Dead Fish In Store Tank......

[Ifti]

The closest pet store to me have a few fish tanks in one corner, which house Betta's, Gourami, Tetra's, Silversharks, and a few other small fish.
In one of the tanks I saw part of a dead fish partially hidden behind some of the plastic plants. One of the other fish was picking at it.

This has put me off of this store altogether - should it?

 

[cocomonkey24k]

I was in my local pets at home store (metrocentre newcastle) and almost every tank had dead fish in needless to say i walked straight back out after telling the people in charge of the fish section how badly they were doing there job.

i wont buy any fish from any shop/store with dead fish in any of there tanks

 

[Ronananator]

not really all the pet shops iv been to have dead fish in it sometimes things happen doesnt really mean it was shops fault all though i would quarintine the fish for 2 weeks befor putting in main tank if u was buying from them

 

[Tizer]

it shouldnt really put you off, fish can die quickly and as soon as they do they are free game to all the other fish in the tank.

Running a business can be hard work, if you only just managed to spot the dead one, then the people who run the store probably missed it on their morning round.

I've seen plenty of dead fish in tanks in MA stores and i rate them as one of the better ones to use. Problem is, the staff are often buy doing other things, like building display tanks, sorting plants out, offering customers advice.

You cant keep your eyes on every fish tank, every minute of the day. Its very different to having a tank at home which gets LOTS of attention.

If it happens to occur a lot, then yes, sometimes i get put off, its not hard to have a mooch around the store tanks 3 times a day just to check, but i do think the odd tank here and there is forgivable.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

You need to make an informed judgement by taking into account the knowledge of the staff, the general health of the fish and the general state of the store and tanks.

The shops are there to make money so some of the conditions are not going to be ideal compared to home tanks such as a load of fish in one tank. Hopefully their filter system can cope and the tank should only be a short stay for the fish before they are sold.
In some shops there are gaps in between tanks where jumping fish fall and there is no hope for them.
It maybe that the fish you saw was only dead for a short time and the staff had not noticed it.

I tell the store if i see a dead fish.
I told one of the staff at MA in Shirley and he promptly removed it.

Sometimes, small fish jump into tanks with more predatory fish. I saw one that has a single huge bite taken out of it but appeared only to have died momemnts before. Other fish tend to start nibbling pretty quickly!
If the store have many decomposing fish then i would give it a miss.

 

[Randomitity]

Place I buy my fish as soon as they see a dead fish if they can get to it before a costumer asks for help they take it out of the tank but even then most of their fish are really stressed which leads to said problems and I got one with said problem and returned it after it died and they happily gave me a new fish so don't be to skeptical but also be a little skeptical at all times

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i mean, they could at least clean the dead fish out. fake healthiness is better than none.

 

[Ifti]

It was a general pet store, with a few fish tanks in one corner - so how much they know about fish is questionable I guess. I havent really spoken to them yet so Im not quite sure.
Nevertheless, good comments and fair points raised.
Will pop in now and again and see if I spot any more - saying that I have been there a few times and this is the only time Ive spot anything out of the ordinary.....

 

[moochy13]

fish can be ill before they even get to the store. bare in mind how far some of these fish travel. i was reading only today that the vast majority of buenos aires tetra come from florida where they are farmed. id like to think my BA tetra are hardnuts and survived the cross atlantic flight.

 

[Aqua Tom]

It was a general pet store, with a few fish tanks in one corner - so how much they know about fish is questionable I guess. I havent really spoken to them yet so Im not quite sure.

Pets @ Home?

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

I find with my limited pet stores in my area i have to take a reasonable judgment.. are the rest of the fish in the tank swimming happily? are they gasping for air? do they have any signs of illness or infection? could a ill fish have a disease that could spread to the others?
Plus i like to quarantine my fish now

All the fish that come into my area are generally stressed because they spend along time into transit

so take a look but always be cautious (and maybe you can save a few fish in the process)

 

[Mikaila31]

Shops are there to make money. Dead fish can be the shops fault, or entirely not their fault at all. Most of our fish come from over seas and spend quite a bit of time moving around from farm to wholesaler to shop before you finally see them. Fish are stressed by this its obvious being transported is not something they enjoy. This makes them susceptible to disease. Not all shops quarantine. I use some good shops that do not quarantine. A shop for example that move fish fast and has over 100 retail tanks I simple don't expect to quarantine. So when you see a dead fish it may of only arrived a day before. Also shop tanks are VERY stressful. Very few fish I have seen in a retail tanks looks "fantastic" they all look stressed or at the very least unconfident of their surroundings. This is normal, they probably have not been their long and retail tanks of course hold fish for sale. People buy these fish. Nets get shoved in these tanks multiple times a day, fish get chased around. Its a high stress environment. Lots of fish jump from shop tanks, I've been walking down an isle before when a cichlid came flying out of now where then was flopping on the floor.

Fish are also sold by quality. Walmart generally has cheap fish because they are low quality. Farms grade their fish and sell them this way. The most colorful and healthiest dwarf gouramis are bought by those willing to pay more. So walmart often has female gouramis and fish that are sick, and deformed. Sometimes stores can also just use a bad source for fish. I know my LPS one does. The disease I see in their tanks are always the same, and always the species of fish. There is no central filtration system yet plecos in all tanks look severely emaciated and/or have SBD. Things like this you can eventually conclude are not entirely the shops fault if they fish they are buying are cheap and thus already have problems before they reach the store.

As far as removing dead fish from tanks. IMO it depends on the shop. Petsmart and walmart yes there are only about 20-40 tanks in all. Its not that hard. One or two dead fish is nothing to be terribly concerned about. Lots though raises questions. However the shops I use that have walls and walls of tanks totaling 8,000 gallons. That simple task is really really not so simple anymore lol! Especially for a proper shop. Most tanks are on individual filters. None the less you can't go around sticking the same net into every fish tank without sanitizing it regularly.