AcroporAddict
There is no substitute.
All LFS will have dead fish sometimes. Any decent LFS should run dead several times a day beause it looks bad to the customers.
petco
- Thread starter dorky
- Start date
All LFS will have dead fish sometimes. Any decent LFS should run dead several times a day beause it looks bad to the customers.
My local petco is my favorite place to go to buy fish. They have recently added close to 15 more tanks for saltwater. They dont really sell much coral. There order comes in from a place that is about 3 hours away from the store. The tanks are always clean and the department head is into saltwarer tanks himself and has his own. Very frinedly staff and great prices. I've been to other petcos and it has been a shame the way they keep there tanks. My local petco is working on setting up a frag tank now and just recently set up a LR tank. I guess it just depends on which petco you goto!
Hngryhippo
New member
Ive worked at PETCO for a while now and would never buy any kind of marine life from there..ever and would recommend any responsible hobbyist do the same LOL
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skykingcory
New member
Petco is random too from what I've seen. Our local one is not too great though.
no694terry
New member
i was at the one near my office the other day cause they just set up a marine section too and had mexican turbors for $2.50. I started to ask about how many "condi/clown" couples they have sold and she said a bunch which worries me. I then tried to tell her that condi's dont really host fish but eat them but of course she knows it all and pretty much ignored me.
my experience with them..
my experience with them..
There are good things from petco, I bought the only clownfish that my anemone hosted from them in a very competitive price, and even told me if the fish dies within a month will just bring the dead fish (with receipt)back to them and a sample of my water and they can replace or refund if they find out my water wasn't the culprit
The bad things about them are some marine fishes out there are much more expensive and I saw one blue tang in a small tank and accdg. to the employee the fish has been there for a month . Their other aqua products are so much more cheaper than other lfs around though..
my experience with them..
There are good things from petco, I bought the only clownfish that my anemone hosted from them in a very competitive price, and even told me if the fish dies within a month will just bring the dead fish (with receipt)back to them and a sample of my water and they can replace or refund if they find out my water wasn't the culprit
The bad things about them are some marine fishes out there are much more expensive and I saw one blue tang in a small tank and accdg. to the employee the fish has been there for a month . Their other aqua products are so much more cheaper than other lfs around though..
Centralcampus
New member
There are always the stores (all stores that sale SW) that do an amazing job, and those that don't do as good. As they go through the process they either continue business or go out of business. In the case where a Petco might not be doing the best job, corporate notices or is told by customers, and then Petco Corporate stops selling SW fish at that store. Some though have a great selection and take care of the animals well.
jguinn2005
New member
I won't bash Petco, as someone else said there are good stores and there are bad stores just like anything else. For some of us, there isn't a closer place to go. I will say that as part-owner of a locally owned Pet/LFS we purposely employ a few people with experience and knowledge to maintain our stock. If they quit, we don't stock until we get someone else in there - this is why after 20 years of freshwater I am finally educating myself on salt ... instead of paying someone else to do it all the time LOL!
We often only keep the most basic fish and coral in stock, not only basic but easy to care for. Thus, making it a win-win for us and the customer. We generally special order most of our more expensive livestock and our customers are often there waiting to pick them up off of the delivery truck and are happy with the process. This doesn't allow customers to view the animal before ordering it better ensures the health of the specimen and is backed by the guarantee of our supplier. Again, win-win and not unlike ordering from a place like liveaquaria. I won't say what my business name is as I'm not trying to promote my business on this forum. My point is, I wish more places would follow suit with a similar business plan unless they are equipped to handle large scale and specialty applications for their customers - generally speaking, Petco is not equipped for this.
We often only keep the most basic fish and coral in stock, not only basic but easy to care for. Thus, making it a win-win for us and the customer. We generally special order most of our more expensive livestock and our customers are often there waiting to pick them up off of the delivery truck and are happy with the process. This doesn't allow customers to view the animal before ordering it better ensures the health of the specimen and is backed by the guarantee of our supplier. Again, win-win and not unlike ordering from a place like liveaquaria. I won't say what my business name is as I'm not trying to promote my business on this forum. My point is, I wish more places would follow suit with a similar business plan unless they are equipped to handle large scale and specialty applications for their customers - generally speaking, Petco is not equipped for this.
My local PetCo has someone who is pretty good with freshwater and alot of the husbandry transfers over to saltwater. Whenever I buy there I always nit-pick about stuff to drive the price down. I have gotten up to a 55% discout because the guy working had no clue what he was doing and one of the fish in a different tank had Ich (and the tank was freshwater, thats how stupid that guy was)
I have decent luck with PetSupplies Plus here in Cleveland. I don't go there much because I have a great LFS that I like doing all my business with. But from time to time, I pick something up there that is just too much at my LFS.
Sometimes a fish I really want is there and I'll watch him for a few days. If it looks healthy, I'll buy it. I have done it twice, I believe. And both fish are doing really well a few months later.
My LFS often sells things the minute they come in...as their customers are that voracious : ) Which is awesome. But to my mind...a fish freshly in...vs. a fish in a big box store who looks healthy? It can be a gamble either way. But if I'm going to buy something special....then I will order through my LFS because I trust his judgement and suppliers more than walking in off the street to a PetCo...regardless of how good something looks.
Yesterday I walked into the PetSupplies Plus and the head of the fish section came up and said "OHHH dude....awesome...I've been waiting for you to come through. You keep reefs, right? I want one. How do I do it?"
The head of the department.
Asking me.
A customer.
How to build a reef.
I talked to him for half an hour and he had no idea at all. None. No knowledge of salt water fish. NONE. And I have hard him go on for five minutes to unsuspecting customers about how "Sure that Grouper will be really great in your tank with shrimp and Clown Fish....." etc. I usually catch the persons eye and give a tiny shake of my head "NO" and they always seem to understand that my information is better : )
So you never know.
Keep in mind...clever LFS owners hire knowledgeable employees away from the PetCos and PetSupply Plus places........there is a reason the box places tanks always look like crap.
Sometimes a fish I really want is there and I'll watch him for a few days. If it looks healthy, I'll buy it. I have done it twice, I believe. And both fish are doing really well a few months later.
My LFS often sells things the minute they come in...as their customers are that voracious : ) Which is awesome. But to my mind...a fish freshly in...vs. a fish in a big box store who looks healthy? It can be a gamble either way. But if I'm going to buy something special....then I will order through my LFS because I trust his judgement and suppliers more than walking in off the street to a PetCo...regardless of how good something looks.
Yesterday I walked into the PetSupplies Plus and the head of the fish section came up and said "OHHH dude....awesome...I've been waiting for you to come through. You keep reefs, right? I want one. How do I do it?"
The head of the department.
Asking me.
A customer.
How to build a reef.
I talked to him for half an hour and he had no idea at all. None. No knowledge of salt water fish. NONE. And I have hard him go on for five minutes to unsuspecting customers about how "Sure that Grouper will be really great in your tank with shrimp and Clown Fish....." etc. I usually catch the persons eye and give a tiny shake of my head "NO" and they always seem to understand that my information is better : )
So you never know.
Keep in mind...clever LFS owners hire knowledgeable employees away from the PetCos and PetSupply Plus places........there is a reason the box places tanks always look like crap.
dorky
New member
is this what i think it is?:dance: i dont think they would let me in for awhile after explaining to the person who planning to buy it think it would be cool to watch it pair up with the clownfish. :blown: guy tht work there said it will pair up to any clownfish and everything here is reef-safe and friendly and i hate to sound like an a hole but told em why the starfish trying to eat the maroon fish?:deadhorse1: if i work there i would just rearrange everything start over from scratch.
Attachments
Based on the size, it probably is a Curlycue anemone. They basically look like an aptasia on steriods, and sting other things like one too. Only pluses to them, over aptasia, is that they don't reproduce like aptasia and they host Periclimenes sp. cleaner shrimps.
rrasco
New member
I thought it was a huge aiptasia.
I'm sure it's come up already in this thread, heck I may have said it already, but most of these stores can't afford to pay knowledgeable staff. It's a retail store. I'd gladly work at Petco and keep their SW section in check and the customers informed, but you're gonna have to pay me $25/hour to do it. Not likely to happen.
I'm sure it's come up already in this thread, heck I may have said it already, but most of these stores can't afford to pay knowledgeable staff. It's a retail store. I'd gladly work at Petco and keep their SW section in check and the customers informed, but you're gonna have to pay me $25/hour to do it. Not likely to happen.
Definitely a Curlyque
Bonghapster
New member
I have three petco in my area within 30mins drive. One is horrible (dirty n dead livestock, one is good, and the other is great. It all depends on the staff. LFS cant beat their dry good prices. I get dog food from there. If i find a heathy $50 fish for $10. I'll take a shot. Put it in quantine and see.
