Has anyone been to the Memhis Popular Petco lately? They have redone the store layout and expanded the aquatics department. They have a T5 coral frag tank and a expanded selection of livestock from what I could see. Rick their aquatics guy is great. I guess they are having a re-grand opening on the 27th and 28th.
Memphis Popular Petco
- Thread starter djsreefer
- Start date
yankeereefer
New member
Your first post is a plug for an LFS? Shameless 
Was actually thinking of going by there - Petco where I lived last (IL) was affectionately (and appropriately) known as Deathco
Was actually thinking of going by there - Petco where I lived last (IL) was affectionately (and appropriately) known as Deathco
Mako Shark II
Fish are Friends not Food
Welcome ya' Noob!
(Std. greeting - take no offense)
Secondly, Thanks.
Personally, I haven’t been there in a couple years, but pray-tell, do you also get the added benefit of an endless diatribe of challenging intellectual banter and other verbose reef-related experiences and rationale, all mixed with a fair dose of off-color and gently chiding sarcasm for good measure, like one receives when you walk in the door at MemFish, but especially Kermit’s Reef?
(Or is it just me?)
Actually, I’ve been to the “Pet†store’s fish departments, and have seen a Three-Striped Damsel labeled as an Black Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris var). Once I saw that, I got skeered. (…and that was a Petco! The one on Winchester.)
(Std. greeting - take no offense)
Secondly, Thanks.
Personally, I haven’t been there in a couple years, but pray-tell, do you also get the added benefit of an endless diatribe of challenging intellectual banter and other verbose reef-related experiences and rationale, all mixed with a fair dose of off-color and gently chiding sarcasm for good measure, like one receives when you walk in the door at MemFish, but especially Kermit’s Reef?
(Or is it just me?)
Actually, I’ve been to the “Pet†store’s fish departments, and have seen a Three-Striped Damsel labeled as an Black Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris var). Once I saw that, I got skeered. (…and that was a Petco! The one on Winchester.)
ducklabdad
New member
The Petcon on Winchester "thankfully" has had there "Saltwater" license pulled!!!
Mako Shark II
Fish are Friends not Food
You needed to get up to "Beyond the Reef" in Schaumburg.
yankeereefer
New member
No need to be sorry - Just bustin' yer chops a bit 
MSII - Beyond the Reef is a great store and unfortunately one of the few reef shops remaining up there. We lost a lot of good Retail and basement shops over the past couple of years.
MSII - Beyond the Reef is a great store and unfortunately one of the few reef shops remaining up there. We lost a lot of good Retail and basement shops over the past couple of years.
yankeereefer
New member
I went by the Deathco in Colliervillle (Houston Levee) the other day after a training at the Marriott - Dead and ick laden Purple Tang left in one of their display tanks. Not good
ihavtats29
New member
i service thier a/c at all the petco's thats all you will ever find is dead, dyinging and or dieseased animals , ive also seen skunk cleaners mixed in with puffers and fuzzy dwarfs,
I have worked at the Poplar/Highland store a couple of years now and
it's true that you receive little to no specific training. I would like to work somewhere where I could learn even more about saltwater. I'm not really interested in learning about FW to be honest. It would be great to have a QT area like Dave does before we put the fish out. I'm not sure about Memfish's policy on QT ( I gotta get over there and check them out !) I used to work with a guy at Petco and he left and went down to Memfish. I wanted to go with him LOL. I only work at Petco on Sundays now since I work full time during the week. I think the people at Petco really do care about the animals, but there is only so much you can do in a corporate environment. And yes Rick is a good guy. Oh and I hardly ever buy drygoods from them even with my discount (too damn high).
Jerry
it's true that you receive little to no specific training. I would like to work somewhere where I could learn even more about saltwater. I'm not really interested in learning about FW to be honest. It would be great to have a QT area like Dave does before we put the fish out. I'm not sure about Memfish's policy on QT ( I gotta get over there and check them out !) I used to work with a guy at Petco and he left and went down to Memfish. I wanted to go with him LOL. I only work at Petco on Sundays now since I work full time during the week. I think the people at Petco really do care about the animals, but there is only so much you can do in a corporate environment. And yes Rick is a good guy. Oh and I hardly ever buy drygoods from them even with my discount (too damn high).
Jerry
ihavtats29
New member
all the lfs can order what you want. even petco , show up at petco when deliverys arrive and see the death toll , i had a friend who was a manager for them years back and he was fired for not following petco's guidelines on saltwater care , and the bad thing was he was correcting those guidlines and treating the fish for parisites and other nastys
Mako Shark II
Fish are Friends not Food
That says it all: It's all about the Profit Margin line to them. (Kinda like when I needed to buy a pair of 20-gallon tanks for my holding vats, but the LFS’s couldn’t touch the Petco prices, because they buy long in huge volume and distribution to all their outlets. (That’s a typical Distribution business model; and as a supply-chain guy this is something I understand intimately.) So I asked the LFS to get close and they did. As long as I didn’t tie up their working capital / inventory dollars for their stock, they’re flexible, to a point.)
The tremendously huge difference is this: Our favorite LFS's are hobbyists First, who then grew up to follow their passion and became business owners.
I’m sure Rick’s a very nice and knowledgeable person. But if Petco went away, we wouldn't feel it. If however Kermit's or MemFish went away, that would be devastating to WTMRAC.
Personally, I just choose to support a different model and team, but this is all good information and I appreciate your input.
I made a trip by there on my way back to Missouri this weekend.
The t-5 frag tank is pretty nice I must say-really neat display and they had a nice mottled favia in there Saturday.
The 150g Deep Dimension tank is a nice attempt at a reef but I know it's new and still going through the cycle and all- I'm sure once it gets established/stable it will be nice.
Now the 2 things that still bothered me about this store.
1. The overcrowding/ich/popeye in the tanks with improper fish mixing.
2.The "rock tank" near the frozen food that was lit by regular strip lights and had 3 carpet anemones in there-literally sentenced to death-poor little mouths all sagging and drooping open. This really upset me the most. I mean hang a freakin MH pendant over the tank at least!
The t-5 frag tank is pretty nice I must say-really neat display and they had a nice mottled favia in there Saturday.
The 150g Deep Dimension tank is a nice attempt at a reef but I know it's new and still going through the cycle and all- I'm sure once it gets established/stable it will be nice.
Now the 2 things that still bothered me about this store.
1. The overcrowding/ich/popeye in the tanks with improper fish mixing.
2.The "rock tank" near the frozen food that was lit by regular strip lights and had 3 carpet anemones in there-literally sentenced to death-poor little mouths all sagging and drooping open. This really upset me the most. I mean hang a freakin MH pendant over the tank at least!
yankeereefer
New member
went by there (popar/highland) yesterday - Entire store looks like its under renovation. Tanks were overcrowded. The big cube in the front of fish dept is nice, though only xenia and gsp populating it
Blindside
New member
’m sure Rick’s a very nice and knowledgeable person. But if Petco went away, we wouldn't feel it. If however Kermit's or MemFish went away, that would be devastating to WTMRAC.
Personally, I just choose to support a different model and team, but this is all good information and I appreciate your input.
__________________
well put Marty!
Personally, I just choose to support a different model and team, but this is all good information and I appreciate your input.
__________________
well put Marty!
Mako Shark II
Fish are Friends not Food
Trip Report:
Trip Report:
Okay, I’ll admit it; curiosity got the best of me, so at lunch today I popped over there.
It was about as I expected. Only one stocked tank, and to their credit, it was “fairly†well stocked. Their Display tank was definately being worked on with Zoo's. All Softies and a few LPS. No SPS that I could see. The prices were hard to pin down to any certain piece of coral, and their prices were nominal.
What I did see however, was Instant Ocean Salt (160-gallon / 5g Pails) for $49.99. Their House brand was only $45. but I’m not sure of it’s chemical make-up. One thing I did see which raised an eyebrow, was Kent Marine salt for $69.99. (Yikes!!) I didn’t even think Kent's (Salt mix) chemical make-up was that great, honestly. (High in Nitrates, ammonia, and low in KH, CA, etc. )
Overall? I’d give them a C- - (Okay, it’s really more like a D+).
Djsreefer & Cldormer: Have you been to Kermit’s Reef or MemFish?
I’m sorry. Our LFS’s are just fine and the Department stores leave me with an expected disappointment, but I do see that they’re trying. It’s just an insurmountable battle against the experts.
Trip Report:
Okay, I’ll admit it; curiosity got the best of me, so at lunch today I popped over there.
It was about as I expected. Only one stocked tank, and to their credit, it was “fairly†well stocked. Their Display tank was definately being worked on with Zoo's. All Softies and a few LPS. No SPS that I could see. The prices were hard to pin down to any certain piece of coral, and their prices were nominal.
What I did see however, was Instant Ocean Salt (160-gallon / 5g Pails) for $49.99. Their House brand was only $45. but I’m not sure of it’s chemical make-up. One thing I did see which raised an eyebrow, was Kent Marine salt for $69.99. (Yikes!!) I didn’t even think Kent's (Salt mix) chemical make-up was that great, honestly. (High in Nitrates, ammonia, and low in KH, CA, etc. )
Overall? I’d give them a C- - (Okay, it’s really more like a D+).
Djsreefer & Cldormer: Have you been to Kermit’s Reef or MemFish?
I’m sorry. Our LFS’s are just fine and the Department stores leave me with an expected disappointment, but I do see that they’re trying. It’s just an insurmountable battle against the experts.
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