jd99
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I thought the plants PetSmart and PetCo have in those tubes are not aquarium plants they are terrarium plants and will die and screw up your aquarium if kept under water.
Yea I learned my lesson a long time ago, and I only buy established potted plants.Some of them can be. You just have to look at what species it is.
I always buy the plants they have growing in a tank in pots by me,they always look good. they come with free snails though
I thought the plants PetSmart and PetCo have in those tubes are not aquarium plants they are terrarium plants and will die and screw up your aquarium if kept under water.
I was in PetSmart a few days ago for the first time in months. I noticed the wider selection of packaged plants. Most of them looked very good.
Nothing I was interested in though.
this is not surprising though. they typically stock beginner plants such as java ferns and amazon swords. although they have cardinal plants and dwarf hairgrass, i bet they don't have the slightest club of how demanding these plants really are.
All of this dwarf hairgrass in my 10 gallon is from petsmart.
My local Petsmart has always had those typical beginner type plants like Java Fern, Anubias, etc... They also have always carried Micro Swords, Alternanthera reineckii, and DHG (E. Parvula) for at least a couple of years. But they added 7 new plants in those gel packed containers. I took a picture of the tags that had "New" next to them, each of which are $7.99, and this is what they carry:
[*]Pogostemon Helferi (AKA: Downoi)
[*]Staurogyne Repens (AKA: tropica 049)
[*]Cryptocoryne Balansae
[*]Cryptocoryne Undulates Red
[*]Lebelia Cardinalis
[*]Anubias Nana (don't know why this is labeled new as they have sold them in those tubes for quite sometime).
I've also seen in another thread (on SCAPE) regarding these new Petsmart plants that they also carry Cyperus Helferi.
Needless to say, this is a good step in the right direction for the omni-present Petsmart IMO. Although I'd still rather buy from fellow hobbyist or LFS to support. This is still a welcomed addition because what if I wanted other species they don't carry or I can't get shipped due to the 100+ temps here in the AZ summers.
On another note, I stopped by Petsmart today for some fish food and I noticed that they have an Independence Day Weekend Sale going on. There's like 20 species of fish on sale for 80 cents each ! Just a heads up!
In regards to fish food, petco had new life spectrum for sale when I went in there. I agree that the box box stores seem to be making good changes.
stocking wise, yes. knowledge wise, no. i was still told last week that you need 24hrs to cycle a tank
Yeah it's hit or miss on whether you encounter a knowledgeable petsmart/petco employee. I've actually had conversations with some that actually knew their stuff and some that I schooled. I take comfort knowing that I did the research prior to heading in the store though.