Petsmart Kills

[cheezysquirrelz]

My friend and I went to petsmart one day. They left out their binder that shows how many fish have died. My friend counted over 25 fish on the papers. They also left out a container full of dead fish. I've seen sick and dying fish (and plants) everytime I go in there!

 

[oscarbreeder]

Sounds like maybe a managment deal.
The petsmart in my town is very good.

 

[TracyRee]

can't blame it all on petsmart. think of how those fish get to the store. shipped in mass quantities in big bags from out fo state. it's hard on them.

the stores don't want to lose fish, they make money on them.

 

[wilson]

My petsmart usually is pretty good. I have only been in there a few times when there were sick fish, Ususally they done have anydead ones.

 

[grimlock3000]

I found a bag of dead fish laying on the tank maintence cart at Pet Quarters once. It had about 50 fish in it. Eeewww 8O

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

Two petsmarts that I have been to are bad.......I'd love to see a nice one........

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

Our local Petland is the worst though.one time I saw about 10 dead mollies in a tank. I told a girl who worked there and she said " Ewww......Im not getting them out.....Ill get someone else." Walmart is also really bad. Poor fishies.....

 

[oscarbreeder]

Well then come up to Columbia our petsmart is a good one.

 

[Devilishturtles]

The Petsmart around me is good as well. As is the Wal-Mart, but I'm partial, lol, because I run it . I have no complaints though. As oscarbreeder says, it's management issues with them mostly, not the store.

And about how fish get shipped...I asked the guy who delivers fish to me one day about the trip the fish makes. He says they are bagged up and boxed up usually 24 hours in advance, pure oxygen pumped into the bags. But think of the stress. The day or two after fish come, there is always a higher number of dead.

 

[Menagerie]

Not only is the bag stressful on the fish, but they are stuffed in there. We may bring one or two fish home in a baggie from the LFS, but when they are shipped, there are hundreds per bag (depending on species). I learned that after talking to a wholesaler.

BTW, I don't mind the two Petsmarts near me. I see less dead fishes there than I do at the "local" favorite LFS.

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

I understand about shipping, but I have never seen a good fish store around Atlanta except a rich ppls one that sells bettas in filtered cups!

 

[lyquidphyre]

Fish are going to die at any fish store you go to. Some stores more so than others.. but its the fish stores that don't care they are killing their fish that bother me. The Petsmart around me is pretty decent as well as the Petco. It just depends on how the fish get shipped, how the people take care of them and the environment they are in.

 

[TankGirl]

Please read about this lawsuit and take care when discussing the shortcomings of a particular retailer: http://www.petsforum.com/psw/

 

[mhaynes01]

actually the petsmart in my area has very good tank quality. and the staff
discourages from "buying the tank today and puttign fish in it", some peolpe get mad when they say that

 

[Cherry Barb]

Good info TankGirl. You know, its terrible when you can't even express an opinion without fear of getting sued. I have a legal and medical work history and you wouldn't believe the silly things people will sue you over. :?

 

[TankGirl]

I agree, CB. I work in the medical field in medical records so as a private contractor I have to sign gazillion forms promising that I will dispose of personal info in the proper manner. We live in a litigious society.

One thing I have learned on this thread is that many of the big box chain pet stores in other areas sound just like the ones around me, and some are actually doing a good job of keeping and selling fish.

 

[cginflorida]

I think it just depends on the management and employees of each individual store, some are good and some don't care as much.

Our PetsMart seems pretty decent. There was algae on a lot of tanks one time I was there, but every other time things have looked good. Our local Petco also seems good, and the Pet Supermarket where I bought a 75 gal tank and stand the other day impressed me. The two clerks who were in there knew a lot about fish, they said they do more fish business than any other store in the area. The biggest plus for me - I didn't see any bettas in little cups!

 

[shawmutt]

Sounds like maybe a managment deal.
The petsmart in my town is very good.

Same here, they even have the tanks set up with decorations and everything. I rarely see a dead fish in there. This, of course, doesn't mean they don't die, because a lot of fish die in transit or while waiting to be bought regardless of where they go. It just means the tanks are well maintained.

 

[William]

My local PetSmart is attrocious, it does not have enough lighting for its Corals/Anenomies/Live Rock, is covered in a constant state of Thick, Red Cyano and are just generally very dirty and unpleasent.


my local PetSmart, I don't care for it to much either. Overcrowded tanks [ 20+ oscars that are 4 or so inches in a tank so small they can barely move around ], dead betta's all around. We're not just talking dead betta's, We're talking about ones that have been dead so long they've decomposed into an nearly unrecognizable state.




those are only the tips of the respective icebergs.

 

[TankGirl]

I can't imagine my local PetsMarts (5 in my general area) having a SW setup of any kind, William, I imagine you have a tough time even going in there!