Petco Special Orders

[Sussy]

I recently went to my local Petco and asked if they could special order fish and they said yes. Since I am the kind of person who is quite impatient, what is the average time that they take to arrive at the store? Also if anyone is wondering, the fish I am ordering is a pea puffer.

 

[jaylach]

I would not advise buying fish from Petco as they are often not all that healthy. I would try to find a private breeder or a reputable outfit like Dan's Fish which will ship. Shipping is expensive but you will likely get better fish.

Fish For Sale | Dan's Fish

A sortable list of fish for sale at Dan's Fish.

dansfish.com

Unfortunately Dan's Fish is out of stock on pea puffers.

Just checked The Wet Spot, another reputable dealer, and they are also out of stock.

 

[Sussy]

I would not advise buying fish from Petco as they are often not all that healthy. I would try to find a private breeder or a reputable outfit like Dan's Fish which will ship. Shipping is expensive but you will likely get better fish.

Fish For Sale | Dan's Fish

A sortable list of fish for sale at Dan's Fish.

dansfish.com

Unfortunately Dan's Fish is out of stock on pea puffers.

Just checked The Wet Spot, another reputable dealer, and they are also out of stock.

Thanks! But i am unable to buy anything expensive, so Petco or Petsmart are my only options. (Dont have any local stores either im pretty sure) but my local Petsmart takes very good care of their fish.

 

[Fishmanic]

Thanks! But i am unable to buy anything expensive.

it's more expensive and frustrating if your fish come from the fish store in a not healthy state...I travel a half hour away to get healthy fish from an independent fish store even though Petsmart and petco are within a couple of miles from my home

 

[Sussy]

it's more expensive and frustrating if your fish come from the fish store in a not healthy state...I travel a half hour away to get healthy fish from an independent fish store even though Petsmart and petco are within a couple of miles from my home

Oh. You are right about that first part. I could try and save up my money for a high quality fish.

 

[jaylach]

Oh. You are right about that first part. I could try and save up my money for a high quality fish.

Just as a warning about such chains like Petco and Pet Smart my initial tank setup was all artificial plants with 6 corys, 6 black skirt tetras and a stardust pleco. I decided to gradually switch over to live plants and started buying from a local Petco. One of the plants was contaminated and killed every one of my fish within a day and a half. Petco offered to replace the fish but I ended up passing as I want to get nothing alive from them.

Granted that I have an advantage in living next door to Dan's Fish's warehouse so didn't have to pay shipping on my fish other than my rope fish which Dan's Fish didn't have.

Reps from both Dan's Fish and Wetplants.com, where I got all my current live plants, told me that my Petco story was way too common when dealing with large chain stores. One of the problems with the big chain stores is that the rep usually has little actual knowledge about what they are selling and just want the sale. Actually I royally ticked off a Petco sales person a while back. I over heard the sales person telling a customer that a common pleco they liked would be perfect for their 20 gallon tank. These fish can reach 24 inches in size. I stepped in and corrected the info and the sales person was not at all happy. These stores get away with this garbage due to too many people thinking the sales person must know their stuff and the issues that develop must be their fault so they either just give up or keep buying more fish that are also likely to have problems. I'm not saying that ALL fish bought from such stores are going to die or have issues but the chances are much higher.

Shoot, even my cockatiel came from a private source rather than a chain store.

 

[Sussy]

Just as a warning about such chains like Petco and Pet Smart my initial tank setup was all artificial plants with 6 corys, 6 black skirt tetras and a stardust pleco. I decided to gradually switch over to live plants and started buying from a local Petco. One of the plants was contaminated and killed every one of my fish within a day and a half. Petco offered to replace the fish but I ended up passing as I want to get nothing alive from them.

Granted that I have an advantage in living next door to Dan's Fish's warehouse so didn't have to pay shipping on my fish other than my rope fish which Dan's Fish didn't have.

Reps from both Dan's Fish and Wetplants.com, where I got all my current live plants, told me that my Petco story was way too common when dealing with large chain stores. One of the problems with the big chain stores is that the rep usually has little actual knowledge about what they are selling and just want the sale. Actually I royally ticked off a Petco sales person a while back. I over heard the sales person telling a customer that a common pleco they liked would be perfect for their 20 gallon tank. These fish can reach 24 inches in size. I stepped in and corrected the info and the sales person was not at all happy. These stores get away with this garbage due to too many people thinking the sales person must know their stuff and the issues that develop must be their fault so they either just give up or keep buying more fish that are also likely to have problems. I'm not saying that ALL fish bought from such stores are going to die or have issues but the chances are much higher.

Shoot, even my cockatiel came from a private source rather than a chain store.

I see. Sorry to hear about your experiences. I will try and see if I can afford Dans.

 

[Fishmanic]

I definitely infected my tank with ICH when I bought some tiger barbs from them....when I returned the dead fish for exchange , they told me their tanks had ich a week ago (about the time I bought the tiger barbs)...

 

[jaylach]

I see. Sorry to hear about your experiences. I will try and see if I can afford Dans.

I checked and Dan's Fish is out of stock on your pea puffers.

 

[GaryE]

Back to the original question. Stores usually get all their new fish on one day, and when the special order arrives depends on whether the supply warehouse has the fish, and gets the order in time to include it. My local chain store gets its fish on Thursdays.
If the plague ridden warehouse doesn't have it, they have to get it from their supplier, and in a massive business like theirs, one fish won't do. They'll have to order in a 300 lot at the least, so that may take longer. But pea puffers are common, so they are likely to have it in the central warehouse.

The health issue? Yeah, it's buyer beware. You get the same fish from most mail order companies. Ones like Wet Spot or Dan's fish are outside the system, and go around the central warehouses to order direct, and that means far higher quality (and often higher prices, but you get what you pay for). I'd order from them in a heartbeat if I were in the US.
But you are in a tough spot for getting quality fish, and with a little luck, you'll be fine.

 

[Sussy]

Back to the original question. Stores usually get all their new fish on one day, and when the special order arrives depends on whether the supply warehouse has the fish, and gets the order in time to include it. My local chain store gets its fish on Thursdays.
If the plague ridden warehouse doesn't have it, they have to get it from their supplier, and in a massive business like theirs, one fish won't do. They'll have to order in a 300 lot at the least, so that may take longer. But pea puffers are common, so they are likely to have it in the central warehouse.

The health issue? Yeah, it's buyer beware. You get the same fish from most mail order companies. Ones like Wet Spot or Dan's fish are outside the system, and go around the central warehouses to order direct, and that means far higher quality (and often higher prices, but you get what you pay for). I'd order from them in a heartbeat if I were in the US.
But you are in a tough spot for getting quality fish, and with a little luck, you'll be fine.

Thank you!

 

[Back in the fold]

We have a PetsMart where I live and a Petco is being built right next door. Capitalist robber barons coming into my little burgh to skim off the cream and send it to corporate headquarters. Does anyone really think these captains of industry care about fish ?

 

[Fishmanic]

We have a PetsMart where I live and a Petco is being built right next door. Capitalist robber barons coming into my little burgh to skim off the cream and send it to corporate headquarters. Does anyone really think these captains of industry care about fish ?

all they care about are the Benjamins