Petco/Water Test/New Snowflake Clown

[MNOcean]

I took advantage of Petco's $1 a gallon sale and bought a 20 gallon tall QT this weekend. I set it up with older equipment that I already had, so it basically just cost me the $20 plus paint and a couple PVC pieces. Roughly $30. Pretty solid deal.

Well, the reason for the post is that I went back to Petco tonight and bought a nice looking snowflake clownfish for $39.99. Cant beat the price. It doesn't look very healthy, and there is no way I would add it to my main system but this gives me the opportunity to use my QT.

I was curious and I tested Petco's water parameters with my API test kits. Ammonia was .5 ppm which isn't ideal, but I suppose isn't considered lethal. What surprised me is that their Nitrates were off the charts. The test kit literally looked like a radioactive glowing red. I'm surprised that fish can live in this water. 160ppm+

My little snowflake is now in the QT and I hope he makes it.

 

[whosurcaddie]

.5ppm of ammonia is lethal and I'm surprised that fish or any of they're fish are still alive. Better go with another LFS next time.

 

[MNOcean]

I've bought every fish in my tank from the most reputable LFS in MN. This is an isolated innocent.

I assumed it would be bad, but I am shocked by the reality of the conditions in Petco's holding tanks and wanted to share my experiance.

 

[whosurcaddie]

Yeah man glad you did people need to know. The practices they choose to keep are horrible for the industry. Especially since a lot of newcomers to the hobby most likely get started in a place like that. They don't know the fish they bought was kept in horrible conditions and when the fish dies they blame themselves when it was the stores fault all along.

 

[fit101]

You should go onto Petco's website and post this thread. They respond back to negative comments and it seems they try to rectify situations saying they would address the issue with that particular store.

 

[FraggledRock]

they never change the water...

 

[FraggledRock]

You should go onto Petco's website and post this thread. They respond back to negative comments and it seems they try to rectify situations saying they would address the issue with that particular store.

I contacted corporate.

Corporate gave the manager of the store my number.

The manager called me!

He apologized at what I saw and after him trying to impress with, i schooled him on how an ICH outbreak works.

Since ALL their tanks go to the same sump (1 marine sump, 1 fresh sump) I taught him how ALL THE FISH HAVE ICH!

Basically a snowflake clown had brooklynella and if you take a snapshot every fish from that one fish was showing signs. the closer to that one the worse the brook was til that poor little guy.

 

[potterjon]

I have purchased several clown over the last few months from Petco. It was against my better judgement but given that they are coming from Sustainable Aquatics, I knew the stock should be good. Also, I really couldn't beat the convenience of Petco at the time. Every single fish has died. With two tanks, I would say I purchased 8 fish over two months. None of them are alive. One clown I purchased from them had been in there tank for two weeks and was active and healthy looking. Within a week he was upside down in my tank. Sometimes their ailment doesn't show until they have been in your tank for awhile.

 

[FraggledRock]

I have purchased several clown over the last few months from Petco. It was against my better judgement but given that they are coming from Sustainable Aquatics, I knew the stock should be good. Also, I really couldn't beat the convenience of Petco at the time. Every single fish has died. With two tanks, I would say I purchased 8 fish over two months. None of them are alive. One clown I purchased from them had been in there tank for two weeks and was active and healthy looking. Within a week he was upside down in my tank. Sometimes their ailment doesn't show until they have been in your tank for awhile.

I am sure petco puts some kind of meds(that they had scientists develop) in the water to make the fish appear healthy, like dopeamine for fish so they look beautiful and healthy, but they are just high as F!

 

[jstephens24]

I will keep an eye on my 3 clowns i bought from there. Look healthy and happy so far in my 20 gal QT. So far its been 4 days and no signs of illness. All eating good (pellets). They will be in QT for awhile since my DT is weeks away from being ready

 

[tkeracer619]

I would continue to take advantage of the sale and get an additional 20l qt so you can perform the tank transfer method.

I don't see a point buying anything from them livestock wise, if you are going to use them order from their website. They have a 30 day stay alive guarantee.

Did you happen to test for copper?

 

[Tin Man]

I lost 2 out of 3 'Petco' fish in their first week of quarantine in a 30 gal QT and the 3rd was distressed. I don't blame Petco though. I found that I missed an ammonia spike and immediately did a 50% water change to save the 3rd. This was last week. This week the 3rd, a firefish, is looking very healthy again. I don't think all Petco's are necessarily bad. I am just new to QT and this was a learning experience. If your fish look stressed, check your water parameters and review your QT setup and process.

FWIW: My QT is 30 gal bare bottom with heater, hood, HOB filter with only floss. I didn't realize how quick the color of the floss started to darken <poor lighting>. I am using white felt material from a craft store, very cheap, and started replacing a small piece every other day and plan to do a 25% water change weekly. I am monitoring ammonia daily and hope this will keep my QT fish healthy.

 

[tkeracer619]

Use Instant Ocean Bio Spira if you are having ammonia issues.

 

[FraggledRock]

Makes me wonder. the more reef keepers boycott petco, how many marine fish and inverts are they killing due to overstocking and possible lack of sales?

I constantly see the same marine fish in their tanks over and over. I will never buy them, and hopefully no one falls into that trap either.

Maybe the sources they get it from is good, but then they don't take care of them well...

i wonder if any Petco CEO's or PR staff members ever browse the web and see the amount of discontent real saltwater and reef keepers have for their companies disregard for the lives they carry?...

 

[killinit123]

where is it that you people live that petco sells marine fish?? the petco and pet-smarts around me in New York do not and I wouldn't go to one of those stores for any reason anyway. even for my dog, their corporate structure cares less about the animals health and well being no matter what animal it is. they are a money hungry corporation and i would advise everyone to support small local business rather than them!! i dont care if they have a tank sale for $.50 a gallon they wont receive any of my business no matter what. the only reason they have those sales is to bring people in so they see the fish and buy them, which are probably filled with diseases and infections. the only way they will stop selling marine fish is if people stop buying them. so when you think your saving a fishes life by buying it form petco and making it healthy. think about how many new fish petco just ordered that will probably end up dying especially with water parameters that were posted here. sorry thats all end of rant. lol

 

[phillrodrigo]

I have a question before we jump down petco throat. Did you test there water at the store or the water in the bag your brought home with a fish in it. If it was the bag I would bet it's from the fish being in the bag.

 

[GilliganReef]

I've bought every fish in my tank from the most reputable LFS in MN. This is an isolated innocent.

I assumed it would be bad, but I am shocked by the reality of the conditions in Petco's holding tanks and wanted to share my experiance.

Which Petco was it? Burnsville, Minnetonka, Maple Grove? Do you usually go to World of Fish or Saltwater Empire?

 

[killinit123]

I have a question before we jump down petco throat. Did you test there water at the store or the water in the bag your brought home with a fish in it. If it was the bag I would bet it's from the fish being in the bag.

there's no way a bag can have an ammonia concentrate of .5ppm even if the travel time was an hour. also did you check the salinity? i guarantee they keep their fish in hypo-salinity to mask any illnesses or parasites that may be on them. bottom line if you try and "save" a fish from petco your only giving them sales which in return allows their finance department to say oh hay look at the marine fish sales!! lets order a bunch more!! so in reality buying fish from petco is really killing multiple in my eyes at least.

 

[Tin Man]

I live in Danbury, CT area and the only marine fish available are at 2 petco's. The one closest has a very knowledgable reef keeper who appears to being doing a great job watching over the fish. In the past, I would never have bought from them because the fish looked sick or weak. Now they look strong and healthy. I have mixed emotions about buying there after reading some comments here, but the nearest/reasonable alternative is 45 minutes away or longer in traffic. There is one LFS about 30 minutes away that I would love to buy from, but all his prices are double. As I am slowly getting back into the hobby with a Biocube 29, I would prefer to spend my time and money wisely. In this case, I would rather spend my time on my fish than on driving. I will see how I make out with my first couple of petco fish introductions before going for a longer drive.

 

[AmberLee]

When did you test the bag water? After 30 minutes of it being open? When the bag is opened you have 30 minutes before the water is poison. The low oxygen keeps the poop etc in the water ammonium, when you open it, it becomes ammonia.