Petsmart vs petco

[shirleyi]

New to fish ,but I bought two guppies at petco both died a day and two later . The people working the dept were not helpful at all on making you aware of how to set up a tank as a newbie. I bought a third guppy at petsmart and he is doing great into three weeks now and they were much more knowledgeable

 

[loachy dance]

I suspect you will always have problems onoccasioan buying froma pet store, not a fish store. This is why pet folks may be unknwlegeable. Many of these people dont even have fish and maybe never have. They amy know everything about gerbils or hamsters or whatever. Ive been in these placson occasion and heard them make odd claims ro descritions of the animals there. Sometimes even my 8 year old gives me funny looks when she knwos hey are wrong, such as decribing a ferret as " the largest rodent".
The point is that nonspecialists are never going to be particulrly helpful.

 

[Nortzy21]

I live by each stores but I haven't been to pet smart in what seems like ages. However, I have 2 petcos by me and 1 of them is actually pretty nice. The fish section is like a circular rotunda with a nice stock of fish and plants. For supplies, I like drs fosters and smith online. Despite the nice petco by me, I buy live stock from a nice, family owned pet shop by me with very nice fish. I did buy my Chinese algae eater from petco though and it's very healthy to this day.


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[fearlessfisch]

I will drive long distances to shop at an LFS over either of these big box stores. It's a matter of principle to me, as I am tired of seeing smaller shops eaten alive by large corporations that do not pay or treat their employees well. During my last visit to Petco, I was dismayed to watch the cashier repeat exactly the same, canned, chatty phrases to each and every customer in line, and I knew these robotic interactions came as orders from a corporate office somewhere.

I have many times offered fish customers the URL to aquariumadvice.com after I heard them being given bad advice from big box employees. And I have never found the true care and depth of knowledge and passion for fishkeeping at a Petsmart or Petco that I found for years at my favorite local stores that have now both been driven out of business by these corporate giants.

It's more than worth the extra money to me to support local fish shops.

 

[guppygourami]

It really matters on the staff that they have there and the fish too. Some PetSmarts I've been to keep their fish in horrible conditions while others have great fish in healthy settings. My local PetSmart is horrible and I've never been to PetCo. before. I suggest Big Al's for the best quality but T T Aquariums for the best prices.


Namirah?Canadian, Eh??

 

[abbyn]

I stopped buying fish from the petco that is close to me because they are generally unhealthy. I've never tried pet smart but I usually try to buy from smaller businesses that only sell aquarium related stuff because they tend to care a lot more about the fish and they are usually healthy


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[shirleyi]

This is true ,buyingfrom a breeder is even better

 

[nshepler]

The thing I hate about where I live is there are no small businesses that sell fish and there aren't any breeders that I know of that sell for fish tanks.


Sent from in front of my 100

 

[baron1282]

I worked at both part time....and personally I wouldn't shop at neither when it comes to buying fish there staff generally aren't knowledgable on what they carry. And when I worked there I was told to sell whatever the customer wanted and not to ask questions.....I got fired from PetSmart for refusing to sell a gentlemen oscars for a community tank my manager said it wasn't my place to ask questions.....so for that reason I shop at neither now.





I buy all my fish from a lfs and liveaquaria.

I find that HARD to believe you got fired from petsmart for not selling an animal that you knew would not go to a good home. If you did, you should have taken up the chain because I know for a FACT that it's company policy that you can refuse any sale if you think the animal will not go to a good home. How you said it to the customer is probably what got you fired.


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[1998golfer]

For me, I have a petsmart and a petco so close that you can see one from the front door of the other. Our petco has a HUGE selection of fish compared to petsmart, but petsmart has better prices. It also seems that petco employees have a better knowledge of fish, and they have a 30 day return policy versus 14 day for petsmart.

 

[Gibberwatt]

Does anyone know of a good store in the durham, North Carolina area? Because my favorite Mom&Pop store closed. And now I'm stuck with Petsmart. Boo.

 

[guppygourami]

I have a petsmart and a petvalu but I'm not sure about PetCo or mom and pop...i think that's only in the states


Namirah?Canadian, Eh??

 

[schoeplein]

I live near several of each, and they all have very different fish situations. And that variance changes individually month-over-month due to employee turn-over rate. The Smart nearest me is unique in that it, on a regular basis, holds several breed of fish I've not found at any other Smart or Co. Like serbai corys, or blue rams.

The nearest Co has an exceptionally good plant selection, with a large, leveled waterfall hex tank holding plants of various sizes. I'm also a huuuge fan of the clearance shelf. 50-75% off. Huge containers of fish food for $2? Yes, please!

My closest LFS had a recent ownership change, and it was in terrible disarray and disrepair the last time I visited. Most of their tanks were empty, and several of the fish from their large bass tank were "missing". The (current) problem I have with most other LFS is that they tend to focus and have knowledge mostly on salt water fish and corals. Fortunately, the owner of one of the LFS has a virtually infinite knowledge of all types of aquariums and it's always a disappointment when I go to visit and he's not working. That particular store has nearly 100 tanks, including tanks holding nautilus, discus, large predatory fish, an amazing full reef tank, and two incredibly well planted tanks. Stuff you will never, ever find at Smart or Co.

As far as ordering supplies, it's whoever is cheapest. But if I were to order fish again, for say, another tank, I couldn't suggest www.aquariumfish.net more highly. I would give them an 11 out of 10. The cost of shipping is definitely worth it. Their specimens were all the best I've purchased.

 

[shirleyi]

Has any one ever gotten fish from Drs Foster & Smith online aquarium ? I have a few friends that have had said good revues about there fish

 

[TigerFusion]

My local Co has a Great Fish Section as does my local Smart, however, they both have their share of "Floaters & Sinkers", or even "filter decorations"

Sorry about that... Don't their employees See The Dead Fish? Please Take Them Out!!! I don't want to buy a fish from that tank!

I really like Drs Foster and Smith for Supplies!! Free Shipping for $49 purchase is good, but it is 5-9 days. However, their Prices on a Lot of supplies is HALF or Better than Smart or Co.

Have not purchased fish from there.

 

[katiekelsey]

When you see dirty tanks or sick / dead fish you should contact their main office. I did because a chain store near my house had filthy tanks. They have now cleaned up their tanks.

 

[TigerFusion]

When you see dirty tanks or sick / dead fish you should contact their main office. I did because a chain store near my house had filthy tanks. They have now cleaned up their tanks.

Thank You, that is a Great Idea!

 

[Un5tab1e]

Closest of either to me is over an hour away. Made the drive over the weekend only to find smart had gotten rid of all sw fish and most of the supplies.

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[dalto]

Closest of either to me is over an hour away. Made the drive over the weekend only to find smart had gotten rid of all sw fish and most of the supplies.

None of the petsmart's around me carry any Marine fish. Some of the petco's do though.

 

[Sharkbait22]

My local pet co is awful, they're fish section is poorly maintained, full of dead fish, and has very few tanks. It is also worked by people who don't let you finish a sentence before they feed you wrong information. My pet smart has tanks that seem to be greatly maintained, I've never seen a dead fish in their tanks. They're staff had never told me something false and they have many many tanks full of fish. The only thing I like better about pet co is that although they have fewer tanks they stock them with more exotic fish. Pet smart has a lot of very common fish.