Should I trust Petco/Petshop /etc with getting fish?

[mr.sunshine]

i go to both kinds of pets store the chains and the locals
personally i like local because they can get better healtheir fish
but chain store some times gets in some differnt fish

 

[Cilosybn]

Ive never had any problem with fish from Petsmart (other than my own stupidity when I first started) as long as you know the specie's needs and requirements and pick out the exact fish you'll be fine. The employees knowledge varies, theres 2 petsmarts and 1 petco in my area and most the people that are in the fish dept only know whats written on the little card, but I know which of the employees actually are knowledgeable in the area and dont listen to the others

 

[rocker85675]

I have purchased fish from Petco and all around pet stores. I have also purchased things from fish only stores. The only issue is that stores that specialize in fish are WAY more expensive.
If i know what I am getting and have experience, should i buy fish from Petco? or is it not as good?

NO!

 

[catman]

I have a petsmart by me and it has the cleanest tanks in it and there fish look like they are fat and healthy. Their tanks are top fin mostly, so they probably do not have a 30 long because top fin might not make that tank.

 

[phoebeq]

I personally work in the Aquatics department at my local Petco. While I am not an expert on All types of fish, I do my best to help them out. If I don't know the answer to a question, I look it up in a book for them. Majority of the people that I get buying fish are new to the fish world and are starting new tanks. They all want to buy a damn 1 gal tank and put Nemo in it. I get a few experienced people that come in and know way more than I do, and I ask them as many questions as humanly possible to learn all that I can from someone who knows their stuff. As far as shopping at chain petstores, it is all about the individual store. Personally, my fish department is in pretty good shape. We have our issues just like everyone else. I have an algae problem that ocasionally gets out of hand. We do what we can to take care of it. My fish get fed when they are supposed to. We occasionally get illnesses in some tanks...those tanks are quarantined, and fish are not sold from them. I do have fish die...everyday...comes with having so many...but I do my absolute best to keep it from happening. It kills me when I see a fish that I have been watching and caring for for a month suddenly die...and I have no idea why. I test the water, and everything is fine. I get attached to my fish. This may not be the case at other chains, but I LOVE my job. I love researching all of the fish that are available and ordering new and different ones (mainly cichlids). Sorry, to babble on...point is, check all of your local stores, big chains or not, and see for yourself. Talk to the employees...check their experience before you "boycott" them. Ok, I am done...thanks for reading

 

[Louie]

You're totally missing the point. I have seen white mice populations, fyi. They're not like cats and dogs that you just see walking down the street. People dump small animals all the time, trust me. They sell ALL their small animals this way (single sex). They only sell them as pets, no feeders, which is why they don't want people breeding them. I grew up having mice, as well as rats, as pets. If you take care of them, and clean them properly, there is no smell at all. Great child pets, too. As far as the tank, you can only stock SO MANY things that customers want. Eventually, you run out of square footage, and have to cut back on slow sellers. 30's are not a popular size. You can get any size larger and smaller than that there, you just picked the one size they don't have. Try to view it from a retail standpoint. You can't please everyone.

Not to mention, what does any of your problems with them have to do with trusting them for fish????

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Not to mention, what does any of your problems with them have to do with trusting them for fish????[/

One is an ich factory the other is fine but tiny selection however since don't buy from them its a zero issue for me.

If you kept mice than you would know clean or not male mice have a musky type odor which the females do not .
F mice are thus the gender most kept as pet. Chain pet stores simply want you buying their frozen pinkies/feeders I find that silly and annoys me .
In NY every chain pet store in my area carried 30 gallon longs which blow away the 29 tall .
They would also order any tank you wanted if they did not have it .
Here in S.Florida they won't both the silly mouse thing which again they don't do in NY and lack of customer service in getting tank I wanted is enough for me to boycott them which I do .
I prefer to drive a bit and go to a real pet store .

You go to them I won't and life goes on for both of us.

 

[supaoat]

I have purchased fish from Petco and all around pet stores. I have also purchased things from fish only stores. The only issue is that stores that specialize in fish are WAY more expensive.
If i know what I am getting and have experience, should i buy fish from Petco? or is it not as good?

It depends on the condition of the fish that you are looking for. If the fish looks healthy, swimming actively, no ich, no broken fins, no cloudy eyes, no missing body parts, etc then it should be ok to buy fish from Petsmart or Petco. I bought a 2" Tiger Oscar from Petco 5 months ago and now it grew up beautifully to 8"

 

[TwistedPenguin]

In my town the LFS is only open 3 days a week for 2 hrs a day. Her fish may not have ich or gill flukes but they've got other problems like camellanus & columnaris. She's got less of a selection, her prices are 4 times higher & she offers no guarrantee once you walk out of the shop. Support my local LFS? No way. I'll honk as I drive by on my way to PetsMart and that's all the support I'll give.

 

[Louie]

In my town the LFS is only open 3 days a week for 2 hrs a day. Her fish may not have ich or gill flukes but they've got other problems like camellanus & columnaris. She's got less of a selection, her prices are 4 times higher & she offers no guarrantee once you walk out of the shop. Support my local LFS? No way. I'll honk as I drive by on my way to PetsMart and that's all the support I'll give.

In your case I dont blame you at all would do same thing.

 

[pdbrady]

In your case I dont blame you at all would do same thing.

I was going to say we agree to disagree, until I saw this post. It just reiterates the point that it all depends on the individual store, not the name on the building.