PETCO SUCKS
- Thread starter Fish are cool
- Start date
Yeah, the walmart here is pretty bad. It looks like it has their older tank system, with no gravel, tanks with 6 pacus, 7 severums, 5 puffers, and a bunch of midas! That was one just tank... And the poor clown loaches 
. Its like a death sentence for them. They always die of ick and get eaten by the ghost shrimp. I don't know of any lfs's nearby, only a petco and petsmart. They are both pretty good, but I had a really good one nearby (about 20 miles, lol) at my hometown.
. Its like a death sentence for them. They always die of ick and get eaten by the ghost shrimp. I don't know of any lfs's nearby, only a petco and petsmart. They are both pretty good, but I had a really good one nearby (about 20 miles, lol) at my hometown.
no i'm not going to close it.that would mean just one more closed thread that shows that we can't be civil.i know we can.it takes a lot more than a tif over petchain stores to get a locked thread.plus threads like these are good to spread awareness about chain stores and how the fit into the hobby.fish are cool if you have any concerns pm me and i would be happy to talk to you about them.
I wasnt going to comment on this thread until my experience yesterday. I went to a Petco I had never been to before on my weekly betta search. I went in and was looking at the bettas when the manager came over and began to talk to me, turns out he knew A LOT about bettas and has many himself. Seen as though we both had an interest we were talking for quite a while and he even implied that he wouldnt mind giving me a job there! He called one of his employees over to tell me about her pets, and she has a mini zoo in her house, it was amazing.
In the fish section there was one tank with a case of ich. It was been treated with a sign saying the fish were not for sale and why.
The point of that is to say that all petco's arent bad.
In the fish section there was one tank with a case of ich. It was been treated with a sign saying the fish were not for sale and why.
The point of that is to say that all petco's arent bad.
I have had good and bad expeirences... In general the Petco is good, the young lady that manages the aquatics department is very knowledgable about freshwater fish, I go there for ALL of my freshwater fish as the petsmart near my house, feed their fish zuchini instead of fish food, have filthy overcrowded tanks and regularly leave dead specimens in the water, each time I have bought a fish from Petsmart I end up with Ick.
However there was one lady at Petco who tested my water, when I first got started and actually said my water was basically poison (which it was) and then followed that up with so do you want to buy some fish? I had to talk to the manager about that one.
unfortuneatly with chains like that you never know what you are going to get, I suggest finding a real LFS ma and pa shop, the fish will probably be a bit more expensive BUT those shops tend to take care of you better and the fish are generally better cared for.
However there was one lady at Petco who tested my water, when I first got started and actually said my water was basically poison (which it was) and then followed that up with so do you want to buy some fish? I had to talk to the manager about that one.
unfortuneatly with chains like that you never know what you are going to get, I suggest finding a real LFS ma and pa shop, the fish will probably be a bit more expensive BUT those shops tend to take care of you better and the fish are generally better cared for.
I disagree. My LFS is Petland Discounts (also a franchise), and its horrible- healthy fish are only around when a new shipment comes in, the plant selection is bad, and the staff know nothing about fish. I once spent five minutes explaining to a staff person what a cory was (after a while she figured it out - "Oh, the catfish?").
A bit farther off there is a private little 'ma and pa' LFS, and the tanks are in somewhat better condition, but selection is often limited - interesting species I don't see in the other LFS (like banjo catfish and arrowanas), but no plants and few fish products.
I do like my local Petco however. The tanks are almost always clean and the fish selection isn't bad. A good many plants too. Bettas aren't in the condition I'd prefer to see them in, but we can ignore that for now. Petco also has a good selection of fish products, and I quite enjoy my trips there. The only thing I don't like about them is their prices. I once took a Drs Foster and Smith catalog with me to the store - everything in the catalog is cheaper, absolutely everything i looked at.
Can't comment on Wlamart, though, since there are none in the NYC area - the closest that I know of is a two hour's drive away, and I only visit when I'm in the area. I remember them having a rather poor fish selection, however.
A bit farther off there is a private little 'ma and pa' LFS, and the tanks are in somewhat better condition, but selection is often limited - interesting species I don't see in the other LFS (like banjo catfish and arrowanas), but no plants and few fish products.
I do like my local Petco however. The tanks are almost always clean and the fish selection isn't bad. A good many plants too. Bettas aren't in the condition I'd prefer to see them in, but we can ignore that for now. Petco also has a good selection of fish products, and I quite enjoy my trips there. The only thing I don't like about them is their prices. I once took a Drs Foster and Smith catalog with me to the store - everything in the catalog is cheaper, absolutely everything i looked at.
Can't comment on Wlamart, though, since there are none in the NYC area - the closest that I know of is a two hour's drive away, and I only visit when I'm in the area. I remember them having a rather poor fish selection, however.
hmmm you see i tend to get better guarentees at bigger chains (excluding walmart) and a cheaper fish, i agree some are really bad but some are brilliant, in calgary we have a chain called petland and theres one store that all there tanks are dirty, diseased and basically disgusting whereas 15 down the road they have another store which is BRILLIANT its not good is brilliant the store workers help you out more than you can imagine, they make sure you have enough room in your tanks before you buy the fish and if you dont they will recommend a smaller fish that will still get along with the fish that are already in there! my petland is ok i dont buy fish from there simply because other places have better selections but there tanks are quite clean and reasonable. in all the walmarts near me there in black stuff in the bottom of the tanks, is this food or dirt? i noticed there was some in a california one i went into during the summer.
We have two or three Petcos near us, and I definitely have a favorite. The one closest to me has one person on staff who *really* knows her stuff. The second closest Petco sold me a fish that died at the speed of light. Very sad. I don't go there anymore.
There is a small, local fish store that I also go to, but since I don't have a lot of time outside of the hospital during business hours, I can't do as much shopping there as I would like. (Damn, was that a run on sentance, or what?)
-Docta wife
There is a small, local fish store that I also go to, but since I don't have a lot of time outside of the hospital during business hours, I can't do as much shopping there as I would like. (Damn, was that a run on sentance, or what?)
-Docta wife
Back near my hometown we had a really good lfs. It was run by a family friend, she really knew her stuff. She gave free water tests, and flat refused to sell fish without a water test first! Her tanks were all nice, selection was excellent, and she even had one of those filter things for the bettas. (Those shelves that have the water running in the top and out) Sucks their isn't a store like hers nearby. If you are in the Commerce, Texas area, you might want to check it out. I forgot the stores name though... lol. Its pets something... Its the only one in town.
In my home town I have to say that the chain stores have been known to take care of me better than the privately owned LFS's. Although the chain stores dont usually ask tank specs, they have never told me that an ID shark wont get too big for my 29 gal. or that I can keep south African chiclids with my glass catfish. Both of which my LFS has said to me, the chain stores didnt say anything, but in this case its better than giving out wrong information.
yeah, most chain stores will keep quiet. There was a lady yesterday at Petco i heard her saying that 5 pl*cos will be a beautiful addition to her 15 gal.... the person who sold her the fish didn't say anything, even though the picture with the info was posted on the aquarium she didn't even read it... I told her that they would get too big (they were around 2-4 inches at the time) but she didn't even care. Some people are just plain ignorant!