Fish at Big Box Stores!

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Anna94

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Mar 27, 2016
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Can I just say that I HATE Big Box Stores for selling fish?! Not only are the fish unhealthy, but they're not taken care of! Of all the times I'm at a Big Box Store I NEVER see someone in the fish department feeding the fish or doing water changes! I bought fish from a Big Box Store once (HUGE MISTAKE) and they got ich within a few days and then died a week later during treatment. I REALLY hope that one day Big Box Stores will stop selling fish FOREVER! I have also stopped buying fish from another Big Box Store as they have always died within a week. The last time I bought fish from them, there was a dead fish in a tank and when I pointed it out to the employee, she did NOTHING! I haven't bought fish from them since!
 
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It depends on the store location. The Big Box Store in San Leandro is well stocked and the tanks and fish always look good. There is one lady in that area and she is always fussing over the fish. The one in Antioch is terrible, poor stock and livestock.

The Big Box Store near me in concord also has a few people who are total fish geeks and do a decent job. Most of my neons are from there and I can't remember the last time one was sick or died.


Other Big Box Stores on the other hand has tanks covered in Cyanobacteria and bodies everywhere.


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We have three Big Box Store locations all about the same distance from my house (hooray for metro Detroit!), and the difference between them amazes me. It looks like they have different focuses. One is definitely all about small mammals, and they have a lot going on with those critters than the other two. The store I usually go to has a Vetco, which makes me feel good about them. They are also really good about it when we bring our dog, who was rescued from a situation that was so bad I'm glad I don't know details. He's well behaved but terrified of strangers, and no one there pushes him. So many places people will say, "oh he's so handsome let me pet him!"

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He is handsome!

Back to fish!

I always look for bodies. Dead fish = not buying critters there. Exception made for dead feeders, but only to a degree. I also like to look for things like whether there are fish in the wrong places (if they're able to swim between enclosures), and if there are any kind of monitoring devices like thermometer.

It matters how the store employees treat the critters, too. I have a snail whose shell was cracked by the guy who took him out of the tank! The snail is fine.
 
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It really does vary with each store and the employees working the fish section. Where I live the Big Box Store is a mile from the house where everything else is on the other side of town. For a Big Box Store if I'm going to buy fish it's on a Wednesday after 10 in the morning, that's when they get their fish in. It's easy enough to study what you want to see if there's any issues with the fish. Selection can be hit and miss, but a trip into town takes care of those issues too.
 
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Please do not use actual store names in posts. Store names have been edited to 'big box store'. Please settle specific differences through the store. Otherwise, vent and feel free to post your warnings, stories and advice to help others.
 
Support Mom & Pop shops then. (y) Make sure they too are responsible stores with good inventory. There are as many bad Mom & Pops as there are good ones but good ones are a valuable resource to have. (y)
 
It depends on the store location.

It really does. The two nearest me (Westwood and Culver City) do a pretty good job, the Westwood one especially. If you're going to buy from one of the big chains, it really does pay to not only observe the tanks on a few visits (my rule: if there are any dead in the tank, I don't buy), but to get to know whoever the fish specialist is.
 
Just part of the reason i buy livestock from places like Wetspot in Oregon, Aquabid, or LiveAquaria.com
 
I've got to ask - how big is a US big box store?? I always imagine some warehouse but I've no idea.

Here in Perth these have a lot of dry goods so a bit like a warehouse but often the number of tanks and selection is less. Just bigger on dry goods to cover dogs, etc.

Let's see - maybe 15 to 30 tanks I guess in a big box store. A few tanks of plants. Just about always the staff looking after that section will have fish tanks themselves. Some bad, most stores reasonable on quality.

A specialty store I reckon double the number of tanks. More variety of fish. Still can be hard to get good plants.
 
I wish the big box store near myself would stop selling fish. I was in there yesterday and there was nothing but a pile of dead fish at the bottom of the tank
 
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I've got to ask - how big is a US big box store?? I always imagine some warehouse but I've no idea.

Here in Perth these have a lot of dry goods so a bit like a warehouse but often the number of tanks and selection is less. Just bigger on dry goods to cover dogs, etc.

Let's see - maybe 15 to 30 tanks I guess in a big box store. A few tanks of plants. Just about always the staff looking after that section will have fish tanks themselves. Some bad, most stores reasonable on quality.

A specialty store I reckon double the number of tanks. More variety of fish. Still can be hard to get good plants.

The top 3 are all pretty large buildings, some have as many as 100 tanks.

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