petco

[tebstan]

Originally Posted by ati70cutlass

they can not treat them with any chemicals and must be done all naturally thru the guidelines that corp set.

Even LFS don't always medicate. Sometimes the best thing is a quality environment, medicine isn't necessary. And sad to say, sometimes it's obviously a lost cause. If something comes in from a shipment near death, it's considered a DOA.


There is only one petco in my area that sells saltwater anymore. The selection is very small, but the prices are fair and the tanks only have as much algae as any other store in town. I hope they upgrade their lights, they're not suitable for corals, but the store and the saltwater section is new, so hopefully they'll step up their game if it proves marketable.

I'm willing to give them a chance. The name on the wall can't care for the animals. Each location depends on the staff, so if they do a good job it will show in the quality of their livestock.

[jinks]

Even LFS don't always medicate. Sometimes the best thing is a quality environment, medicine isn't necessary.

You are right they don't always medicate, but they have the ability to medicate. At a LFS (a good one anyways) if you open a shipment and one of the fish was covered in ich you would either put it in a copper system or a quarantine tank. At petco, i assume, the staff would lose their job if they took a 10gal tank, filled it, put a filter on it, and dosed it with copper. Then put the sick fish in it. You would have to add it to the system sick or put it as DOA and toss it, still alive, to keep it out of the system.

Corporate run fish stores are unable to respond to the sudden needs that arise in this hobby. It's not about weather or not the staff knows what they are doing or not. Even if the the worker knows what is wrong and how to fix it, whats the point if rules keep him from acting on it.

The down side is trying to push this issue to anyone outside of their company could start a land slide. No bill is going to get through that says that no chain store can have SW fish. If anything came it would be hobby wide and, i would guess, not for the good. Kind of like how the problem they have with snakes in Florida is now getting pressed on the rest of the nation. No boa is going to live through an Ohio winter so why should that rule fall on me, but in the end it will.

[tebstan]

Are you sure about that, from personal experience?

I worked at PetSmart a decade ago. They didn't always have quarantine tanks, but sometimes they did - it was manager discretion. It may be the same at PetCo. An hourly or new hire may not be able to take a 10g off the shelf to set up a QT, but the manager may have the discretionary authority to do so if they feel it's worthwhile.

From a business perspective, it takes a lot of knowledge to make that decision. How much is the fish worth, how long would it take to medicate, would stock be depleted taking away from a potential sale? It's not cut and dry ethics, it is a business. I'd like to see ethics be a larger factor, but it will never replace economy.

[scionreefing]

Originally Posted by jinks

You are right they don't always medicate, but they have the ability to medicate. At a LFS (a good one anyways) if you open a shipment and one of the fish was covered in ich you would either put it in a copper system or a quarantine tank. At petco, i assume, the staff would lose their job if they took a 10gal tank, filled it, put a filter on it, and dosed it with copper. Then put the sick fish in it. You would have to add it to the system sick or put it as DOA and toss it, still alive, to keep it out of the system.

Corporate run fish stores are unable to respond to the sudden needs that arise in this hobby. It's not about weather or not the staff knows what they are doing or not. Even if the the worker knows what is wrong and how to fix it, whats the point if rules keep him from acting on it.

The down side is trying to push this issue to anyone outside of their company could start a land slide. No bill is going to get through that says that no chain store can have SW fish. If anything came it would be hobby wide and, i would guess, not for the good. Kind of like how the problem they have with snakes in Florida is now getting pressed on the rest of the nation. No boa is going to live through an Ohio winter so why should that rule fall on me, but in the end it will.

I set up a tank and didn't lose my job.

Raffle grabber

[jinks]

You took a tank off the shelf and set up a qt for a sick fish then left it there till it was ich free? The point is that most people working don't have the power to decide these things. Sw doesn't work well in a setting like this. Yor right in saying it comes down to money.

[tebstan]

Originally Posted by jinks

. Yor right in saying it comes down to money.

That's why I say, Why bother bashing Petco?

Ask the staff at your LFS what they really do with sick fish. They're a bit more hard up for income than a corporate. The places that do quarantine are doing it on ethical grounds, not economical. And while that is commendable, you just can't expect it from everyone. Our economy, our hobby, our society, is just not at that point yet.

[m12x13adass]

I wish my petco was as good as some of you guys. I have one across the street and they stink!

[foxandhound]

I feel prety bad for the fish at petco. I just keep thinking, who is buying these fish and why? They are really only reaching the first timers customers I believe...well the poorly run Petco stores...

[b0bab0ey]

The only way to buy fish from Petco is to get 'em while they're still in the bag from the wholesaler!

[matt frizz]

Petco's are privately owned and operated so it's up to the owner to decide how dedicated their saltwater section is. Some people on nano-reef have Petcos in the area that rival the (what we consider) "real" LFS we go to. I've seen some bad Petcos but the one in my area is not that bad. I've even bought 2 fish from them (since traded one to an LFS) both of which were quite healthy.

A few Petcos I've heard of even have coral dedicated tanks just like those we would see at an LFS. They have seperate rows, egg crate, Metal Halide setups, etc.. It's all about who owns the stores and what they choose to order. Any store owner can become lazy and cut corners or order fish/corals he/she is not equipped to house even temporarily. I'll honestly say though that my petco is better than ONE of the LFS in my area. It can't touch the others though.

[keywestcoralboy]

No petco in KW but I have seen one and it was very sad.. Hard to look at all those condemned little guys, lookin back at you so scared...

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by matt frizz

Petco's are privately owned and operated so it's up to the owner to decide how dedicated their saltwater section is. Some people on nano-reef have Petcos in the area that rival the (what we consider) "real" LFS we go to. I've seen some bad Petcos but the one in my area is not that bad. I've even bought 2 fish from them (since traded one to an LFS) both of which were quite healthy.

A few Petcos I've heard of even have coral dedicated tanks just like those we would see at an LFS. They have seperate rows, egg crate, Metal Halide setups, etc.. It's all about who owns the stores and what they choose to order. Any store owner can become lazy and cut corners or order fish/corals he/she is not equipped to house even temporarily. I'll honestly say though that my petco is better than ONE of the LFS in my area. It can't touch the others though.

Nope. Petco is a large cooperation, not a franchise or any other sort of individualized ownership scheme. Every store manager has a district manager to answer to, a regional manager, and on up the line to the cooperate HQ in CA. They all get their paychecks from the same place The biggest place you see differences is in the interpretation of the the cooperate policies...i.e. shades of gray or B&W. The stores and district level management willing to look at policies in shades of gray are the ones that typically have better fish departments. If the management involved does the B&W interpretation bit, than it's an uphill battle for a store to run a good fish dept...even if they actually have a good fish person.

[tebstan]

yep, they are a corporation. "Manager discretion" is a huge factor. A manager with a proven and positive history is going to get more leeway when it comes to that grey area.

There is one petco I will go to for dog supplies. They always seem to have more in stock and a wider variety. There's a different petco I'll go to browse at fish stuff - they carry saltwater and keep the tanks clean.

The saltwater store is smaller, cleaner, and better staffed. I don't buy much there because my tank is stocked. But the manager and staff at that location changed my opinion of Petco.

[gmate]

Originally Posted by tebstan

The saltwater store is smaller, cleaner, and better staffed. I don't buy much there because my tank is stocked. But the manager and staff at that location changed my opinion of Petco.

This. Stratford Connecticut.

[rpjaws74]

any petco employees out there that can shimmy in this conversation and maybe hear a different perspectice on why things are the way they are

[pakirri]

Everytime i go to a Petco, I come out sad....

[RichardinMa]

I was shocked by the Petco in Leominster, MA. It was fantastic. Proper lighting, large frag tank with healthy frags- even SPS. They even had a display tank with beautiful angels that was thriving. Some of their systems were running wavepoint bulbs, a brand they don't carry, so they must have been purchased by the staff. That place was much nicer than many lfs I have seen. Each location is different and it all boils down to the amount of effort each store want to put forth. Some places have minimum wage staff who don't care. Other ones have minimum wage people who have a work ethic and realize that their level of performance is a reflection of themselves and not a reflection of what they earn.

[Drichards36]

My local petco is very good but the guy taking care of the department is a huge saltwater fanatic. Makes a huge difference, he even got a frag tank put together with top equipment.

[James77]

Originally Posted by RichardinMa

I was shocked by the Petco in Leominster, MA. It was fantastic. Proper lighting, large frag tank with healthy frags- even SPS. They even had a display tank with beautiful angels that was thriving. Some of their systems were running wavepoint bulbs, a brand they don't carry, so they must have been purchased by the staff. That place was much nicer than many lfs I have seen. Each location is different and it all boils down to the amount of effort each store want to put forth. Some places have minimum wage staff who don't care. Other ones have minimum wage people who have a work ethic and realize that their level of performance is a reflection of themselves and not a reflection of what they earn.

If anything, Petco's like this should be frequented more often. They will notice the higher aquaria sales over the pee-poor stores and maybe adjust the others. That would be a hike for me, but I'll check it out if I am am near the area.

Alot of the people I have interacted with making at or near minimum wage have a higher work ethic and are more conscientious about their job than others I have met making many times what they make.......

[nanodiva]

Just a personal preferance from me but i boycott almost any store that sells live animals that aren't willing to supply me with a list of their suppliers. I use to work in rescue and small animal mills are making a killing using crappy conditions to house their animals selling the "pretty ones" to pet stores and using the rest as feeders, understandable to seperate them out by beauty unacceptable to house them like that. one of the few that i am willing to go to is petsmart for the fact of i know their policies regarding animal care and suppliers (at least within canada)

sick animals no matter how small and "insignificant" go to the vets upon injury or illness. they have tanks set up in the back to treat sick fish and they "quarantine" their animals prior to putting them on the floor.

a friend of mine works at one petsmart and her manager in the pet section has wrote off sick animals that employees are willing to take home and care for. Lizards/snakes who have gone anorexic get taken home to be force fed in a less stressful environment until they start eating again etc.

I have sat in a few of them pointed out sick fish and the employees almost always scoop them up and bring them to the back for treatment IMMEDIATELY as it is company policy and they can loose their job over it.

Of course i have walked in and seen dead fish in their tanks but at least i know if they catch onto illness they try and treat it. fish overstressed from shipping may die, injured during shipping ill before shipped etc.

I haven't personally dealt with petco but from the sounds of it it is a "WYSIWYG" either the people know their stuff or they don't you cant blame the company for having employees who aren't willing to expand their knowledge base.

from talking to a girl who use to work at a petco it is really the employees who determine the "fate" of their stuff, they either know what they are doing or they don't. it is up to the managers at those particular locations to educate their staff on proper care and maintenance of the animals kept.

People can blame "corporate" all they want, but are the corporate guys in the store on a daily basis caring for the animals?? NO.

Believe it or not writing to corprate and calling about the conditions in those store DOES make a HUGE difference. why? because all those stores need is peta to get a whiff of something bad going down and they have a field day!
and you can imagine how that would look on a companies rap sheet with all the animal rights movement people around now-a-days who think "peta" are some kind of demi god.

[Flame_Angel]

Originally Posted by rpjaws74

any petco employees out there that can shimmy in this conversation and maybe hear a different perspectice on why things are the way they are

Speaking as a former Petco employee, your hands are tied in a lot of things. Changing setups, how different animals are kept, etc. is all controlled by the 'store vet', and any major changes have to be run through the vet with a lot of paperwork and red tape. It all ultimately comes down to the manager of the store being on the ball and willing to go through all of that.

I only worked at Petco for 6 months, but it was a frustrating 6 months. Not being able to do anything to improve the life of the animals under your care because your manager isn't willing to help is terrible.

[Fishfirst]

I almost burned out of the hobby working for petco for two years. The idiots in corporate do not respect the people that work under them even if they have evidence in a book stocked by the store that says they are completely wrong. You aren't allowed to medicate, and in a retail setting that is setting yourself up for major failure. oodinium runs rampant and kills shipments of fish... and then you've got the people buying these fish! The company as a whole has to leave the trade... doesn't even matter if there are good stores, those employees that have good stores should have no problem moving on to other ventures like I did.

[PlatinumPercula]

Every store is different. Petco has many policies and procedures in place for how animals are taken care of. If animals and fish aren't being taken care of it isn't because education isn't provided. It's management and employees' fault. If corporate policies were followed, all animals and Petco stores would be immaculate.

[PlatinumPercula]

Every store is different. Petco has many policies and procedures in place for how animals are taken care of. (I have seen bills for feeder mice [retail less than $3] taken to the vet for an eye infection or a tumor that needed removed and the bill was near $100, Petco pays that bill because it's their responsibility). There are also many policies and procedures in place that ensure fish and corals are received and cared for properly. Employee knowledge plays a big role as well as their work ethic and managerial influence. The store I work at is an Aquatics and Reptile Magnet store. We have a frag tank, discus tank, huge availability and freedom when ordering fish, and we care a lot about the fish and animals we care for. My co-worker and I ("Aquatic Specialists") actually plan when one of us can't be there for work, so the other person can be so that everything is always looked after. We medicate when needed with Copper, Salt, Maracyn, Melafix, Pimafix, Clout, as well as other medications. I'm not sure why people think that PetCo can't medicate, all of these medicines are available as "Store Use" so I am not sure why other stores aren't staying stocked up on their medicines. Our Aquatics Department has a schedule of what sections are cleaned each day of the week. The person cleaning is required to initial and write down what they've complete which usually consists of a scrub, 25% water change/substrate vacuum, as well as changing pre filter pads and carbon pillows. This is done WEEKLY on every aquarium with the exception of our saltwater section which receives 25% water changes TWICE weekly and the discus display that gets a 10%-20% water change DAILY. If we ever have sick fish we plug off the aquarium and set it up with its own filter and heater separate from the rest of the system and medicate as necessary. If fish are too sick to be cured we have Finquil (aka fish anesthesia) on hand to humanly euthanize the fish (this is kept in the store safe and is done with supervision from management). Our fish are all acclimated slowly and inspected and observed closely, especially during arrival and during cleanings and before the store opens in the morning. My store has a less than 20% shrink rate meaning we sell over 80% of what we order in and less than 20% of the stock ends up as a fatality. Most of the time this shrink is because of something being sold as the wrong specimen or something being sold as one instead of two for example live plants or a "bad" shipment of fish is received which is the fault of the vendor. Only aquatics knowledgeable employees are allowed in the aquatics department in my store and usually only in rare cases someone who is not knowledgeable is bagging fish or helping customers (for example if it is extremely busy).

I understand that there are bad and good Petcos as well as bad and good private stores. Just because the store in your area is not properly maintained, don't discount all other stores because Aquatics Magnet Petcos actually have conference calls with suppliers such as ORA, Quality Marine, Seagrest Farms, A and M Aquatics, and Sustainable Aquatics on a regular basis to talk about the live stock, what we need to improve upon, as well as how we can serve customers better. Just because your local pet store or local Petco is not maintained well, don't assume they are all that way.

I don't think many people appreciate the amount of time, human capital, and money that is spent on animal care--especially in large corporate ran stores. Things aren't always perfect, but keep in mind there are employees who are very dedicated, care about the animals in their store, and try to provide the best customer experience they can given their resources and time.

People also seem to overlook the non-profit charities such as the Petco foundation that provides millions of dollars a year to rescues and shelters.

Just my two cents. I'm tired of hearing "typical chain store". I work my butt off every day to ensure all of my animals are getting everything they need and customers are assisted as quickly and questions are answered as best as possible. I am college educated and going into a Master's Program in marketing. I'm not a "stupid, low paid college kid just waiting to collect my paycheck". Next time you walk into a pet store or in fact ANY retail store, don't assume workers are being paid only minimum wage or are not educated Show a little respect and you'll get it in return, you might be surprised.

Just my more than two cents worth ;-)

[megatron8121]

I rarely buy fish from Petco. Only way I do it if it's a really good deal I can't pass up. There are some local fish stores that offer guarantee's on even saltwater fish so I just buy from there for the insurance.

I was at this one petco the other day though and it's saltwater fish department was far superior to any I've seen. They had a nice selection of starfish, tangs, and other stuff. Most of the ones I go to have 50 clownfish, then maybe 1-2 angels, 1 tang, some gobies. Nothing real exotic usually.