Saving Fish from Petstores - Good or Bad?

Now when I had a really good family owned lfs he had a very strict rule. No sick anything left the building. He treated them but he felt it was reputation on the line with people getting sick fish whether for free or they paid for them.

 

I only end up in Petco or petsmart when shopping with my wife. I usually wander away from her and walk around them than. Walked into a petsmart last year and bought a 45g tank,stand and light . Wife doesn’t take me shopping anymore .

 

It’s a mixed bag for me, you’re saving a living being out of a miserable existence, sure.

But, if we don’t do anything besides get that one fish/animal out of the situation, ultimately all we’re doing is financially supporting the institution which brings more fish into the same poor conditions.

If you’re saving an animal, at least try to make sure you’re not just ultimately adding to the problem.

Talk to management. Take photos of the fish with receipt numbers and email corporate if it’s a big box store. Tell a smaller store that you’ll be back, and if things are still abysmal, you’ll talk about it online. It may or may not help. Ultimately, the way we can make businesses listen to us about animal well being is with our wallets.

 

So I admit to not reading every post in this thread but I skipped through a bunch...

My opinion is never buy from a store that has unhealthy or sick fish. Ever. I know depending on your geographical area this can be hard, but not impossible. I live in Eastern Ontario and over the years I have gone from one LFS to another as they have grown and died unfortunately. My fishkeeping started many years ago with Roy's Pet Shop east of Kingston. They closed several years ago, think they had a fire or something, don't remember. Then a store in Gananonoque that was run from a guy's house, he also ended up closing after a few years. Another guy started a store in his basement in Kingston, also closed after a few years... but thankfully I have now found a great LFS right in my home town. Total Aquatics in Napanee Ontario. Best store I have ever been in! They don't have a huge area but if they don't have what you're looking for they'll order it. Fish are healthy, tanks are clean. They get all my business now. My entire 120 gallon tank is completely stocked, plants and fish, solely from them.

I have also finally found a store that has proper QT tanks for marine fish. All new fish are placed in tanks and treated with a copper medication. After waiting 5 years to buy marine fish I finally added 3 more varieties of tangs and no problems.

By supporting stores with poor practices you may indeed save 1 fish. However, you may also introduce problems to your own tank, not to mention that store will now get more fish to replace the one you bought and the cycle continues.

As a rule for responsible fishkeeping I will never buy a fish if there is an unhealthy fish in the same tank. And I won't but sick or unhealthy fish. Make the stores better by spending your money only with those that earn it.

 

So I admit to not reading every post in this thread but I skipped through a bunch...

My opinion is never buy from a store that has unhealthy or sick fish. Ever. I know depending on your geographical area this can be hard, but not impossible. I live in Eastern Ontario and over the years I have gone from one LFS to another as they have grown and died unfortunately. My fishkeeping started many years ago with Roy's Pet Shop east of Kingston. They closed several years ago, think they had a fire or something, don't remember. Then a store in Gananonoque that was run from a guy's house, he also ended up closing after a few years. Another guy started a store in his basement in Kingston, also closed after a few years... but thankfully I have now found a great LFS right in my home town. Total Aquatics in Napanee Ontario. Best store I have ever been in! They don't have a huge area but if they don't have what you're looking for they'll order it. Fish are healthy, tanks are clean. They get all my business now. My entire 120 gallon tank is completely stocked, plants and fish, solely from them.

I have also finally found a store that has proper QT tanks for marine fish. All new fish are placed in tanks and treated with a copper medication. After waiting 5 years to buy marine fish I finally added 3 more varieties of tangs and no problems.

By supporting stores with poor practices you may indeed save 1 fish. However, you may also introduce problems to your own tank, not to mention that store will now get more fish to replace the one you bought and the cycle continues.

As a rule for responsible fishkeeping I will never buy a fish if there is an unhealthy fish in the same tank. And I won't but sick or unhealthy fish. Make the stores better by spending your money only with those that earn it.

Agree for the fullest. Just visited a German LFS arghhhhhhh.

If one wants to save / rescue fish, save or rescue them from a bafly maintained tank but not from an LFS. The place of the bought fish will be taken by a new one that needs saving again. A vicious circle !!!

 

I’m gonna throw in my two cents here....
Personally I love bettas and have a soft spot when it comes to animals that are in need of love or help. That being said, it is very hard for me to walk away from a near-dead betta in a store.
My local petsmart keeps their betta (and fish section in general) in outstanding shape. There are never dead fish in the tanks, they clean the betta cups every other day, there are never any diseases in the tanks, etc. So when I see a sick/injured betta at that particular store, I gladly take the fish home to try to get it better (even if I can’t get a discount on it). I understand the argument of not supporting the big chain stores, but as far as my local stores go, the only thing I could really complain about is the employees knowledgeability about fish. Otherwise, I’m fine with saving fish as long as it does not become a theme in the store that all of the fish are dying.
I am reminded of a quote by Karen Davidson that I think of whenever I have the opportunity to save a fish, “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.” (Substitute “dog” with “fish”)

 

Besides my Jack Dempsey I got from a trade in, I've purchased all my fish from other fish keepers who no longer want them anymore (kind of like adopting a pet versus buying from a pet store) or from people whose fish had fry. My reason, to be quite honest, is to save money rather than save a fish's life. If I bought all my fish from the LFS, I could've spent hundreds of dollars easy. All my fish under Aquarium Details I spent less than $100.00 in total.

Not all LFS keep their livestock in poor conditions. In my LFS, they have multiple nice saltwater and freshwater planted tanks on display. All the livestock in those display tanks are for sale.
Their large Cichlids for sale (such as Oscars, Jaguars, Black Diamond Cichlids, etc.) are all kept in large 125 gallon - 180 gallon display tanks. My Jack Dempsey that I got from them was from a 180G tank with a pike, Blood Parrot, Tiger Oscar, and Red Shoulder Severum.

In my honest opinion, it is difficult to stop stores with bad fish keeping practices so long as people keep doing business with them. If one truly wants to help in some way, you can "adopt" fish instead of buying from the pet store. Not only that, you would be able to save a ton of money too!

I just did a quick KijijI search around my area and there are 2 ads listing their African Cichlids "FREE" and another ad listing their 7"-8" Jack Dempsey Cichlid for only a measly $20.00. When people no longer want their fish, they sell them for dirt cheap or in some rare cases, give them away for free. I really think it isn't all that hard to acquire fish like this versus at the pet store.

 

I’m against it. While it might save the fish... well you have to cull some if your trying to improve

 

Pet Smart by me, I have never seen a dead or dying Betta. they take their fish very seriously.

I was looking at a fire Gourami fish and she advised against it because they were watching him as he had tank mate who had been sickly.

Petco by me- at least 5 dead in cups that I march up to the counter and announce in a loud voice that they have dead fish. Everything else is great at the store but they never seem to do their water changes enough

I shop my Pet Smart now exclusively. There are at least 3 fish enthusiasts that I have seen there that maintain the fish area.

I haven't seen many local pet shops. Most have closed up. I'd have to drive a long way to see one in my area.