# petco - petsmart



## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

i never understand why people say petco and petsmart are these evil chain stores full of staff who dont know anything about their work. i can get the whole, save the small family owned stores and LFS's by not buying from large chain stores but really both petsmart and petco where i live have nice planted aquariums with healthy fish and exceptional bettas that dont seem to be stressed at all, and all the guys that work the tanks seem to really know their stuff and dont try to scam people. IMO my lfs sucks, they are not organised, the tanks are always dirty, dead fish are just floating all over the place and the staff dont now anything. so before you go off judging you should give it a chance and go see for yourself how these places are, because i think a lot of times its just bad management and staff that makes petco/smart have such a bad rep. just voicing my opinion. :mrgreen:


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Around here, my choice of stores to buy fish from would be as follows: 

#1 - LFS - They're not big box, so they work with you. They do real water testing, buy fish for store credit, and they have good prices and great variety. 
#2 - Petco - great bettas and always have generally good fish
#3 - Care-A-Lot Pet Supply - they have great variety and pretty bettas but they do sell tattooed and dyed fish, and that irritates me. 
#4 - Petsmart - fish aren't always in the best condition but they do have decent variety. Not a whole lot of great bettas.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Well I would also have to say that before you assume that people are just bashing the marts for no other purpose than to bash them, is wrong. My experience of people who have bashed the marts are people who HAVE been there and who HAVE seen bad advice, people getting a 2 gallon gold fish bowl and a fish that will grow exceedingly beyond that size, watched them give bad advice, or simply bought fish from there and lost an ENTIRE tank. 

That does not mean that there are not marts that have good people there. Unfortunately I know good people who have been fired from marts because they gave solid fish advice which led to a customer not making a purchase. That wouldn't happen at a LFS and that is one of the big differences. 

Just because something is a LFS doesn't mean its good! Ours is dirty on its best day. The worker there who knows more about fish than almost anyone I know (other than, John, Marty, Bob, and TOS) can't keep up because they won't let her. The fish are healthy, but the tanks are full of algae and look worse than they actually are. Water spots etc. When they give her time to clean it up it looks awesome. Unfortunately they have very few variety to choose from. I have never received bad advice from her, including when NOT to buy a fish from the store. 

I shop the marts, that LFS and several stores in Phoenix. At this point I am going to have to go to Phoenix to a LFS there that keeps healthy fish and has a good variety. I can't handle loosing another tank full of fish. Thank you Petco 7 dollar Gourami that was sick from hell. He did look healthy in the tank. No way I would have bought a sick looking fish. Of the fish I have purchased over the years who have gotten sick more than half have come from Petco. Just say no Obsidian, just say no! LOL


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

i just felt like making this thread so people wouldnt be afraid to at least go check those kinds of larger stores out because you just never know what kind of quality you might find. and obsidian... i have also bought sick fish that looked perfectly fine, it happens to the best of us!


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## CyberBob (Jul 22, 2011)

Danio king said:


> i just felt like making this thread so people wouldnt be afraid to at least go check those kinds of larger stores out because you just never know what kind of quality you might find. and obsidian... i have also bought sick fish that looked perfectly fine, it happens to the best of us!


I actually like most of my fish experts at my local Petco. There are only a couple that don't really know what they're doing. I do tend to avoid petsmart myself, but that's only because of their staff and I'd have to drive an extra hour to get there hehe.

I do most of my important shopping at LFS. Their prices tend to be a lil higher, but they typically know what they are talking about and will make a deal with ya if you're a regular. For standar food & chemicals, I usually go to Petco because it's only 5 min from my house (closest I have).

I don't hate any chain. I do sometimes have issues with bad info from their staff. But, they just haven't had proper training. Petco staff tends to be some of the better trained for chains IMO. But, they do still make a few mistakes hehe.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

The biggest problem that is out there is the fact that people who get into the hobby buy the fish first. Once in the hobby they learn the right questions to ask and what to look for. At this point I don't care if the person behind the desk is knowledgeable. All I need to know is do they have what I am looking for. I can figure out the rest. 

So in the long run it narrows down to one thing: Health of the fish. 

Otherwise people need to believe people with experience. In the absence of any other information the trustworthy ones will be the ones who have no monetary gain regardless. After you know what your doing then you can see if the people at the marts or any other store know what they are talking about. Nice catch 22 isn't it?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

The PetSmart nearest to me is great, whereas the one ten minutes further from it has to be the worst fish store I've ever seen. The only PetLand I've been to looked clean, but they were horrid to their reptiles... I've also been to one Petco and about six months ago, it was pretty bad. Last week, when I was there buying my brother a 29 gallon, (They're $1 per gallon sale had ended before advertised... :devil they had some very good employees there. They were cleaning the tanks, (which had no dead fish) constructively helping customers, and they made a deal with me in regards to the tank!

Moral of the story is every store is different and there are no true stereotypes.


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## CyberBob (Jul 22, 2011)

Obsidian said:


> The biggest problem that is out there is the fact that people who get into the hobby buy the fish first. Once in the hobby they learn the right questions to ask and what to look for. At this point I don't care if the person behind the desk is knowledgeable. All I need to know is do they have what I am looking for. I can figure out the rest.
> 
> So in the long run it narrows down to one thing: Health of the fish.
> 
> Otherwise people need to believe people with experience. In the absence of any other information the trustworthy ones will be the ones who have no monetary gain regardless. After you know what your doing then you can see if the people at the marts or any other store know what they are talking about. Nice catch 22 isn't it?


 
Very Well Said :king:


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

petco is cruel to bettas! They change the water out like every week! or every three days! I saw a betta with fin rot, I told the employee and she pics him up, says thanks, we'll take care of it and walks to the back. Next week, I look and, there he is, sitting there with more fin rot. He's pretty and I would love to buy him, but I don't have room! At our petco, there is a guy who really knows his stuff in fish. There's a girl at petsmart who really knows her fish too. She keeps freshwater and saltwater! (that's the employee who I talked to about the 8 gallon saltwater reef tank.) Different stores aren't the same! My 2 favorites are privately owned, fish stores! Petco is my thrird favorite.


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## Lanette001 (Apr 7, 2011)

I usually go to Petsmart because that is closer. A while ago I was in there buying a new aquarium hood and I saw some really pretty guppies while I was at it. I asked the guy if he would net me some and he asked me if I already had the tank set up and asked how long it had been running. I was very pleased with these questions because it told me that he knew that one should not be buying fish and a tank at the same time. He also gave the impression that he wouldn't net them unless I knew that the tank needed to be cycled. The other day I was at Petsmart and they had some really pretty gouramis and I wanted one, but I already have a gourami and my tank isn't really ready for another 

The Petco nearby had one guy that was very knowledgeable. He had a lot of experience keeping fresh and saltwater tanks. I was asking him some questions about platy fry and he was very helpful. He almost convinced me to start a saltwater tank!!!!!!

I have also had good experiences at my LFS and bad experiences at the LFS along with bad experiences at the bigger stores. It happens, day to day things can be different based on shipments, employee schedules and time of day. It is all a part of shopping at any store really.


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## CyberBob (Jul 22, 2011)

too true. I always try to find a person I trust rather then a company. I will only buy from petco when david or jason are working for example. petsupermaket, i talk to brandon. LFS, I want dave. Other LFS I want dave or his daughter.

you just get a feel for it. when shopping at a new place, I will ask a lot of questions and gauge their knowledge. After a while, I learn which ones to trust and which are only there for a paycheck.


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## 1Sik1500 (Jul 18, 2011)

I have been to EVERY fish store / Aquarium in central Florida and i will tell you. The chain stores are cheaper, have plenty of supplies and are everywhere. Ive been to 3 or 4 LFS and they are good, nice but expensive, and generally dont like freshwater guys. I dont know why. Both my tanks are stocked from Petsmart and i have no complaints. I also have the rewards card and it saves me ALOT of money. The only fish i ever lost was 2 Powder Blue Gourami's both purchased and died at the same time. I took them back to Petsmart with my receipt and they gave me new ones. 14 day policy is nice.


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## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

its good to hear all the good and bad experiences at these places! nice thread info!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The chain stores are often cheaper for supplies and fish, so are the online places. The really small places can get stuff wholesale at the same online price your pay and have to mark it up to make any money. They are also usually higher on fish, because they have to buy from a wholesaler, like SunPet, whereas PetSmart has its own distribution center. 

Individual chain stores can still be great if they happen to have a great fish manager that won't sell sick fish and can tell the difference. 

My rants against the chains are mainly based on corporate decisions that are good for profits at the expensive of customers. Things like buying tens of thousands of red-tail cats, IR sharks, and pacu and leaning on local stores to stock and push them, running low-dose meds in a system thus fostering med-resistant disease, hiring inexperienced people and training them not to say no to any sale, and lying about max-size on posted signs. 

The disease risk is real. Although you should QT all fish as standard protocol. Fish coming out of the chain's distribution seem to be responsible for a disproportional amount of the 'help my fish are dying" threads.

Because chains are undercutting the prices LFS can charge, local freshwater stores are becoming an endangered species. You find a 'freshwater corner" in a SW-focused store or no FW at all. You need a large turnover in FW to make a decent profit. Some LFS are great because there is an owner who does it for love, rather than money, but some are worse than the chains. 

Every PetLand is a bought franchise and so there are some great ones, but there are some run by cat people, reptile people or even (one I know of) an out of county investor just in it to make money. 

Personally, I like stores that will take locally-bred fish. It means they have a better variety of fish and some of their customer's fish survive to breed. But there is a disease risk here, too. 

Buy stuff at the stores you want to stick around, even if it is somewhat more expensive. I usually buy live and frozen foods at a local store. If a store makes no money, it will close.


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

My Petsmart used to be a wonderful store. Starting about 2 years ago, all of their fish became infected with ich since all of their tanks share water. For some reason, I have continued to buy fish from them, thinking they would sort out their problem after a few months. Their fish still have ich to this day. It is very hard to detect when you are at the store, but after a day or two of having the fish, you can see it. Just a month ago I got some black neon tetras and they had ich. I believe it is mostly gone and this time I have only lost one fish to the disease, but just to list off, I bought Upside-down Catfish, Angelicus loaches, hatchetfish, and black neon tetras twice and they all had ich. Despite my writing this, I will probably end up buying fish from them in the future even though I know they probably have not solved their ich problem.


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## jlpropst00 (Jun 12, 2011)

I live in Memphis, Tn and we have a Petco that has one of the largest fish dept. in the country. They have a huge SW selection Fish, Corals the works. In fact they sell more fish weekly than any Petco in the country and they currently have a huge ich problem. I'm talking whole tanks with every fish totally covered. I have only bought Neons from there and they looked fine but they got it after a few days. 

Needless to say I buy supplies there but when it comes to fish I proceed with caution.

I do have a LFS that won't sell fish for a week after they get them just to make sure they are in good health, however they charge like $3.87 for Neons. Yikes!


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## CyberBob (Jul 22, 2011)

yikes! i have never paid more then $1 for a neon. In fact, once I bought 5\$1. But, it is prolly a good thing to wait a week before selling. I always quarantine new fish now; usually only for 2 weeks, but sometimes for a whole month.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Probably worth it if they all live. If you ever find a store with locally bred neons, get them. The survival rates should be much higher.


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## PostShawn (Dec 22, 2009)

Everywhere is going to be different. Near me there is a Petco on every corner so they higher so many people that could use more training. But overall I've seen each have good and bad at the stores. 

Near me:
Petsmart is pretty good. Clean and people seem to know their stuff or at the least track down which employee does know. 

Petco rarely do I see an employee that knows what they are talking about. Usually they are the dirtiest of what's around me, dead fish, sick fish, etc. 

The local stores are all different. Luckily near me they are usually all well maintained. Not many dead fish, no sick fish for sale, and employees know a lot. The prices can be a bit higher at the local stores but I'd rather pay more and get knowledge with my fish too about how to keep it.


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## CyberBob (Jul 22, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Probably worth it if they all live. If you ever find a store with locally bred neons, get them. The survival rates should be much higher.


I have a LFS that breeds their neons $1 each, as well as many other small fish and feeder types10\$1 for most feeders. They breed their own ghost shrimp and charge 10\$1. I've only had one fish die within a week out of the over 100 that I've bought from them over the years. They have a great SW section also with the cutest porcupine puffer. I want him so bad! But, I would need at least a 120g tank and I have no room for that


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Breeding their own fish and shrimp is a great recommendation for a store. Here are people who know how to make fish happy, not just keep them alive for a week.


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