Petco problems?

[GouramiCichlid]

So I went to petco today to return a fish I bought two days ago it died today R.I.P
and when i went to return it the sale associate asked for a sample of my water and he said that the water was too hard (BTW this was a cichlid and he was put in my 55 gallon cichlid tank) My P.H is 8.0 is that too hard for cichlids? The guy also would not give me a refund he said it was my fault I did not add aquarium salt into the tank to help with the hardness I was very confused at that moment. The guy also said that 13 african cichlids is too much for a 55 gallon
I always thought that over crowding the tank was something you did with cichlids i do 15% water changes weekly. Am I doing something wrong? I never had a cichlid die until now so i'm thinking it was just a faulty fish that they sold to me.

 

[Fish king]

African cichlids like hard water and south American cichlids like soft so it depends what you have


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[PNWaquarist]

So I went to petco today to return a fish I bought two days ago it died today R.I.P
and when i went to return it the sale associate asked for a sample of my water and he said that the water was too hard (BTW this was a cichlid and he was put in my 55 gallon cichlid tank) My P.H is 8.0 is that too hard for cichlids?

pH relates to hydrogen ion concentration. Hardness is GH.

The guy also would not give me a refund he said it was my fault I did not add aquarium salt into the tank to help with the hardness I was very confused at that moment

Adding salt will not lower GH. It will simply raise TDS. This sales associate is clueless.

Do yourself a favor and don't purchase expensive cichlids from big box stores like Petco or Petsmart. Their stock is typically unhealthy and the sales associates often don't know what they're doing.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

African cichlids like hard water and south American cichlids like soft so it depends what you have


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I have african cichlids lake malawi

 

[GouramiCichlid]

pH relates to hydrogen ion concentration. Hardness is GH.



Adding salt will not lower GH. It will simply raise TDS. This sales associate is clueless.

Do yourself a favor and don't purchase expensive cichlids from big box stores like Petco or Petsmart. Their stock is typically unhealthy and the sales associates often don't know what they're doing.

My LFS closed down last week so I went to check out petco to see what they had ;P

 

[Fish king]

They don't no what they are talking about go to another store or question them before you buy


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[PNWaquarist]

My LFS closed down last week so I went to check out petco to see what they had ;P

Sorry to hear that. I hope that you have a better option within reasonable driving distance.

 

[Fish king]

And remember they name of the person you question


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[guppy44]

PETCO is terrible so is PET SUPPLY ! It's like they don't care about their fish ! Every Time I would purchase a fish it would die ! The water was always freezing I know some fish can be in cold temperatures but not the ones I was purchasing! I finally realized after years you either call and report it and see if they change and take Better care of the fish or simply go to a exotic fish or fish only store ! They care about their fish don't get me wrong some people at petco and pet supply do their jobs amazing but then their are the rest that don't do it at all!


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[jim532]

I'd ask them for a sample of their water, I'm willing to bet your water conditions are better.


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[PerfectDepth]

I always thought that over crowding the tank was something you did with cichlids i do 15% water changes weekly. Am I doing something wrong? I never had a cichlid die until now so i'm thinking it was just a faulty fish that they sold to me.

Have you tested nitrates recently? Next time, test your nitrates and if reads 20 or higher, make sure to do enough water changes to lower nitrates before adding new fish.

If your nitrates are fine, then the fish died due to some other reason. The petco guy is clueless. There's no need to add anything to your water. If your pH is always stable at 8.0, then I'm sure your water is just fine for african cichlids.

 

[PB_Smith]

Have you tested nitrates recently? Next time, test your nitrates and if reads 20 or higher, make sure to do enough water changes to lower nitrates before adding new fish.

If your nitrates are fine, then the fish died due to some other reason. The petco guy is clueless. There's no need to add anything to your water. If your pH is always stable at 8.0, then I'm sure your water is just fine for african cichlids.

nitrates are not going to kill a fish in two days unless you start hitting levels way beyond 100ppm and higher. If it were shock from extreme nitrate levels, it would have been more apparent.
Trying to maintain a tank at below 20ppm of nitrate is just a pain-in-da-butt and more stress, discomfort and agitation for you than the nitrates are for the fish, especially with African cichlids as you can't plant the tank heavily and often overcrowd to preclude aggression.

Plain and simple the op just had a new fish die on them in the first couple of days, it happens to all of us regardless of skill level, tank parameters or any other thing, it just happens from time to time and often there is no apparent cause.
The thing to take away from this, as has already been stated, is that the particular employee the op talked to didn't know jack-crap and simply intimidated them into not getting a refund/replacement.


****African cichlids die in a ph of 8.0****.......LOL, that guy needs to stick to selling flea collars and dog biscuits.

 

[PerfectDepth]

nitrates are not going to kill a fish in two days unless you start hitting levels way beyond 100ppm and higher. If it were shock from extreme nitrate levels, it would have been more apparent.

You're right, I agree. Sorry OP, I overlooked the "two days" part.

Trying to maintain a tank at below 20ppm of nitrate is just a pain-in-da-butt and more stress, discomfort and agitation for you than the nitrates are for the fish,

lol try keeping a 10 gallon below 12.5 ppm, like I have to because of these guys: hara jerdoni

Not to mention my source water consistently has 6-7 ppm nitrates out of the tap! It's rough, I tells ya, but so far so good, they were added over a year ago. (lots of plants sure helps)

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Yeah I guess we all know now petco is not the place to go for fish.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Oh right one last thing what's better a liquid test kit or strips?

 

[PerfectDepth]

Luckily, the petco near me is not bad at all, except for a couple of clueless employees. (Like the one who advised me not to do water changes ever because it would kill my neons.)

Any store can get bad stock occasionally, so I wouldn't blame it on petco, unless their tank system isn't properly maintained.

Edit: liquid test kit is far better

 

[44Paps44]

It's also about their bottom line. I did the same once in trying to return a fish to a LFS. They go in the back and 'test' the water and come back out with a tube that indicates my ammonia levels are off the chart. Then I 'don't qualify for a refund because my water levels are not properly maintained so it was my fault the fish died.

Not knowing any better and feeling like a schmuck for killing a fish, I go back home and re-test my water and levels are perfect.

If I ever had to go and return a fish under 'warranty' I'd bring my water sample and my API bottles and test my water again right in front of them when they bring out the bad sample. But also depends on the price of the fish whether it's worth going through the hassle. These days I wouldn't be spending anything more than a few bucks at any of the chain stores.

 

[Fish king]

the very little fish that I do get from pet-co or pet-smart are healthy but they care more about there profits than the fish they might tell you a fish is more hardy than it is

Example : they would tell you that a clown loach can live in a 20 gallon or that a Molly will do just as well in fresh water as in brackish or African cichlids can live with South Americans

and they say that so you will buy then if it dies and you try to get a refund and they say that your water or tank mates are the problem


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