Beware of petco.

[Joshifer]

I wasn't sure which area to post this. I'm sure alot of you experts know not to buy from chain stores

So I'm just reaching out to noobs like myself.

 

I went to petco today. Looked around at their salt water fish.

Those poor things.

 

The clowns were a pale yellow crammed about 20 live ones and 5 dead ones in a tiny tank.

Their were that I saw 5 dead ones looks like they been there a while. I even asked the clerk

To remove the dead ones she said its fine its extra food for the peppermint shrimp and camel and cleaner shrimp which were also crammed into the same tank.

Out of curiosity I purchased a cheap margarita snail from a separate tank (which doesn't matter they all come out of the same plumbing) to test their water at home.

 

Ammonia 4.00PPM

Nitrites 2PPM

Nitrates 6PPM

Using api reef master test kit.

Their SG from my hydrometer was 10.19 but it could be wrong hydros usually are. That's more brackish then marine no?

 

I dripped the snail for 2 hours in a qt I ain't sticking it in my nano any time soon.

 

This is the petco in dale city Virginia. I assume their all horrible like this because I've been to a few petco that carried marine and their tanks were putrid. . As I was leaving a guy walked in with dead peppermint shrimp saying they died in the bag on his way home his recipt said he bought it less then an hour before he came back. And of course they wouldn't refund or replace.

[AlanM]

Pet stores routinely run lower salinity. Not surprising there. Thats why you should drip at home to acclimate. Margarita snails apparently like temps on the cool side, btw.

[matt]

Um, yeah...don't shop there. There are better places not too far away. I've bought dry goods there in a pinch...but otherwise just take my little boy there to watch the fish and parakeets

[Mattiejay6]

I read that margarita snails are bad snails for a reef aquarium.

[Joshifer]

I read that margarita snails are bad snails for a reef aquarium.

I'm a beginner right now I just have fowlr. Gonna wait a while before trying corals.

[Joshifer]

Um, yeah...don't shop there. There are better places not too far away. I've bought dry goods there in a pinch...but otherwise just take my little boy there to watch the fish and parakeets

Know of any marine speciality shops. Maybe something that only deals in salt water in Woodbridge radius ?

[jimlin]

i seen both good and bad petco saltwater sections. just depends on who is managing it.

[smallreef]

i dont even buy my dogs stuff there anymore unless i just need rawhides and dont want to drive far...

id rather support stores like fins and feathers where they care about my pets...

 

look around, rate how they care about your pets, their employees and the products products the carry...

also where they get the animals they are selling....

 

just my personal opinion....

[Coral Hind]

I wasn't sure which area to post this. I'm sure alot of you experts know not to buy from chain stores

So I'm just reaching out to noobs like myself.

There is a "vendor experience" area but it is in the Members Only side of the board that you can't see as a BB member. You should really become a paying member so you can get the full experience and benefit of the club.

 

 

 

Their SG from my hydrometer was 10.19 but it could be wrong hydros usually are. That's more brackish then marine no?

 

This is the petco in dale city Virginia. I assume their all horrible like this because I've been to a few petco that carried marine and their tanks were putrid. . As I was leaving a guy walked in with dead peppermint shrimp saying they died in the bag on his way home his recipt said he bought it less then an hour before he came back. And of course they wouldn't refund or replace.

For a fish only system that is not a low SG. Mine is normally at 1.017 to 1.018. Even snails and shrimp when acclimated are fine there.

 

I'm not saying the store shouldn't have refunded the money because for PR purposes but they do have a policy. You have no idea what the guy did within that hour. The shrimp could have been in the hot car while he did some other shopping before heading home or he didn't acclimate and it died right away so he bagged it back up and brought it in.

[Coral Hind]

Know of any marine speciality shops. Maybe something that only deals in salt water in Woodbridge radius ?

On the upper left side of your screen is an icon "About WAMAS". Hover over that and a drop down opens up. Click on the "LFS Map" to see a map of the local stores near you. 

[NateCamReef]

i seen both good and bad petco saltwater sections. just depends on who is managing it.

 

+1

[Coral Hind]

You can get some nice deals there. I bought my Acanthurus bariene at Petco. Only paid $14 for an "assorted tang" that would have cost me over $200 online.

[flooddc]

My local petco used to be okay since the guys managing the fish dept. have their own reef tanks. But lately not so good since a new guy took over and either have no experiebce or just plain lazy.

[Neto]

+1

+2

 

Petco @ Rockville, md last time I checked it was very clean. They guy that runs it is a hobbyst and he takes care of all tanks very well. He even brings Picaso & snowflake clown orders from time to time.

[Packman@90]

I am in Clinton MD, and the Petco here is great. the selection is outstanding and they are always trying to order a variety of different fish and even corals. The guys who take care of the tanks all (except 1) have saltwater tanks. The ICH issue at Petco is a pain but in the Clinton store they now have a tank that is on a separate system for sick fish where they can treat them. Not all Petco's are alike and you have to go in and talk to the people who work in the fish department to find out how well your Petco does.

[Origami]

I find that it's hit-or-miss with Petco's and their staff when it comes to the saltwater department. Even the same store may change with time. You can generally tell within a few minutes of stopping in where any particular store sits along this spectrum.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

You can get some nice deals there. I bought my Acanthurus bariene at Petco. Only paid $14 for an "assorted tang" that would have cost me over $200 online.

What?????? Score! My favorite fish.

[TheyCallMeMr.703]

i seen both good and bad petco saltwater sections. just depends on who is managing it.

 

I went to the Petco in Tysons Corner one day and let me tell you, I'm not at all a PETA person, but for a second I felt like one.

 

Petco had a tank with about 10 Clownfish, a coral beauty angel, 2 yellow tangs and a Henichos Butterfly. I was thinking to myself, maybe I'll get a clownfish from here since they are so cheap. Well they're cheap because they are all sick. I was looking at all the fish and all them had ich. It looked like someone had grabbed the fish and put sugar all over their body, it was that bad. The yellow tangs were a very pale yellow with chewed up fins that were never fully exposed. Some of the clowns were swimming sideways. But the worst fish of all was the Henichos. It had a fin rot that looked like a cotton ball was hanging from it. I asked one of the people that worked there "Do you see anything wrong with this fish here?" Guy said "Nope, looks like he did when he got here.."

 

 

that just about said it all for me. Petco= supplies only.

Very True, The Petco in Tyson's is *&#@, Same witht he one in Fairfax... But The one in Ashburn off Rt, 28, Is run by my friend who has studied and Excells in this field as well.. GreatPlace to Shop, BeCarfeulTho.... Ich Is Always present in these systems unfortunately, handpick your fish, and Make sure he eats and Looks, and swims healthy before purchasing, Other then that, As someone else said also... Could find a SweetDeal there tho'. But ALWAYS Drip and QT is never a bad idea.

[Spelter]

+2

 

Petco @ Rockville, md last time I checked it was very clean. They guy that runs it is a hobbyst and he takes care of all tanks very well. He even brings Picaso & snowflake clown orders from time to time.

 +3. The fish and tanks at the Rockville Store look great and the prices are great. I've talked to the guy there a few times and he has multiple tanks himself. He has even done a good job training the staff that are in the fish dept when he's not there. 

[holedup82]

+3. The fish and tanks at the Rockville Store look great and the prices are great. I've talked to the guy there a few times and he has multiple tanks himself. He has even done a good job training the staff that are in the fish dept when he's not there.

+1 I believe he's actually a wamas member to boot.

[TheyCallMeMr.703]

        Point being, From as Origami(Tom) said, That you will know within' a few minutes whether the staff and the store are knowledgeable, customer oriented and EDUCATED in the hobby, as well as How the tanks are maintained, and water conditions are. Including if any problems such as Ich are present. Every store is going to have problems, and some stores are better for some things, Whereas another may lack in that field, but excel in another.

         Now as we have all heard from many already, Some Petco's are Amazing, where other's...  truthfully, Would be firing employee's if Corporate came in and did a walk though.
         Take your time, Beware of ALL stores, as well as People and Friends even for that Point. When you get Livestock/Rocks, or whatever you may have. Sometimes asking someone to put an item on hold if possible, To see it fed, Checking the Specimen for defects of flaws are ALWAYS good Idea's. Nonetheless, Through ongoing dedication and maintenance, almost ( Almost ), every problem can be overcame. ( Doesn't hurt to have ALL the knowledgeable people from WAMAS right behind yah' should something ever arise)
  So next time you go " Shopping ", Take Your Time, Check everything out, Talk to the Staff, Get to know your LFS, and most importantly... Have Fun. Making sure you feel Comfortable with the Store and Livestock alike, Will guarantee LongTermRelationships with any LFS. Happy Reefing Everyone.  

Edited September 3, 2013 by TheyCallMeMr.703

[NateCamReef]

        Point being, From as Origami(Tom) said, That you will know within' a few minutes whether the staff and the store are knowledgeable, customer oriented and EDUCATED in the hobby, as well as How the tanks are maintained, and water conditions are. Including if any problems such as Ich are present. Every store is going to have problems, and some stores are better for some things, Whereas another may lack in that field, but excel in another.

         Now as we have all heard from many already, Some Petco's are Amazing, where other's...  truthfully, Would be firing employee's if Corporate came in and did a walk though.

         Take your time, Beware of ALL stores, as well as People and Friends even for that Point. When you get Livestock/Rocks, or whatever you may have. Sometimes asking someone to put an item on hold if possible, To see it fed, Checking the Specimen for defects of flaws are ALWAYS good Idea's. Nonetheless, Through ongoing dedication and maintenance, almost ( Almost ), every problem can be overcame. ( Doesn't hurt to have ALL the knowledgeable people from WAMAS right behind yah' should something ever arise)

  So next time you go " Shopping ", Take Your Time, Check everything out, Talk to the Staff, Get to know your LFS, and most importantly... Have Fun. Making sure you feel Comfortable with the Store and Livestock alike, Will guarantee LongTermRelationships with any LFS. Happy Reefing Everyone.  

 

Good summary.

[Kevin Garrison]

Very True, The Petco in Tyson's is *@, Same witht he one in Fairfax... But The one in Ashburn off Rt, 28, Is run by my friend who has studied and Excells in this field as well.. GreatPlace to Shop, BeCarfeulTho.... Ich Is Always present in these systems unfortunately, handpick your fish, and Make sure he eats and Looks, and swims healthy before purchasing, Other then that, As someone else said also... Could find a SweetDeal there tho'. But ALWAYS Drip and QT is never a bad idea.

Agreed, the one in Ashburn is the only one I will talk to because the manager knows what he is doing.  The corporate office puts a lot of constraints on the store as far as what they can do, that is the problem with most Petco's.  The managers may know what they are doing, but the corp office won't let them do what they know should be done to do things correctly.

[ohaverd]

I've gotten a few fish from this Petco.  Just go on the days the fish are delivered (Tuesday I believe) so they arent exposed to their horrible systems for too long, and more importantly you must QT, QT, QT, QT, QT ALL LIVING THINGS!!!

[Djplus1]

I feel it's kind of unnecessary to bash Petco (or any other brick and mortar store selling fish) in regards to what you may see in their tanks. Personally, I have not bought any livestock from a Petco, but if I saw a healthy looking fish, why wouldn't I? The point is to QT anyway, so as long as you're not the idiot buying the half dead fish, you're fine. 

 

Name one pet store or LFS that you've been to a number of times and not spotted a dead or sick fish. If all we do as a community is trash talk every vendor out there, guess what will happen? Slowly, but surely your closest LFS goes out of business, Petco decides that it's not worth carrying salt water fish and your're stuck travelling or ordering livestock online (where thankfully you probably will never see the tanks there!).

 

Point being, it's your money, spend it where ever you want.