steveoutlaw January 16, 2012 Share January 16, 2012 It's not bad enough that Petco has sickly fish in tanks that are way too small.....now they are getting into the coral business. I went to pick up some toys for the dog and I saw their new frag tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Freshwater January 16, 2012 Share January 16, 2012 They really should take care of their freshwater fish before even remotely considering salt fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 16, 2012 Share January 16, 2012 Corals??????? No Petco!!! NOOOO!!!! All we need is some big senseless chain pet store to destroy the reefs!!! They offer corals online as well. here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Which store had the frag tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) If it's the one in Dale city, Helen seems to be doing her research on it and is pretty excited. I hope she does well and wish her the best - she doesn't have much to work with with what livestock they send her and Petco's various regulations :( Working for a big chain is hard and not being able to watch employees unskilled in saltwater 24/7 can be even worse. I've bought quite a bit from her, and while it depends on when you get the fish (either right before it goes in or soon after, or if it's been there long enough) and what your qt and treatment procedures are, there are some very nice things to be had. They're expanding and doing the best with what Petco gives them. Disclaimer ninja-edit: I don't like that big chains are doing this, but this individual store is doing the best they can for their animals. At least they're out of the main tanks and into a separate system, the frags are looking good so far. Also, I think I remember someone telling me that online was a different store/supplier (all owned by petco ofc). Edited January 17, 2012 by YiatzOfEden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I saw a couple leather corals in the tanks at the Petco in Burke today. Not a frag tank, just put in with the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 The store in Dale City has always had a better fish and coral selection than most petco's for whatever reason. Atleast there paying tax, unlike some of the frag farming/selling members here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Atleast there paying tax, unlike some of the frag farming/selling members here.. Who do you mean? People seeling frags at the meeting? I am confused... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) Who do you mean? People seeling frags at the meeting? I am confused... I think he's talking about how some people make thousands of dollars selling coral frags and not claiming that money as taxable income. Edited January 17, 2012 by yauger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberFrog January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) I would much rather put some tax free money into the pocket of a little guy than give it to some megacorporate professional animal abuse chain. Edited January 17, 2012 by RubberFrog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I see nothing wrong with selling/trading couple of frags among friends, I don't think Trockafella is refering to that. On the other hand, every vendor should pay taxes for their income. That's is another topic of discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I think he's talking about how some people make thousands of dollars selling coral frags and not claiming that money as taxable income. Correct. I have no issues with the selling of corals (i buy them too), but when its a business "of sorts" its wrong. Its no different than illegal immigrants and those who employ them, your skipping taxes on considerable income. NO, IM NOT TRYING TO START AN ARGUEMENT, JUST STATING THE FACTS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I see nothing wrong with selling/trading couple of frags among friends, I don't think Trockafella is refering to that. On the other hand, every vendor should pay taxes for their income. That's is another topic of discussion. Agreed.!! If you want to be a "coral seller", become a vendor member and become a business.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) Agreed.!! If you want to be a "coral seller", become a vendor member and become a business.. You can be a business without being a vendor member... Edited January 17, 2012 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Agreed.!! If you want to be a "coral seller", become a vendor member and become a business.. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberFrog January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) I would much rather put some tax free money into the pocket of a little guy than give it to some megacorporate professional animal abuse chain. I disagree. <edit> Why do you disagree? <edit> Edited January 18, 2012 by Origami Softening the language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) Referencing a place as a "professional animal abuse chain" is <edit> a sweeping generalization. Do you have proof there in the business of abuse. Is that there goal, or is it just an opinion. Is that part of the criteria for working there, abusing animals. Several of our members are former petco employees, so there animal abusers too..? I disagree because you have NO FACTS to prove there in the abuse business.. Edited January 18, 2012 by Origami Softening language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 You can be a business without being a vendor member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberFrog January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 (edited) Referencing a place as a "professional animal abuse chain" is <edit> a sweeping generalization. Do you have proof there in the business of abuse. Is that there goal, or is it just an opinion. Is that part of the criteria for working there, abusing animals. Several of our mebers are former petco employees, so there animal abusers too..? I disagree because you have NO FACTS to prove there in the abuse business.. Well, I'm not sure I understand your motivation for being hostile with me, but I've been in plenty of petco's and seen the way their livestock is treated. There may be a few good stores, but the majority that I have seen were deplorable. I think that pretending otherwise is disingenuous at best. Edited January 18, 2012 by Origami Softening language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I agree with RubberFrog on this! Almost every time at a local Petco, all the saltwater fish is either sick or so skinny due to stress or what not. Whenever I ask the Aquarium staff/whoever is helping with the fishes why their livestock is not healthy or how long these fishes were in that tiny 10 gal tank together, they have no idea. (I have seen a Sailfin Tang, a Powder Blue Tang, 2 or 3 Ocellaris Clowns, maybe 2 blennies in a 10 gallon tank before, and the worst part is God knows for how long they were imprisoned there) "If it's the one in Dale city, Helen seems to be doing her research on it and is pretty excited." So when YiatzofEden said this, I was hopeful that someone actually cares about these animals. I also liked the Aquarium dept guy at the Petco in Friendship Heights in DC. He seemed like he cared. On the other hand, at another Petco location I saw a guy catching fish to bag and I stopped him before he literally killed that Sailfin tang with the net! He had no idea what he was doing!!! He then proceeded to bag a Sailfin Tang and a couple of other fishes in the same bag along with a horseshoe crab. Now this is not acceptable!!! I think Petco should train their employees when hiring for these special departments. Sales people on the floor should not also qualify to sell customers live stock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Reefoholic: I can agree wth what youre saying, and its being said in a manner more appropriate to the claim. Its ok to say youre very unhappy with the fish section. But to state claims there in the animal abuse business isnt right. A friend of mine who happens to work for the Zoo in DC, runs a cat rescue group thing at one. There are lots of good animal loving people there. Yes, there are some uneducated (towards the pets) people who do work there. It doesnt make them animal abusers. Michael Vick is an animal abuser ok, the guy selling fish is not. Making an outrageous claim like above is just not ok. If Petco were really in that line of work then they have done an excellent job of fooling a lot of people. If you dont like how they do there business then dont go there, dont look at the fish, dont set yourself up for anger or maybe you can work for them and fix it. Have you filed a complaint with the store or with the company as a whole.? Why not try to be proactive rather than claim other things. Not everyone is a reefkeeping expert, or super knowledgeable in the hobby. Most of the people working there are just given the job, and they do what they unfortunately think is right. I dont think there being abusive and taking pleasure in mishandling fish. Its a big business, its goal is money money money, just like where most of us work. I agree you guys have reason to be disappointed in there practices, but what was said above, says so much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberFrog January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 I think perhaps the misunderstanding came from the interpretation of "megacorporate". I am refering to the corporate practice of animal husbandry (specifically fish). I expect no more from the employees than I expect of employees at other retail establishments. Many of the employees are unskilled and simply need a job. There's nothing wrong with that. However, it is clear that petco does not have a corporate policy regarding the way these fish are treated. That is why each store is a new experience. As far as making a complaint or being more proactive, once I have solved major issues such as human trafficking, world hunger, war, cured cancer, etc... then I will move on to seeing what I can do about these poor fish. In the meantime, I would hope I will still be free to share my opinion on a local forum without being lambasted over misinterpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Trockafella: I share your ideas to some extend. Also, I was never saying that these people are abusing animals. I am saying that they do not know what they are doing, that's all! In addition, I indeed have talked to managers on duty for many times at Petco stores when I saw these things happen, and honestly this is how I deal with this kind of situation. Honestly, I can't try to become a manager at every single Petco store and get things right, if that's being proactive! I think if anyone who is bothered by this as much as me says something when they see it, these stores will change. I do agree that "Most of the people working there are just given the job, and they do what they unfortunately think is right." Given this, they should be trained then. When I started working at a restaurant, I was trained how to do things in a certain way. I am giving this example because my work at a restaurant did not require any previous special education/qualifications just like a sales associate at Petco. On this note, this is why big companies like Petco are supposed to train their employees. I am sure Petco has trained dog groomers for example. Not everyone working at that location can cut dog hair. So why is everyone working there is "qualified" to catch and bag fish for sale??? These are delicate animals as we all know, so I don't think it is too much to ask for knowledgable people to handle these animals. I also understand that the ultimate goal for Petco is more money, more profits. But at what extend and at what cost? Let me put it this way: If one was trying to catch a puppy or a kitten (I dunno pick one) in a small room, how gentle/careful would you try to be in order not to hurt the animal? In my experience with the Sailfin and the guy, he was basicallt hitting the poor animal with the net constantly... BTW, I am talking based on my own experience with Petco stores so far. Everyone might have a different experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Correct. I have no issues with the selling of corals (i buy them too), but when its a business "of sorts" its wrong. Its no different than illegal immigrants and those who employ them, your skipping taxes on considerable income. NO, IM NOT TRYING TO START AN ARGUEMENT, JUST STATING THE FACTS. Wow this thing has gotten a bit off topic. But since it's already there, I'll add one thing to consider- if the person selling frags is an avid hobbyist as opposed to doing this full-time, chances are there aren't any taxes being evaded. If someone is going to list their income selling frags, they are probably also going to list their expenses producing them. This would include not only the cost of the orignal corals but also the equipment, water, salt, and electricity needed to run the "business". I know for certain that even with the frags I sell, I'm no where near breaking even. Heck, maybe people should register as a business so they can get the tax DEDUCTION! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella January 17, 2012 Share January 17, 2012 Wow this thing has gotten a bit off topic. But since it's already there, I'll add one thing to consider- if the person selling frags is an avid hobbyist as opposed to doing this full-time, chances are there aren't any taxes being evaded. If someone is going to list their income selling frags, they are probably also going to list their expenses producing them. This would include not only the cost of the orignal corals but also the equipment, water, salt, and electricity needed to run the "business". I know for certain that even with the frags I sell, I'm no where near breaking even. Heck, maybe people should register as a business so they can get the tax DEDUCTION! Agreed, I would like to write off the losses as well.. Btw, got any red yumas still? PM me.. Coral seller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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