Props to Petco *READ BEFORE YOU FLAME*

[c griseum]

flame angels always take a premium, people love em. Was it a helfrichi firefish? that i could understand for 60, definitely not an orange or purple. I saw orange firefish when i was there the other day and i think they were 19.99. I could never in my wildest dreams picture a goldflake angel swimming in a PETCO tank. LOL
The other thing that is still a problem for them, and sometimes a win for us, is the employees dont always know which fish matches which label, and sometimes the specific fish thats worth more doesnt even have a correct label, so you get the closest looking fish price. Sometimes its like winning a scratch off lottery ticket.

 

[tomtoothdoc]

The other thing that is still a problem for them, and sometimes a win for us, is the employees dont always know which fish matches which label, and sometimes the specific fish thats worth more doesnt even have a correct label, so you get the closest looking fish price. Sometimes its like winning a scratch off lottery ticket.

when i first got into sw and did shop for livestock at petco, i did get a whole rock of like 30 mushrooms for $15 because there were no label for it so he just took a label from a feather duster and scan that for price. :smile:

 

[Geraud]

Petco in Union Square actually have ORA frags from time to time (easy to recognize from the infamous black plugs). The prices are the same as everywhere else... but for a kind of faded coral.

I guess all it takes is someone who really is interested in reefing/SW to get better handling and care.

 

[FocusReefing]

That's good for that store but from what I've seen they still suck. I've seen regal angels in the petco either valley stream or union sq which didn't look like it would survive much longer. Also I really hate the fact that they rather the fish die than sell it at a discount. I was willing to take a chance on a yellow tang once that was infested with ick but they refused to give me any kind of discount for a questioable fish! Not a fan of petco at all.

 

[Imbarrie]

Petco and stores like them will never be able to compete with a smaller LFS.

Simply because of their corporate structure.
I was talking to someone who needed corp approval to change the T8 fluorescent lighting on their anemones into a temperature high enough to support them.
That kind of communication is a lot faster at your LFS.

Also the training of their staff. You have a large number of underpaid retail workers who may mean well or may not. But the person who does not know what they are doing can crash an entire system.

This is the worst place to look for a consistent quality resource for fish. I dont see how that could change. Not flaming them, I just dont see them having the ability to offer any quality remotely close to even a mediocre LFS. And not many of us shop at those.

 

[jaa1456]

flame angels always take a premium, people love em. Was it a helfrichi firefish? that i could understand for 60, definitely not an orange or purple. I saw orange firefish when i was there the other day and i think they were 19.99. I could never in my wildest dreams picture a goldflake angel swimming in a PETCO tank. LOL
The other thing that is still a problem for them, and sometimes a win for us, is the employees dont always know which fish matches which label, and sometimes the specific fish thats worth more doesnt even have a correct label, so you get the closest looking fish price. Sometimes its like winning a scratch off lottery ticket.

I constantly see Flames for 40 bucks near me, and unfortunately the firefish were the regular orange ones, the helfrichis were not much more though. As for label matching they have nice big pictures at the Petco with the higher end stuff and all the employees seem to know which fish is which. I stumbled upon this Petco because it was the only near me that had 40 breeders left during the dollar a gallon sale. I did once get a tiny hippo for the price of a yellow tail damsel though.

 

[c griseum]

I see so they were just outrageous prices. as far as Petco not selling discounted sick fish, in the store near me i wanted to purchase a sickly coral beauty but didnt notice its tank said on a sticker "not currently for sale". i even asked the manager if i could purchase it and treat it at home. he said that the Veterinarian for the store had to clear the fish as healthy before they would sell it. a few weeks later the sticker was gone annd i guess it was for sale again.
but i was surprised about the vet. comment!

 

[evilskudd]

They are all about animals first , and they do have a vet come into the stores a few times a week, as far as discounted fish go, you have to find out how long fish have been there for, or any animal for that matter. If they are there for a certain amount of time, they are eligible for "adoption " sounds weird for a fish, but I believe the discount is between 50-70%. Ill find out exactly and post exact numbers, but if I remember from when I worke there, that's how it went... We had a square Anthius that wouldn't sell so we had to put an adoption sign on it lol who here has actually had a knowledgeable employee help them at a Petco? If you want good help with decent saltwater fish, check out staten islands tottenville location... They get corprate "Ora" orders sometimes