Petco Rescue. Oh the humanity!!!!!!

[altimas]

I think it has much to do with whose in charge of the tanks at Petco. The one closest to me is poorly maintained and covered in cyano. Then there's that other Petco that basically didn't sell fish. One exception was a Petco 30 mins away, which held live rock and had generally clean tanks. Whoever was in charge of that one knew what he/she was doing.

Anyways, I agree that most Petcos are fishy death camps and if they did the same thing to those adoptable cats/dogs they'd be outta business really quick.

 

[Fishfirst]

It doesn't matter who is in charge... it all boils down to upper management and policy. Such as the only way I can medicate a fish is by freshwater dips without RCAC approval (which she never gives and is more wasted time asking her) Also our tanks MUST be at 1.018, even the ones with inverts. I've gotten my management to allow 1.020-1.021, but if a scheduled visit is close I must lower it. Also, our filtration has no real skimmer, UV sterilization with bulbs that have never been changed, and flow that is about 2X per hour. Then the pushes from corporate come: sweetlips, groupers, large triggers, and other fish that no one in their right mind would buy because of the size, temperment, or survival in captivity. We also don't have any REAL way of controlling disease since the tanks are all connected and there are no quarentine tanks.

 

[altimas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11724269#post11724269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishfirst
Then the pushes from corporate come: sweetlips, groupers, large triggers, and other fish that no one in their right mind would buy because of the size, temperment, or survival in captivity. We also don't have any REAL way of controlling disease since the tanks are all connected and there are no quarentine tanks.

That sucks. I used to go there for the snails (.68 w/ the $2 off coupon), but I'll not risk the health of my tank over a snail.

 

[madadi]

+1 i know it sounds like a good thing you are doing but your only helping them make room for the next one. its sad because the petco by my house is just as bad.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11514328#post11514328 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Moved to this forum as more a propos here.

In my opinion, giving PetCo money for animals only encourages them to buy more animals.

 

[otto486]

I agree with the boycott petco parts. If we cease to buy their stock, at some point in time they will cease to sell and order it.

 

[otto486]

Buying your supplies (even dogfood) at smaller shops that are trying to get along can boost them too. Not only that, they are usually the only ones who care about each fish.

 

[erbio]

Petco, UGH

It is best to not rescue, to not patronize those stores AT ALL.

You think you're rescuing but you're just increasing their business and they will just bring more specimens in...

Boycott petco, we all have our horror stories...

 

[B.C.theReefer]

I, not so affectionately, refer to them as 'petkill'. I watched in horror as a teenage salesperson killed several fish with a net as he tried to capture one. When I brought this to his attention he just shrugged. I bet he would care if he were one inch and somebody was poking him with a gigantic net. But I realized at that point that you don't have to have any knowledge of the animals you handle to work there. They just don't give a rat's behind. It's all about profit to them and their share holders.

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

although I agree Petco isn't the greatest place to buy Livestock, I have bought 2 things from there. 1st was a yellow tang which I have had now for 3 years and is very healthy. and another was an anemone which I knew was bleached when I bought it but 5.00 for a LTA which they had labeled as a condy I couldn't pass it up. 4 monthes later the anemone is doing great.

here is the yellow tang I have had for 3 years from there

and here is the anemone when I 1st bought it.

and here it is now. very sticky and eats very well

but as I said I Petco isn't the greatest but if you watch the animal for signs of desieses and such and QT properly (as you should do anyway) sometimes you can get good deals.

so I can't say I am for them or against them as everything (2 animals) I got from them are still with me till this day. but would like them to start careing for the animals better.

just my story, sorry for ranting.

 

[rizzle]

i would agree that some petcos are not the greatest in the aquatics dept.
But i also have to say that i am the aquatics specialist at petco in tallahassee, fl. and i take great pride in keeping my tanks beautiful and my fish healthy. May have to do with the fact that i dont listen to any procedures that petco Corp follows..

 

[Fishfirst]

Has your job been threatened by you not following procedures? Mine has... which is a shame... I've tried to give them a lot of ideas to decrease "shrink" but they usually disreguard them or do the exact opposite or completely lied to.

Example: Banggaii cardinals have been red listed... I asked that ALL of our banggaii cardinals be ordered from ORA to ensure that none of them at the store are taken from the wild... two weeks later we got four of them in from our normal supplier which probably came from the wild.

Example: Recently my RCAC's Boss came and told us that 99.9% of our freshwater fish are captive bred and we are striving for 100%... which is really funny because I've researched a lot of the fish we carry and about 25% of them have no record of being bred in captivity.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11821884#post11821884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by erbio
Petco, UGH



Boycott petco, we all have our horror stories...

It is broad brush tar and feathering like the staement above that makes me angry, erbio.
We ALL do not have horror stories about Petco. As I said earlier, the two purchases I have made from a local Petco have been two of the best purchases ever. I have had much worse experiences from several local "reef specialists", especially if you take their outrageous prices into account as well.
Believe it or not, there are just as many Mon and Pop LFS operations with sick fish, give a crap attitudes and no return guarantees as there are bad Petcos. Like everything else in life, it is up to the buyer to make an educated purchase and provide the corresponding level of care for the creatures they adopt.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11933739#post11933739 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishfirst
Has your job been threatened by you not following procedures? Mine has... which is a shame... I've tried to give them a lot of ideas to decrease "shrink" but they usually disreguard them or do the exact opposite or completely lied to.

Example: Banggaii cardinals have been red listed... I asked that ALL of our banggaii cardinals be ordered from ORA to ensure that none of them at the store are taken from the wild... two weeks later we got four of them in from our normal supplier which probably came from the wild.

Seems like pure conjecture on your part Fishfirst. How do you KNOW they weren't captive bred?
It's no real surprise that your job has been threatened with conjecture and hearsay like this coming out of you. It surely must come across in a bad light at work, no?

 

[Fishfirst]

All I was stateing is that they went directly the opposite direction of what I suggested to be ecofriendly. Bangaii cardinals are often wild caught, especially when they don't eat mysis shrimp right away (all the ORA B. Cardinals do) it leads me to suspect that they were wild caught.

"It's no real surprise that your job has been threatened with conjecture and hearsay like this coming out of you."

I just ask that they do this for the good of the animal from what I have gathered through reading. I'm simply asking them to do something right for a change.

 

[Fishfirst]

Also to make things clear... I'm not saying all mom and pop stores are perfect either. But petco is on a huge scale... and when 30% of loss is the "goal" I find that a bit diplorable when it comes to possibly hundreds of thousands of animals.

 

[jer77]

FishFirst is unfortunately absolutely correct about the issues and problems happening at Petco's across America. I have worked at one too as a basic salesman years ago. Their concern about husbandry issues is more concerned with making everything look good rather than actually having their livestock be healthy. Its upper management all the way. Boycott Petco!!

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12075713#post12075713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jer77
FishFirst is unfortunately absolutely correct about the issues and problems happening at Petco's across America. I have worked at one too as a basic salesman years ago. Their concern about husbandry issues is more concerned with making everything look good rather than actually having their livestock be healthy. Its upper management all the way. Boycott Petco!!

I find it hard to see how you can relate to a whole corporation because you "worked at one, years ago"
As for the part about things looking good, that applies to almost every retail establishment, not just pet stores. Admit it, how many times have you brought something home and it : A) didn't work properly B) wasn't as advertised, or C) was of inferior quality.
I know Petco is not favored by most around here, and I know some stores have issues. But to tar and feather an entire corporation based on your very limited exposure to them is just wrong.

 

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12064209#post12064209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishfirst
Also to make things clear... I'm not saying all mom and pop stores are perfect either. But petco is on a huge scale... and when 30% of loss is the "goal" I find that a bit diplorable when it comes to possibly hundreds of thousands of animals.

I would like to know what the loss goal of all LFS stores is, wouldn't you? I would wager that they kill more fish per year than do all the petcos combined. I see way more dead fish in WalMart tanks, and most feeder goldfish tanks at LFS's than I do at my local Petco stores.

 

[redline]

it is what it is really, you'd go broke..

 

[Fishfirst]

I've worked for 5 fish stores in the past... None of them had the loss rates that Petco has (even as a GOAL). Even Petsmart had 20-25% loss. And I think everyone who has been in the hobby for a while knows that walmart shouldn't be selling fish... but that wouldn't be the point of this thread now would it? I'm just saying Petco has some huge issues on a huge scale. I'm just not a fan of a company that is not concerned with a 30% loss rate.