boulderman1
New member
yeah, i work at petco and i know for a fact that my store doesn't claim that its fish are all aquacultured and that all petcos sell both wild caught and aquacultured fish
PetCo Fish
- Thread starter JohnMcNic
- Start date
shinosuke
New member
PetCo really scares me. Yes, many stores around do sell wild-caught marine fish, but not at such a rate as petco. And it's not even that they're selling that many.. if 1 fish in 3 survives till it's sold, they've made a profit. In the meantime they've killed TONS of fish on a NATION-WIDE level. How many fish do you think, per day, petco or its affiliates strip from their natural habitat? Not only that, but I've yet to see a petco with an appropriate salt water setup, so they're torturing these fish and invert.s to death.
I tried to speak to the managers at my local petco about the state of their Marine setup, but they wouldn't listen, and started ignoring me when I went in. I even wrote an email to corporate and got some boxed shpeel, basically about nothing.
I won't support petco by buying even a single flake of food from them. This is just how I see things, and I'm not saying that everyone has to do what I do, but I hope you see my point.
~Adam D.
I tried to speak to the managers at my local petco about the state of their Marine setup, but they wouldn't listen, and started ignoring me when I went in. I even wrote an email to corporate and got some boxed shpeel, basically about nothing.
I won't support petco by buying even a single flake of food from them. This is just how I see things, and I'm not saying that everyone has to do what I do, but I hope you see my point.
~Adam D.
Nanemene
New member
In my area, we have two LFS's and 3 Petcos. That is all there is for saltwater options here. The 2 PetSmarts in this area do not touch marine products or livestock at all.
That having been said, one of the LFS's goes from plenty of stock to almost none in a week's time, usually with little explanation (it's not all being bought, they are doing something with it like wholesale or something). You can go in at times and find NOTHING interesting on display. They do a decent job as far as keeping clean tanks and their setups seem appropriate. However, their pricing is way beyond appropriate IMHO. When they have them, small yellow tangs tend to be $90-100. Seems a bit much.
The other LFS has good stock for corals, but again, pricing is a big issue. Their hours are minimal and if you can get there when they are open, you're looking at things like a Royal Gramma for $75, etc. Hard to justify given the fact that you really don't get any better service there.
As for Petco, one of the local ones is a joke. It has really inappropriate setups, and little to no livestock at all.
The other two have nothing but reefers on staff, and they have full reef setups to display their livestock. Staff regularly turns customers away from buying things that would be bad ideas for that customer. Whenever I make a purchase, I am first asked what I have for equipment and who else lives in my tank. They do a great job and occasionally will call individual customers to let them know of a recent arrival that would be suitable for their reef.
Bottom line: with Petco, as with most other LFS's, it's hit or miss. I don't think it's fair to say "Petco always ______." or "I don't shop at Petco because they _______."
That having been said, one of the LFS's goes from plenty of stock to almost none in a week's time, usually with little explanation (it's not all being bought, they are doing something with it like wholesale or something). You can go in at times and find NOTHING interesting on display. They do a decent job as far as keeping clean tanks and their setups seem appropriate. However, their pricing is way beyond appropriate IMHO. When they have them, small yellow tangs tend to be $90-100. Seems a bit much.
The other LFS has good stock for corals, but again, pricing is a big issue. Their hours are minimal and if you can get there when they are open, you're looking at things like a Royal Gramma for $75, etc. Hard to justify given the fact that you really don't get any better service there.
As for Petco, one of the local ones is a joke. It has really inappropriate setups, and little to no livestock at all.
The other two have nothing but reefers on staff, and they have full reef setups to display their livestock. Staff regularly turns customers away from buying things that would be bad ideas for that customer. Whenever I make a purchase, I am first asked what I have for equipment and who else lives in my tank. They do a great job and occasionally will call individual customers to let them know of a recent arrival that would be suitable for their reef.
Bottom line: with Petco, as with most other LFS's, it's hit or miss. I don't think it's fair to say "Petco always ______." or "I don't shop at Petco because they _______."
arizona tech
New member
if you buy fish from petco you MUST qt,qt,qt,qt,qt, i have a golden sleeper goby from them, i also paid a fraction of a price the lfs wanted for it
Rewd
Member
Another petco employee here. my advice would be to QT QT QT just like everyone else. there are a few decent stores out there but not many... the good ones are usually run by reefers or people in to the hobby. but if you have one near you that isn't you'll know it a mile away. If that's the case and the store/livestock look bad STAY AWAY. That means the management and/or staff are lazy. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING. Don't waste your time complaining to the workers because they don't care. Hit them where it hurts.... the bottom line. Don't buy fish food, dog food, or anything else.
currently ALL of my salt water fish are from Petco. that includes: two occ clowns (1 black, 1 regular), royal gramma, flame angel, hippo tang, falco's hawkfish, and a sixline wrasse. It's my philosophy that if I can't buy fish from my own store then I'm doing something wrong. And to that length I've sorta gotten spoiled on knowing EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's going on with the fish I buy. I have a hard time going to other stores now and having to wonder how they are caring for their animals or if there is a disease I might not be seeing.
And if the tanks look good and the fish appear healthy it doesn't hurt to talk to their fish person. By that I do NOT mean anyone standing around their fish area. Specifically ask for whoever runs the fish dept. If they seem like a doofus then walk out, but if not then there's a good chance the fish will be just as safe as any other LFS. If they are anything like me they will welcome a good conversation with another saltwater hobbyist as the vast majority of the nitwits we get are the types who put goldfish in bowls.
Bottom line is: use your common sense. Fish look like crap? Don't give them any of your money.
EDIT: Please don't call the tang police on me. My situation is only for a few more weeks until my new LR is completely cured.
currently ALL of my salt water fish are from Petco. that includes: two occ clowns (1 black, 1 regular), royal gramma, flame angel, hippo tang, falco's hawkfish, and a sixline wrasse. It's my philosophy that if I can't buy fish from my own store then I'm doing something wrong. And to that length I've sorta gotten spoiled on knowing EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that's going on with the fish I buy. I have a hard time going to other stores now and having to wonder how they are caring for their animals or if there is a disease I might not be seeing.
And if the tanks look good and the fish appear healthy it doesn't hurt to talk to their fish person. By that I do NOT mean anyone standing around their fish area. Specifically ask for whoever runs the fish dept. If they seem like a doofus then walk out, but if not then there's a good chance the fish will be just as safe as any other LFS. If they are anything like me they will welcome a good conversation with another saltwater hobbyist as the vast majority of the nitwits we get are the types who put goldfish in bowls.
Bottom line is: use your common sense. Fish look like crap? Don't give them any of your money.
EDIT: Please don't call the tang police on me. My situation is only for a few more weeks until my new LR is completely cured.
Similar threads
