Buying from Petco/PetSmart?

[NotFishyFishGuy]

hey everyone has anyone bought fish from petco/PetSmart? These stores are supposed to be worse than your local fish stores and supposedly don’t have as big of a selection. They are also known for fish abuse. The only time I bought from them was when I was a beginner and didn’t even know LFS existed so I got all my fish from a PetSmart near my house. Most people only go there for equipment dry goods related products. What about you guys?

 

[homer1475]

I've been to Petco's that are great, and some that are a nightmare!

It really all depends on who's taking care of the fish section. I go to one where the guy that runs that dept. used to own an LFS and does everything they allow him to do to keep the animals in his care well. Tanks are always pristine, fish are generally in good health, and fairly cheap.

Any Petsmart I have been into does not do salt, only fresh.

 

[CNDReef]

I’ve never lost a fish from petco but have lost some from lfs. I even have a squamosa that I picked up at a petco that’s been in my tank over a year. I would say like anything in life , use your common sense when buying from anywhere. Don’t buy a fish if it already looks bad and expect it to survive

 

[Deiblerj]

Petco fish are fine.....as long as you do a proper quarantine

I’ve had more petco fish outlive LFS fish

 

[WVNed]

8 of my 10 fish are from Petco

 

[miyags]

I buy from Petco. I also treat all fish before going into my main tank.It seems like LiveAquaria's DiversDen fish are getting really expensive. Even for common fish.

 

[Mike.P]

I buy from Petco. I also treat all fish before going into my main tank.It seems like LiveAquaria's DiversDen fish are getting really expensive. Even for common fish.

I think Petco owns them now.

 

[School Reef]

Always had good luck with Petco BUT like always, due diligence and prior knowledge are essential. Not all employees are good with fish, especially marine fish and inverts. Know before you go is a good motto wherever you shop.

 

[Shredder99]

Agree with Homer; it all depends on the attention given to them by the employees. It sounds like there may be some good ones out there, but not my experience. Only one of the Petcos near me does saltwater fish. The tanks are crawling with bristleworms, and full of aiptasia and algae. I buy dry goods only from them and that's only if I can't find it at LFS.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Petco has great deals and coupons that use for getting my salt.

 

[Hemmdog]

I don’t buy fish there. I use to buy dry goods there, but now with all I know from this site, even those products are inferior and not worth the money. Especially their gac, why would a pet store sell such low quality gac it causes hlle in tangs while marking it as safe for marine use. It just doesn't make sense to me. Their light selection too.. good lord.. why set up people for disappointment and failure by only offering the lowest of the low quality lights, still charge hundreds for them, and not mention if you want success with coral you need the top end model of these inferior lights and a few of them. People would be a lot better off who are getting into the hobby if they avoided petco all together. Once you know what you “can use” that they sell, then go there on rare occasions. If they just sold at least a few brands that are used in the industry it would be a complete different story. I’d die the day I walk in and they are selling kessils, radions, reef octopus stuff, tunze atos, quality sumps, anything like that would just make my day... lol.