which supplier they are currently using... how they are shipped... many other factors.
My biggest beef with them is the mislabeling... but then again, sometimes I have gotten the benefit of that.
My biggest beef with them is the mislabeling... but then again, sometimes I have gotten the benefit of that.