Why oh why...did i got to Petco for fish???

[Chlorinated]

Hi all

The title says it all. I have a black and white clown ive had for about 5 years now. Its mate jumped 3 years ago and she has been alone ever since.

2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to pair her up again and get a new small male to make the transition easier.

Now I know...Petco...don't do it. Well I did...i was excited and made a poor decision. All fish in the tank looked nice and healthy so I felt better about my decision. I chose the one that as most active, had great color, etc.

Got it home, acclimated and put in a specimen box so he and the big female could meet for a few days without killing eachother. Left the new male in the box for 72hrs....released....and they took to eachother no issues! Everyone eating and playing well together, no aggression.

Fast forward 1.5 weeks to Saturday (few days ago). The large female had white slime covering her back half of the body...brook....caught her, did a freshwater dip. The small male appeared to be fine so I didn't dip him but probably should have.

Slime went away. Everyone still eating...great news! Next day female has missing scales where the white was, but still eating, male looks good still so slightly optimistic.

Yesterday..2 days post fresh water dip, small male was found dead on the sand in the middle if the day, covered in white slime...female, looks no worse and swimming better than before. Sucks, but atleast the female is holding on.

Wake up this morning and the female can barely swim, white slime is back and has a spot near head now. I know its only a matter if hours at this point.

So anyway, learned my lesson...im very upset both at the loss and at myself for being so foolish.

Now I've never lost a fish due to disease. At this point, is it best to leave my tank fallow for a few months, or is there no point and just get new fish, feed well, etc.

I wont be buying from Petco again and will pay more to make sure I have healthy fish, but even then I know there are no guarantees. I live in an apartment so QT isn't an option for me....thought I would put that out there.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Fish from any source can have infections and parasites. If you look through the disease forum you'll find very few people buy from Petco, but there's still a lot of disease. If you're not going to QT, this is unfortunately going to be a reality of buying new fish.

Places like https://quarantinedfish.us/ are probably the only vendors that you can almost guarantee will sell you clean and healthy fish.

 

[rwreef]

Sorry about your fish troubles. I believe this risk is always present and QT is the best preventative option. I purchase fish from Petco (also got a clown for the same reason a few years ago) and I've had no issues during QT. If you cannot QT (space) Then I agree, go to LFS and ask them to QT for you. My views have not always been this way...my buddy lost all his livestock and now QT is a must. Best wishes!

 

[AC1211]

Some LfS and online sources will qt for you look for those.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Unfortunately brook and it can take a fish down quickly if not treated. FW bath was good but followed up by formalin ir formalin based such as ruby rally pro

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Hi all

The title says it all. I have a black and white clown ive had for about 5 years now. Its mate jumped 3 years ago and she has been alone ever since.

2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to pair her up again and get a new small male to make the transition easier.

Now I know...Petco...don't do it. Well I did...i was excited and made a poor decision. All fish in the tank looked nice and healthy so I felt better about my decision. I chose the one that as most active, had great color, etc.

Got it home, acclimated and put in a specimen box so he and the big female could meet for a few days without killing eachother. Left the new male in the box for 72hrs....released....and they took to eachother no issues! Everyone eating and playing well together, no aggression.

Fast forward 1.5 weeks to Saturday (few days ago). The large female had white slime covering her back half of the body...brook....caught her, did a freshwater dip. The small male appeared to be fine so I didn't dip him but probably should have.

Slime went away. Everyone still eating...great news! Next day female has missing scales where the white was, but still eating, male looks good still so slightly optimistic.

Yesterday..2 days post fresh water dip, small male was found dead on the sand in the middle if the day, covered in white slime...female, looks no worse and swimming better than before. Sucks, but atleast the female is holding on.

Wake up this morning and the female can barely swim, white slime is back and has a spot near head now. I know its only a matter if hours at this point.

So anyway, learned my lesson...im very upset both at the loss and at myself for being so foolish.

Now I've never lost a fish due to disease. At this point, is it best to leave my tank fallow for a few months, or is there no point and just get new fish, feed well, etc.

I wont be buying from Petco again and will pay more to make sure I have healthy fish, but even then I know there are no guarantees. I live in an apartment so QT isn't an option for me....thought I would put that out there.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any and all advice.

I too bought both my fish from petco actually all 3.
I too live in an apartment.

my nem got sick.
I made a 10gallon hospital tank.
it comes down today when I get off work.
you can always set up a temporary qt. Maybe just 5 gallons. But be prepared to change water frequently. For this and my nem I used tap water. Mixed for 24+ hours.
you can get marine water conditioner. That way your not making so many trips to LFS for rodi or salt water.

just because we live in apartments doesn’t mean we can’t set up temporary qt tanks. It might be crowded for a bit but then you can take it all down.

I bought a 20gal trash can from Walmart for like 10 got a 10 gal tank from petco for like 9 bucks. (always check petco online prices as they are at times cheaper than in store and they will price match)

 

[Acros]

In my experience, most LFS don’t treat their fish any better than Petco. QT is the only solution or you could find an online/LFS vendor who quarantines and treats their fish. Even in that case, the water is shared between multiple fish and if one them has any issues, chances are you will get it into your tank.

I don’t mind buying from Petco. They give you a new fish or your money back if the fish didn’t survive for at least 14 days. It’s laughable that most LFS and online vendors do not have enough confidence in their fish handling to offer 14 days live guarantee.

 

[Memisis]

Pointing the finger at Petco is probably not fair. We should be quarantining fish from any source unless you know the source and trust them.

We should especially be quarantining fish from Petco but I heard quite a few great deals being had at Petco (like 25$ purple tangs and such). But you can't judy toss them into the DT.

Best of luck dealing with the issue, I'll let the experts speak to that. Please keep us updated on your trials and tribulations. At the very least someone thing of buying from Petco can search the forum for petco and have a different petco buying strategy.

Maybe we should be thinking of Petco as a fish rescue it's going to take more work to turn a rescue animal around.

 

[Conchman]

QT is essential. Currently have only clowns. I get them right from a breeder, 3 miles away. I have got stock from the chains, mostly did ok. Normally hardy fish had issue, more sensitive fish passed no issues, Hit and miss I guess. Even a small 5 gallon would work. I keep a 10 gallon, heater, hangover filter and pump as a QT tank. couple of pvc pipes for hideouts. Like others said, change water as needed. Sorry for the loss...

 

[Alaeriel]

So sorry for your loss! Both of my firefish from Petco, and we have a similar housing situation here. We set up a 10 gallon tank for QT and just cleared a spot off an end table for it.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

In my experience, most LFS don’t treat their fish any better than Petco. QT is the only solution or you could find an online/LFS vendor who quarantines and treats their fish. Even in that case, the water is shared between multiple fish and if one them has any issues, chances are you will get it into your tank.

I don’t mind buying from Petco. They give you a new fish or your money back if the fish didn’t survive for at least 14 days. It’s laughable that most LFS and online vendors do not have enough confidence in their fish handling to offer 14 days live guarantee.

from what my local petco said they will not guarantee their saltwater live stock. But this may vary location to location.

have not bought fish from LFS so I never asked that question.

 

[92Miata]

Most LFS don't guarantee fish either.

Petco gets their fish from the same exact wholesalers as everyone else. PetCo managers have relatively wide latitude on how they take care of fish - so some are fantastic and some are terrible. Just like LFSs.

What is true is that every time someone loses a fish from PetCo - they seem to blame the store.


Quarantine your fish - even if it means in a bucket with a heater and a powerhead. For readily available fish like clowns - buy captive bred - ideally locally - instead of getting them from california wholesalers. Shipping right now is all sorts of screwed up - and the wholesalers are receiving fish that have been in shipping way longer than normal - and are stressed out way more than normal. And then they're shipping them to stores - and that takes way longer than normal - so they're showing up way more stressed. (and stressed means sick when you have lots of fish together)

 

[Glass Algae]

I refuse to use big box stores like petco for anything even kitty litter for my cat. I don't trust the upkeep and protocols of the business.

 

[Biglew11]

not petcos fault, disease can be anywhere no matter the source. my first saltwater fish i got from petco 2 clowns. one dyed in about a week, i should have looked closer but one was very skinny from the go. the other one is now 4 years old.

 

[Chlorinated]

I appreciate everyone's input.

Maybe it isn't fair to blame Petco, but I am far from the first to complain about sick fish from them.

At the same time, given CIVID, and current shipping issues, stress could have also been a factor, and not always easy to see.

Quarantine...i get it, but you also don't know my living situation. When I say there's no room, I'm not making excuses. Plus there are other factors like kids, that make a bucket with water and electronics laying around not such a hot idea.

Anyway. Thanks all. In all honesty I needed to vent. I will most likely go captive bred to replace the ones I lost. Im still very upset over my female. She was huge but peaceful and took to the male without issue. Now i need to start from scratch. It is what it is.

Thanks all

 

[Glass Algae]

not petcos fault, disease can be anywhere no matter the source. my first saltwater fish i got from petco 2 clowns. one dyed in about a week, i should have looked closer but one was very skinny from the go. the other one is now 4 years old.

That's fine m every petco I've been into looked disgusting in the salt area. My 2 cents. Still wouldn't shop big brand seems like you're asking for it at that point. I'd rather pay a shop extra to qt it for me than do the newbie qt and pray

 

[Anihiel1]

I think also it depends on the petco- the one by me is very lucky to have a person in charge who actually has saltwater tanks and knows what she's talking about, and takes excellent care of their system. But very often you have employees without a clue.

 

[Privateye]

Petco is convenient and has some good prices (dry goods especially) but they aren't known for the best husbandry. It highly depends which one you go to though. The one in NYC has some fantastic coral, nice discus, etc. but this is not typical. The ones by me now don't even carry saltwater fish.

Years ago my buddy got a plate coral tree there for $10. I inherited it from him, and it makes about 5-10 green plate corals about 5" in diameter (they grow up to 12") annually. I just pop them off the base and bring them to stores. They grow like regular plates once you pop them off. It was a heck of a steal and paid for itself maaaany times over, so you never know what you'll find at Petco. The guys working there might not be able to spot something unusual either. I know another guy that would buy fire shrimp at peppermint shrimp prices because the employees didn't know what they should look like.

With any fish from any store, you will want to quarantine your fish. You may want to invest in a strong UV sterilizer for your tank, as many diseases can be killed by them.

We've all been through this before, and I'm really sorry to hear about your fish. I'd get a UV ASAP if you think there's any chance of saving yours. Get one rated for your volume / flow rate, with a dosage for parasites (not all are susceptible, but many are). Not just for eliminating green water.

 

[SaltISlife]

Petco gave ne discus plague once. Its a unknown disease hense plague that can wipe out all discus in 6 days. There is no cure. And the 2% that recover become carriers for life. Lost 4000$ in fish. Quarantine the fish too it was fine hense carrier that diesnt show synptoms of get sick anymore.

I was ticked and hated petco. But it happens to local stores too. A new local shop that opened in northern virginia. Sold a discus to a guy and he ended up with discus plague as well wiped out all his discus. They all get there fish from the same people honestly.

My petco gets its corals from ORA and other big name companies. Same eith their fish. 95% of my fish in my 135 came from petco. I got velvet once from it and it wiped out my fish. But thats before i learned about proper qt and treatments for salt water when i was new to salt.

But now i have 5 big fat tangs and other fish. Petco is also much cheaper than local stores. That new store that opened up for example wants 140$ for a potter angel petco wants 80$. Neither of them are QTd in the store. So who do you think ill buy from ? Petco of course.

I wont support a local store if the prices dig deep into my wallet. Doesnt make finacial sense to me

 

[Vette67]

I bought my six line wrasse, my royal gramma and my bangii cardinal at Petco, along with a leather coral. All are alive several years later and doing just fine. While I'm no huge Petco fan, they are the closest saltwater store to me. I think like others have stated, quarantine any and all fish, regardless of vendor, and your success rate should change.