PetCo./PetSmart

[NYCJodi]

Hi,

I'm wondering what kind of luck everyone has had with the PetCo and PetSmarts in the city...

We bought 4 fish and 4 shrimp at the PetCo in Union Square over a period of two months.... 2 fish died and 2 shrimp died. 50% isn't so great of a return rate for my hard earned dollars!

The only reason I'm going there is because it's within walking distance of my apartment. I'm wondering if my experiences are isolated, or pretty standard among the memebers here...

TIA,
jodi

 

[4angel]

I have had luck with what I boght from the PC down there. I get the guy to tell me how long they have had the fish in there tank. My logic being If they last for at least a week in those tanks they would last years in mine.

 

[Mario]

Well the thing is Petco and Petsmart are mass merchandizers, and as such dont have the expertise to deal with saltwater fish which as you know are very sensitive animals...I would rather go to an established retailer dealing only with saltwater fist/corals etc even though you would spend more

 

[triggerboy]

That Petco (Union Square) has very few experienced people working there. The fish are usually very cramped (5 tangs and 5 triggers in a 20 gallon tank is common) and don't look great most of the time.

To give some examples of things I've personally seen there...

I noticed how the acclimate their fish.... and it wasn't very profesional... example: Opening up about 20 firefish (packaged individually), dumping each one into a net, which was out of the water and each fish landed on top of another, then dumping the net full of firefish into a tank... THEN pulling out the floaters.

I've also seen them sell an obsene amount of fish to someone who really had no clue about saltwater tanks and thought they could just put as many in as they wanted all at one time. (The guy had 6 fish and 3 anmones for a 20 gallon tank) He was also asking why the 4 other fish he had weren't eating and acted wierd in his tank... he was told "I can't tell without seeing the fish".. that was the end of the discussion.


With that being said... I have to admit I've purchased there a few times over the past 3 years with mixed result... my suggestion is to ask when they are getting fish in and go at that exact time if possible... It's usually Thursday late afternoon....

The last fish I bought (6 line wrasse) I stood there for 1 hour as they unloaded their boxes from overseas... I then asked for a 6-line and picked one out straight out of the coolers they were transported in... it never went in their tanks... so far (2 months) he's been great.

The only benefit... if there is one... sometimes you can get a misidentified fish cheap there (lack of experience on their part)... When I bought the wrasse, they had a Red Sea Sailfin Tang (usually 80-90 bucks) labeled as a "Common" Sailfin (only charging 33 bucks).

So I'd say buyer beware... but you'd probably be better off at New World, or in some of teh other places like Fishtown or Absolutley Fish.

J.

 

[marrone]

I think if your going to buy from Petco in Union Square you need to just buy from the 2 reef tanks by the storage door near the stair case. The inverts and corals are ok and then do put some small fish, like goby's, mandrians,basslett and fire fish, and for the most part are in good shape. Actually you can get some good deals on the corals as they have no idea sometimes what they have.

As for the fish tank the fish aren't in good shape, not sure if they have dieases or their system has high nitrates & ammonia. That and they over crowed their tanks with fish and fish start to beat up on each other.

Also they maintain copper in their fish tanks so you need to be careful if you purchase any hermit crabs. If you put them in your tank you could be transfering in copper also.

Michael

 

[partagas]

How long has the Petco. in Union Sq. been open? I used to live a few blocks from thier on 3rd Ave. And it was not their before I moved upstate.

 

[Crakeur lost his password]

I was in the petco in union square last week. I didn't see those two invert tanks by the back (I looked) but I might have been half spaced out.

a friend told me a story of buying a percula at a petco, bringing it home and getting ready to acclimate it. He decided, on a whim, to tes the water that the fish was in. Sg was at 0. He double and triple checked it. The clown was in fresh water.

The store confirmed it.

 

[zahner]

this is probably a stupid question, but did the clown survive being held in FW?

zahner

 

[4angel]

I kind of feel bad for the front line employees. Somebody has to take the heat for something like that. There must be some idiot getting paid and not training someone properly.the guy who manages the aquarium dept.name is Warren. He seems like he knows his stuff. I dont think he would do something like that even if he was drunk.

 

[Rebels23]

I ahve only really bought from the invert tanks at the Petco on Union Square. A few peppermint shrimps, and one thorny red sea star. The shrimps died eventually because things in my tank ate it, but hte star is still doing great.

Rebels23

 

[marrone]

Alot of stores, like Petland and Petco, are know to keep there sg low. You could always tell when the put a gold fish in there to feed to fish and gold fish would swim around like it was in a fresh water tank.

Michael

 

[Datsme]

Originally posted by NYCJodi:
Hi,

I'm wondering what kind of luck everyone has had with the PetCo and PetSmarts in the city...

We bought 4 fish and 4 shrimp at the PetCo in Union Square over a period of two months.... 2 fish died and 2 shrimp died. 50% isn't so great of a return rate for my hard earned dollars!

The only reason I'm going there is because it's within walking distance of my apartment. I'm wondering if my experiences are isolated, or pretty standard among the memebers here...

TIA,
jodi

 

[Crakeur lost his password]

Did the fish die? I don't know. Liquid (not sure if he uses that name here but he uses it on nano-reef.com) told me the story. He said the fish was fine but he didn't keep it. He brought it back and that was how he found out about the fresh water in the tanks.

Funny thing is, if I owned fresh water tanks, I'd have gone in ans snagged all the fresh water tangs and whatnot. would be cool as hell.