PETCO disgusts me...

Fish die and come in sick at all fish stores, however the LFS atleast have the facilities and authority to treat and quarintine effected fish.

as far as not having enough people, get used to it. It's how these huge chain stores operate. It's cheaper to lose some business one day then pay a extra person everyday.

 

For those new to the Salty things in life...

If SW is your thing and you are stocking your investment at Petco or Petsmart, who is really to blame here?

I personally wouldn't buy a SW fish/coral from a shop that wouldn't allow said purchase to be kept in their tank a week before I actually picked it up. Silly me. It isn't like I am buying a betta in a cup or a Molly....a couple $ per.

I have been a manager in the 'fish department' at a Petsmart (we called it the Specialty Department back in the day when SW was available) and I did all I could to stop people from buying Clowns/Tangs/CB's that we just got in and wondered why they weren't supporting their LFS when it comes to higher dollar purchases. I can't recall how many times people would come in wanting to stock their SW tank with fish and when I asked how long the tank has been set up...."we finished adding salt last night"....sigh.

Anyway, Petco and Petsmart have their place in this world but before I place a $20 on a Clown you can bet I have done my research at which point I end up at my LFS.

If you need a weird shaped bullystick, you need a pet tag, you need some flake food for your guppy, you need to use your coupon you got in the mail for dog food, you have a new pup and think it needs some obedience training before it is even potty trained, you enjoy walking your dog in a building full of disease from all these people bringing in their new puppies or you are curious if that $900 African Grey is still alive....go to Petsmart and Petco. However, if you are shopping for info and quality SW LS I advise sticking with your LFS.

Regardless, never blame the employee at these places for your loss as I am willing to bet the mistake was yours.... made right when you enter their door.

 

People who do walk in there can be clueless. Ie we went there to check on a toy for one of my doxies, Hubby wandered into the sw fish area and I followed. He pointed to a fish and said we should get it...... it was a tang.....*smacks hand on forehead* I had to explain to him why no and that there was no way I would get a fish here anyways... there was a dead clown in the tank below who had been there for days. It was decaying, no eyes and mostly bone. He agreed and when we got our first fish it was at the lfs that the owner knows me.

 

I know most petco stores look horrible and everything however i do have one near my house that has alot of beautiful fish and an amazing looking reef tank set up as you walk into there fish section however another one 15 min away has multiple dead fish... it truly depends on the store management and how much the people that work there actually care its sad that to often they just dont care and let the fish die if there sick

 

:clapping:

Don't get mad at the employee or the businees when it's the customer's that don't want to do the leg work. Instead of people picking up a book or hitting the internet they would rather just walk into a store and purchase something they know nothing about because it looks cool.

If you don't think companies perform a cost benefit analysis then your sadly mistaken. There are greater evil companies out there much worse than petco. Ford decided against installing an $11.00 part to the pinto that would have saved 180 people per year. It took Toyota 7 years, five different investigations and thousands of complaints and deaths later, before they made the cheap upgrade. Companies are in it to make money, that's why we call them a company and not a charity. The cost of another employee and treating the fish is probably expensive compared to the cost of not treating it. Your Ma 'n Pa shop probably has the same ratio of deaths per year too. It's just they clean up after themselves a bit faster because thats all they're selling.

 

3 reef does not allow threads bashing any particular store, chain, or vendor

This thread is closed

Steve