Petco Goldfish Conditions

I know Petco/Petsmart are terrible places to get fish almost always, but I've recently considered getting a companion for my Ryukin there, he was a orphan at my LFS, but they say the don't ever get in Ryukin, so I've been keeping my options open for buying some. I went into Petco for supplies and had a look at the Ryukins, they were in TERRIBLE condition! It broke my heart.

What causes these.. Holes? Their sides have just been ripped open and I've never seen anything like it. Even in a petco, these poor fish should not be for sale. Can fish like this be saved? Or put to sleep?

 

A heavy dose of antibiotic might pull them through. Tough. Looks like some kind if infection is going on.

 

Those look more Fantail than Ryukin to me.

I don’t see why they should be euthenized. Honestly, they look recoverable.

 

Maybe not euthanized, but they shouldn't be for sale either. Of course, I don't know that Petco/Petsmart does much in the way of quarantine, but I'm surprised that those are actually in a display tank for sale.

 

Those look more Fantail than Ryukin to me.

I don’t see why they should be euthenized. Honestly, they look recoverable.

2 of the 3 were fantails lol, I'm always checking to see if they are actual Ryukins.

Sorry guys, I've just never seen fish for sale in that type of condition. I didn't mean to sound harsh or anything, I've never seen holes in fish to the point I can see the pink in their tissue. I've rescued a few sick fish, but I don't think I'd be up to this particular task, it just seemed serious

 

They look pretty bad amd unless you could get them for free I wouldnt try to save them.

 

They look pretty bad amd unless you could get them for free I wouldnt try to save them.

No I won't, firstly I'll probably never see them again as I don't live in town. But every other goldfish tank was full of barely alive fish. They will probably be gone

 

They can be healed from it, they would need pristine water as well as a preventative against infection and fungus (which a couple pictured already have). Methylene blue dips or applications would likely be the first part of treatment I would do, but you would need a QT tank.
Petco does not have spare tanks in the back to medicate fish much less QT them, the fish are medicated in the display tank and hopefully they put a sign on the tank that they aren't for sale.

 

I know Petco/Petsmart are terrible places to get fish almost always, but I've recently considered getting a companion for my Ryukin there, he was a orphan at my LFS, but they say the don't ever get in Ryukin, so I've been keeping my options open for buying some. I went into Petco for supplies and had a look at the Ryukins, they were in TERRIBLE condition! It broke my heart.

What causes these.. Holes? Their sides have just been ripped open and I've never seen anything like it. Even in a petco, these poor fish should not be for sale. Can fish like this be saved? Or put to sleep?
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It looks like a columnaris lesion and judging by how deep the wound is it’s going to take a lot to bring him back.

 

I hate seeing this!

I think I read a post here or on snoanot forum where someone claimed they complained to corporate about a PetSmart or Petco that consistently had big problems with sick fish. Supposedly she got corporate to send someone in to help them fix their tanks. I guess it's worth a shot.


I wrote off those chain stores a long time ago though I did find a Pet Supplies Plus store that was okay (only checked it out as I was in the area and someone recommended it in a post somewhere).

I've visited 10+ stores in the Chicago area. It's upsetting how many times I've seen dead fish or sick fish in these stores so LFS aren't immune ftom problems. This is even with places with a low number of tanks. I think I'd only buy from 3-4 stores out of the 10-12 I've visited in my area (I haven't looked at any of the chains other than the one mentioned above).

 

I hate seeing this!

I think I read a post here or on snoanot forum where someone claimed they complained to corporate about a PetSmart or Petco that consistently had big problems with sick fish. Supposedly she got corporate to send someone in to help them fix their tanks. I guess it's worth a shot.


I wrote off those chain stores a long time ago though I did find a Pet Supplies Plus store that was okay (only checked it out as I was in the area and someone recommended it in a post somewhere).

I've visited 10+ stores in the Chicago area. It's upsetting how many times I've seen dead fish or sick fish in these stores so LFS aren't immune ftom problems. This is even with places with a low number of tanks. I think I'd only buy from 3-4 stores out of the 10-12 I've visited in my area (I haven't looked at any of the chains other than the one mentioned above).

May have been my post. It was a Pet Supplies Plus (ironically because you said you found one you like haha) and everything they sell is sick, dying, or already dead. The mystery snail tank is just full of floating snails, they had 50+ Betta Fish for sell but not one without dropsy, and everything else was in the same condition. Was very hard to look at, I don’t know how employees were able to look at it all so casually and sell that crud to people. The first time I called I had just spoken to a manger about my concerns, and when I had seen nothing was addressed - I took it even further and persistently called and emailed until I got in touch with someone who sent a team of people out to take care of the fish. When I went on a few weeks later just to check on everything, their stock was down at least 75-80% which I’m very happy with, and what they did have looked decently healthy as compared to the displays tanks of mainly dead fish.

As for the goldfish, it looks like it may be able to recover, but honestly I wouldn’t suggest it. It’s giving that place business and letting them know that even though they sell fish in horrible conditions, people will still buy them so why change anything?

 

I was just keeping my options open for companions for my goldfish, Ryukins seem rare where I'm from, but I wanted to try and get 2 more for him. If I was better at curing ailing fish I might've been brave enough to try to save them, but ultimately I have to keep my goldfish safe even if he is alone.

Anyone know if my Goldfish will accept other types of fancies if I don't find more of his kind?

 

Those are definitely Ryukin and it looks like it has an ulcer on the side. From the first picture in the others, it looks weird, so maybe not. Peroxide swap it and keep the conditions good. One of them looks more like a fantail though the smaller one.
Edit: I really cannot tell because in the first it looks like an ulcer in the next it looks cottony. Maybe a salt dip

 

If you have a 40 gallon tank then you can give him 2 more fancies, but if it is not then don't. Goldfish should be kept in a 20 gallon for the first one then 10 for each one after.

 

If you have a 40 gallon tank then you can give him 2 more fancies, but if it is not then don't. Goldfish should be kept in a 20 gallon for the first one then 10 for each one after.

It's a 40 gallon, no worries there

 

I wouldn't put sick goldfish with healthy ones, so be careful.

 

Poor babies. My heart says, "Fix them!" my head tells me not to bother. Were they swimming around fine? I hate the fact that Petco keeps the goldfish in such small tanks. My Petsmart is so much cleaner and nicer then Petco...but it of course varies by store.

 

I was just keeping my options open for companions for my goldfish, Ryukins seem rare where I'm from, but I wanted to try and get 2 more for him. If I was better at curing ailing fish I might've been brave enough to try to save them, but ultimately I have to keep my goldfish safe even if he is alone.

Anyone know if my Goldfish will accept other types of fancies if I don't find more of his kind?

Maybe. What many don’t realize is that Ryukins have a reputation for being bullies.

 

You CAN mix types of goldfish. You could do fantails instead if they are easier to find there. Ryukins are powerful fish that can be pushy, especially at feeding time. It is recommended that you keep goldfish of similar ... shortcomings... so that they have an even playing field when it comes to eating, e.g. telescopes with other telescopes or bubble eyes with bubble eyes. Fantails are usually good swimmers so should be able to compete handily for food.

 

I wouldn't put sick goldfish with healthy ones, so be careful.

I did not buy these fish, but I super don't trust the chain stores and any goldfish I'd ever get from one would be in QT for quite a while

 

Poor babies. My heart says, "Fix them!" my head tells me not to bother. Were they swimming around fine? I hate the fact that Petco keeps the goldfish in such small tanks. My Petsmart is so much cleaner and nicer then Petco...but it of course varies by store.

The Ryukin was a little more active, but both fantails were just listlessly moving about. One wouldn't even turn around to look at me. Breaks my heart.

The petsmart in my town keeps them in maybe 5 gallons of water, but they look to be in better condition lol what even

Maybe. What many don’t realize is that Ryukins have a reputation for being bullies.

My friend desperately wants me to get a black moor, but I'm pretty sure my fish would out eat one because he has a short tail and has really started to muscle up since I got him. But I'm not sure if they are bullies, more like, they are big fish and if they want something they are gonna be like under water bumper cars to get it. At least that's what a lot of people have told me.

My LFS would 100% let me return a fish if they didn't work out

You CAN mix types of goldfish. You could do fantails instead if they are easier to find there. Ryukins are powerful fish that can be pushy, especially at feeding time. It is recommended that you keep goldfish of similar ... shortcomings... so that they have an even playing field when it comes to eating, e.g. telescopes with other telescopes or bubble eyes with bubble eyes. Fantails are usually good swimmers so should be able to compete handily for food.

I'll consider the fantails, and yeah, he doesn't have bubble eyes and has a short tail, if he wanted to be dominant, he could. So I'm also looking for a fish that is bigger than him, but I'm not sure that will work out, little sucker is starting to get big ️

 

So very sad. My love for goldfish just makes my heart sink when I see this. They could probably be saved and if they were close to me, I'd go get them. I went into my Petco one day and the entire tank of comets had a mountain of dead ones on the bottom of the tank. I mean, like 4" high. I asked the fish employee what was going on. He said, "Oh, they are in QT and we can't sell them right now." Really? No joke! I would have at least placed some white paper over the front with a QT sign. Why didn't they at least take the dead ones out and give the live ones a change. I can only imagine what the ammonia was at. I realize they were only feeder fish but not a could sales gimmick in my opinion.

 

So very sad. My love for goldfish just makes my heart sink when I see this. They could probably be saved and if they were close to me, I'd go get them. I went into my Petco one day and the entire tank of comets had a mountain of dead ones on the bottom of the tank. I mean, like 4" high. I asked the fish employee what was going on. He said, "Oh, they are in QT and we can't sell them right now." Really? No joke! I would have at least placed some white paper over the front with a QT sign. Why didn't they at least take the dead ones out and give the live ones a change. I can only imagine what the ammonia was at. I realize they were only feeder fish but not a could sales gimmick in my opinion.

This is my first goldfish, I had a 40 gallon set up at home, I was planning on a huge setup for some nano fish, but I saw this little guy in my LFS and he followed me around. So I brought him home after a week of research and about a year of watching Solid Golds YouTube videos lol. He's pretty ugly by goldfish standards but he's been one of the best fish I've ever owned, I've very excited to have more goldfish in the future, once I have my own place I'll put him and the other two I get in a 100 gallon and they'll be the talk of the town I'm sure

If I could save these fish I would, but I don't know what they have and I don't have the space in my usual QT tank, but I think about them all the time, if not these fish I hope I can save two others some time in the future.

The workers at that petco know me well, I'm sure if I would've asked they would've said they weren't for sale... But there was no signs up to speak of and I've literally seen piles of dead snails in their tanks that they were selling to people, I wish things would changes at these stores quicker.

 

UPDATE: there's an even worse fan tail there now, and the two fantails from before probably died. They still had these fish for sale. This fish has another injury of the same size on the other side of his body, I have no idea what is happening to them, but it's awful

 

That's horrible !