Can someone help me interpret this?

[JoeH2014]

Thanks for the help everyone. I will hold off on buying anything for a while. Lesson learned.

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[meliboouk]

We all make mistakes, better to find out the answer then to do the same thing again, hope all goes well for you in your fishy adventure


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[PNWaquarist]

And sometimes it's completely out of your control. The LFS could've done everything right and didn't know that the stock from the supplier was diseased.

 

[meliboouk]

And sometimes it's completely out of your control. The LFS could've done everything right and didn't know that the stock from the supplier was diseased.

Yea that is also true especially as most lfs don't have the fish for long before sale so they don't really no if they have any problems, I've had some from lfs and when I've had them home for few days I've noticed they had fin rot, I'd always quarantine new fish no matter how good they look better to be safe


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[dalto]

Also, don't be afraid to ask questions at your LFS.

I pretty much always ask at least two questions.
- Where did these fish come from?
- How long have they been here?

I typically want fish to be in their tanks for at least 3-5 days before I buy them.

 

[JoeH2014]

Would you guys almost always recommend avoiding PetSmart?

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[dalto]

I would recommend to avoid them unless you don't have better options.

 

[meliboouk]

Would you guys almost always recommend avoiding PetSmart?

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I would personally only use them as a last resort, for fish I would never buy them from there


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[JoeH2014]

Can I ask for reasons? I've seen the debate on this, but have always had a generally positive opinion of PetSmart.

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[meliboouk]

Can I ask for reasons? I've seen the debate on this, but have always had a generally positive opinion of PetSmart.

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Firstly every fish I've ever brought from there has died within 2-3 days,

Secondly I've spoke to the ones near me and they have no clue on what they are doing

Thirdly every time I used to go round there was always atleast 1 dead fish in every tank, and when I told them they were like they have just died, seriously over 40 fish dying in seperate tanks at the exact same time........alright then

But that is just my reasons


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[JoeH2014]

I will agree with you on employee knowledge. It's very frustrating walking in knowing that I know more about the fish than probably all the employees combined Especially when you find a fish you've not heard of before and have questions about it.

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[dalto]

Can I ask for reasons? I've seen the debate on this, but have always had a generally positive opinion of PetSmart.

I am actually pretty lucky in that the Petsmart nearest to me actually has a very knowledgeable and effective person taking care of their fish department. You rarely see any dead fish in their tanks.

I try to avoid buying there for two reasons. The first is that their tanks are connected in groups. So if a disease enters their tanks, it can spread. Now, honestly, they do a lot with water purification and UV sterilization behind the scenes to help with this.

The bigger reason is that the quality of their livestock just isn't that good to begin with. I don't know which farms/suppliers they get their fish from but it doesn't appear like the stock there is as high quality as the small local stores in my area. To be totally fair, the cost of fish at Petsmart is also far less than these LFS as well.

In addition to having a ton of Petsmarts in town, I occasionally stop in to stores when I travel and have free time to kill so I have been to ~20 Petsmarts in the US. Out of those I have only seen 2-3 stores where the fish were not fairly well cared for.

Ultimately, if my only choice was to buy from one of the big box stores there is no doubt it would be Petsmart. Their bog box competition is not even close in my opinion. In the "other" stores, it is the exception rather than the rule to find a good store.

 

[PNWaquarist]

At places like Petsmart and Petco, there are some employees that know what they're doing and do care about the health of their stock. Unfortunately, it's hit-and-miss.

The bigger problem is that their fishkeeping practices are dictated and restricted by corporate. The employees' hands are tied in that regard.

I wouldn't completely rule out purchasing fish from big box stores such as these, but with the caveat that they really need to be quarantined for 2-3 weeks before adding to your tank.

 

[loachy dance]

At places like Petsmart and Petco, there are some employees that know what they're doing and do care about the health of their stock. Unfortunately, it's hit-and-miss.

The bigger problem is that their fishkeeping practices are dictated and restricted by corporate. The employees' hands are tied in that regard.

I wouldn't completely rule out purchasing fish from big box stores such as these, but with the caveat that they really need to be quarantined for 2-3 weeks before adding to your tank.

Agreed. I literally had a knowledgeable employee recomend a different lfs when i told her what i was looking for. She said they had bett stock.