A Behind The Scenes Look At Petsmart

So, now that I'm getting established at my new job as a Petsmart Pet Care Associate, I was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading stories about what goes on at the store. As hobbyists, we miss a lot of what goes on (even in chain stores...) and I think it might be cool to share my experiences (whether they be successes, failures, or somewhere in-between) and maybe get some input from you guys on what you'd like me to improve at my particular location.

If you guys are interested, I'll start posting at least a paragraph or two after each shift, detailing some of the things I did during that shift, and the answers I gave to some of the questions I received. I'm by no means an expert, especially when it comes to the reptilian and amphibian part of my job, but I'm doing my best to learn as quickly as I can. Here are some rules I'd like to follow in this thread:

1) Be kind. Realize that while I do my best to ensure that all the animals I sell go into healthy homes, I'm not always able to do that. While I DO have the authority to cut off people from buying animals, if I begin to do that to every customer who comes in and doesn't have the perfect set-up, I'll be fired pretty quickly. So, while we might not all agree with the decisions I make, know that I'm at the very least trying my best to ensure that the animal will be healthy, and if I can't ensure that, I'll do my best to stop the sale of the animal to that person.

2) If someone asks a question that I refuse to answer, don't push it. I didn't sign anything that says I can't talk about the details of my job, but if I feel like saying something could put my job at risk, I won't put that out here. I can't imagine something like that ever coming up, but I want to make that clear now rather than later.

3) Keep suggestions realistic. Realize that just because I'm working 8 hours in a shift doesn't mean I can devote all 8 hours to maintenance on one tank - I'm helping people, cleaning tanks, removing bodies, bagging fish, picking out products for people, water changing bettas, feeding animals, etc... I'm eager to hear some suggestions, but try and tame your expectations to something that I can achieve.

I guess I'll go ahead and demo what I'm imagining this thread to be. Here's what I did today at work:

When I first got to work, three employees were grouped around the Leopard Gecko exhibit. When I went to check what was going on, it turns out that two of the geckos had crawled up inside negative space in the ornament, and had been holed up in there for a while. They were NOT coming out easily, either. It took us most of the day to get them out - we eventually had to flush them out with water. I water changed almost all of the bettas - I didn't finish the last 10 or 12 due to time constraints, sadly. The ones that I got to got 100% water changes, and I hope to be able to get through all of them every day that I work. I sold two oscars to a woman that was picking up the fish for a family member. I really didn't want to make the sale, but made it clear that if she needed to return them for any reason, she had 14 days to do so. I truly hope they go to good homes, and that if they don't receive that, she'll bring them back soon. A guy came in with a dead KenyI Cichlid and got $10 of credit. He picked out another KenyI and a JohannI cichlid - from the sounds of it, he's got a 75 gallon tank packed with Africans. I was told by a manager after he left that he brings dead fish back pretty often within the 14 day guarantee. Hopefully that won't be the case with these guys. An older couple came in wanting 4 angelfish, 3 black mollies, and 5 neon tetras for their 55 gallon. I talked them down to 2 angels (hopefully a male and female - I did my best to sex them), 3 male mollies, and 6 neons. I think that'll suit their tank better, as they've had trouble keeping angels alive in the past - probably due to having too many of them reaching sexual maturity at once. A family of four came in wanting to buy a 1 gallon kit (filter+tank) and a common goldfish for the youngest son. I managed to talk her into a 2.5 gallon glass tank, an internal filter, and a fancy guppy. Not perfect, I know, but I think her chances of success are much higher. She picked up a bottle of Quick Start, a couple live plants, and seemed confident. I directed her towards Fishlore, and hope she shows up on here.

Not everyday will be such a long day, and sometimes it might be as simple as "I did a water change on all the bettas. Watched instructional videos. Had Subway for lunch. Tuna sub - yum."

Are you guys interested in reading more of this?

 

Yes

 

Ya know at the start of this I thought "oh geez another one trying to promote petstores." But! absolutely, it isn't every day you get someone who is even semI competent with fish to work at a chain store. It is the same as when I kept parrots. Chain stores keep various conures, amazons, cockatiels, and yet they know nothing about the care. Every now and again you'll go in and see a worker who let them out of the cage and has them on their shoulder, trying to train them and socialize. I give you credit for trying to educate a very uneducated populous. Hey, if you change one fish owners mind from getting 3 oscars in a 20 gallon tank I think you did your job. Fish aren't people but we might as well give them a fighting chance.
Idea-I know you work in retail with cameras, managers, and coworkers....but this would be an extremely interesting youtube channel.

 

I think it’s important for people to get a true perspective of a chain pet store. It’s a place where many beginners go, and as hobbyists we will often give advice to fellow keepers, and regardless of where you get your fish or how much of a newbie you are or how much research you’ve done, if you own fish you are in the aquarium hobby. Learning about common situations allows us to understand how to give advice for it

 

I think it’s important for people to get a true perspective of a chain pet store. It’s a place where many beginners go, and as hobbyists we will often give advice to fellow keepers, and regardless of where you get your fish or how much of a newbie you are or how much research you’ve done, if you own fish you are in the aquarium hobby. Learning about common situations allows us to understand how to give advice for it

For the price I'd even consider going back to a chain to get my next oscars. 12 bucks for a baby oscar vs 38 for a 4 inch one at a lfs? jeez...

 

Ya know at the start of this I thought "oh geez another one trying to promote petstores." But! absolutely, it isn't every day you get someone who is even semI competent with fish to work at a chain store. It is the same as when I kept parrots. Chain stores keep various conures, amazons, cockatiels, and yet they know nothing about the care. Every now and again you'll go in and see a worker who let them out of the cage and has them on their shoulder, trying to train them and socialize. I give you credit for trying to educate a very uneducated populous. Hey, if you change one fish owners mind from getting 3 oscars in a 20 gallon tank I think you did your job. Fish aren't people but we might as well give them a fighting chance.
Idea-I know you work in retail with cameras, managers, and coworkers....but this would be an extremely interesting youtube channel.

I appreciate it, from both of you!

As far as the YouTube channel idea, I'm not 100% comfortable in front of a camera, if I'm being honest. I've thought about it before, and will continue to consider it... for now, I'll stick to text. Don't rule it out in the future, though.

 

For the price I'd even consider going back to a chain to get my next oscars. 12 bucks for a baby oscar vs 38 for a 4 inch one at a lfs? jeez...

I myself get my fish from a chain store (pet supermarket) and I would love to have a local fish store to get fish from, but unfortunately the closest non-chain fish store is over 20 minutes away, with a couple others being over half an hour away and it’s right off the highway so a lot of traffic and not an area we frequent. And it’s not exactly like they breed their own fish. They too have a supplier, and after calling them a few times and visiting, I’ve found that the fish department employees at my local pet supermarket are more knowledgeable then the employees at the aquarium store. When people judge a chain store, they have to understand that not all locations are the same. Some locations do actually care for their animals and are very knowledgeable. My local Petco which I get supplies from occasionally even has an adoption system for unwanted angelfish

 

Interesting idea for a thread, and I'm sure you are earnest and sincere...but for the sake of your brand new job (which I assume you want to keep!), I think you should run this idea past your supervisor before putting it into effect. If he/she is okay with the plan, then run with it. If he/she says don't do it...well...don't do it.

 

I appreciate it, from both of you!

As far as the YouTube channel idea, I'm not 100% comfortable in front of a camera, if I'm being honest. I've thought about it before, and will continue to consider it... for now, I'll stick to text. Don't rule it out in the future, though.

hey man there's always those indiscreet body cams. But I understand, I wouldn't wanna risk it either. I also wouldn't worry about a supervisor as a previous poster said. It'll bring anxety to your life while you're trying to do a good thing. There is little proof as to who you are. As far as legal proof goes there's next to nothing. As a member of the military we have very strict rules regarding posting things online...yet...every messup somehow winds up on "us army **** moments"

 

I'm truly not very worried about this putting my job into jeopardy - but I will run it by my manager, to be sure.

 

So, now that I'm getting established at my new job as a Petsmart Pet Care Associate, I was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading stories about what goes on at the store. As hobbyists, we miss a lot of what goes on (even in chain stores...) and I think it might be cool to share my experiences (whether they be successes, failures, or somewhere in-between) and maybe get some input from you guys on what you'd like me to improve at my particular location.

If you guys are interested, I'll start posting at least a paragraph or two after each shift, detailing some of the things I did during that shift, and the answers I gave to some of the questions I received. I'm by no means an expert, especially when it comes to the reptilian and amphibian part of my job, but I'm doing my best to learn as quickly as I can. Here are some rules I'd like to follow in this thread:

1) Be kind. Realize that while I do my best to ensure that all the animals I sell go into healthy homes, I'm not always able to do that. While I DO have the authority to cut off people from buying animals, if I begin to do that to every customer who comes in and doesn't have the perfect set-up, I'll be fired pretty quickly. So, while we might not all agree with the decisions I make, know that I'm at the very least trying my best to ensure that the animal will be healthy, and if I can't ensure that, I'll do my best to stop the sale of the animal to that person.

2) If someone asks a question that I refuse to answer, don't push it. I didn't sign anything that says I can't talk about the details of my job, but if I feel like saying something could put my job at risk, I won't put that out here. I can't imagine something like that ever coming up, but I want to make that clear now rather than later.

3) Keep suggestions realistic. Realize that just because I'm working 8 hours in a shift doesn't mean I can devote all 8 hours to maintenance on one tank - I'm helping people, cleaning tanks, removing bodies, bagging fish, picking out products for people, water changing bettas, feeding animals, etc... I'm eager to hear some suggestions, but try and tame your expectations to something that I can achieve.

I guess I'll go ahead and demo what I'm imagining this thread to be. Here's what I did today at work:

When I first got to work, three employees were grouped around the Leopard Gecko exhibit. When I went to check what was going on, it turns out that two of the geckos had crawled up inside negative space in the ornament, and had been holed up in there for a while. They were NOT coming out easily, either. It took us most of the day to get them out - we eventually had to flush them out with water. I water changed almost all of the bettas - I didn't finish the last 10 or 12 due to time constraints, sadly. The ones that I got to got 100% water changes, and I hope to be able to get through all of them every day that I work. I sold two oscars to a woman that was picking up the fish for a family member. I really didn't want to make the sale, but made it clear that if she needed to return them for any reason, she had 14 days to do so. I truly hope they go to good homes, and that if they don't receive that, she'll bring them back soon. A guy came in with a dead KenyI Cichlid and got $10 of credit. He picked out another KenyI and a JohannI cichlid - from the sounds of it, he's got a 75 gallon tank packed with Africans. I was told by a manager after he left that he brings dead fish back pretty often within the 14 day guarantee. Hopefully that won't be the case with these guys. An older couple came in wanting 4 angelfish, 3 black mollies, and 5 neon tetras for their 55 gallon. I talked them down to 2 angels (hopefully a male and female - I did my best to sex them), 3 male mollies, and 6 neons. I think that'll suit their tank better, as they've had trouble keeping angels alive in the past - probably due to having too many of them reaching sexual maturity at once. A family of four came in wanting to buy a 1 gallon kit (filter+tank) and a common goldfish for the youngest son. I managed to talk her into a 2.5 gallon glass tank, an internal filter, and a fancy guppy. Not perfect, I know, but I think her chances of success are much higher. She picked up a bottle of Quick Start, a couple live plants, and seemed confident. I directed her towards Fishlore, and hope she shows up on here.

Not everyday will be such a long day, and sometimes it might be as simple as "I did a water change on all the bettas. Watched instructional videos. Had Subway for lunch. Tuna sub - yum."

Are you guys interested in reading more of this?

You always seem to have interesting stories!

 

 

Fisker really appreciate the info.

 

This article might be interesting to everyone participating in this thread:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/resources/petsmart-behind-the-fish-wall.18/

Fisker, keeping writing. It's very interesting and good to know when people who actually keep fish are caring for them in box stores.

 

Great Idea. I will be following this thread.

 

Interesting thread! Following for sure

 

Cool thread, I've always wondered about what ya'll do with new fish shipments. I get my fish exclusively from Petco and petsmart bc there are no smaller stores around. I often hear about the necessity of quarantining new fish due to diseases in these large stores, and I do quarantine, but I haven't seen anything with ich or other common diseases come into my tanks and haven't had issues with diseases.
My question is, do you all medicate the fish heavily or go through any other steps to quarantine?
Perhaps I've just been very lucky
Thanks for this thread, definitely goi ng to follow it

 

Good thread thanks for your insite.

 

i've bought 4 different batches of feeder goldfish and 1 blue oranda goldfish at different times from 4 different Petsmarts in my area, no problems, except for a few deaths, but they all looked and acted healthy, and post mortem inspection didn't show anything abnormal, probably transport stress.

 

Thanks for all the kind words! I'll answer a few questions, and then move onto today's activities.

We do absolutely no QT - when the fish come in (Wednesdays, at my particular store), they're floated for 30 minutes, poured into a net, and released into display tanks. We do dose ALL of the aquariums with some meds, but they're all invert-safe. I'm not sure of the particular cocktail that we use, but I might be able to find out when we get the next shipment in.

When I remove dead fish from tanks at work, or have bought them in the past from Petsmarts, I don't usually find that diseases are a huge problem. I think that most deaths are from poor conditions at the farm, a somewhat stressful environment in the store, and all the stress caused by transportation.

Today was Saturday, which means that the store was pretty busy. Lots of people browsing, asking for help, and asking questions. Because of that, I only got to water change a few bettas today. I got through all of the ones that I didn't get to yesterday, so all of them have been waterchanged in the past day or so. When I was digging pretty far back into the betta cups, I found several that had probably been dead for a week or two - some were just soup in the cups. When my manager saw that, we had a talk, and she basically put me in charge of ensuring that the bettas are getting fed the right amounts and are getting adequate water changes. I'll be feeding them myself, and ensuring that they all get water changes every other day. I plan to probably feed 1-2 small pellets a day for 5 days a week, and to fast them for the other 2 days. We scrubbed down a lot of the tanks - why in the WORLD did Petsmart decide to use blue backgrounds and side for their tanks? Sure, it looks cheery, but every splotch of diatoms that grow stick out like a sore thumb. We had a gerbil fall pretty ill today - I'm not too proud of it, either. There were 3-4 of us in Pet Care all day, and we all failed to notice the ailing gerbil till a customer pointed him out. He probably won't make it through the night. We force-fed him some water and food, and put him into a sick room. In the future, I'll try to be more attentive to that area of the store, as I admit that I never thought about checking that area other than for food and water all day. I really didn't sell a ton of problematic fish today - I steered a couple people away from buying oscars and cichlids for their tanks, and helped a few set up what I think will be successful tanks. One woman came in and wanted to know why her "waterfall filter" was so loud. Basically, she had been running an Aqueon HOB on her 10 gallon with the water level REALLY low. I told her to just fill it up to dampen the trickling noise, but she didn't seem to believe me and wanted a solution right then and there. She ended up buying a Top Fin Internal filter, and I talked her into buying an aquarium siphon to use as well, as it doesn't seem like she's been doing water changes... at all. A family came in and asked to see a Red Eared Slider, and my associate unlocked the enclosure and got one out for them. As she was handing the child the turtle to hold, he lashed out and bit her hand. He didn't break the skin, but it'll definitely bruise. They didn't buy the turtle. Oh, I also had a Tortoise poop on me. That was fun.

 

Poor gerbil. I had gerbils and hamsters when I was a kid. I hope he makes it somehow.

Did the turtle bite the child or your coworker?

 

The turtle bit the child.

 

This looks like a great idea, I too will be watching with interest.

 

So, now that I'm getting established at my new job as a Petsmart Pet Care Associate, I was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading stories about what goes on at the store. As hobbyists, we miss a lot of what goes on (even in chain stores...) and I think it might be cool to share my experiences (whether they be successes, failures, or somewhere in-between) and maybe get some input from you guys on what you'd like me to improve at my particular location.

If you guys are interested, I'll start posting at least a paragraph or two after each shift, detailing some of the things I did during that shift, and the answers I gave to some of the questions I received. I'm by no means an expert, especially when it comes to the reptilian and amphibian part of my job, but I'm doing my best to learn as quickly as I can. Here are some rules I'd like to follow in this thread:

1) Be kind. Realize that while I do my best to ensure that all the animals I sell go into healthy homes, I'm not always able to do that. While I DO have the authority to cut off people from buying animals, if I begin to do that to every customer who comes in and doesn't have the perfect set-up, I'll be fired pretty quickly. So, while we might not all agree with the decisions I make, know that I'm at the very least trying my best to ensure that the animal will be healthy, and if I can't ensure that, I'll do my best to stop the sale of the animal to that person.

2) If someone asks a question that I refuse to answer, don't push it. I didn't sign anything that says I can't talk about the details of my job, but if I feel like saying something could put my job at risk, I won't put that out here. I can't imagine something like that ever coming up, but I want to make that clear now rather than later.

3) Keep suggestions realistic. Realize that just because I'm working 8 hours in a shift doesn't mean I can devote all 8 hours to maintenance on one tank - I'm helping people, cleaning tanks, removing bodies, bagging fish, picking out products for people, water changing bettas, feeding animals, etc... I'm eager to hear some suggestions, but try and tame your expectations to something that I can achieve.

I guess I'll go ahead and demo what I'm imagining this thread to be. Here's what I did today at work:

When I first got to work, three employees were grouped around the Leopard Gecko exhibit. When I went to check what was going on, it turns out that two of the geckos had crawled up inside negative space in the ornament, and had been holed up in there for a while. They were NOT coming out easily, either. It took us most of the day to get them out - we eventually had to flush them out with water. I water changed almost all of the bettas - I didn't finish the last 10 or 12 due to time constraints, sadly. The ones that I got to got 100% water changes, and I hope to be able to get through all of them every day that I work. I sold two oscars to a woman that was picking up the fish for a family member. I really didn't want to make the sale, but made it clear that if she needed to return them for any reason, she had 14 days to do so. I truly hope they go to good homes, and that if they don't receive that, she'll bring them back soon. A guy came in with a dead KenyI Cichlid and got $10 of credit. He picked out another KenyI and a JohannI cichlid - from the sounds of it, he's got a 75 gallon tank packed with Africans. I was told by a manager after he left that he brings dead fish back pretty often within the 14 day guarantee. Hopefully that won't be the case with these guys. An older couple came in wanting 4 angelfish, 3 black mollies, and 5 neon tetras for their 55 gallon. I talked them down to 2 angels (hopefully a male and female - I did my best to sex them), 3 male mollies, and 6 neons. I think that'll suit their tank better, as they've had trouble keeping angels alive in the past - probably due to having too many of them reaching sexual maturity at once. A family of four came in wanting to buy a 1 gallon kit (filter+tank) and a common goldfish for the youngest son. I managed to talk her into a 2.5 gallon glass tank, an internal filter, and a fancy guppy. Not perfect, I know, but I think her chances of success are much higher. She picked up a bottle of Quick Start, a couple live plants, and seemed confident. I directed her towards Fishlore, and hope she shows up on here.

Not everyday will be such a long day, and sometimes it might be as simple as "I did a water change on all the bettas. Watched instructional videos. Had Subway for lunch. Tuna sub - yum."

Are you guys interested in reading more of this?

I really like how you are taking care for the fish really good and doing the best for them. Most employees and petsmart itself has awful care for their fish, but you are making sure they live the best of their lives. Awesome job man, keep it up.

 

Ya know at the start of this I thought "oh geez another one trying to promote petstores." But! absolutely, it isn't every day you get someone who is even semI competent with fish to work at a chain store. It is the same as when I kept parrots. Chain stores keep various conures, amazons, cockatiels, and yet they know nothing about the care. Every now and again you'll go in and see a worker who let them out of the cage and has them on their shoulder, trying to train them and socialize. I give you credit for trying to educate a very uneducated populous. Hey, if you change one fish owners mind from getting 3 oscars in a 20 gallon tank I think you did your job. Fish aren't people but we might as well give them a fighting chance.
Idea-I know you work in retail with cameras, managers, and coworkers....but this would be an extremely interesting youtube channel.

Yeah, hide a gopro or secret cam in your shirt or something. Would definitely watch and be interested

 

Way to go Fisker. Where I live. Our PetSmart is well looked after. In one of the fish groups I am involved with, the admins work at PetSmart.

I do not work at our Petsmart, but I am there quite often and even I help customers. The staff always come by after sending the customer to the till and say thanks.

With a big chain store. That is where a lot of people will go first. So a good way to look at it. Is you are the first line of defense.

I will be following this. Have fun and enjoy. Also with the camera thing. Be very careful.

I know a few places will not allow pictures taken of any sort. Not 100 percent sure. But I believe it is due to prices, practices, and liability issues.

 

Will also be following. This is a great idea. I have a Petco in my area and It is definitely not the greatest. I do not like how they designed their filtration system pretty much as an entire shelf of tanks on one pump system So that if one tank gets sick the entire shelf of tanks get contaminated. And they have had repeated problems with ick... And the people that I've dealt with are not as knowledgeable as they should be I feel. so you being in your position that you are, I think it's absolutely great and this is fascinating the "view behind the curtain".

 

Again, thanks for all the support!

Sadly, the gerbil was put down this morning. He was deteriorating, and the in-house vet decided it was time.

For recording what I'm doing each day - I'm not against taking the occasional picture, but I doubt I'd get away with a video camera. Too risky for my blood.

Today was not the most fun - people were especially grouchy, for some reason. A few were very upset that we refused to sell them fish for their tanks (fish that wouldn't have belonged), but management backed us up. I water changed a bunch of the bettas today - all the higher dollar males and all of the females got water changes. I fed each betta 1-2 pellets, and what do you know... they already look way better than they did. It's almost like frequent water changes and not overfeeding causes animals to be healthier! Yesterday, I found around 8 dead bettas. Today, I found 3 dead throughout the day. I don't want any to die at all, but I'm hoping that as these frequent WC's become routine, the effects of ammonia toxicity will dissipate. As for what I sold today, I sold a lot of tetras and community fish. Quite a few of them were Glofish, but there was a bunch of "normal" fish in there too. It's hard to recall every sale, but one in particular is sticking out to me, and I wanted to get your guys' opinion on it. A family comes in, and basically, they're wanting to buy fish for the youngest daughter's 10 gallon in her room. They have one lampeye tetra that's been in there for about a year, by himself, and want to know what would go well with him. I explained that tetras are a schooling fish, and do best in groups - they had no idea. But, surprisingly, they all seemed to feel pretty bad. The daughter was a bit too young to understand, though, and I think she really just wanted something with more color than the lampeye. I told the dad that it was important to not only take care of the fish, but to also allow her to enjoy her tank, even in conditions are somewhat sub-optimal for the fish. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way, but I feel like allowing her some flexibility with stocking rules and such will allow her to better enjoy the hobby, and keep her in the hobby for longer, instead of me saying "Hey, little girl, literally all you can add is a few more of these fish and maybe one centerpiece." In the end, I bagged up 4 Harlequin Rasboras and 2 Lampeye Tetras - that was all we had of each. While I was catching and bagging them (which admittedly took a while... we mix the lampeyes in with a bunch of other tetras... it sucks), they got to looking around, and found a Top Fin 37 gallon kit with a filter, heater, and hood for $120. On sale till August 4th. They picked that up, grabbed an Aquaclear 70 (the Aquaclear HOBs are my go-to for when people ask what filter they need, in most cases), and got their fish and left. They told me they'd be back next week to pick up some more rasboras, lampeyes, some other schooling fish, and a few larger fish for centerpieces. It was actually pretty fulfilling.

 

This is great because I'm always curious about my fishes' lives before I buy them. Keep posting!

 

Do you all add anything into the betta cups when you do WC? I recall seeing some with a blue color. If possible you could add prime to each cup to help keep ammonia toxicity down

 

Do you all add anything into the betta cups when you do WC? I recall seeing some with a blue color. If possible you could add prime to each cup to help keep ammonia toxicity down

The cups with a blue color were probably bettas who had just shipped in - interestingly enough, we're supposed to dump the medicated water out and replace it with fresh water when we receive the bettas, so I guess it's possible that they just weren't doing water changes. We don't add anything to the cups - just clean water. There's some light meds in it - I believe there's a super weak anti-bacterial and also a de-wormer, but I could be wrong. As for dosing Prime, that's a good idea, but we have a specific, small list of products we're allowed to use. Water conditioners didn't make it on the list - we have a carbon block in the store to get rid of chloramines and chlorine, so there's no NEED for a dechlorinator. We do use Repti-safe for the reptile water for some reason, but no dechlorinator for the fish.

I've been off yesterday and today, so no updates. They'll resume tomorrow! I'm anxious to see how the bettas are doing.

 

Very interesting thread. I worked for petsmart for many years when I was younger and then again for a bit many years after that. I was in charge of the fish and small animals. I loved it. The 2 stores I worked at were awesome. They also put us through extensive training. You’d have to take “classes” then a test to earn a badge if you pass. So our name tags had cute little animals on them depicting your knowledge (fish, budgie, ferret etc) AND each one came with a small raise Maybe these stores were different or because it was so long ago, but I learned so much there and never really understood the slack they get, but maybe times have changed. Best wishes on your amazing job.

 

Again, thanks for all the support!

Sadly, the gerbil was put down this morning. He was deteriorating, and the in-house vet decided it was time.

For recording what I'm doing each day - I'm not against taking the occasional picture, but I doubt I'd get away with a video camera. Too risky for my blood.

Today was not the most fun - people were especially grouchy, for some reason. A few were very upset that we refused to sell them fish for their tanks (fish that wouldn't have belonged), but management backed us up. I water changed a bunch of the bettas today - all the higher dollar males and all of the females got water changes. I fed each betta 1-2 pellets, and what do you know... they already look way better than they did. It's almost like frequent water changes and not overfeeding causes animals to be healthier! Yesterday, I found around 8 dead bettas. Today, I found 3 dead throughout the day. I don't want any to die at all, but I'm hoping that as these frequent WC's become routine, the effects of ammonia toxicity will dissipate. As for what I sold today, I sold a lot of tetras and community fish. Quite a few of them were Glofish, but there was a bunch of "normal" fish in there too. It's hard to recall every sale, but one in particular is sticking out to me, and I wanted to get your guys' opinion on it. A family comes in, and basically, they're wanting to buy fish for the youngest daughter's 10 gallon in her room. They have one lampeye tetra that's been in there for about a year, by himself, and want to know what would go well with him. I explained that tetras are a schooling fish, and do best in groups - they had no idea. But, surprisingly, they all seemed to feel pretty bad. The daughter was a bit too young to understand, though, and I think she really just wanted something with more color than the lampeye. I told the dad that it was important to not only take care of the fish, but to also allow her to enjoy her tank, even in conditions are somewhat sub-optimal for the fish. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way, but I feel like allowing her some flexibility with stocking rules and such will allow her to better enjoy the hobby, and keep her in the hobby for longer, instead of me saying "Hey, little girl, literally all you can add is a few more of these fish and maybe one centerpiece." In the end, I bagged up 4 Harlequin Rasboras and 2 Lampeye Tetras - that was all we had of each. While I was catching and bagging them (which admittedly took a while... we mix the lampeyes in with a bunch of other tetras... it sucks), they got to looking around, and found a Top Fin 37 gallon kit with a filter, heater, and hood for $120. On sale till August 4th. They picked that up, grabbed an Aquaclear 70 (the Aquaclear HOBs are my go-to for when people ask what filter they need, in most cases), and got their fish and left. They told me they'd be back next week to pick up some more rasboras, lampeyes, some other schooling fish, and a few larger fish for centerpieces. It was actually pretty fulfilling.

I think you did the right thing. If that fish was solitary for as long as they claimed, it was likely he was the lone survivor of a bad school, or maybe the lone survivor of a tank disaster, but living for a year proves that the tank conditions became suitable. I once had a school of neon tetras, that after a long time, they inevitably began to die off, until I had one left. I thought about getting the lone tetra buddies for awhile, but he was so old there was no way I could rehome him. That wouldn’t do him right. IMO old fish shouldn’t be moved. Just like a cat or human, there comes a point where the stress of moving is just not in the best interest of well being. I also had decided not to get more tetras, since my tank wasn’t the best conditions for tetras. Also this guy was old, and any fish I would add would have been young, so they would have likely bullied him. Overall, this fish was eating well, seemed happy and calm, and would swim around to his content. He lived for quite some time, despite being solo, and was quite happy. That fish has been solitary for long enough that going solo a little longer until the tank size is proper for more lampreye, at the cost of getting a larger tank and keeping a young girl invested in a hobby is worth it

 

I love this thread! As others have said, be careful with what you disclose. Your manager might not have any issues, but corporate might.

If you’re answering questions...
What was the hiring process like? Do you think your pet knowledge is what got you the job?
What does a typical fish shipment look like?

 

I love this thread! As others have said, be careful with what you disclose. Your manager might not have any issues, but corporate might.

If you’re answering questions...
What was the hiring process like? Do you think your pet knowledge is what got you the job?
What does a typical fish shipment look like?

The hiring process was pretty simple - I put in online, and got called the next day. The day after that, I was going in for an interview, and I was hired on the spot. After that, it was pretty normal stuff.

I think persistence is what got me the job. I explained my situation (college, low on cash, aquariums, etc...), and when she seemed hesitant to hire me due to my own time constraints, I insisted. She gave me a shot.

Usually a bunch of boxes with styrofoam coolers in them. Open a box, float the bags for 30 minutes, net the fish, and release. Rinse and repeat. The bettas are similar, except they ship in medicated cups. One interesting thing to note is that ALL fish that come in are barely off of fry food, IMO. We get the occasional larger cichlid or something, but almost all of them are what I'd consider as just transitioning out of the fry stage.

 

One interesting thing to note is that ALL fish that come in are barely off of fry food, IMO. We get the occasional larger cichlid or something, but almost all of them are what I'd consider as just transitioning out of the fry stage.

I do see a lot of small fancy goldfish, especially at Petco. But there has been a few times where I've seen some good sized fancy goldfish at PetSmart, the only reason why I bought my only fancy, a blue oranda. He wasn't big like the ones that go for $34.99, but noticably bigger than most. A few weeks ago I saw a good sized orange and white oranda, I would have gotten it but I already had fish in QT.

 

I see quarter size angels at mine all the time, even saw a few not much bigger than a dime once. I wonder why they choose to get fish that are so young and sensitive?

 

I see quarter size angels at mine all the time, even saw a few not much bigger than a dime once. I wonder why they choose to get fish that are so young and sensitive?

Easy, they are cheaper to buy and they can sell them for more money than where they got them from.

 

I can see that part, but (at my nearest store) they always wonder why the survival rate (of angels especially) is so low. Don't make much money if 75-80% of the fish you sell end up being brought back a week later for a refund or exchange.
Fisker how much insight do you have on the young age of fish being sold? Do you think it would be better if they were even just a couple weeks older?

 

I can see that part, but (at my nearest store) they always wonder why the survival rate (of angels especially) is so low. Don't make much money if 75-80% of the fish you sell end up being brought back a week later for a refund or exchange.
Fisker how much insight do you have on the young age of fish being sold? Do you think it would be better if they were even just a couple weeks older?

Yeah, I was looking around and bizaliz3 had about 100 fry and only 4 survived.