You Know As Many Horror Stories From Walmart I've Heard...

[Rayne]

I know how people here feel about walmat. I don't want this to turn into a crap on Rayne post for saying something somewhat positive about walmart.

first off i've had fish for a long time, both cold and tropical and starting out i got my fish from walmart because of the cheap prices. as i got older and noticed more things about their tanks (dead fish, disease, etc) i tried other lfs in my area. i have had gold fish, fancy goldfish, bm, sharks (several types) gourmias (sp?) barbs, platies, guppies, and the list goes on. i have a few tanks and these fish were spread out over several years.

anyway, recent deaths from a breakout of what i suspect was columanaris (sp?) wiped out my platie tank with 6 adult platies and yesterdays birthed 20 fry (the fry are still alive but they are being treated in the tank with meds now).

these fish were recently purchsed from a really good store in my area. Where as my huge tank (not sure of exact size) has JD's and a rainbow shark all from walmart and i've had them for years. I know these are differnet fish than platies but i have also had platis from there and they lived for a least a year i used them to breed feeders for my bigger tank.

my BM recently died after 7-8 years
and i have 5 common goldfish that i bought for 10cents each and they were less than 1/4 inch and now they are housed in a 100 gal pond in my uncles backyard and they are each over a foot long.

anyway that's my rant for a while

???any comments

 

[Gankutsuou]

I got an elephant nose and saved it from petco.

And elephant nose. These things are sensitive already... most home owners cant keep em...

Mine's still kicking and good. 8 inches. Check the photo section to see it.

and My candy stripe/flash is doing great. from petco also.

Petco is the WORST Lfs every imo. Worse than walmart. worse than anything. they let stuff die and leave it in and don't even have fish persons that care. They don't deserve freshwater, let alone marine.

But hey, I got a probably mislabled flash pleco off em, and an elephant nose, both of which are doing grrreat.

 

[Rayne]

i don't really know much about petco there aren't any in my area. but from what i've heard they too are bad.

 

[F.O.H]

i have bought fish from shops like that and to be honest i dont have a problem with it they all seem okay to me the only thing that catches my attention is how small they are, as i use to work in a well known fish shop so i seem to know the average size of the fish.

 

[starrynightxxi]

the quality and health of fish at walmarts and chain pet shops depends largely on the managers and employees, which are often lacking in any sort of knowledge of or empathy for the animals they are selling, but they are sometimes good.

but as they say, one rotten apple spoils the lot.

 

[Rayne]

don't get me wrong my walmart sucks too. they alsways have dead fish remains in the tanks and most of them you can;t see in through the glass because of slime on it.

i really shouldn't buy from them but as i said their fish just won't die easily.

 

[MHunt]

I guess for the fish to have survived the conditions they are sometimes kept in, they would have to be hardy!

That said, a healthy spell in quarantine may be useful to eliminate anything nasty they may be bringing with them!

 

[Rayne]

i have a small 2 gal just for that purpose usually if i see dead fish in the tank i definatly treat with meds as a procaution for at least a week sometimes 2. i know a 2 gal isn't very goo but its all i have room for and it's better than nothing. i also do water changes more frequently to accomadate for the small tank.