I hate petstores: Petco & Petsmart

Re: I hate petstores

My son says "petco-where the pets blow", we are not fans either, never any quality live food items..but I do end up going to check them out in hopes that a.) service has improved (or is existant at all) b.) we need supplies that are cheaper there because they are a large chain and c.) still hoping that their stock will improve.
The mom and pop stores really have much better selections, knowledge, and actually care about their fish. I was told to bring a water sample before buying the stingray..and before that the discus! Now, that is service, and caring about the fish over profit!

 

Re: I hate petstores

sad thing is here when i got into the hobby there were mom and pop fish stores every where now there are just 2 and the big chains

 

Re: I hate petstores

Yeah the "privately owned" shows are few and far between from what I've come across.

 

Re: I hate petstores

Thankfully in NYC they are plentiful, this is yet another "wal-mart" type thing...the "big guys" come in with really cheap prices, and great stock..when they run the small guys out of town, stock, service and prices all go to H*ll..
I try to only shop locally owned stores, and have encouraged all my kids to do the same..I have one Wal-Mart junkie, her family lives outta state..and I am really upset with her...trying to tell her just HOW the big companys screw the little guys is hopeless at this point, all she can see is the supposed savings She did ask the other day, how come when they were kids, I was able to pass on clothing from kid to kid..simple, buy good quality, bite the price difference up front, and it lasts longer! Unfortunatly the super pet stores sell the same things (supply wise) as do the little guys, for MUCH cheaper...now I'm feeling a bit guilty, guess I will go pay 20 bucks MORE for that new filter..from the local shoppe!

 

Re: I hate petstores

I tend to order my supplies online, mainly because I lived in VT where there were no quality stores near by and Petco and Petsmart were an hour plus away.

 

Re: I hate petstores

Big Al's

 

Re: I hate petstores

Ditto that exactly, so I get almost everything online. Although small town living has it's benefits - whenever a box arrives marked live contents or plants, my postal lady calls me personally and holds it at the PO for me to pick up instead of sending them out for delivery! Something I know wouldn't happen if we were still living in the Chicago suburbs.

 

is my petco the only one that stocks decent fish?
I never see any dead stock, the bettas there always have a cup that holds a pint or more of water.When they have giant bettas in stock those are in one gal tanks.
The plants are always alive. Though there are little stow away snails. But sense they have two water systems, one runs threw all the freshwater the other all the salt water. They can't exactly treat the plants to kill the snails with out also killing the other snails that their trying to sell.

Got my bettas from them, they had a male half moon that was pure white. And a crowntail with mustard gas coloration (someone else bought those before I could get to them XD)
The entire staff at mine are animal lovers who actually know what their doing, it's actually pretty nice to shop there the water in the betta cups is always cystal clear. And none of them have dust on them either.

 

My fiance and I call petcos around here Ichco. Usually 75% of their tanks will have a good case of ich, which is especially sad to see when they have the occasional rare fish. One of the petcos had baby Peacock Bass for $10 and I was very tempted, but when I took a closer look they all had Ich, and I have no quarantine tank at the moment, or else I would have taken the chance with the heat method.

 

The ones in my area are hit and miss, one has descent stock and clean looking tanks with knowledgeable staff...the other one looks like what NoctuVide describes-Nasty!

 

*is thankful that the petco near her actually is decent*

I'm thinking about going back and looking at the giant betta fry they have, perhaps pick out one for when it's a little bigger

 

Deathco blows in livestock by me and double that in hard goods. Petsmart I get the VIP treatment(helps to build great report with the management and offer them pick of the school when my juves are ready for sale) they get me what I want when I want it at their prices not retail. I admit some of the employees are not educated in certain aspects but when money times are hard they move employees around to cover spots rather then hire newbs.

 

yea I'm very glad that my petco is in the good shape it is. Only fish I've gotten from them that died died a few months after, the other two are gluttonos little piggies and perfectly healthy, didn't know how bad the store was over all. guess I just got a lucky location

 

I got one a few months back, did the 3 week (21 day) QT treatment, fish looked awesome, put her in the tank with the other angels and two weeks later got ICH, but not the normal ICH, it came in with a dormant resillient strain of ICH that normal meds or even holistical treatments are mear speed bumps for this strain, But yeah some are great some arent, its the management team that decides that much.