# Petco to stop selling saltwater...



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148973&

Well, how about that!


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## Good Wolf (Mar 5, 2008)

The one by my work stopped selling aggresive fish also.

We stopped by the one by my work the other day and half the tanks were closed due to ich. At least they closed them though. We went by the Dallas N. Aquarium today and they were selling Panda Cories and Gouramis that were covered in ich.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

It is true to some extent... however don't bet on anything... It's part of their "right sizing" project, which means they are down sizing the animals they have... doesn't mean all stores are getting rid of saltwater, it means the ones that don't sell enough saltwater do.

They also are severely limiting the kinds of fish they can get apparently... which means fewer fish species to choose from... there are pros and cons to this... 
Pros
They aren't killing as many fish
Cons
people are going to get bored with their selection.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Another pro, maybe they'll stop stocking tinfoil barbs and pacus...


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## karazy (Nov 2, 2007)

Another pro:theres less fish to give crappy advice about


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Who shops at petco anymore? xD


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## Good Wolf (Mar 5, 2008)

We have yet to buy any fish there, but we did pick up some new lighting there for a pretty good price.

I've heard bad things about the chain stores but we have bought most of our fish from Pet Smart and have only had one die. You really can't beat their two week warranty. 

The Dallas N. Aquarium that I mentioned earlier is the 'high end' store around here and they were selling fish with ich. They also have a two day warranty which to me is a deal breaker. I did pick up some Cory from there tonight but that was only because I had observed the tank multiple times over the past few weeks and they are the only ones that stock that species of Cory.


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

We happen to have a fish expert at our petco and that is fishfirst until he moves onto bigger and better things.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

If only we could all be so lucky...ha. I tried, guys, I tried, but I'm not patient enough to keep working at petco.


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## mrmoby (Jan 18, 2005)

They opened a pet Smart here a few months back, and they had no saltwater section, which I found surprising. I must say though, that there freshwater displays looked so much healthier than Petco.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Yeah, I've never seen a petsmart with saltwater.


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## FishHead (Nov 16, 2006)

trashion said:


> Another pro, maybe they'll stop stocking tinfoil barbs and pacus...


true...I was in petsmart 2 days ago getting fish food and I seen a mother and two kids trying to to buy 4 tinfoils for a 20 gal tank. To my surprise the lady didn't sell them to her. i almost peed myself.


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## FishHead (Nov 16, 2006)

trashion said:


> Yeah, I've never seen a petsmart with saltwater.


same here. the ones in delaware are all freshwater only. the petco's have saltwater though


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## Good Wolf (Mar 5, 2008)

I went to the Petsmart next to my work the other day to look for lighting. The girl didn't know what a ballast was. 

There was a couple in there looking to replace two fish that had died in their tank. They asked what fish don't get big, and she pointed out Neon Tetras and Rasoboras. 

I couldn't stand by and watch them buy just two of schooling fish so I explained to them that they will get stressed out. That didn't seem to matter to them so I went on to tell them that they could get ich and spread it to the entire tank which could be fatale. 

They left the store with a couple Danios. 



The Petsmart next to our house has one guy that seems to know his stuff. He only works there on the weekends so I try to avoid going there on week days. Although he does know his stuff he did tell me that Ludwigia is a low light plant so it just goes to show that you really can't take one person's word for anything when it comes to aquaria. You have to do your own research and then ask ten people the same question and see what the most common answer is.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I spoke with my Petsmart about the issue regarding my Jack Dempsey's. Apparently they put them in with the firemouth's on purpose, and just didn't put a sign up that says there are 2 different kinds of fish in there. The JD's they put in with the firemouth's were "too small" for the other tank with JD's in it.... there was only a 1 inch difference in them and one of my JD's was larger than the other ones. 

I have stared at the tank long enough that now I am able to see the differences. I can also see why I would not have picked up on it without a cue to tell me there are 2 different kinds of fish in there. The JD's still have the red streak under the gills. And some of the firemouth's do not have it. The difference in their mouths is the biggest cue I have found so far. The JD's mouth is rounder. If I had known that there were 2 different kinds of fish in there I could have at least asked or known to look more closely. But lesson learned... always look more closely. 

Our Petsmart does not sell saltwater, they state that it is too difficult to maintain good parameters to keep the fish stable on a system like theirs. I have no idea if that is even their real reason, only that it is what was told to me by the associate I spoke with a year ago. 

Our Petco does sell Saltwater though I have not looked at them recently. Whenever I do look at their saltwater they never appear in very good shape. And they really really suck at pulling out dead fish. I cannot tell you how many dead fish missing eyes I have seen floating around in the tank. Deaths are one thing, leaving them in there long enough to be cannibalized with a complete loss of color is just outright idiotic. I have watched their associates sell fish riddled with Ich telling customers that this is "perfectly normal" and that their fish will "be just fine." Therefore I tend to not buy fish from them.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

trashion said:


> If only we could all be so lucky...ha. I tried, guys, I tried, but I'm not patient enough to keep working at petco.


Hahah neither was I... they are like talking to a brick wall...


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Oh god, I know. I'd tell them something, and they'd agree, then insist on something the complete opposite. I was like, wait, WHAT.


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## it4lian (Mar 4, 2008)

Yeh Dallas North is a pretty high end store, kinda high prices, but I don't mind. Most of the fish they have are healthly. Probaly the ones with ich were picked up from a smaller less known lfs here. Thats how they get some fish that they just need some of, but not enough to buy wholesale. A great fish shop imo is Just for Pets which really should be called Just for Fish, And Some Reptiles. All they have there is fish and like one small isle of reptile stuff nothing else lol. Dallas N. sometimes buys fish they need from them. Have a good variety of stuff and a knowledgeable staff. They actually very rarely sell large fish like oscars and pacu because of how many people put them in undersized tanks, so I think its a great store. Don't know much about diseases though so I can't tell if the fish have ich, but they look really healthy to me. Also the prices are pretty cheap its in Spring Creek Shopping center if your lookin for an alternative to Dallas N, although they hardly sell any fish equipment at all, so dallas N. is good for that stuff. If you lookin for some interesting fish though check the JustForPets out. Also gald to know another person from around texas is here lol. I know some people from wylie its a pretty cool area.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I dont see the business logic in it. You stop selling the fish then you lose the sales of the equipment to go with it. The link also said they will stop selling other small animals also. That in time slows other sales like litter and food for them as they die off. If you want to have a store you need to support the industry in whole. If anything I could see them cutting back because of the economy. They may pick back up when things turn back around. People dont buy parrots, and other expensive things when things are tight. I have even seen articles on people leaving their dogs and cats because they lost their house and cant find a rental willing to let them take them with. So in some cases the pets get left in the empty house left to die without food or water.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

That's horrible...


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Yes that's terrible, but otherwise this is great news.
Petco needs to GO. A self inflicted deathspiral is a fitting end for it.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

very fitting  personally I think they are already in the "death spiral" They are opening too many stores, reducing the animals they carry, and reducing the people on the floor (which is already low)

too many stores + unorganization + bad customer service = going out of business


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

I work in the consumer products business and deal with a lot of major retail chains (none in the pet business). Most retail chains have very high standards for store-to-store consistency. PetSmart and Petco very obviously don't. In the area where I live, we have 4 PetSmart stores that I know of and each one is vastly different in terms of look, color, layout, etc. The fish departments in each are also different. One has a very high-end MaRS (Marineland Retail Systems) display, one has a DIY display like you would see in an old mom-and-pop LFS. Some sell a wide variety, one basically stocks goldfish and guppies. I spoke to one of their store managers (I knew him from a supermarket chain that I used to call on) and he said that they are given a lot of latitude in terms of what they carry in livestock.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Sorry to double-post but I need to express my agreement with TOS. Both of the chains need to get out of the live fish business. They stink at it. I was in Petco buying food (it's cheap, what can I say) and I heard the fish seller telling a customer that they could put a dozen pearl gouramis in a 40 gallon tank that already had a dozen goldfish in it. I interrupted her and discovered that the customer didn't even have a heater in their tank. The seller honestly didn't know that the tropical fish needed heated water. I explained that the word "tropical" described the climate where the fish come from and she was shocked.


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## Good Wolf (Mar 5, 2008)

it4lian said:


> Yeh Dallas North is a pretty high end store, kinda high prices, but I don't mind. Most of the fish they have are healthly. Probaly the ones with ich were picked up from a smaller less known lfs here. Thats how they get some fish that they just need some of, but not enough to buy wholesale. A great fish shop imo is Just for Pets which really should be called Just for Fish, And Some Reptiles. All they have there is fish and like one small isle of reptile stuff nothing else lol. Dallas N. sometimes buys fish they need from them. Have a good variety of stuff and a knowledgeable staff. They actually very rarely sell large fish like oscars and pacu because of how many people put them in undersized tanks, so I think its a great store. Don't know much about diseases though so I can't tell if the fish have ich, but they look really healthy to me. Also the prices are pretty cheap its in Spring Creek Shopping center if your lookin for an alternative to Dallas N, although they hardly sell any fish equipment at all, so dallas N. is good for that stuff. If you lookin for some interesting fish though check the JustForPets out. Also gald to know another person from around texas is here lol. I know some people from wylie its a pretty cool area.


I'll check them out for sure. I've been looking for an honest LFS with good stock.


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