I should have known better. Im sure most of you in the Cedar Valley are aware that PETCO gets their new stuff in every Wed. morning. Its usually good stuff and you can get it right out of the box before it gets tainted. I was a little late getting their this week and saw a Kole/Yellow Eyed Tang that i really liked. Looked good enough and the price was right. I saw just a few spots but i was too ignorant and thought it would be fine. I figured with all the live rock and macro growing in my tank it would thrive and the cleaner shrimp would doctor him up. Well i got it home and after acclimating it for a while i dropped him in. He hung out in the back for most of the day and i even saw it nipping at the rock work. I thought, alright he's gonna make it. Well the next day i go down and turn the lights on the tang is on its side, full of spots and becomming a feast for my crabs. I lost a pearly jawfish from PETCO a while back also. He was pretty healthy but i lost sight of him just a few days after purchase. I think he may have dug to much from underneath a rock and got crushed. Just thought I would vent my frustration. Not really badmouthing PETCO I guess its just my own fault.
0-2 at PETCO
- Thread starter jwess
- Start date
leeweber85
New member
I've gotten a yellow tang and a coral beauty from petco... I've had them for over a year now. You just have to make sure they are in excellent condition otherwise don't even consider it.
jwess did they receive that fish the same day you took him home? If they did was he already acclimated to their tank or was he still in the shipping bag?
Just wondering cause it's never a good thing to switch environments that fast. If they did just acclimate it that day, shame on them for letting you take it home right away. (even emporium won't let you do that)
jwess did they receive that fish the same day you took him home? If they did was he already acclimated to their tank or was he still in the shipping bag?
Just wondering cause it's never a good thing to switch environments that fast. If they did just acclimate it that day, shame on them for letting you take it home right away. (even emporium won't let you do that)
I got the tang on Sat. I assume he came in on Wed. but not sure. I have heard good things from people who have rescued fish their. I gues its just bad luck for me. Hopefully Ill have better luck in the future. I plan on getting a 90gal from a guy at work. Ill definitely need more than just a damsel and bi-colored blenny to look at.
got2lb
New member
Sorry to hear about your luck. It always sucks losing a fish. :sad1:
Just so you know we're having a tank tour on April 22nd in the Waterloo area and it would be great to have some more local people attend! Maybe give you some ideas for you new tank!
If you need more info feel free to PM me and I'll fill you in with the details we have so far.
Matt
Just so you know we're having a tank tour on April 22nd in the Waterloo area and it would be great to have some more local people attend! Maybe give you some ideas for you new tank!
If you need more info feel free to PM me and I'll fill you in with the details we have so far.Matt
tibbs2
New member
Try placing any new fish you buy in a small quarantine tank for observation. That way the fish can feed without any other fish bothering it and build up it's strength. You can also dose any medications without affecting your main tank. If your tank doesn't have ich and you want to keep it out, quarantine for 6 weeks but if your tank is like mine and already has ich in it, just quarantine for a week or two or until you can tell the fish looks good and is eating well.
csammis
Mental Institution
I picked up a couple of turbo snails at the Petco in DM a few weeks ago...I didn't have high hopes for them, they were really lethargic in the tank at the store, but they've been doing really well in my tank.
I've only made two other Petco-related fish purchases. One was a bicolor blenny from the Petco in CR, and the other was a clownfish of some variety (I forget) from the one in Waterloo. The blenny was fine in the tank at the store and was fine in my tank but went carpet surfing one sad day. The clownfish was a rescue - the Waterloo Petco was pretty nasty - and it lived a happy life in my tank, until I had to sell it because I was moving.
I've only made two other Petco-related fish purchases. One was a bicolor blenny from the Petco in CR, and the other was a clownfish of some variety (I forget) from the one in Waterloo. The blenny was fine in the tank at the store and was fine in my tank but went carpet surfing one sad day. The clownfish was a rescue - the Waterloo Petco was pretty nasty - and it lived a happy life in my tank, until I had to sell it because I was moving.
Pygmey
New member
Petco
Petco
I have a purple tang, neon dottyback, bicolor blenny, and saddleback clown all from petco..
Purple tang because it was freaking cheap and beautiful.. All fish are doing great.. I have had the neon dottyback for 2 years as well as the bi color blenny.. Clown for about 1 and the purple tang for about 4 months..
Hit and miss there.. Still like the fish selection at Sea Of Marvels so far...
I cannot remember but wasn;t there a new store opening ??
Petco
I have a purple tang, neon dottyback, bicolor blenny, and saddleback clown all from petco..
Purple tang because it was freaking cheap and beautiful.. All fish are doing great.. I have had the neon dottyback for 2 years as well as the bi color blenny.. Clown for about 1 and the purple tang for about 4 months..
Hit and miss there.. Still like the fish selection at Sea Of Marvels so far...
I cannot remember but wasn;t there a new store opening ??
Atticus
New member
Just to clear a couple points...
Any fish should be QT'ed before being put in your main display. Tibbs had a great post until the last sentence. It is true that most tanks have ich living at some level within them. It is never a good idea to shorten QT time from 4-6 weeks, no matter what... If you fish looks good after a week, continue to QT it as there are many other pathogens that can show up in those 4-6 weeks. As an example, most fish arrive in the hobby with internal parasites. Also, if you fish developes any signs of disease, your 4-6 week timer starts over at day one.
The other thing I noticed is everyone is "SAVING" fish from Petco... That is not true. You are actually doing more harm to the hobby and fish population as you are showing Petco or any other LFS that their fish sell. If you want them to clean up their act, write them letters, talk to the manager, and BOYCOT DON'T BUY.... The petco in the quad cities failed when they tried saltwater because we don't "SAVE" fish we go to a different store. I know some of you are limited to the stores in your area. If that is the case, write letters and talk to the manager about their practices or switch to mail order companies. In this day and age there are many quality choices for online vendors.
Moral of this long winded post: Don't support improper handling of any living thing and when you take ownership of any animal you are responsible for its wellbeing so QT it and give it a proper chance for a long life.
Any fish should be QT'ed before being put in your main display. Tibbs had a great post until the last sentence. It is true that most tanks have ich living at some level within them. It is never a good idea to shorten QT time from 4-6 weeks, no matter what... If you fish looks good after a week, continue to QT it as there are many other pathogens that can show up in those 4-6 weeks. As an example, most fish arrive in the hobby with internal parasites. Also, if you fish developes any signs of disease, your 4-6 week timer starts over at day one.
The other thing I noticed is everyone is "SAVING" fish from Petco... That is not true. You are actually doing more harm to the hobby and fish population as you are showing Petco or any other LFS that their fish sell. If you want them to clean up their act, write them letters, talk to the manager, and BOYCOT DON'T BUY.... The petco in the quad cities failed when they tried saltwater because we don't "SAVE" fish we go to a different store. I know some of you are limited to the stores in your area. If that is the case, write letters and talk to the manager about their practices or switch to mail order companies. In this day and age there are many quality choices for online vendors.
Moral of this long winded post: Don't support improper handling of any living thing and when you take ownership of any animal you are responsible for its wellbeing so QT it and give it a proper chance for a long life.
yogisfriend
New member
I have to chime in here. I go to a new Petco to buy dogfood, and every time I do, their tanks look worse than the time before. Last week they had six pretty large yellow tangs in one of their little cubes. All looked half-starved. I wanted to save them, but then I looked at all their other tanks and they were murky, covered in red hair algae, and stuffed with fish. I couldn't save them all, so I started talking to customers, clerks, the manager, and as luck would have it, the general manager was there as well. I had her walk over with me to look at how horrible all the tanks/fish looked and told her I was starting a letter-writing blitz if they didn't stop selling saltwater fish, and that I would camp on their sidewalk if I had to. If you are serious about being heard, here is the information to send your concerns.
Brian K. Devine, CEO
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Recho Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Tel.: 858-453-7845, ext. 3046
Fax: 858-677-3095
E-Mail: BrianD@petco.com
Brian K. Devine, CEO
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Recho Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121
Tel.: 858-453-7845, ext. 3046
Fax: 858-677-3095
E-Mail: BrianD@petco.com
I will add my two cents here... I work at the W'loo Petco, and the main problem we have is water quality, the water we use is basically declorinated tap water. I will also say our tanks from time to time look pretty red, mainly due to the phosphates in the water. Algae growth is a big problem we have due to the tanks being so close to the windows, which i will add face west.
The fish we get every Wednesday morning come in from Florida overnight, via UPS. Some fish will already be sick, a few are fine. Fish that arrive sick sometimes wont show signs until the next day. Treatment for some sicknesses, are not possible due to the lack of medications we are allowed to use. A few associates, including myself, have the knowledge to treat the fish, just are unable to do so.
- Greg
The fish we get every Wednesday morning come in from Florida overnight, via UPS. Some fish will already be sick, a few are fine. Fish that arrive sick sometimes wont show signs until the next day. Treatment for some sicknesses, are not possible due to the lack of medications we are allowed to use. A few associates, including myself, have the knowledge to treat the fish, just are unable to do so.
- Greg
Freed
It's what it's
Atticus, your post was doing OK until you stated: It is true that most tanks have ich living at some level within them. This is totally not true and an ongoing false statement. Any tank can be ich free if you QT all incoming livestock that is wet and that means EVERYTHING. Ich has a determined life cycle and can only live if it has fish to feed on. Without any fish for at least 4-6 weeks IT WILL DIE. This is a very well known fact with data and studies to back it up. I have three ich free tanks: my 180, 75 and 20 gallon QT tank.
got2lb
New member
I just have a few questions for you.
If you know that some of the problems you are dealing with are caused by the poor quality water (dechlorinated tap water) why don't you start using RO/DI water to see if that will help with some of these problems?
If you know that fish are sick and know that you could treat them how come you're not allowed to use the proper medications to treat them?
Also if you know of a sick fish will you indicate this to a customer that is going to purchase it, and then maybe give them proper medications to help the fish?
Matt
If we were to switch from regular, to unleaded, the funding would mainly be from pocket. There would be no funding from Petco, even if it ment healthier fish, trust me it has been brought up.
As far as treatments, we only have Clout, Melafix, Maracyn... We are no longer able to use Rid-Ich, or Coppersafe. Rid-Ich usually is never used in SW anyways, and coppersafe due to the fact mainly that we have inverts, and it is all one system. When I am able to personally place fish in the tanks, I usually give them a quick freshwater dip.
When I am selling any fish, i cannot guarantee that they are free of all problems. As far as the SW fish go, I examine the fish with the customer, at the time of purchase, I cannot vouch for all the other associates. If something is known to be sick, I dont sell it, I will simply point out what is wrong. As far as proper medications, most of the medications we carry, are chance treatments anyway. Like any other medication, you can do treatments, and still have them die. It is recommended to QT all new additions.
got2lb
New member
That's too bad they won't penny up and get a RO unit. I'm sure that's some guys decision that sits behind a desk all day and has NO idea what it does for the quality of the animals in the tanks.
Maybe you could just ring up some "office supplies" and they might cost, well lets say the same as a RO unit!
It sounds as if you're trying to make it a better place even though you're being controlled by "the man".
Hopefully if I come in there someday and want to buy a fish you're the one I deal with! GOOD LUCK!
Maybe you could just ring up some "office supplies" and they might cost, well lets say the same as a RO unit!
It sounds as if you're trying to make it a better place even though you're being controlled by "the man".
Hopefully if I come in there someday and want to buy a fish you're the one I deal with! GOOD LUCK!
Atticus
New member
Freed:
You are 100% correct that ich will die off if there is no host fish present. Now what fun would a fish free tank be?
Where you are missing my point is, fish can and do carry ich at a low level along with many other pathogens. Even with proper QT proceedures it is possible for those fish to continue to carry the pathogens as their normal flora. The reason no symptoms are seen is that the fish is able to reach a balance with the pathogen. A good example of this is strep throat in humans. Strep is part of normal human flora, but only becomes a problem when a persons immune system is lowered allowing the strep to take hold and get out of balance.
Medications do not irradicate 100% of anything. They only lower the viable colony allowing the host to recouperate and return to a heathier state which will allow the hosts immune system to put the pathogen back in balance. Antibiotics are a good example of this.
The only true way to have a 100% ich free tank is to remove all hosts (read: fish) and never introduce a host to your tank again. What most of us strive to have is a tank with healthy fish and all the normal pathogens that come with them in balance.
