Impressed with petco

[xandrew245x]

I stopped by a petco last night that is further away than the one I usually go to, I also go to the fish section every time I go. I was very surprised at this specific petco. They had quite a few fish that I have never seen at any other petcos. Blue hippo tang, yellow tang, niger trigger, long nose butterfly, orchid dotty back.

They all looked extremely healthy, the tangs didn't have any signs of ich, and they all seemed very healthy, I watched them feed and they all ate a lot. What really surprised me overall is that this specific petco guarantees their fish for 30 days, if it dies you can trade or get a full refund. That is awesome customer service in my eyes.

I had bought 2 ocerllis from the petco I go to before and they survived longer than some fish I bought from live aquaria.

 

[shifty51008]

well petco and live aquaria both get their fish from the same supplier so no diffrent. I will agree some petco's are better than others though

 

[julie180]

I was at my local Petco the other day and learned something interesting. They have different levels of SW stores. I think they call it an aquatic center and they get to have a coral tank. I also was impressed with how the store looked, the selection of corals and the department manager. Good management makes all the difference.

 

[Decadence]

It all depends on the particular store and the staff. Any big decision as far as equipment goes comes from high up, meaning just about every petco is stuck with the awful marineland tank/filtration units for their fish. These things have tiny, extremely inefficient protein skimmers and not much else. It's really up to the staff to do good maintenance. It's up to the store managers to allow the staff to spend money to do necessary things like water changes or to feed decent foods.

I have a couple good petco locations near me and quite a few bad ones. I just scored a gold assessor basslet from one the other day for $37. He had obvious signs of flukes but it is a good store. He has been in QT for a week with prazipro and will be in the display soon.

 

[Fishyoga]

Must be something to do with all the snow we get up here...
NO pet stores up here have SW fish of any kind. Only the specialty aquarium stores have SW stock. And even then, here in Edmonton, there are only a few and variety can be quite slim.
I have found threads on purchasing Live stock online, and there are a couple in Canada, but the shipping rates are prohibitive unless you buy a lot of stock.

Is it pretty common for generic pet stores in the US to have SW stock as well as 'regular' pets? just curious

 

[xandrew245x]

I learned a lot today about petco lol. They had an orchid dotty back for $20 there, I'mcconsidering buying from that particular store. The closest lfs for me only offers a 5 day gguarantee and their prices are outrageous.

 

[swcc]

I dont think petco here in Tampa area carries salt livestock as well.

 

[xandrew245x]

All of the petcos I have been to in Pennsylvania have had sw fish. All the petsmarts I have been to only carry freshwater fish. I'm not sure if it has to do with maybe regulations and laws possibly that vary state to state?

 

[justa210]

Our petco is 75% SW and 25% FW. The stuff they get in is stuff none of my LFS can touch price wise. I try to get there before the let the fish into there tanks

 

[Art13]

All depends on who's running their fish department and what the manager there is willing to do as far as a budget for their care, usually see that at any fish store.

 

[davocean]

I know a little while back there was a move by Petco to contain some hub stores that stepped up their SW dept.
Definitely not all are the same, and they do not all get fish supply from the same place either.
You sound like one of the lucky ones.

 

[JTJreef]

The petcos here can have really good stuff. Most of the time all the fish
are disease free and eating well. Just picked up a flame wrasse female for $45 a week
ago. The manager and employee said she had been their for a couple months. She's fat
and healthy in quarantine right now

 

[albano]

All depends on who's running their fish department and what the manager there is willing to do as far as a budget for their care...

Not true...

I was at my local Petco the other day and learned something interesting. They have different levels of SW stores. I think they call it an aquatic center and they get to have a coral tank...

True... Their 'aquatic centers' also get to order their own LS inventory, while 'regular' stores receive whatever corporate sends them!

I've been trying to get our local aquatic center, to put together an email mailing list to notify SW customers of what's arriving each week... But so far corporate won't approve that.

 

[foundnemo11]

My petco looks like a concentration camp

 

[Dendrobates]

With Petco`s, it really does depend on who runs the store and if their aquatic specialist knows what they are doing. The training is bare minimum so it's up to the associates to expand their knowledge and teach customers.

Each Petco starts out with the bread and butter species and over time, they can prove themselves through sales and shrink (fish loss) to be upgraded to different tiers of livestock sales. If you have a magnet store in your area, they have no restrictions when it comes to ordering, but starter store won't be able to get most coral, dragonets, inverts, etc.

The toughest part that I run into, working as an aquatic specialist at Petco throughout my entire college life, is getting the resources necessary to keep these animals properly. We have had to get special permission for skimmers, t5/led upgrades, two part doses, medication, and the list goes on.

Over the past few years, the company has really supported aquacultured fish/inverts and the main companies that are on the fore front of these endeavours. Thinking back just this week, I made orders through Oceans, Reefs, and Aquariums, Sustainable Aquatics, A&M Aquatics, Quality Marine and a few of our general vendors. This means that your local petco can carry ORA designer clowns, sps, clams, aquacultured seahorses, and copepods. It really comes down to how well maintained the stores aquariums are and how knowledgeable the staff is when it comes to aquatic life and the problems that can arise.

Our store regularly stocks all of the above mentioned livestock but few people venture in to overcome the horrible stigma involved with Petco animal care. I can think of 3 people that work in the store that are active on reef central and help customers with valid information on livestock, disease, cyanobacteria, nitrogen cycles, and diets instead or hearsay or hobby jargon.

Just my two cents of course,

Derek

 

[Dendrobates]

Albano,
All stores with a fish department make weekly orders, it's just whether or not they have the budget for a decent order. Corporate sends out allocations for upcoming sales, vendor specials, and planogram fish, but they leave the main ordering to each store. Yes it does come down the the particular store and its workers that must slowly wade through restrictions and clearances.

 

[albano]

Albano,
All stores with a fish department make weekly orders, it's just whether or not they have the budget for a decent order. Corporate sends out allocations for upcoming sales, vendor specials, and planogram fish, but they leave the main ordering to each store. Yes it does come down the the particular store and its workers that must slowly wade through restrictions and clearances.

Not according to any managers at any of at least 10 area Petcos in a ~25 mile radius, that I've talked to! There are only a couple that are aquatic centers in this area, and the difference has nothing to do with the local manager.

In regards to Kansas, I'll take your word for it!

 

[Dendrobates]

Where is your location? The one on your profile looks like a concert schedule!

 

[albano]

Where is your location? The one on your profile looks like a concert schedule!

Live at Westchester Cty NY location...just north of NYC...just checked their map, there are 60 locations within 50 miles and 20 within 30 miles of my home... Local store is 10536 zip...useless store!

 

[fed.gallardo]

I just got back from my local Petco and it looked awful!! several dead fish in multiple different tanks, complete over stocked, even witnessed some fish ganging up and another one, algae ALL over the inside glass and rocks. It looked like the Umbrella Corp had been there doing some testing...it was awful. I wonder if there is anything I can do to get them to fix things. They had a sign for all the live rock 25% off, but even those looked terrible.