Here's why I don't buy fish at Petco

[treesprite]

 

There are two bags there and both contain dead fish.  People tend to blame the workers at the stores for not providing proper care. I was a fish specialist at a PETCO years ago and unpacked a lot of fish shipments with dead or dying animals in them.  I had hoped this problem was resolved already, but it looks like not. (Note: I took that picture myself at the PETCO on Rockville Pike).

 

If you do buy fish there, make sure you properly QT them. That said, there is a sale coming up on I think the 20th. I was looking at the fish thinking perhaps I would risk buying some there when the sale is on. Well, then I saw those dead fish and now I'm not so sure about it.

Edited February 14, 2015 by treesprite

[zygote2k]

shipping losses occur from time to time no matter what compny brings in fish. It's especially hard when the temps are below freezing as heat packs and styros rarely stay warm enough in the dead of winter.

[madweazl]

What is the correlation between dead fish in the bags and QT?

[Shoelace]

I think depends on the staff at each individual store.

[AlanM]

What is the correlation between dead fish in the bags and QT?

 

She's saying that these fish have been through the chain store ringer.  Even ones that survive transport, acclimation, and display at the store will take a lot of special care at home and are likely to be basket cases for getting healthy, so anyone buying them should plan on having a QT to ensure they're healthy before risking the rest of their tank occupants by tossing one of these in to their reef after a snap decision to purchase.  Good advice from any store...

 

Edit: implied in this, at least from my point of view, is that a "cheap" fish probably doesn't turn out to be cheap.  Buy from lfs owners who have factored in the cost of offering healthy fish.

Edited February 14, 2015 by AlanM

[treesprite]

It's a lot less stressful to get fish from a reputable LFS.

 

As Rob said, "from time to time" there will be dead fish regarldess of company. But what I am talking about it beyond this. When I worked at a PetCo every single shipment I saw included bags of dead and sick fish. Even with an employee discount on top of already cheap prices, and with me the primary caretaker at that old store (is closed now), I refused to get saltwater fish there simply because I was so shocked at what I saw coming out of boxes. When I saw the bags with the dead fish the other day, it was a reminder of it.

 

So like some other folks, I am wondering what will happen with FS/Live Aquaria. Am also wondering what kind of luck people have with PetCo fish purchased online delivered directly to the new home.... how many DOAs, and if not many, what the difference is between getting the fish direct or getting it after it has been in a retail store.

[madweazl]

Are the fish sitting in the boxes for a prolonged period of time causing the death (24 hours shouldnt be an issue provided climate controlled environment)? I'm not advocating purchases from PetCo at all, just trying to narrow down why they are dying in the boxes.

[gmerek2]

I wish there way we could make it safer for the fish. I would pay double for a slim mortality rate.

[zygote2k]

It's generally unwise to ship tropical fish when the destination weather is below freezing. Fish bags leak or get punctured, water temps drop inside the box, heatpacks used are the cheap kinds and do not adequately heat the entire box leaving cold areas because fish are packed to box capacity.

Upon arrival, boxes sit for hours in air-cargo freight areas which are usually unheated. If in large quantities, boxes are loaded onto unheated delivery trucks and transferred to stores, another few hours in cold temps along the way and you'll easily begin to see why fish are DOA in the bag.

But since we have to provide fish to uncaring consumers at all times of the year, the bottom line is more important- fully stocked tanks in the dead of winter equals greater sales when the competition is empty because of concern over fish deaths.

 

The easy answer is to not shop at the big box stores or any LFS that promote profit over fish loss.

[treesprite]

Good point about winter sales. Maybe that's why PetCo decided to have a sale in February. (Unfortunately, the issue I'm talking about was year round).

Edited February 18, 2015 by treesprite

[lutz123]

I thought they had pretty good suppliers these days?  Sustainable Aquatics maybe?  I agree that it definitely has to do with the shipping - perhaps whether, perhaps not.  My longest living fish have been the couple I picked up at Petco.  Then again, the fish dept at the local one here is well staffed.  It's still far from my first choice but I have been in a couple of local reputable LFS and seen ill or dead fish too on occasion.

[Coral Hind]

My vlamingii tang came the Petco in Alexandria, 10 years ago. I've never had any issues with Petco fish. Like any fish from any store, you need to observe before purchase and then QT properly.

 

DOA for shipped fish is normal. I have never seen a shipment without some dead in it and certain fish like wrasses are the worst.

[treesprite]

The fish in those bags were common damsels..... most likely fish to live through the reef tank apocolypse.

[treesprite]

This is funny. I don't even remember this post. Things are done differently nowadays, since the acquisition of Live Aquaria, so my opinion is somewhat different. Both of the fish I have are tank bred fish bought from PETCO.

[AUFishGuy]

I worked part time at a Petco as the aquatics specialist. I was the only person who had a clue what they were doing, They were topping off the marine tanks with saltwater. Petcos are hit or miss and all depends on the staff. After working there i really think they should stop selling fish, specifically saltwater

[MaeganWink]

I knew someone who worked for a Petco that managed a pet department, kept the fish pretty health, but openly admitted to not doing the exact care things Petco wanted them to do because it wasn't what was best for the fish. So yeah, probably largely depends on who is managing it.

 

Also, I'm very unimpressed with Liveaquaria after my last order had all those engineer gobies bagged together so they could murder each other...and when I tried to tell the company about it I just got standard he's how to get your refund crap rather than anything addressing the issue.

[Origami]

The person who resurrected this thread has been flagged as a spammer....

[treesprite]

5 hours ago, Origami said:

The person who resurrected this thread has been flagged as a spammer....

Haha, great!