Poop petco

Y

youtoo54

Reefing newb
My sailfin tang I bought monday croked. Everything else in the tank has been fine and still is so far. Petco's salt water policy is "oh well" lol......... There goes 35.00 dollars.
 
What size tank was it in? Did you see it eat before buying it? And how long did they have it and did they/you quarantine it.and params?
 
Everything on my tank checks out good. (LFS did a water test to verify) At petco it was in one of there small display tanks that all of them have. (like 20 gallons or so) I have no idea how long they had it and it looked ok when I bought it.
 
Ok here is my rant. PETCO DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING. If it was up to me, the fish comunity would demand that Petco stop selling saltwater fish all together. They have staff working with fish who don't even own tanks! A Sailfin tang needs a 180 gal tank when it is fully grown. Your 55 was too small for him (not saying that is what killed him but he would have outgrown your tank fairly quickly). Petco's staff is TERRIBLE about knowing what each of their fish need. Try to find a LFS that is locally owned. Alpine Koi in Fort Collins is my personal favorite. Every single person that is selling sw fish in that store has an established reef tank. They know what they are talking about and when they don't, they do the research to make sure they aren't selling you something you can't handle. Also, as for the "water tests" that Petco does, they are using the dip strips. Dip strips can be nice for monitoring your aquarium for large swings but they are extremely inaccurate when compared to chemistry kits. My advice, get a the basic test kit (they are about $30-45) because it will keep your fish healthy and alive and test once a week. After the test kit, find a good LFS and make sure the person you are talking to has a sw fish tank. And my last piece of advice is simple. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Get on the forums and say "Hey guys this is what I have and this is what I want to get." The people on here will help out and then go to the internet and look up the fish you are getting. Make sure you aren't putting a fish into a tank that it will grow out of. Fish stores put fish in small tanks because a Naso tang, when it's small, only needs like 40 gals to swim around in but he won't be small for long! They can do that because they are going to sell him. Ok so there is my rant. I HATE Petco and refuse to ever buy anything from them again when it comes to fish.

Casey
 
LOL WHEW. The sailfin was in my 180. I tested my water and also took it to a non chain LFS just to confirm my findings. Petco fish kinda remind me of the walmart here in town back when we had fresh water fish. Walmart always had dead fish in there tank and anytime you bought something from them it didnt last long. Im not sure if they even sell any fish anymore in any of them. I was just torked about there return policy on SW fish. There is none.......
 
I think chain store like Petco and Petsmart all depend on who working there. I have one of each and the staff all have tank and most of them know a fair amount of fish keeping. Now I not saying they all are good, but they don't all suck.

I have not bought fish from a chain store in a long time, but there are some good one out there. Just have to research them.
 
I agree with Rob. Each store varies depending on staff.
I've actually been to 3 different LFS (1 is a chain, the others are not) in my area and none of them give you a refund if a fish dies. That's just around here, so I'm not sure how all LFS are. But, like they say, they have no idea how you acclimate, what your tank is like, etc. So, I guess it makes sense, thou it sucks for us customers. Be grateful you only lost $35. I lost a $65 angel. Right away.
 
Both my petcos in town have one very knowlegable fish person each, and I will buy anything like snails, hermits or rock from them, but fish and shrimp come from another lfs. Thats my personal "saltwater &marine livestock guarantee".
 
I once overhead the "Aquatics Department Manager" at Petco telling a customer that a yellow tang could be acclimated to their freshwater tank.

I also saw a person buying a dozen clownfish from Petco, with a dozen tiny goldfish bowls, a bag of colorful gravel and a bottle of tap water conditioner to use as giveaways at her kid's birthday party. No one that worked there stopped and questioned her actions.

On the other hand, in my tank, I have two pajama cardinals, a coral beauty angel, a six line wrasse and a yellow tang that I purchased from Petco... Eleven years ago.
 
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Good for you, Biff. I just cant seem to get anything not considered "hardy" to stay alive from petco, not just saltwater, freshwater, too. But it does vary with each store.
 
I try to avoid buying anything from a chain pet store that's alive (because of quality and health issues). Luckily I have a couple awesome "mom and pop" type pet stores within an hour of my house that have great selection and well trained employees.
 
I'm not saying every chain fish store is bad or that EVERY employee doesn't know what they are doing. What I am saying is that the level of knowledge required to work in the fish department is minimal at those shops. I have had much better luck with fish from Petsmart than Petco. Their livestock is better kept and from what my research has shown, more ecologically responsible. In the end, it really comes down to US THE PET OWNERS to do our own research. This means getting lots of opinions, searching many websites and looking at your own habits before we go and buy just anything from any fish store.

Casey
 
Petsmart seems really good with fresh, but they dont have salt other than a very small equipment supply. There are I think 2 other stores in Lincoln, but lots more an hour away in Omaha. Those are all really good, except Ive never been to Omaha for fish, but Ive heard good things.
 
If you do go, let me know! I own a Piper Cherokee and I live in northern Colorado so Omaha is only about a 2-3 hour flight from my FBO. If it's good, maybe my wife and I can make it a day trip!

Casey
 
:ahem:
Some of us work at the chains. Just sayin'. Not EVERYONE who works at a chain doesn't know what they're talking about.
 
You should also go in with a basic understanding of whatever it is you're trying to get into. Especially now that you can google any-freaking-thing you want. That way you know whether or not you can trust what the employee is telling you. There are people at my store who don't know crap about fish, and yet, they still sell them. And I get them all back dead during the week. Sad, but true.
 

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