The Most Horrible Local Fish Store You Have Seen

[BugFreak72]

Our Petco isn't bad but I still prefer the local guys. I assume the big chains depend on the employee covering the fish area which is hit and miss. The Wal-mart near me needs to remove fish all together though. It always looks like a horror show in those tanks.

The worst store we have around here is oddly one of our oldest. Not sure how the guys stays open but he is hidden behind the mall and usually doesn't even have the ceiling lights on much less the tank lights. I have never been in when the tank sides weren't covered in algae, half full and multiple dead fish in most tanks. The last time I went in there was a beautiful large Oscar lying on the bottom of what looked like a 45g tank half full of water.

The rest of the store was no better with everything piled up like a hoarder so bad I could barely walk through the store. The last time I was in there I felt terrible because I was wanted to buy every fish still alive just to rescue them but I was scared of what sickness I might be adding to my tank so I just left.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Yeah, I have been in some seedy pet stores over the years like you guys describe. Unfortunately, I'd say about 7/10 are like that, and the really nice ones are the exception. My first job was a family owned pet store that had been there for 50 years, but was kind of run down and in "the hood". It has since closed.
I actually got a job a couple months back part-time at Petco to help pay rent while I attend grad school. The place is kept well maintained, was even before I got there. Everything is clean. The only complaint I have is that nobody else working there knows the first thing about fish, and mis-information given to customers is rampant. If people don't know something, they make it up. I have had so many people come in, ask me whats wrong, and when I explain it to them, they tell me the other guy last week told them they didn't need to change the water, things like that. Super annoying. But I have been teaching the "aquatics specialist" (nice guy but knows F-- all about fish) some things in the hopes that it will improve.

 

[krichardson]

Even back in this town's heyday of fish and pet shops I can't recall many horrible conditions as some of you have described.Sadly there are no longer any independently owned shops within the boundaries of the city but they used to be all over and even the worst one at least kept the place clean and the tanks clear of dead animals.
There are quite a few Petsmart stores here now and I only bother going to the one that is closest to me.The only complaint that I have noticed there was the way they keep their feeder goldfish.They must cram about a thousand of them in a twenty gallon tank.

 

[monkeybike]

We used to have a store locally that was a total dump, even had a monkey that threw feces at you.

 

[krichardson]

We used to have a store locally that was a total dump, even had a monkey that threw feces at you.

LOL!.....did the monkey also ride a bike?

 

[CichlidKeeper01]

its funny, the petsmarts and petcos around here are pristine. Never seen dead fish in them.

 

[monkeybike]

its funny, the petsmarts and petcos around here are pristine. Never seen dead fish in them.

Truth! The local independents always have floaters, and look run down. You would think with less foot traffic than the chain stores they would have more time to clean.

 

[CichlidKeeper01]

Truth! The local independents always have floaters, and look run down. You would think with less foot traffic than the chain stores they would have more time to clean.

I have 3 or 4 local store which is surprising as I live in a big area. The ones I have though are awesome, pristine tanks and knowledgeable staff. I think with chain stores how they run their stuff depends on who is running it.

 

[wynnyelle]

I cannot imagine how some of these stores you guys are describing smell. I've come home after a day or so being away from my place and found 1 fish dead that wasn't even large and it would usually make the entire place stink.

 

[Supergeorge123]

I went back to this place the other day and it is actually a lot better. There were still a fair amount of dead marine invertebrates but no dead fish that i could see but some of them still seemed sickly. They had a lot of rarer monster fish like giant gouramis, vulture cats, red tail cats, gars, peacock bass "sabertooth barracudas", "water cows" and "avocado puffers". See if you can guess what those last three were.