Petco. Annoyed. Ugh!

[emilygupps]

Petco is one of three lfs close to me, and they happen to have the best selection of tropical fish. I fell in love with these long fin blue danios only to see that a Molly in the same tank was covered in ich. The lady who worked there told me all the tanks share a filtration system...therefore. No more petco fish for me. And I can't buy here because I don't have 15 posts.

 

[CoeurSauvage]

Yeah, that's too bad! I believe Petsmart does the same thing! A shame because they do have some beautiful fish once in a while!

 

[severum mama]

Welcome to AA!

Most chain stores do have shared filtration systems. It really isn't cost effective for them to do it any other way. Ich is often present in the gills and doesn't appear on the rest of the body until a fish is stressed enough and the immune system weakens (shipping, transporting, exposure to more aggressive fish, etc. all cause stress). Thus, buying an asymptomatic fish from a tank with an individual filter is far from a sure bet. The best way to prevent an outbreak of ich (and other diseases) is to quarantine new arrivals if you have the means.

You have quite a few more than 15 posts, but you also need to be a member for 15 days before posting in the classifieds.

 

[emilygupps]

Thanks for the advice! And I did not know about ick being in the gills! That's good to know. How long would you say to qt the new fish before they're probably safe?

has it really been less than 15 days? I feel like I've been here for weeks

Our back up tank isn't ready yet. So right now, no qt. we ended up buying lots of plants today instead. Including a moss ball to go into the temporary home of my lone fry danio fry.

 

[RackinRocky]

You're taking a risk by not qt. I learned the hard way--ended up with columnaris and lost over half my fish. I can't put anything in my 55 now, as that is the "contaminated" tank. I have to use either the 10 or 20. I will not buy from Petco or Petsmart anymore, under any circumstances. I've gotten diseases and/or ich from both places. Just too big of a risk. And I've qt for 3 weeks in a few cases, and they STILL got sick! I will only buy at a fish store that I trust, or online from a seller with excellent feedback. Just is NOT worth it to me!

 

[emilygupps]

I totally understand and I see what you mean. Are any of the illnesses carried by plants? Because I didn't buy any fish today but I did get some plants. For the time being they're in a big bucket with a jar of lettuce to try to catch some snails just in case.

I am in the market for 2 more fish and then after that I think I might be done stocking. That would put me at 7 fish, 3 shrimp, and 3 snails. I'd rather be under stock than over incase I end up with some surviving fry or shrimpettes.

 

[Delapool]

I totally understand and I see what you mean. Are any of the illnesses carried by plants? Because I didn't buy any fish today but I did get some plants. For the time being they're in a big bucket with a jar of lettuce to try to catch some snails just in case.

I am in the market for 2 more fish and then after that I think I might be done stocking. That would put me at 7 fish, 3 shrimp, and 3 snails. I'd rather be under stock than over incase I end up with some surviving fry or shrimpettes.

I don't think carried by plants but I've had ich that I swear must of come in with the water with the plants.

 

[treemanone2003]

I totally understand and I see what you mean. Are any of the illnesses carried by plants? Because I didn't buy any fish today but I did get some plants. For the time being they're in a big bucket with a jar of lettuce to try to catch some snails just in case.

I am in the market for 2 more fish and then after that I think I might be done stocking. That would put me at 7 fish, 3 shrimp, and 3 snails. I'd rather be under stock than over incase I end up with some surviving fry or shrimpettes.

Yes ich can be carried by plants. The tomites can fall of the host into small crevices, along with filter media, substrate, etc and be transported very easily. That's one reason I'd never ask a chain store (or any other) for media to seed a new tank. IMO, it's much less stressful and more rewarding to do it all by yourself.