Pet Smart Fish

[Ransom]

Hello All,
I have a 110 gal tank which I have had for over 8 years. I have been raising fish for all my life. HERE IS WHAT I WANT EVERY ONE TO KNOW. I bought 3 algae eaters from PET SMART and three days later all the fish in my tank were dead. My tank before hand was balanced and everything was in order. I had about $500 worth of fish in my tank. When I called Pet Smart they told me they could do nothing for me. I even explained what happened and all they said "we can replace the algae eaters, that is all we can do for you." If you are new to aquariums please do not get anything from PET SMART. I am giving every one a warning.

 

[MatthewLaw]

Maybe the algae eaters were just sick and contaminated the tank?

An algae eater can get sick whether it was bought at petsmart or some high end fish store. Sorry to hear about your loss. What you doing with the tank now?

 

[Lotus]

Sorry to hear about your fish

I quarantine every fish coming into my tanks. It's just not worth the risk of losing hundreds of dollars worth of your favorite fish.

 

[prgwin00]

That really sucks. I am sorry for the loss of your fish.

Most of the fish in my tank have came from pet smart. We are limited on choices in my area and that if one of the places we have had the best luck.

 

[tom91970]

I really see no reason for you to join MFT just to bash PetSmart. Fish die. I bought a fish at my LFS last month. It died. I've bought fish at Wal-Mart. They died. I've bought them at PetSmart. Guess what....they died. I've also bought them at all three places and they have lived for years. Die. Live. Live. Die. That's the way it is.

You had some bad luck. Truly sorry to hear that. Having a QT tank for fish is the way to go to prevent these things.

 

[MOsborne05]

I've bought fish from Petsmart many times, so to say that all Petsmarts are bad is a little outrageous. Maybe the one in your area isn't that great, but that doesn't mean that all of them are bad.

 

[MadridKid]

i admit, i buy fish at petsmart....and yah, they get sick or look sick. but i get them back to health and all that, and so far it has been working for me. the only fish purchased mistake was when i bought fish from a petco.....ohhhh boy, there is one thats 20 miles away from my house, which ovecoarse, i bought my tigers from. and gues what, they had *$%^#*@ ich all over them! and i BOUGHT THEM! my fault, but its ALL GOOD!

 

[davidt1]

I am know I am new, but if the fish lived well at the store and they died in someone's tank, doesn't that mean they couldn't handle their new environment?

 

[MadridKid]

thats a good question... i think it depends on the fishes immune system as well as there flexibility to adjust to other water parameters while being....sick.

 

[Lakea]

Both my petsmart and petco have excellent supplies and I have been real happy with the employees and the fish I have bought there. You should also always quarantine fish, especially if you have invested so much.

It is not always the pet store who is to blame, often times it is the customer who did not take precautions, probably did not ask questions about the fish, and probably did not take a good look at the stock and tanks before they bought the fish.

 

[FishGeek]

Im sry you had bad luck with Petsmart but all the fish at mine here are in exellent condition. Take a look at some of the pics Ive posted and most of them have come from petsmart. It may have been a bad batch or just a bad store, but not at all are that bad.

 

[charls]

*growls* Petsmart. I dispise petsmart. I use to buy fish from there but every single time they gave me inacrurate info about the fish and every single time the fish i got were sick! I have boycotted petsmart since.

Petsmart or at least the one here in san antonio always overcrouds there tanks and puts many fish together that don't belong with each other. They are horrible and even worse the people working there have no clue what there doing. No one that i asked at the store had any information on any of the fish. They couldn't even sex platies or ANY live bearers. Worse yet they don't know how to catch fish. When an employe tried to catch a fish for me THEY KILLED IT! I strongly encourage people to be wary. I'm not saying don't go but just watch out. But if you live in san antonio DON'T GO! there are plenty off LFS around here.

 

[anabanman]

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Qtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtqtq Q T. Good Luck Next Time .

 

[Fuzz16]

it yo responsibility as a fishkeeper to know hat your buyin and the information about it
just like yo wouldnt buy a car witout doin research ahead of time.

and i have known good people to work in the fish section...not all of them are dumb to fish.

 

[prgwin00]

I have been given good information at PetSmart, and bad info at PetSmart. You are right, you need to do your own research before you make a choice. We used to just decide "we would like some new fish" and head out planning on picking something we liked when we got there. Luckily for us the tanks are seporated in sections of peaceful, simi-aggressive, and aggressive or we would have picked some fish that would have eaten or at least attacked the fish we have...like when my dad, who knew nothing about fish, years ago when we first got a 20 gal tank, thought he would surprise us and bought us 5 tiger barbs and me not knowing what they were put them in a tank with neons and mollies....needless to say when we got up the next day all but one of my neons where gone, one tiger actually had the end of one of my neons still hanging out of his mouth. I didn't blame my dad or the store, where ever it was that he bought them from. I should have known more about any fish I put in my tank.

 

[Dozie]

I'm really sorry to hear about your fish, but there are a dozen different reasons why you really shouldn't hold it against your pet store.

The situation you are describing is also a bit extreme. You had a tank full of healthy fish when you added the algae eaters, then three days later they were all dead.

Did they die all at once? Like you went to bed and they were alive, you woke up the next morning and they were all dead?

Did you find them dieing one at a time?

Did you monitor amonia levels in your tank after adding new fish?

Any water changes?

Quick cure when you saw signs of ill health?

Did you do anything to prevent this unfortunate loss?

 

[charls]

Fuzz i'm really getting mad when you talk to me because you always talk down to me and well.......everyone. I already knew the info about the fish and i didn't say all petsmarts or fishstores were bad. If you read my post you might know that.

 

[FishGeek]

I dont really see how she was putting you down there. It wasnt directed only at you. This whole thread is about the same topic that you touched on and she was just making a point. Take a deep breath and relax

 

[Kissyboots]

Sorry to say it Ransom, but you just started a typical "bash walmart" thread.
Everyone hates it when fish die, especially all of them, and so many at the same time, but putting down a whole chain (even though it’s just the one store) just because the one batch of fish you bought was bad is not a reason to start a thread, or even join a forum.

As for buying from Petsmart, I've bought fish there before and never had a problem. I could say the same thing about Petco. Those two stores are chain stores with somewhat clueless employees, although there is the occasional expert. Yes, they overstock, yes, half the people don’t know fresh from salt, yes, most give you wrong information because they don’t know any better and don’t want to seem dumb.

The best thing you can do is check the fish you are about to get.
Check the other fish in the tank.
Check for dead fish.
Check for any other problems with filtration or food.
AND QUARANTINE NEW FISH.

Sorry about your loss, but this thread is just bashing a hopeless chain store that would have to raise its prices even higher in order to compensate for hiring knowledgeable employees.

 

[Mercury]

Sorry to hear. But even though petsmart does do stupid things like sell non-aquatic plants displayed within water , its not their fault for stocking diseased fish. Complain to the hatchery on the other side of the world. Fish don't stay in the stores very long, so most problems occur while shipping or while being growing.