petco
 

Is there a way we can force petco to stop selling saltwater fish n coral? It really hurt me to see those beautiful tang in the tank wit a dead fish floating. The dead fish is already decomposing cant say how long it been dead in the tank it look like a week. What worst i feel like the manager of that department is neglecting their duty for taking care of the fish or dont know a ding things about them as well. so I got fed up wit n brought one of the tang tht struggling in tht tank hoping that tang still have a chance to recover.

Well, there are some good Petco's, unfortunately most seem to be on the not-so-good side. For the most part they don't have knowledgable employees as far as husbandry, the best thing to do imo is to not support them by buying sick fish. If you buy from them they'll buy more, better to let them realize it long term as a net loss and adjust their business practices accordingly.

I really wish there was some kind of accreditation that you need to get before keeping fish and corals since there's way too many death factory LFS out there, but unfortunately that's not the case :(

I buying a fish from there will show them they can sell the fish so they will continue to sell

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Boycott petco, petsmart and don't forget to boycott one of their main suppliers ORA. That's right ORA is in bed with the devil!

Actually I do not suggest we boycott ORA since they are doing so much good in captive breeding and coral propagation, but it sure is a moral dilemma IMO.

Mine's better than the lfs. Tangs are always in at least a 55g tank and aren't adults so I feel that's easily suitable as a temporary home. They don't overcrowd and I never see dead fish either. I've seen bad ones though.

Walmart's where it's really bad. Especially with the painted fish and brackish/marine puffers that they sell as "freshwater" and say just need flakes.

My Petco hires hobbyists for the aquariums. If you're upset over how they handle the fish, the last thing you should do is give them a profit on a fish. I realize you felt bad for it, but the only way they might quit carrying as much fish is if they don't sell many.

What would you do if you saw a LFS with the same conditions? Chances are you would just not go there, right? Do the same for Petco or any store that is not up to your standards, that is how you voice your opinion. Write them a rational letter explaining the reason you are doing so. They are not stupid, if they see enough sales go down and letters saying why, they will change.

It is not some evil corporation....they seem to be a lightning rod for peoples anger in this hobby though. They are a large chaing pet store trying to offer as much as they can for pets. Were they to charge the prices needed to hire highly skilled help in the fish section, they would sell nothing. The petco nearest me sells no saltwater fish, and its FW is clean and all fish look happy enough. Another one has a both SW and FW, and there tanks are decent enough. They are alot better than the LFS near me run byt a marine biologist. The metal shelves are corroded and rotten, all SW tanks have cyano, the fish are emaciated as they stay there longer, hich light anemones pale as anything under NO flourescent lighting. So....I do the only thing I can, I do not shop there.

I'd rather captive bred fish and corals die away ( and our tanks :o ) at any LFS than ones caught from the ocean.

My local Petco lost a return pump in the morning and while waiting on the replacement they did nothing for the well being of the fish and coral. There were a lot of dead and dying fish. I suggested they take a powerhead and air line and give the tanks with live fish in them a shot of air to maybe save them. The manager gave me a blank stare and then told me they could not open a new powerhead to use on site. I no longer shop at that store.

well i kinda respect petsmart because they dont sell marine animal but do carry marine related product as light n food those kind of things. Two of my lfs took care of their investment. What funny is their tanks are lot cleaner than the shop which tell me that the only care bout keeping them alive n healthy. i just wish that super martket pet store would hire anyone with experiences and very well knowledgeable about wat they selling. I get sick and tired of coming there finding tht they misname or label the wrong fish or the tank is never fully cycles. smh My tang is gettin better coming out more in the open space getting along wit my clownfish n other as well. it will be my last fish for now for the 56g. but it worth it

Mine is horrible. Dead fish all the time. Several tangs put in 20 gallon tanks. They cant keep a nem alive more than a day. I was pretty lucky and found some private places selling saltwater fish and corals local.

I too have seen some less than ideal conditions for sw fish at my local petc0 & it does rub me the wrong way too....I think jimmy beaner & james77 said it best...don't buy the fish, or other products, they're trying to sell & maybe, probably not though, they'll start looking into better wholesalers.

your only way of battling this is to contact the store manager and district. petco has a policy of supposing to keep animals healthy and in good condition. they CAN NOT flush a fish until its dead. how do i know? my wife is a general manager of a petco. if you have any questions you can feel free to post them and address them to me and i can ask her on advice on getting better treatment. most petcos still have the marz systems and most do not get remodeled for larger setups.

and to add to it. nearly all my fish are PETCO bought. thats right. i have had only one death. however, i do QUARENTINE my fish for 30 days using cupramine and such products. i have only had ONE death. that is in 8 years

Wow. That is so pathetic. If it were me, (not ragging on you, in any sense) I would have bought the powerhead, and the tubing, handed it to the guy, and told the guy that that is the last time they would see me in their store!

oh i agree wit u but i doubt tht the guy would set it up right lol

n here the pics of the tang tht i save from petco it doin better but acting little weird

Petco employees at the store level are limited on what they can do, so half the problem is the employee and the rest of the problem is the corporate structure. For example, at one store the department manager is very knowledgeable and asked me to send a complaint to customer service because of an infestation of flat worms. 3 days later they replaced everything in the tank since they were not allowed to use flat worm exit.

They also can't use any real lighting in their reef tanks (unless it's a full-blown magnet store), so buying corals isn't worth the effort unless you know the coral was just received (ie. still in the bag). A good Petco near me buys from Quality Marine, Segrest, Sustainable Aquatics, O.R.A., Apet, and A&M Aquatics. This specific store is the only Petco I'll buy any livestock from (this Petco and their manager are respected and they are a sponsor to the local saltwater club too).

you can always complain to a manager or call corporate. There is never an excuse for dead fish decomposing in tanks and we, as customers have a voice. The more you let them become aware of your concerns, the more they will train their employees.

No, the only way to battle it is to NOT buy livestock there.

$$ talks, words mean nothing.

My petco has a hobbyist expert to take care of the fish and they look so healthy and have pretty big tanks. I think they only do freshwater here, though.

We have one here that actually has a coral table as well as a bigger saltwater fish section then most petcos. Still don't know if I'll buy from them.

The petco near me got rid of all of they're saltwater fish about a month ago.
Not sure if it's just the one local, or if they're making some changes throughout
they're stores.

Thank You Petco for sparing the lives of the fish that would have went into your system!

My petco has bubble algae in ALL of their SW tanks. I asked a knowledgable employee there about getting emerald crabs for it, and he said they can't find a large enough source for them.
Also, I saw all the clownfish swimming into the farthest corner of the tank one day, and the next day they were fine. What's up with that?

It's on a store by store basis. One of mine did the same ditching the saltwater. One has never had it, and a 3rd actually has a decent sw section, with clean tanks and healthy lookin fish.

PETCO is really random...