Thoughts on buying fish from Petco and Petsmart?

[Brickosaurus]

I've heard conflicting thoughts on Petco and Petsmart, and buying fish from there. I know it's better to buy from a breeder or local store, but not everyone has access to a store like that. And shipping is crazy expensive when you buy online.

You are you're guys thoughts?

 

[Brickosaurus]

You are you're guys thoughts?

*what are you're guys thoughts?

 

[duanes]

I suppose it depends on if you're a casual hobbyist, or more involved.
When I lived in the states, had never bought any fish from either of those stores, for one,
because
I would never want anything that could be in the least considered a hybrid, or mutt, so I will pay to have pure bred species shipped,
unless I know a respected breeder near me.
But to tell you the truth, neither of those store ever carried any of the species I wanted, so it was actually a moot point.

 

[Deadeye]

Depends on your petsmart or petco. I have had very few problems with my local petsmart, but nearby petcos are hit or miss.
Same rules as any store: know what you’re buying, don’t get anything visibly sick, don’t get anything with dead fish in the tank, etc..
Variety is usually not as good as at most lfs, and as duanes mentioned, you can forget about purebred species.

Petco Marine fish are a very different story - you might as well buy filets from the local supermarket. They have a better chance of long term survival (without quarantine, of course).

 

[Brickosaurus]

Depends on your petsmart or petco. I have had very few problems with my local petsmart, but nearby petcos are hit or miss.
Same rules as any store: know what you’re buying, don’t get anything visibly sick, don’t get anything with dead fish in the tank, etc..
Variety is usually not as good as at most lfs, and as duanes mentioned, you can forget about purebred species.

Petco Marine fish are a very different story - you might as well buy filets from the local supermarket. They have a better chance of long term survival (without quarantine, of course).

I definitely feel like Petsmart is much better when it comes to fish. I think you are right that it depends on the particular store.

 

[krichardson]

Petco Marine fish are a very different story - you might as well buy filets from the local supermarket. They have a better chance of long term survival (without quarantine, of course).

LOL!....and I've never been to a Petsmart or Petco that had much of a selection of other than the ho hum bread and butter fish.

 

[Brickosaurus]

LOL!....and I've never been to a Petsmart or Petco that had much of a selection of other than the ho hum bread and butter fish.

Which is good for me, because at the moment the fish in wanting are just you're average fish like neons, gouramis, platys eat.

My local petco sucks! It used to be amazing, but now the management has changed and it's gone way downhill. Dead fish are everywhere and the selection is much worse as well

And even though the nearest Petsmart is an hour away, they do such a good job at keeping the fish and tanks healthy.

 

[Brickosaurus]

fish like neons, gouramis, platys eat.

*ect stupid auto correct

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

I have no qualms about buying fish from there as long as they're decent. Most of what I keep (large CA cichlids) aren't something they really carry. We don't have Petco here, but there are Petsmarts located a few hours away that I'll stop in and check out. But I will happily grab my "cheap" fish from there - platies that live in my crayfish tank, angelfish as they often have quite nice marbled ones, guppies, etc. They do have some nice varieties and depending on the specific location, the fish can be actually pretty healthy and taken care of in decent conditions in store. I just use my judgement - I won't buy fish that actively look sick or diseased. ALWAYS make sure to quarantine any fish you get from there, whether you THINK they're sick or not. But I see no reason I should pay often twice the price for common fish like platies that I just want as colourful dithers at a local store.

 

[tlindsey]

I've been to some decent and bad Petco and Petsmart stores. The major problem with these stores are high turn over rates with employees in particular departments. Sometimes there will be someone with knowledge working in the fish department. Also Petco will special order fish for you if you ask the manager of the store.