Pet Smart Fish

[Whiskers]

so after 8yrs of a 110gal and raising fish all your life,,, you took that kind of chance with that many expensive fish. OUTCH !!!! i can understand your pain but you played with matches. If you don't mind me asking,, what kind of fish did you loose and how long had you had them,,, the full 8yrs ????

 

[jo3olous]

that sucks, i'd be pretty mad but after thinking it over I would probably blame myself o_0

 

[ts808]

Unfortunately, I experienced the same thing buying "algae eaters" from PetSmart. I was new at setting up an aquarium and needed a couple algae eaters, so I went to PetSmart and saw fish called "algae eaters". The store clerk also recommended them.

Being new to algae eaters and aquariums, I was not aware that they were Chinese algae eaters, that are notorious for being aggressive towards other fish, especially guppies and neons. I didn't know that until I posted on this forum and was told that it could be the algae eaters.

PetSmart did take the algae eaters back and give me store credit, but only after losing about 8 fish in a 2-week period.

I followed the advice of this forum and got 3 otos instead, all of which survived, and are doing a great job of keeping my tank clean.

I think the lesson to be learned is twofold: always do some research before going into a store and buying fish, and DON'T assume that just because someone works in a pet store, that they necessarily know what they are talking about. That's not a knock on PetSmart, but think about it: many of the employees are not only minding the fish, but consulting customers about dog food, cat gear, etc.

 

[Punkrulz]

I have been fortunate with my last transaction with Petsmart. I believe it was after I read that corys enjoy fellow corys around. I went to my good LFS, but they did not have any other emerald corys. I came home with a peppered cory and 7 neons. We stopped at Petsmart on the way (where my original emerald came from), and got another emerald green.

This was maybe... 4-6 months ago? I've lost one fish in that time, I believe he was on his way out after his platy friend passed... but none of the fish I have gotten have appeared to contaminated anything else. Which is good, because I don't have a QT tank at all. I'm amazed, that all of my fish, Pet Smart purchased or otherwise, survived my transition from gravel to sand... they were looking horrible in their temporary home.

I also know that i only bought one fish that trip at Pet Smart... I apologize. I was typing up my story when I realized that I bought the neons at the other LFS and not PS... but you get the idea.

 

[zzz22zzz]

sorry for the loss man

 

[Kalavek]

Having only had a fish tank running for a short period, there isn't much I can add to this in terms of experience - but I have heard complaints about fish from PetSmart being a sickness/contamination risk.

However...

The posts in this thread about quarantining new fish are right. If you have spent a lot of time/effort/money setting up a tank, you should probably not be tossing new fish straight into your tank regardless of where you bought them. Even high-end stores can end up with a bad tank. You should look at the condition of their tanks (plural!), looking for dead fish or signs of illness before you buy.

I have also been told to never add the store's water to your tank. At the very least, adjust the new fish to your water temperature, then net them to transfer them from the baggie to the tank and discard the store's water.

I think the bottom line here is that adding new fish always carries some risk. Do what you can to limit the risks; quarantine the new fish for more than a couple days, adjust their water to match your main tank, and watch them closely for any signs of illness. Hopefully anything they might carry with them will show up before you move them to your tank.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

This thread is full of good advice and logical thoughts. However, the person who wrote it, Ransom, seems to have joined the forum, ranted, and left. I find it interesting that he felt the need to warn us all about Petsmart, like no one else has bought fish there before. Oh well, it's a shame he/she apparently isn't getting all of the helpful information.

 

[brian1973]

I love threads like these...while I appreciate the "warning" the fish I currently have came from petsmart...the expensive dwarf cichlids I special ordered--all dead. The GBR's that I bought at a high end store--dead. I would have to agree that after 8yrs you would know to QT new purchases. Also I may have missed a post or 2 but I dont see ts808 blaming the store for selling him chinese algea eaters, because ANYTIME we make a purchase it is our job to know what we are buying and how to care for it. I think that before anyone starts bashing employees they need to look at who works at these stores, typically high school kids, what do expect from a person that makes minimum wage. Why is it we expect these kids to be source of useful information?

We have all made this mistake at one point, the lesson here is do your research, QT, and dont blame someone else for your ignorance.

 

[Avalon]

I've purchased many fish from PetSmart with great success. The fish business is heavily owner-responsible. I can't conclude from the original post that Ransom was wronged. What did he/she buy? What he/she have? Was there a conflict? Was there a disease? Was the tank overstocked? Was there proper equipment being utilized?

To say that someone sold you 'fish' and everything suddenly died is highly suspicious, regardless of your time in the hobby. There is some good advice in this thread, as well as some unfounded opinions. Until the original poster steps forward to provide details of the situation and a valid argument, this thread is closed.