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My toddlers tank

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Messages
187
Location
Ontario, Canada
We are in a small area and only have to local stores that sell fish supplies and fish, one has a very bad reputation for not caring for the fish and other animals but carries great stock but their business practises make me queasy. The other store the staff is friendly but not really informed. I am not new but I have had a real eye opener here and have had some bad experiences with the friendly staff but they have been quick to try and resolve the issue when brought to their attention.

BUT, we are getting a Pet Value. I never heard of one until we moved to Ontario but the one in the next town does not keep fish just a very small selection of aquarium supplies wal marts is actually bigger and it is no better, I am fingers crossed hoping for a good selection but wonder if I am kidding myself and is wondering what other people's experiences are with this chain
 
My toddlers tank said:
We are in a small area and only have to local stores that sell fish supplies and fish, one has a very bad reputation for not caring for the fish and other animals but carries great stock but their business practises make me queasy. The other store the staff is friendly but not really informed. I am not new but I have had a real eye opener here and have had some bad experiences with the friendly staff but they have been quick to try and resolve the issue when brought to their attention.

BUT, we are getting a Pet Value. I never heard of one until we moved to Ontario but the one in the next town does not keep fish just a very small selection of aquarium supplies wal marts is actually bigger and it is no better, I am fingers crossed hoping for a good selection but wonder if I am kidding myself and is wondering what other people's experiences are with this chain

I would honestly say go with the store that has the best stock. There are many very very experienced aquarists here that will always help you :) Do your own research, post any questions you have and get info here and make your own decisions. Do you happen to know how the store that has good stock but you don't like their business practices is on returns/exchanges? All of my fish have came from a locally owned pet store and they are wonderful. They are great about taking exchanges/returns, and so far I have only had one problem with stock from them out of about 15 fish, which I'm sure that happens everywhere. I would say as long as they stand by exchanges/returns I would go with them. Even though they may not care that much, you obviously do since your here seeking advice :) And you can think of it as you rescuing the fish and giving them a better home :)
 
Also I'm in the US, but you could always check out oddball fish.com, many members here recommend them because they have good stock; you could go this route if you can't decide on going to either local pet store.
 
The stock that is good is the tests , extra filters etc, the fish are dead or dying would not be wise for me as I only have 1 tank. I had order root tabs from them paid in advance and then had to go to them after they should have arrived to hear them say we can't get those.

The other store is where I get my fish the betta had ick right off the bat, went back to the store and the whole tank was infected so they sold me the medicine at half price, they are also the store that sold me a houseplant as a water plant, I let my son get an decoration for the tank it is now losing the paint and it had sharp edges up inside where we thought it would make a good hiding spot for the betta and it ended up ripping the Bettas fin. It is a fighter our betta has recovered nice from both our tetras have had no ill effects at all but,

With another option I am hoping it will be more promising than my current options. I found an online site that has products at very low prices but I can't find anyone who has ordered from them so I am not sure. My friend is going to try and breed guppies so I might get some from her and there is a lady locally who have baby dwarf frogs that she is giving away.

I was in a bigger city with a pets r us and a petco, and several mom and pop shops that were fabulous I guess I am frustrated
 
Pet Value, so far, has focused on supplies only. They don't sell live pets (although that may be changing, there's a corporate owned Pet Value here and they were test selling bettas and those tiny betta tanks that so many here hate). They are not really a good source of fish supplies, although if you need some emergency food, net, etc to tide you over until you can get to a proper fish store or an online order arrives they are okay.
They are good for cat and dog supplies, they just don't have much selection when it comes to fish supplies.
 
Also I'm in the US, but you could always check out oddball fish.com, many members here recommend them because they have good stock; you could go this route if you can't decide on going to either local pet store.

Shipping fish from the US to Canada is usually risky (delays due to customs, etc) and very expensive (customs). I'm not even sure they ship to Canada.
 
I use oddballfish.com and I'm almost sure they don't. Too much of an expense and trouble.
 
I found an online supply store that is Canadian and the prices are lower than everywhere but I haven't found anyone that has used it yet. I guess I may have to make the two hour journey to the city and see what I can find there.

Thanks everyone.

I may be getting some non fancy guppies from a friend if she can get hers to breed, and we found a lady who breeds dwarf frogs and she gives them away for free so I might luck out and find more people locally.

I am going to try to clip my wisteria to see if I can't get it to spread more.
 
Oh yeah ownedbycats, I was in the other pet value the other day and they only have pets from the SPCA daily. They won't be carrying live fish, but will have an extensive selection of things needed to run the aquarium at first. to see what sells, I was told.

But anything I order online can be shipped to the store and I won't get charged shipping, which is nice.
 
Part of the problem is that Canadian weather makes it very hard to ship live critters and have them arrive alive. Plants do okay, but from what I've been told on a specifically canadian fish forum, the windows for shipping fish is basically April to June, and September to eraly November. Summer is too hot, and winter is too cold. When you can only ship for about 1/3 of the year, it's hard to keep your live fish business going. There are a few, but they have to charge really high shipping prices for air and next day shipping to ensure live arrivals.
 
I may make the 2 hour drive into the city after Christmas and take a lot around and see what I can see as far as pet stores, thanks all great suggestions. I was looking online and found a Canadian site with reasonable prices just don't k ow if it is legit.
 
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