Is Anyone Having Long Term Success With Petsmart Fish. - Page 2

[nikm128]

almost ALL of my fish come from petsmart. Never had a problem and have bought plecos, Cory cats, zebra danios, and guppies from petsmart and they have been with me for the past 2 1/2 years. But don't do petco. All the fish I buy from petco die in a week or less.

And that's exactly why everyone has to find out for themselves, mine are the exact opposite of that. Why? every single location for each store is different!

 

[JKC18]

I'm trying to figure out why I've had 2 fish end up with dropsy. They occurred almost 5 months apart. I have some ideas of what could have cause this and I really don't want to talk about it because it's really upsetting. What I wanted to know is if other people are having simular issues.

For me it is hit or miss. Recently 4/5 otocinclus from PetSmart died. Turns out, they don't quarantine. A couple days later, I saw an employee adding stock to the tanks. I asked when the fish came in. She replied that the fish came in thst morning... meaning no time between receiving fish and putting them in quarantine, just right out for sale.
So I shifted to a local fish store - until I realized that they didnt quarantine either. I bought 10 ember tetras that came with a nasty case of ick that showed up tge next morning. I called and asked when they came in - they came in the day before.
So it seems less of a "big box pet store" than it is quality of business practice.

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

My Petco's actually really surprisingly good. Only ever saw one dead fish and no tanks with any lights off. And the main fish guy there is actually really good, and breeds shimp from stock froom FLipAquatics.com. Their weekly Betta shipment almost always sells out the very next day. I got my solid white Betta from there a few weeks ago...he's got fin rot now and am treating him in a hopsital tank, but seems just fine and in good spirits regardless. And as far as their live plants go, I've only ever purchased A. Swords there, that looked in pretty good health really...got some Amanos as well from Petco. Weirdest thing I've ever witnessed was, a lady's dog was licking the freakin aquarium glass because it had tank water on it because he was thirsty! lol Oh, and some of their Rainbow's aren't all that bad either. Some of the Turquoise ones looked pretty good and healthy...

 

[SuzanaBanana]

My Petco's actually really surprisingly good. Only ever saw one dead fish and no tanks with any lights off. And the main fish guy there is actually really good, and breeds shimp from stock froom FLipAquatics.com. Their weekly Betta shipment almost always sells out the very next day. I got my solid white Betta from there a few weeks ago...he's got fin rot now and am treating him in a hopsital tank, but seems just fine and in good spirits regardless. And as far as their live plants go, I've only ever purchased A. Swords there, that looked in pretty good health really...got some Amanos as well from Petco. Weirdest thing I've ever witnessed was, a lady's dog was licking the freakin aquarium glass because it had tank water on it because he was thirsty! lol Oh, and some of their Rainbow's aren't all that bad either. Some of the Turquoise ones looked pretty good and healthy...

At our local petsmart we had a great fish guy too, had tanks, really knew his stuff. He really helped us a lot in the beginning stages of our hobby. He had to get back surgery but hasnt come back.

You’re lucky to have that guy!

 

[purslanegarden]

Check out this link to Segrest Farms website and you can type in your zip code then use drop down box and put the largest mile radius. They are one of the largest distributors in the U.S.

That linked page will show you any store that Segrest sells to.

Nice link. Like you said, there are many more local stores that also get products from there in my general area, not just chain stores.

 

[Joyceheatherington]

Our Petsmart is all the way across town. Bjt there tanks looked good and clean. We love closer to a Petco and a Premium Aquarium shop. Petsmart I wouldn't want to risk buying from there because there about 30 minutes away. Other two stores are 5 to 10 minutes away closer thankfully!

 

[LuckyGourami]

It definitely depends on the individual store. I used to work at Petco. For a while, we had a good aquatics specialist who did her job well, and the tanks and fish were always in good condition. Now, they have a new guy who has no idea what he's doing. I went by there the other day. Half the tanks were dirty, and the other half were in quarantine. If your store is run by good people and the tanks are clean, the fish are more likely to be healthy.

 

[Heathen]

This is why it is rather important to have your own QT system... Never expect a chain store to have one. We are lucky sometimes to even get a break room or a spot in the back stocking area where we can set a table up. Corporate just does not allow space for tanks in the sick rooms, which are primarily for mammals/reptiles/birds. Sometimes we can medicate an entire sump system/rack but that's not even QT. PetCo allowed me to place signs on tanks to not sell sick fish but that's about it. Doesn't matter where you get them, always QT everything.