Petco

[Lyss]

I went in to Manhattan to work at the office today, and since there’s a Petco a block away I went there on my lunch break. Went more to buy my cat a couple toys, but checked out the fish stuff while I was there — tbh it looked well-maintained and I was pleasantly surprised, including a small tank of corals. Didn’t check prices b/c I didn’t want to be tempted, but going by how nice everything looked, and how tiny these baby fish like blue tangs are in there, I can easily see how newcomers could get carried away and walk out w/a few baby angels and tangs for like a 20 gallon tank.

There was a beautiful little Midas blenny in there that was about the size of my tailspot and it intently watched me watching it w/this sweet little face. Made me feel like the puppies in pet stores that guilt you into taking them home.

 

[Chrisv.]

I went in to Manhattan to work at the office today, and since there’s a Petco a block away I went there on my lunch break. Went more to buy my cat a couple toys, but checked out the fish stuff while I was there — tbh it looked well-maintained and I was pleasantly surprised, including a small tank of corals. Didn’t check prices b/c I didn’t want to be tempted, but going by how nice everything looked, and how tiny these baby fish like blue tangs are in there, I can easily see how newcomers could get carried away and walk out w/a few baby angels and tangs for a like a 20 gallon tank.

There was a beautiful little Midas blenny in there that was about the size of my tailspot and it intently watched me watching it w/this sweet little face. Made me feel like the puppies in pet stores that guilt you into taking them home.

I've been pretty surprised by the quality of the livestock at my local petco. They are obviously not a reef specialty store, but they are WAY better than they used to be.

 

[BigMikeFlipz]

I've been pretty surprised by the quality of the livestock at my local petco. They are obviously not a reef specialty store, but they are WAY better than they used to be.

All the Petco's around here are crap. They don't take care of the tanks and there is only the cheapest freshwater fish available... to the average beginner buyer. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with freshwater, but it's like the standard fish and they are not well maintained. NONE of the 6-7 petco or petsmarts around Nashville have corals, if they do I have missed them completely.

 

[Sean Clark]

I do not have a lot of Petco experience. I have a few around me but the one that I have been to the most just browsing is well kept and will occasionally have some healthy looking livestock. I am still too timid to take on the challenge to make a purchase though.

 

[dvgyfresh]

About all my fish are from petco , orchid dottyback , clowns , domino damsels. Most are captive bred, even got a captive bred urchin . All healthy, it’s weird I usually get more issues from LFS due to collecting from wild , but I would never buy a coral lol

 

[Chrisv.]

All the Petco's around here are crap. They don't take care of the tanks and there is only the cheapest freshwater fish available... to the average beginner buyer. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with freshwater, but it's like the standard fish and they are not well maintained. NONE of the 6-7 petco or petsmarts around Nashville have corals, if they do I have missed them completely.

Two near me have a decent selection of beginner corals and the prices are great. Three head duncan for $12. I've still never bought from them, but I'm curious.

 

[hsosa]

my local petco has a really nice reef fish selection they even have Fiji live rock with coralline all over the rock. I see them hold their fish for a few days before they sell them and even have a quarantine tank thats separate from their other systems. everything is nice and clean .

 

[bruno3047]

I’ve read more than one account of people walking through Petco out of curiosity and scoring a gorgeous coral for a ridiculously low price.

 

[mingc]

I've been pretty surprised by the quality of the livestock at my local petco. They are obviously not a reef specialty store, but they are WAY better than they used to be.

 

[Jedi1199]

Two near me have a decent selection of beginner corals and the prices are great. Three head duncan for $12. I've still never bought from them, but I'm curious.

3 head duncan for $12??? Buy it and send it to me ASAP!!! I will gladly cover shipping and reimburse you the price!!

NONE of the big box stores near me (Petsmart, Petco) carry SW at all. They Petsmart nearest me does not even have a regularly restocked supply of frozen foods for SW. I have been looking for 3 weeks to refresh my supply of "Emerald Entree'" Yes, I know I can buy it online, I could likely even just make a run to the LFS I use in Modesto (About 40 miles away) I am just being stubborn since, while I like it for my tangs in the FO tank, I can feed nori as easily and I have that on hand.

 

[bruno3047]

3 head duncan for $12??? Buy it and send it to me ASAP!!! I will gladly cover shipping and reimburse you the price!!

NONE of the big box stores near me (Petsmart, Petco) carry SW at all. They Petsmart nearest me does not even have a regularly restocked supply of frozen foods for SW. I have been looking for 3 weeks to refresh my supply of "Emerald Entree'" Yes, I know I can buy it online, I could likely even just make a run to the LFS I use in Modesto (About 40 miles away) I am just being stubborn since, while I like it for my tangs in the FO tank, I can feed nori as easily and I have that on hand.

That’s exactly what I was talking about

 

[Lyss]

All the Petco's around here are crap. They don't take care of the tanks and there is only the cheapest freshwater fish available... to the average beginner buyer. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with freshwater, but it's like the standard fish and they are not well maintained. NONE of the 6-7 petco or petsmarts around Nashville have corals, if they do I have missed them completely.

This is what I was expecting to see tbh. I’ve been in that location plenty of times pre-covid but always for cat stuff and never went downstairs to check out the fish until today. It was a small number of tanks altogether, and maybe about 6 saltwater, plus a little tank w/corals in it in the front of the aisle. The rest were freshwater fish and plants. I didn’t see any dead livestock or noticeable signs of illness or disease, or even algae everywhere. Mind blown lol

 

[bro1123]

Just got this guy at my local PetCo - African Flameback Angelfish

 

[Gtinnel]

I have 3 PetCo near me and they range from disgusting tanks with sick fish and dying corals to really nice, well maintained tanks. I think the difference is whether the employees that work at the store care.

The one near me that is really nice is ran by a hobbyist, so he actually cares about the animals. It is weird seeing a frag rack of acropora at PetCo though.

 

[PhilMStudy]

I went in to Manhattan to work at the office today, and since there’s a Petco a block away I went there on my lunch break. Went more to buy my cat a couple toys, but checked out the fish stuff while I was there — tbh it looked well-maintained and I was pleasantly surprised, including a small tank of corals. Didn’t check prices b/c I didn’t want to be tempted, but going by how nice everything looked, and how tiny these baby fish like blue tangs are in there, I can easily see how newcomers could get carried away and walk out w/a few baby angels and tangs for like a 20 gallon tank.

There was a beautiful little Midas blenny in there that was about the size of my tailspot and it intently watched me watching it w/this sweet little face. Made me feel like the puppies in pet stores that guilt you into taking them home.

There is one local to me, bought two fish (still alive and healthy lol) there last summer/fall

luckily the manager at the time was a local marine aquarium society guy and took very good care of their livestock…

he left, I went back a few weeks ago…

people can make all the difference

 

[MillennialReefer]

I went in to Manhattan to work at the office today, and since there’s a Petco a block away I went there on my lunch break. Went more to buy my cat a couple toys, but checked out the fish stuff while I was there — tbh it looked well-maintained and I was pleasantly surprised, including a small tank of corals. Didn’t check prices b/c I didn’t want to be tempted, but going by how nice everything looked, and how tiny these baby fish like blue tangs are in there, I can easily see how newcomers could get carried away and walk out w/a few baby angels and tangs for like a 20 gallon tank.

There was a beautiful little Midas blenny in there that was about the size of my tailspot and it intently watched me watching it w/this sweet little face. Made me feel like the puppies in pet stores that guilt you into taking them home.

Honestly, this has been my go to location for years! I know exactly which Petco this is - the staff that take care of the fish are actually reefers and knew what they were talking about! One thing I noticed about this location is that if a staff member has no information about saltwater they will find someone who is or even call someone who is (and put me on the phone) - which I really appreciate! I'm not sure where they get their livestock from but every time I go the fish appear healthy and eating ... and quite honestly I rarely had any fish I bought from them die. The mini coral system they have seems healthy and has a great selection of basic frags.

 

[adsf430]

If this is the one in Union Square just be careful. Some days everything looks great and is tempting and others you can find a dead fish and one with ich. All their tanks are connected so if there's one sick fish don't buy anything. I go there all the time and none of the employees know anything about saltwater so it's all luck based on if all the latest fish shipped aren't sick so just be very detailed checking every tank that all fish are healthy before buying anything. Unfortunately the fish selection at other fish stores in Manhattan is worse somehow...

 

[rwreef]

There are several Petco stores in my area. The quality of saltwater stock absolutely depends on the Aquatics specialist. Some are good, some are not.

 

[Midrats]

I wish we had a Petco here, and that's saying something. All the real fish stores have closed one by one.

 

[Lyss]

If this is the one in Union Square just be careful. Some days everything looks great and is tempting and others you can find a dead fish and one with ich. All their tanks are connected so if there's one sick fish don't buy anything. I go there all the time and none of the employees know anything about saltwater so it's all luck based on if all the latest fish shipped aren't sick so just be very detailed checking every tank that all fish are healthy before buying anything. Unfortunately the fish selection at other fish stores in Manhattan is worse somehow...

All my fish came from Manhattan Aquariums and direct from Biota, and almost all my inverts came from Reef Cleaners -- I'm still not sure I'd purchase from any Petco but was happy to see things looking not like death, which would have been terribly depressing. Lots of tiny baby fish that grow up to be huge, which I could see being an issue for the uninitiated buyer if the staff doesn't ask what size tank they have. If I was going to purchase from a Petco, even if the stuff looked well-kept, I'd def commit to a full QT, that's for sure.