Blastos at Petco. Buy?

[DaprDon]

A Petco has what I believe are Blastos (7-8) heads for $24.99. Would you by them? This particular Petco has a large amount of vermetid snails in there fish inventory tanks. The coral are in a separate frag tank. Do you think it's okay to get them as long as I dip and examine?
Also will they be okay for an 8-10 hr car ride?

 

[DangerDave]

I wouldn't be afraid of vermetids, just crush any you find when you get home and pay attn. The little ones are not a problem for me, it's the big thick ones that create problems.

 

[steveschuerger]

A Petco has what I believe are Blastos (7-8) heads for $24.99. Would you by them? This particular Petco has a large amount of vermetid snails in there fish inventory tanks. The coral are in a separate frag tank. Do you think it's okay to get them as long as I dip and examine?

I’d get them. Just thoroughly inspect and remove any unwanted stuff.

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

I wouldn’t buy it just because petco is a chain store and doesn’t give proper care to its livestock. I wouldn’t want to support that and the blasto is likely to have other pests knowing Petco.

 

[cloak]

Also will they be okay for an 8-10 hr car ride?

As long as the car doesn't get too hot it should be fine. I'm assuming your AC works? You might want to ask them to put the coral in a bigger bag though. (more air/water) Just tell them you've got a long drive ahead of you and they should be more than happy to accommodate you. GL

 

[steveschuerger]

I wouldn’t buy it just because petco is a chain store and doesn’t give proper care to its livestock. I wouldn’t want to support that and the blasto is likely to have other pests knowing Petco.

Depends on the store. The one I use has a good aquarium section manager and I’ve gotten several fish and even a few corals. And yes there are plenty of not good PetCos, like the one 10 minutes away. Maybe I got lucky but there are a number of people I know here on R2R that use PetCo for livestock.

 

[GARRIGA]

Depends on the store. The one I use has a good aquarium section manager and I’ve gotten several fish and even a few corals. And yes there are plenty of not good PetCos, like the one 10 minutes away. Maybe I got lucky but there are a number of people I know here on R2R that use PetCo for livestock.

The source for Petco also likely selling to area LFS. As with Petco. All about who manages the system. Although if one mail orders from Petco likely direct from source. Better than LFS unless they can order and hold yours separate.

 

[steveschuerger]

The source for Petco also likely selling to area LFS. As with Petco. All about who manages the system. Although if one mail orders from Petco likely direct from source. Better than LFS unless they can order and hold yours separate.

For me the local IS PetCo for better or worse. Luckily for better for at least one. These are PetCo

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

Depends on the store. The one I use has a good aquarium section manager and I’ve gotten several fish and even a few corals. And yes there are plenty of not good PetCos, like the one 10 minutes away. Maybe I got lucky but there are a number of people I know here on R2R that use PetCo for livestock.

My local petco has plastic covers at the top of all of its tanks to hide all the floating fish and has a bright blue background to make the water look clear when it’s not. But it is definitely true that not all stores are like that. So probably just make sure to do a coral dip and it should be fine.

 

[XtraKargo]

Dips won't kill vermetids by the by. You can still do so, and then scrape any off or switch out the plug for one of your own. My batch of vermetids came from a micromussa where it stuck up between a couple of the polyps. I kept wondering why it had been covered in the mucus net till I realized what it was.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I wouldn’t buy it just because petco is a chain store and doesn’t give proper care to its livestock. I wouldn’t want to support that and the blasto is likely to have other pests knowing Petco.

Not all PetCos treat their animals poorly. Yes they have a bad reputation, but most members on this forum say their PetCos are better than their LFS. In most cases it just depends who is in charge. Also, if the coral were to have other pests, a simple dip should do the trick on top off inspecting it before it goes in the tank.

 

[VintageReefer]

I’ve bought plenty of sw fish and a few corals from petco and they were all healthy and sickness free. Each store is individually run and it depends on how good the aquatics manager is

 

[PharmrJohn]

Not all PetCos treat their animals poorly. Yes they have a bad reputation, but most members on this forum say their PetCos are better than their LFS. In most cases it just depends who is in charge. Also, if the coral were to have other pests, a simple dip should do the trick on top off inspecting it before it goes in the tank.

I'm still angry at Petco for telling me in the early 90s to stock 1" of fish per gallon in a 29 with no live rock. Never again will I go there. Yes, I'm holding a grudge (by proxy) in the name of many dead fish.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I'm still angry at Petco for telling me in the early 90s to stock 1" of fish per gallon in a 29 with no live rock. Never again will I go there. Yes, I'm holding a grudge (by proxy) in the name of many dead fish.

Yeah, that's pretty bad advice. I would only ever buy livestock there. Never would I listen to their advice. When I was getting a clown, the lady said 1) it needed a pair, and 2) that it needed an anemone. I pretended to believe her. As soon as I walked out of the store I just laughed.

 

[sfin52]

I wouldn’t buy it just because petco is a chain store and doesn’t give proper care to its livestock. I wouldn’t want to support that and the blasto is likely to have other pests knowing Petco.

Not every petco is that way just like not every lfs is thay way.

I've been to a lfs who just pours copper in thier tank. 100 full strength reef dips and leaves coral in there for hours. Than wonders why coral dies.

 

[DaprDon]

Depends on the store. The one I use has a good aquarium section manager and I’ve gotten several fish and even a few corals. And yes there are plenty of not good PetCos, like the one 10 minutes away. Maybe I got lucky but there are a number of people I know here on R2R that use PetCo for livestock.

I agree with you! There are 3 in my are 1 in town 2 40 minutes away. Only 1 is well kept. This store is the first I've seen with more than leather corals. I've been hoping to get some blastomussa. And here is one with 7+ heads for $24.99 and feel it is worth saving it's life.

 

[steveschuerger]

I agree with you! There are 3 in my are 1 in town 2 40 minutes away. Only 1 is well kept. This store is the first I've seen with more than leather corals. I've been hoping to get some blastomussa. And here is one with 7+ heads for $24.99 and feel it is worth saving it's life.

Looks pretty healthy actually. Wish I could find corals like that for that price. Unfortunately not only does the section manager take good care, he actually knows the worth of the corals…sigh

 

[DaprDon]

Dips won't kill vermetids by the by. You can still do so, and then scrape any off or switch out the plug for one of your own. My batch of vermetids came from a micromussa where it stuck up between a couple of the polyps. I kept wondering why it had been covered in the mucus net till I realized what it was.

I always dip and scrape any verms I see, have bumblebee snail on patrol if I missed one.

 

[DaprDon]

Looks pretty healthy actually. Wish I could find corals like that for that price. Unfortunately not only does the section manager take good care, he actually knows the worth of the corals…sigh

I am finding that it is worth trying to find an LFS with a nice coral selection with reasonable prices. They're having a hard time competing with online shops so you can find some good deals without the shipping cost which would be less if you were getting one or 2 corals.

 

[DaprDon]

Not every petco is that way just like not every lfs is thay way.

I've been to a lfs who just pours copper in thier tank. 100 full strength reef dips and leaves coral in there for hours. Than wonders why coral dies.

I agree. Sometimes I want to save a life. For the price of 1 blastomussa head I get 7-8 and I've been wanting to add Blastos to my tank, I felt it might be worth it.