PETCO experience

[Yankees2519]

Let me start off by saying that i have never felt the need to file a complaint before, until today. I went to a PETCO near my girlfriends house and decided to check out their saltwater section while i was there. I understand that the staff working at petco may not be educated on keeping fish tanks, but you would think they would have at least one employee who could see there is a problem with the tanks and attempt to research and possibly find a cure. As i walk to the corner where the salt tanks are kept my first thought is "wow they have a pretty decent selection" as i was expecting a few damsels. Then i look in the tanks, every tank is covered in a thick, slimy bright green algae. The worst ive seen. There are dead fish in almost every tank (salt and freshwater). They have thermometer and a Salinity meter attached to the glass and the salinity reads over 1.032 (past the top of the gauge) and the temperature was at 84*f (seems a little high). I literally wanted to run home and come back test kit in hand, i could only imagine the water parameters of their tanks. I understand to the staff they are only fish and they could probably care less if they lose a few, hell 4 out of 8 aint bad right?? They dont take the time to understand that they are living creatures and should be taken care of as such. There were dead damsels, clownfish, and numerous other fish floating around in the tanks as if they dont even bother to remove them. So as i leave the store i grab the 888 # for customer service and give them a call. I talked to a man named Jason who did a great job of convincing me that they would contact the store manager and look into the problem. I do hope that they make an attempt, and if they cant figure out why all of their fish die before they can sell them then i believe they should not sell fish! Maybe most petco stores are like this but the one near my house seems to do a decent job of keeping fish. Ive seen few fish dead in their tanks and they keep some nice tangs, clowns, eels, angelfish, damsels etc. Maybe ill go back in a few weeks and see if things have changed a bit, but i wont hold my breath

/end rant

 

[krazeekiddie]

Amazing how people don't consider the animal & only the bottom line!

If there is money in it, they will do it. I am sure the way they see it, is that if it will cost them less to have the fish die, then to hire someone who is knowledgeable enough to care for them, just let the fish die. It is all about lining their pockets, & not about the creatures in their care! Sad sad sad!!

I feel your pain! It is quite a shame more could not be done!!!

 

[tabman2]

If there is money in it, they will do it. I am sure the way they see it, is that if it will cost them less to have the fish die, then to hire someone who is knowledgeable enough to care for them

Exactly, how many times I have been to a pet store like that and thought.. man. I would love to take care of this section (being Marine Aquaria) but there's no way they could pay me anywhere near enough.

Stick to an LFS that only deals with fish. At least the staff are trained on most typical marine duties.

 

[absolutbill]

When I started in the hobby, i spent my free time going to the LFS in my area there are about 5 that i can hit on my day off during my usual errands, once I witnessed and learned a few things...Now there are only two LFS that i go to even to look!

 

[seanm001]

I went into a PETCO once a few years back to get some dog food and I decided to browse the fish area. I had a similar experience, maybe not quite as bad, but dead fish in nearly every tank.

The final straw came when I saw a 3"+ fish (I think it was an African cichlid) that they kept in an open-topped plant tank had jumped out, landed on the floor between the tank and bagging stand and dried out. Who knows how long it had been there, at least a few days, in among the trash and debris and dust that also hadn't been cleaned up.

I didn't even bother making my way back to the dog food section, I just turned and walked out. Thankfully, the store closed up six months later.

 

[orb]

yes, too bad we can't do more except calling and complaining to the company. who knows if it ever goes anywhere. i don't know why people even go into them. one side of the building you have dead fish, the other side you have a puppy mill. when walking outside the store, and the door opens, you get a nice urine smell. no thanks.

 

[klee5887]

Yeah that's why I stick to our family owned LFS. Always there to answer any goofy questions we have. If anyone is in the virginia beach area, i reccomend Pet Paradise.

 

[LobsterMan]

I havent every been to a major pet shop that hasnt had dead fish and a ton of algae.

 

[orb]

man that sucks lobsterman, because it's not like that in orlando.

 

[bfenimore]

Petco in Brandon Florida is the same!! Terrible water quality!

 

[Packersfan21]

Indiana for the most part had horrible pet stores, except fpr picture perfect pets in Marion, Indiana they havr nice SW tanks with a lot to choose from.

 

[Packersfan21]

* has *for *have

 

[snommisbor]

My Petco has great fish and healthy anemones. I just got a pair of GSM clown with a misbar and other odd markings and they are healthy as can be, they are ORA fish. I had bought a few weeks earlier a mated pair of GSM from my main LFS and they died within 24 hours. My LFS always has a better selection but the Petco here is a good one.

 

[lloydkeller]

the petco here is ok not great the problem is they cant keep the same employees very long when i do buy there i buy on the day they recieve shipment that way they cant screw it up much

 

[clownFish1313]

i havent seen a petco with salt water there fresh is OK but petland has some desent salt i live by reefsystems and phishy business so thats my salt water stuff but aquarium adventure (petlands sister company) has a huge 100,000 square foot store but there prices are a little high.

FWIW www.reefsystems.com
www.phishybusiness.com
:strooper:

 

[scrubbybubbles]

thanks for your input about petco. I'm going to be sending them a letter re: their unethical practices of marine aquaria. I too have seen the unfortunate outcome of dead or very sick marine life displayed at our local Petco store. It is truly appalling. We saw one brown tang, beautiful specimen, that had the worst case of ick. It was so sad. They said they were giving him fresh water baths as they are not allowed to touch the tanks. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT??!

 

[tankjunky]

The petco in vacaville has terible SW. it has black, red, and green slime algae. And almost all the fish look very sick. They didnt have any dead fish in the tanks but one day i saw a dried up fish on an old salt bucket. The only fish that ever look good are the damsels and the coral beauties they get.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12268258#post12268258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scrubbybubbles
thanks for your input about petco. I'm going to be sending them a letter re: their unethical practices of marine aquaria. I too have seen the unfortunate outcome of dead or very sick marine life displayed at our local Petco store. It is truly appalling. We saw one brown tang, beautiful specimen, that had the worst case of ick. It was so sad. They said they were giving him fresh water baths as they are not allowed to touch the tanks. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT??!

Are you also going to send letters to Walmart, Meijers, Petsmart and all the local shops that have dead fish in their tanks? Why single out one merchant when almost all large scale retailers of aquarium stock have the same issues?

 

[scrubbybubbles]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12274236#post12274236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RumLad
Are you also going to send letters to Walmart, Meijers, Petsmart and all the local shops that have dead fish in their tanks? Why single out one merchant when almost all large scale retailers of aquarium stock have the same issues?

Well, we don't have a Meijers here, our Walmarts in our area no longer sell saltwater and I don't really frequent Petsmart but, the last time I was there, things looked fine. In addition, if you'll notice, this thread only addressed Petco as a problem. So, no......I'm only sending a letter to Petco. I already got a response.

Dear Sue,

Thank you for contacting PETCO regarding the aquatic marine aquarium department and your concern with our store at 3800 S Tamiami Trail Suite 20. I have forwarded your feedback to the Upper Management and asked that you be contacted directly within 72 hours.

It is obvious that you are a fish enthusiast. I'm sure you know how easily a fish can become sick if they are under any type of stress. Sometimes, stress is unavoidable. However, we are committed to only selling healthy fish to our customers. We monitor our fish during our hourly animal checks to make sure that none are showing signs of stress or sickness. You may even see a sign on a tank that says the fish are under observation. If we see any signs of stress or sickness, we do not sell them until they are healthy. This demonstrates our commitment to you as a customer and our commitment to the well being of fish in our stores.

Thank you again for contacting PETCO with your feedback. Please know that we care about our customers and what they think of us. By letting us know when we fall short of your expectations, we have the opportunity to address your concerns and to be better prepared to meet your expectations in the future.

Have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Kelcey W.
Customer Relations Coordinator

 

[Sitarangi]

There are only 2 (that I know of) Petcos that still offer SW. I went into 1 one day to grab some frozen shrimp, and I was mortified. There were 6 small tanks. 4 were 'closed' and all the fish were on the verge of death. They look like they had ich. It was horrible.

The other petco (may have been a petsmart) is actually a block away from the best LFS in town. Its amazing. They have a vast selection of all sorts of fish incluinding dwarf angels, bannerfish, tangs, surgeonfish, clowns, damsels. They even carried corals and anenomes. I did see one dead fish but I won't hold it against them. I ran in there to grab some algae eaters and got a great sized LM blenny and emerald crabs for a decent price. I was a little concerned that the SW guy was also in charge of FW and reptilles, but he was knowledgable and obviously loved his job. Very good experience for a major pet store.