Petco, Petsmart, etc... Good Experiences

Hi! I was just wondering.

What do YOU think is the best way to purchase fish from your own experience in the hobby?

 

Hi! I was just wondering.

What do YOU think is the best way to purchase fish from your own experience in the hobby?

I have heard and seen that good lfs stores are reliable if you have them

 

Yeah, but which ones?

 

Local mom and pop stores have different names so look on google the review
S of some fish stores near you. For example I have one near me named fish 4 u and I looked for lfs on google

 

From local breeders if possible

 

From local breeders if possible

That too!

 

Usually you find out through trial and error. I have heard plenty of horror stories about chains, local stores and online to know they all have their own set of risks. Just on here, you only hear about the chains, because its blasphemy to say any other option might be bad, too.

 

I Go to LFS as it’s way cheaper than ordering online for me.

 

Yeah, but which ones?

Lfs means local fish store so we don’t know exactly which ones. You can just google fish stores in (location) and you should get some that pop up. Online is also a good option

 

I'd much rather get the fish in a store so I can observe them in their tanks for a while (which is pretty easy since no one is ever available at my PetSmart to help me with fish) to see who is healthy and who is not

 

I agree with bcsay720...I only have petsmart and petco available to me, and I would rather actually see the fish in person rather than looking at a pic on a web site. But I also know that you can't always get what you want from these big chain stores, too.

I guess it all depends on where you live.

 

Hi! I was just wondering.

What do YOU think is the best way to purchase fish from your own experience in the hobby?

I get my fish from petco or the local aquarium store for where I live. I would recvommwnd researching the best aquarium store in your area. Then check it out and see how they treat their fish. Most of the time if tey have other animals (not aquatic or aquatic corals/plants) then they dont take as good care as the stores that are meant for fish. I wouldnt get them online because well you never know how they might turn out, or how they handle them. Hope this helped.

 

I prefer to get them from people on Craigslist and other hobbyists because typically they treat them better that a petstore.

 

I prefer my few quality LFS. Always better to support a local small business in my opinion.

That being said, a chain is fine if the staff knows what they're doing. It all comes down to how each individual aquatics department is managed. I would never hesitate to buy fish at my local Petco for a long time. Better than some of the LFS that were around. Aquatics manager was a passionate knowledgeable hobbyist, good dude. He transferred stores awhile back. Place went downhill quick and I pretty much never set foot in there anymore.

 

I won't touch online ordering again.

 

I would go with lfs then chain stores and then online.

 

Really depends on the fish for me... For schooling fish I tend to go online through Aquahuna since its about the same price as the LFS and they carry fish that I can't find in the chain stores and I find it hard to buy large numbers of the same fish at the LFS due to low stock or miscatches. However, centerpiece fish I tend to always go to Petsmart or the LFS depending on what I'm looking for.

 

My first choice would be from an aquarium club I’m in. I don’t see the fish before I get them, but the prices are extremely cheap and all the aquatic life is healthy.

My second choice would be my LFS. They almost always have healthy fish, but I have gotten sick fish from them before.


Regardless of where you get the fish from I would always quarantine, and if not always at least the first time you get fish from a store you haven’t bought from before.

 

Hi! I was just wondering.

What do YOU think is the best way to purchase fish from your own experience in the hobby?

Buy fish from someone with a proven track record, that you trust.