Butters

Before I get a stream of NOs from you, please read first.
I am leaning towards making my new tank a strict tiger barb tank with a clown pleco. I would like to have these fish from a young age and relativly small so I can watch them grow. My LPS only sells tiger barbs that are full grown already and Wal-mart sells them very small. Would you take the risk if you were in my shoes or not? Thanks!

sirdarksol

That's a tough one. I think it would depend on how my local WalMart keeps/stocks their fish. In my case, I wouldn't merely because they have tanks stocked with dozens of pacu, arowana, and oscars. It's not that I'd be afraid of getting sick fish, but that I don't want to give money to a store that stocks/sells fish that need hundreds of gallons like that.

Butters

The Wal-mart by me dosent stock fish like that. The biggest fish they keep are oscars and those dragon gobies... in of course those weird cubes. If you think about the big picture, the 15-20 bucks that I spend there probably won't make a whole big impact on what the store stocks their tanks with. I think if people would just stop buying the big fish and just let Wal-mart know that they should just keep smaller fish, they would probably get alot more happy customers.

Rik

No way I might not be in the same country as you but all the fish I bought from Wall-mart...........................Died

inuyasha_lover_21

If you do plan on getting them then make sure you quarantine first to make sure there is no disease that can spread to your other fish.

sirdarksol

In the end, it's up to you.
Personally, I refuse to give stores like that my money. For example, I won't even go into a Petco. It's not like the lack of my business is going to break them, but at the same time, that's the principle of capitalism, and I don't want them to have my money.

inuyasha_lover_21

I have to agree with you there. I go to local places that are family ran. I know sometimes you will find a bad LFS bit so far I been to good ones

Butters

I have a cory from Wal-mart that I've had for about a year now and he survived a battle of finrot too! His name is Beavis.
I sadly don't have a quarantine tank setup, I don't think I will have to worry to much though because those would pretty much be the only fish I put in, with the exception of my clown pleco.

MPrudent

I'm with SDS on this one... Also, the Walmart stores around here do not take care of their fish at all. Its hard to buy any living thing from a place that sells tvs, school supplies, underwear, and furniture.

Plecolover12

Well, there are no clown plecos at the walmart we go to. There are no barbs there. I am talking about the mission viejo one. But it would be tough. You should wait a while, and then check the tanks to see if there are dead fish. This tells you which one takes better care of your fish. Hope it helps.

-Plecolover12

CoreyCat

that is risky. the wal mart here ALWAYS has dead fish floating around in about every tank and it would take you forever to get assistance because they never have anyone working near the fish to feed or take care of em.. guess it really depends on your local wal mart. here i would def say no

gremlin

It would depend on the situation. Most of my goldfish and my cleaning crew all came from WalMart. I watch the tank for at least 30 minutes before I decide to buy. That way I can get an idea of how healthy/active the fish are. I always try to pick the healthiest ones. The workers at the WalMart by me don't like me. If they catch a fish I don't like the look of, I make them put it back and get one I like. Even with all the care, I still end up having some of the goldfish die. My sister just bought 3 and I have them in a quarantine tank for right now. One died. One looks sick. One looks fine. I am treating for ICH because I think they might have it. They all looked very healthy when she brought them to me. She said they had at least 90 goldfish in about a 20 gallon tank. I would only buy 1 or 2 at a time. Just to make sure they survive. Ask how long their guarantee is - sometimes you can get them to say they will replace the fish if it dies within 24 hours (sometimes).

inuyasha_lover_21

Thats why I like the petsmart guarantee here. You get a 1 week guarantee if a fish dies. I never had a problem returning fish to petsmart.

sorry to go off topic here