My Crazy Time Buying Fish At Petco.

skiltrip · Feb 3, 2010

Just wanted to share this.

I usually get my fish at a local independently owned LFS. But the other day, I wasn't into any of the stock there, and a lot of the fish looked in rough shape, so I decided to drive down the road to Petco just for kicks. (I'd bought fish from Petsmart before without any problems so I figured what the hey).

So I got my two Gold Gouramis and three swords. The lady there, she said she was new, about a month or so new. But obviously she's not a fishkeeper herself, cause she was very nervous, and kept saying she was nervous. I tried to reassure her. I didn't like the way she that she was putting the fish into the little plastic container after she netted them. she was afraid to just spread the net over the top of the net and let them fall in, instead she'd stick the net right into the plastic container and jiggle the net around till they managed to get out of the net. didn't like it at all, but i'm a patient person, and I was glad they were only $1.49 swords, though i did feel a bit for the swords. So after that she's trying to open the plastic bag to pour the fish into, and she totally was nervous about it, couldn't get the hang of it, and while pouring them in, one of the fish fell on the counter and was flopping around. now i'm like.. omg. this is insane, but again, i'm patient, she managed to get the fish into the bag. at that point i asked what their guarantee was, and she said 15 days. I figured, that's actually pretty fair, so whatever, i'll roll with it. I couldn't see myself asking her to put that one back and get another, cause she'd totally lose it and not know what to do. she thanked me for my patience, i said, no problem, and not to work too hard. nice lady, just shouldn't have been working in the fish department. do they train these people at all? actually, i'm sure some slacker kid "trained" her, but didn't really train her at all. oh well.

the good part of the story is the cashier only charged me for one sword instead of three, and i didn't even notice that until I got home. I figured it was the universe's way of balancing things out, if something happened to that sword, I didn't really pay for it anyway.

both my petsmart and petco have pretty good stock, and their tanks don't seem too badly maintained, not a LOT of dead fish, and certainly no more than my indie LFS. I just wish I didn't have to fear another experience like this when buying from there.

does anyone have any horror stories buying from petco/petsmart or something similar?

hughessomefish · Feb 3, 2010

humm doesnt sound like the petco near where i live there really good,thats cause the guy who runs the fish section were i go have 100s of tanks

Larkspur · Feb 3, 2010

Sounds like horror stories from walmart. I went in a year ago to buy a guppy and this young fellow who was very...exuberant...came over to help after waiting a while. He complained the whole time getting the fish then began telling me how he always screws up and avoids the fish because they're gross and slimy and make him get chill bumps. As he is fishing out the guppy I told him I liked, he continues on, saying he had to get a pleco once and it jumped out the net and was flopping on the floor. He went on to tell me that he freaked out and instinctively stepped on it in front of a customer. :blink:

I just said nothing...grabbed my fish...and dashed to the register.

I have also heard a walmart employee tell people that they shouldn't get a tank for their betta. They wouldn't like a pump so they're better in a bowl. Obviously they do like slightly calmer waters, but he didn't need to talk this couple out of a small tank. The betta would have appreciated more than a half gallon of water to live in.

Most of the time Petco is pretty nice. For a chain store they get some exotic things in. They also carry both salt and freshwater fish. I love to see their clownfish. Their tanks are all the moderate size. Most tanks have very little dead fish them. Maybe one or two hidden behind a plant or decoration that an employee just walking by wouldn't notice. They're not a knowledgeable bunch though. The head of the fish department is somewhat knowledgeable. Has given advice before that was indeed good advice, but I much prefer my LFS! I know the guy by name there and he's always telling me how to work around the situations I get myself into even though I half the time take my business to one of the chain stores.

ssjrrupp · Feb 3, 2010

I've had pretty good luck at Petco.

HOWEVER... I don't like that they have plants, which evidently are not aquatic, in the section with the fish. I bought three plants that come in the little tubes with the gel thinking they were aquatic because they were in the fish section, only to find out they are not. Kinda' bums me out! But then, I should have researched them better, so, stupid me!

Nonetheless, the fish at the Petco I go to seem very healthy, and the one of the young men, and the young lady who manages the department, seems to know their thing.

My advice is to have your cell with you and surf the web when browsing fish to get info. I generally don't trust what the sales folks are telling me.

Best Regards,
Ssjrr

GAB99 · Feb 3, 2010

good fish stock, (mostly) unknolegable people though,

and i do aggree with the plants thing, by any chance didi the tube have a picture of an angel fish? the only TRUE aquatics that are in those are the swords and the wisteria, every thing else is a houseplant.

and the live plant section is REALLY bad, all the plants you cant recognize because they are completedly covered in hair algae 3" tall!

i got my gold barbs from there and when i compare them to the rest of their frieds back at the store they are like this

mine ------------------------------------------------- store ---------------------------