Can't believe what stores will sell!

[Solarris]

Two nights ago I asked my husband to stop by Petsmart on his way home and pick up a rubber lipped pleco to replace the one I lost. My husband, who isn't in to fish at all, decided to get 2 instead of 1 "in case another died". When he got them home I floated the bag in the tank and took a close look at them and couldn't believe what I saw. Both of the plecos looked like they were pretty far along with ich and one of them looked like he had a bad fungal infection with quite a bit of fuzzy looking white stuff clinging to him. I left them in the bag and had my husband take them back to the store the next day. One of the poor things, the one with the fungal infection, didn't make it that long. They gave him a refund with no trouble but I am amazed that they sell fish in such an obvious state. I also can't help but wonder if they took the one that survived and stuck him back in their tank to try to sell to someone else.

 

[WhiskeyD]

Poor guys I would have QT'd them and tried to save em! Did you buy them from a LFS or a chain?

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

Poor guys I would have QT'd them and tried to save em! Did you buy them from a LFS or a chain?

Chain... it was Petsmart

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Yeah I've gone in there and seen some pretty brutal stuff. It's really hard to find a chain store with good ethics. I happen to have a really good one by me that has some pretty good ppl working there. I always try to support the mom and pop fish stores before I go to the chain stores.

 

[Etunes]

Thats crazy. Ya, i would have probably takin them back too and insisted on a cash refund. I would have not gone back.

 

[newfound77951]

I also recommend closely inspecting all fish in the tank that you intend to buy fish from for any signs of diseases or distress. If you see any sick fish, it is wise to not buy from that tank. Also, remember that mos LFS's tanks (even the good LFS) are connected to a common filtration system, usually there are 3 or 4 blocks of tanks per store. So if the tank next to the one with the fish you're interested in is full of ich, ask if it's on the same system as the tank you're interested in.

It is up to you to make sure you are purchasing healthy fish, and to not support stores that continue to sell unhealthy ones.

 

[PaulieFish]

Two nights ago I asked my husband to stop by Petsmart on his way home and pick up a rubber lipped pleco to replace the one I lost. My husband, who isn't in to fish at all, decided to get 2 instead of 1 "in case another died". When he got them home I floated the bag in the tank and took a close look at them and couldn't believe what I saw. Both of the plecos looked like they were pretty far along with ich and one of them looked like he had a bad fungal infection with quite a bit of fuzzy looking white stuff clinging to him. I left them in the bag and had my husband take them back to the store the next day. One of the poor things, the one with the fungal infection, didn't make it that long. They gave him a refund with no trouble but I am amazed that they sell fish in such an obvious state. I also can't help but wonder if they took the one that survived and stuck him back in their tank to try to sell to someone else.

Thats petsmart for you, they sold me two plants that are not aquatic plants lol, they said yeah they should be fine, im waiting anyday for them to rot, as I was told by many other members they would. Which I am sure they will as well. I was also told by a petco that Mystery Snails do not multiple unless they have land to lay eggs on, of course I believed them (should of done my research) and sure enough, OUTBREAK of snails in my tank . Luckily I researched before I went there, because she tried to sell me some outrageous thing to get rid of my snails.. believe it was something with copper in it? Which I know is HORRIBLE if you ever want inverts or snails again.

 

[mgamer20o0]

you should have been able to see the eggs of the mystery snails. they do lay above the water and takes a couple week to hatch.

you cant trust someone trying to sell you something until they earn your trust. many dont care.... just trying to make a buck..... or going by what others told them.

newfound is 100% correct. inspect your fish and have a qt so you dont infect your other fish.

 

[cjldad]

You need to look in all the tanks when you go in, not just the one you are looking to buy from... The newer petco's and petsmart's basicly share the water in at least that section you are looking at.. I was told they turn off the carbon and run doses of antibiotics, anti-ich, and other stuff throughout the day.. Sounds good.. But doesn't always work in the real world.. Of the 5 lfs's around me, 1 is extremely nice and the others are of MUCH less quality than my local petco's and petsmart's.. All of the fish in both of my tanks have come from either petco or petsmart.. I have lost a few.. But it's a low percentage and most are within a couple weeks of buying them new..

I just don't listen to a thing they tell me.. I go in knowing what I'm looking for.. It's hard to pass up bloodfins for 25 cents a pop..

 

[Evaunitone]

Last time I went to petsmart they had a tiny tank filled with dead or dying ryukins. I wanted to strangle someone.

 

[bobberwobber]

mine must be pretty good. all my freshwater fish are from petsmart and all were fine.
Walmart on the other hand...... they should be banned from selling fish. they have no idea how to look after them and evertime go in there, they have 4 or 5 dead floating in each tank..

 

[ampa one]

i use a LPS this guy keep's all his fish for one week . unlike petsmart thay will sell theam as soon as thay get them in

 

[dkpate]

I have bought all but 3 fish from Petsmart, and the only ones that didn't come with a problem were the brown loaches. There is a guy who works there, and he actually has his own salt and freshwater tanks, and all about the cycle, so he knows what he is talking about, and he spent an hour and a half with me when I first started. I had some stuff in my cart, and he said "Don't need this, waste of money, use this (Prime), etc." He is very gentle when he is bagging up the fish for me. There is a girl who works there, and I think half of the reason my fish died when I brought them home was because she was so rough when handling them. She acts like she doesn't care if you are there or not. And when I was looking for fish that could get away from my gourami, she was tapping on the glass to see which ones were the fastest. I will only go in when Rob is working!
I try to stay away from the stores now that my tanks are pretty much stocked, unless I have to buy frozen food. I get so sad when I go in there and they have incompatible fish together, and most of them are dying.
Don't even get me started on Walmart! UGGH!

 

[Etunes]

Ya, walmart is the ruffest of them all. I hate when i walk by a tank and i see the bala sharks in those tanks at petco. They swim back and forth running into the glass. So sad.

 

[jimmy c]

i found a "craigslist" type of site in toronto where i buy all my fish from breeders/hobbiests. 1 inch yellow labs for 1$ etc. i dislike my lfs and usually just use them for meds and when im starting a community tank. i dont even buy food there anymore

 

[lake_tuna]

Thats petsmart for you, they sold me two plants that are not aquatic plants lol, they said yeah they should be fine, im waiting anyday for them to rot, as I was told by many other members they would. Which I am sure they will as well. I was also told by a petco that Mystery Snails do not multiple unless they have land to lay eggs on, of course I believed them (should of done my research) and sure enough, OUTBREAK of snails in my tank . Luckily I researched before I went there, because she tried to sell me some outrageous thing to get rid of my snails.. believe it was something with copper in it? Which I know is HORRIBLE if you ever want inverts or snails again.

Not all Petsmarts are aweful. Just as an LFS can be bad, a Petsmart could be good, too. One I go to is great.

 

[Etunes]

It all depends who is working there. But most of the time the chains dont care enough to look for 1 hard enough. Also it compondes on the problem when ordering from horrible stock keepers. I dont get why a company that has so much money cant dish out the money for better care. Because i would think that would make better sales.

 

[brimac41]

Just yesterday , I was at Wal - Mart for a roll of poly-fil for my clam shell refillable filter cartridges , so I thought I would walk by the fish . There on the bagging counter was a industrial sized bottle of Ich treatment , cap off and half empty (I picked it up and swished it around , I'm nosy that way ) with the lights out on a few tanks . Their employee walked up while I was looking into the tanks with the lights out (yes they were covered in Ich ) , and they asked me if there were any fish I wanted . I just shook my head and walked away .