Petsmart vs petco

[nshepler]

The petco near me has about 3 species of fresh and the rest saltwater. So I think that just varies on location.


May the force be with you.

 

[schoeplein]

Your petco supplies salt water fish? Wow. None of the petsmart or petcos in my area do anything but fresh.

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[FallenAngel]

In my area of Texas petcos seem to be going out of business, all their fish are very poor. As far as petsmart goes, my closest is a mini one with a very limited fish selection. I normally drive an hour to a designated fish store. If I had to choose though, I would go with petsmart for sure but I think it really just depends on the store and the employees.


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[schoeplein]

Where in Texas? The ones in Austin and the surrounding areas are pretty decent!

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[FallenAngel]

I live up by Dallas. One of the petcos here literally had algae covering the tank glass when I was there.


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[Fishobsessed7]

We have great both here and even Walmart is good co has salt

 

[Sawyer_Peyton18]

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.

This would be me


?Sawyer?

 

[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.

Hey Katie,
Just wanted to let you know that the next time I went into Co, there was a set of 6 tanks (that circulate the same water) that had Ich! I walked around and found about 5 dead fish in other tanks (not connected to the Ich infected tanks). The lady said she can't see the ones on the bottom in the top tanks......

I was Pissed!!! I got home and sent a Long email to the company. I went back a couple days later and I found 5-6 MORE dead fish! A lady asked if she could help me find anything... I said "No, But I am Concerned about the number of Dead Fish I am finding in your tanks!" She and one other employee jumped into action and removed the dead ones that I pointed out... That is probably all they did..

I went back again and still have found Dead Fish!!! I am DONE with P Co!!!

I did find a larger P Smart near me that is AMAZING!! I walked in and All of the fish are healthy!! There was one employee training another in how to clean algae and maintaining the tanks.. Every time I go in this store, I am impressed with their fish and the employees taking care of them. Only Freshwater, but that is what I have.

 

[sinibotia]

It's interesting that, where I am, the nearest LFS is 30 minutes away and in the middle of nowhere. Now, that LFS is AMAZING and it's where I tend to get my fish. However, the petco AND petsmart much nearer to me are phenomenal! Hell, the petco near me has Discus! DISCUS! AT PETCO! Friendly and very knowledgeable staff, the one guy at Petco who wasn't super knowledgeable was at least very upfront about that (rather than BSing) , great selection, very few dead fish.... I was shocked because where I grew up all the petcos and all the petsmarts were AWFUL.

 

[dalto]

I went into a chain store near me last week. It wasn't a smart or a co or even a mart. It was a smaller chain. I hadn't been in there in a long time but I went in for a sale. I decided I would take a quick tour through the fish section since I was there anyway.

Wow, there quite a few dead fish. Some fish with obvious ick. But the most disturbingly amusing thing I came across was a dead adf with what appeared to be the caudal fin of a tetra sticking out of his mouth.

 

[nshepler]

It's interesting that, where I am, the nearest LFS is 30 minutes away and in the middle of nowhere. Now, that LFS is AMAZING and it's where I tend to get my fish. However, the petco AND petsmart much nearer to me are phenomenal! Hell, the petco near me has Discus! DISCUS! AT PETCO! Friendly and very knowledgeable staff, the one guy at Petco who wasn't super knowledgeable was at least very upfront about that (rather than BSing) , great selection, very few dead fish.... I was shocked because where I grew up all the petcos and all the petsmarts were AWFUL.

There are discus at a petco a few towns over from mine. There are also redtail cats and shovelnoses and I'm sure much more I didn't see. From what I understand the stock at a petco all depends on how much a certain store sales. The more fish they sell the better stock that becomes available.


May the force be with you.

 

[Rivers2k]

They are both the same by me. I after forget which is which. They both have great prices on supplies but fish often look sickly. One of them I think it is petsmart (I have 5 petsmarts and petcos between work and home) just revamped there fish section and they have less stock but the fish look healthier.

 

[1972ford]

when i buy a new house next year im gonna get me something dual zoned residentual/commercial so i can sell fish lol. if all goes well i may open a storefront if not ill still have a bunch of awesome aquariums and a home.

OKC needs a freshwater LSF i hope i can provide one in the next few years even if its a hole in the wall. At least my fish will be taken care of as tgey are in my home.

 

[Andy Sager]

I guess it really depends on the store. I have a local 'smart in my town but I wouldn't buy a fish in it if you paid me to. Stock is poor as well for merchandise ( actually, poor is wrong, extremely limited is a better word). My closest 'Co is about 50 miles away so I don't visit there often but at least they carry more stock of everything and the sales help is a bit more knowledgeable.
But, when given the choice, I will shop a "Mom & Pop" shop over any box chain.
That's my opinion

 

[Angela1108]

I find with the chains it really really varies. I have 3! Really awesome petsmarts near me. I also have 2 petcos nearby. One of the petcos I will never buy fish from. I've seen many dead/near death/sick fish there



It really depends on the staff.

There is a lfs here that has gone wicked down hill. I prefer the good petsmarts over them


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[Tacit Blues]

I have one of each in my area, along with one large-ish local store and one small local store. Been thinking about setting up a new tank so I've been in and out of all of them in the past week. The Petsmart had the best selection of tanks, the Petco selection was a bit "meh" but the guy manning the fish area was nice and helpful, the large-ish local store had the best looking selection in fish, and the small store had the best help when it came to answering questions. I'm glad they all seem to be avoiding the horror stories!