# Good Ol' Petco



## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

Here is just one more example of my local Petcos' incompatance.

I went there a couple of days ago to get some medicated food for my fish (I have possible internal bacterial infection in some dwarf Gouramis). I didn't want to treat the whole tank since the other fish have no symptoms so I was going to go with the food.
I searched the whole food section and couldn't find it so I asked one of the store associates about it, just incase they had it in another section or something. He didn't know so he grabbed another associate. Not only did TWO fish department workers not know if they carried it, neither one of them had never even HEARD of it! The older guy even tried to tell me that he didn't think there even was such a thing. 
:withstup: 

He told me to call back another day and talk to the regular fish department head and maybe he could tell me what to mix in the regular food that would help.:roll:

I sooooo wanted to tell them "Let me at your computer and I'll SHOW you that there is such a product and some GOOD fish stores that carry it!" :chair:

I'm sure there are other petco stores around the country that are better then this one but if I had any other choice for buying fish supplies near me this one would never see my face again. :razz:


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

when i worked at petco, the medicated food was just these drops you squeeze into the water, and the fish grab them. it's located in the medicine section, not the food


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

I looked there. It wasn't there either. lol


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Deleted.

Sorry, jones. It wasn't all that bad, but it was all that pointless.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Eh... doesn't surprise me one bit... I get stories like this all the time about our neighboring petcos... plus there is a good chance that something like that wasn't even there... even though its very useful... they just suck.


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## SueM (Jan 23, 2004)

Morning Buggy, I work as an Aquatics Specialist for Petco here, and I'm very proud of our store and people. It bothers me a lot when I how other stores are terrible. Just thought you'd like to know I send this whole thread to the P.R. department ;-)


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

oh gosh there goes my job!!! hahahah


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

thanks Sue thats great. Someone with pull needs to give the Head Department a heads up on some of their stores. Even a few bad stores around the country makes the whole chain look bad. 
Ours used to be pretty good but in the last 3-4months or so it has went down a lot. 
Hope they can get something done cuz this is really the only choice I have for fish supplies.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

unfortunately its more like 75% are poorly run... I've gone to a lot of them before my time as an employee... none of them impressed me, and none of the employees did either. Basically it comes to poor training and poor tank care and poor vendor responsibility. Coorporate wants everything STERILE, not a single spot of algae (even though some is very beneficial) and its policies were obviously made in the stone age of aquarium keeping. As a company they shouldn't have fish for sale period. Half of my day consists of trying to keep infections from spreading because of bad husbandry practices and policies.


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## SueM (Jan 23, 2004)

Unfortunately FF, it will take the dedication of the few of us, to change the habits of many.
I have already gotten my DM to change the stupid planogram to benefit the health of the fish.
Healthy fish are more impressive then ridiculas red, white & blue gravel.
And who the heck puts lemon Tetras with Tiger Barbs :-x


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hey, you think that's bad, I can think of something far worse. Not even Petco would stoop so low as what WalMart is gonna pull this coming month. I'll spill the bean about that when I get back, but for now I'm going over there to try one last time to get through to some idiot in charge.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Baby_Baby said:


> Thanks for the dose of suspense this morning, TOS :chair:


ROFLMAO !! Now everybody's in suspense ........


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Well, I'm back, and my trip was in vain.

February's fish-of-the-month is an especially heinous choice.

Valentine's Day, you see...

Starting probably today in most locations, the new fish-of-the-month will be revealed as:

Those red parrot cichlids which not only have little hearts tattooed on them, but which have had their tails cut off in order to make them look like little swimming hearts.

*sigh*

This is the last straw. Something has to be done.
How can we harness the awesome power of the internet to let WalMart know just how badly they screwed up this time, lest there be a _next_ time, and a next, and a next... If they get away with this, they'll just do it again.

Contacting the persons responsible is nigh impossible. They are insulated from inquiries from the public and even from Walmart associates. Every email I sent just bounced back as undeliverale, even though I know full well that they're good addresses.

Working from the inside has produced no results. It's time for outside action. What KIND of action? I don't really know, but we have to think of something.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

"And who the heck puts lemon Tetras with Tiger Barbs"

Probably that "advisor" who advises petco on how to "properly" care for the fish. I forget his name, but my RCAC said he had a book, "Fish are People Too" unfortunately I still have yet to track this so called "book" down anywhere on the internet. Basically I believe they are lying to me about it... go figure.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

As for walmart... Inform your local humane society... maybe someone with a soul there can do something about it... although they RARELY believe fish are an "animal"


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

Actually they breed those BPC without tails. More genetic altering. I have a BPS that is really beautiful but she is not nearly as deformed as most I've seen and has a nice orange color. She can even close her mouth when she wants to and has NO problem eating (or biting me). I think she must be a first generation hybrid and I was lucky to find her. But tattooing and deliberately cross breeding to make them more deformed is just wrong. I would love to post a pic of her but whe won't let me take a good one. When she sees the camera she turns face-on toward me so I can't get a good profile shot. lol

As for what to do? Short of getting informed fish keepers together all over the world and picketing the stores, I don't think there is much we can do. Maybe TV media? As long as there are millions of consumers out there that don't know, don't want to know and don't care, we are a small voice.


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

How about an email to your friendly local TV news crew or better yet, TV news "consumer advocate" (or maybe the TV news person who does the "adoptable pet of the day" from the local shelter) ?
Bad PR = good ratings 

Explain to them just how cruel this is. If they can make a big story of it, their network affiliates might pick it up - there's nothing a local reporter covets more than getting noticed by the network
:mrgreen:
Plus getting ABC, NBC, or CBS to do story on this would certainly catch Walmart's attention (hmmmm Nightline or 60 Minutes, perhaps ?)
:chair: 



TheOldSalt said:


> Well, I'm back, and my trip was in vain.
> 
> February's fish-of-the-month is an especially heinous choice.
> 
> ...


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

redpaulhus said:


> How about an email to your friendly local TV news crew or better yet, TV news "consumer advocate" (or maybe the TV news person who does the "adoptable pet of the day" from the local shelter) ?
> Bad PR = good ratings
> 
> Explain to them just how cruel this is. If they can make a big story of it, their network affiliates might pick it up - there's nothing a local reporter covets more than getting noticed by the network
> ...


That may work ...


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

"Actually they breed those BPC without tails." According to a magazine I just read said exactly the opposite. Infact somewhere on the web there is a "do it yourself guide" to mutilating these fish.


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