What is this fish?

Texas Reefer · Jan 8, 2018

? At Petco! Probably shouldn't, just haven't seen it before.

NikoO · Jan 8, 2018

Looks like a neon dottyback (Pseudochromis aldabraensis)

Daltrey · Jan 8, 2018

Wow you can actually see in the tanks at your petco. That's awesome. At mine they just scoop the net into the tank and whatever comes out is what you get.

rockstarta78 · Jan 8, 2018

That does look like a neon dottyback. That fish should be little more active tho.

Daltrey · Jan 8, 2018

rockstarta78 said:
That does look like a neon dottyback. That fish should be little more active tho.

Have you ever been to petco. Most of the time the fish are just stuck to the filter inlet. That's about as active as they get.

Texas Reefer · Jan 8, 2018

He was very active and everything looked healthy! I don't know how much he was, no one manning the department. I didn't buy him... For one thing I don't have a tank available right now to treat a Petco fish, but I was tempted!

rockstarta78 · Jan 8, 2018

Daltrey said:
Have you ever been to petco. Most of the time the fish are just stuck to the filter inlet. That's about as active as they get.

Sadly, I have. I wish I hadn't tho. So when I tried asking questions to the dude in charge of the saltwater section, I get the distinct feeling, he was thinking about calling cops. So I shut up, and left.

Texas Reefer · Jan 8, 2018

Daltrey said:
Have you ever been to petco. Most of the time the fish are just stuck to the filter inlet. That's about as active as they get.

I had to use the "Pro" options on my cell phone camera to get a better shot. Yay!

Daltrey · Jan 8, 2018

I wish I would have taken a picture the last time I went in there. There were two dead black clownfish stuck to the inlet filters and the fake rocks covered in algea they used still had the tags on them in the tank.

Texas Reefer · Jan 8, 2018

Daltrey said:
I wish I would have taken a picture the last time I went in there. There were two dead black clownfish stuck to the inlet filters and the fake rocks covered in algea they used still had the tags on them in the tank.

That's really sad! Not everything at this store was in perfect condition. A fan work with no fan... But at least they have live rock, or rock being sold as such. No corals. I hope they decided if they can't keep them alive they shouldn't sell them.

CPL376 · Jan 9, 2018

I'm sorry that your petco's are crappy. I have a young man at my petco that takes great pride in his store. His tanks look great and if I let him know what i'm looking for he will try to get it for me. I've had him over to my house and traded corals with him from his personal tank granted they get sick fish in but he does pretty well for what he is expected to work with.

jwt1603 · Jan 10, 2018

I went to Petco for the first time this past weekend for the dollar a gallon sale to get a couple of quarantine tanks. I saw the corals and fish they had. The fish didn't look too bad and the tanks were very clean. The corals looked terrible. Probably because of the lighting. I almost bought a couple to try and save them from their fate in the store. If I had the QT set up and running I probably would have bought at least the large Zoa they had for 12 bucks.

Brew12 · Jan 10, 2018

I have had no qualms buying a fish from Petco, especially if they just get them in. They come from the same supplier that you get stuff from if you order from Live Aquaria. Odds are that a Petco fish will have the exact same diseases and parasites as non Petco fish. The only difference is that the issues are more apparent because they aren't allowed to run low levels of copper in their system and some stores don't maintain good water quality.

Set up a QT, treat, and good to go.