Interesting LFS happening...

[Fresh04]

Just in case anybody wonders about shopping at the LFS, a Petco in my town lost power from 3pm yesterday til 12a.m. this morning. I wonder how all of those fish were doing in those packed tanks?! It goes to show you that it can happen, and overstocking is definitely not a good idea, unless you are running a generator to keep the filter running!

[lostris]

maybe d shop had a generator.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I'm sure there had to be a generator or something. They have to be prepared in case some type of emergency like that happens and they lose power. No reason for hundreds of fish to die if say the store lost power for a few days.

[blitzen25bm]

its a petco! hundreds of fish die because most are run by morons. i was in there this one time watching the guy convert the fish to saltwater because they are worth more.

[Monroe729]

Originally posted by blitzen25bm
its a petco! hundreds of fish die because most are run by morons. i was in there this one time watching the guy convert the fish to saltwater because they are worth more.

:laugh:

wow... some people these days

[aquariumfishguy]

Yes, I'm willing to bet they had a generator. Not only do they keep fish, but some keep other animals and products (frozen) and I just can't see them wasting all that because the power went out... but you never know.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Originally posted by blitzen25bm
its a petco! hundreds of fish die because most are run by morons. i was in there this one time watching the guy convert the fish to saltwater because they are worth more.

Look, I'm trying to cut down on my petco bashing/hating. I would have normally said something to the effect of, "Come on, it's Petdump, they really don't give a crap about the fish or any animals and only care about money. If a bunch of fish died in one of their stores, they would probably just a sale to attract more people to make up for the fish loss. The sale would be like only a dollar off, which you would spend on gas because you keep having to bring dead fish to and from the store.":mad: ;)

[jeffro426]

I dont really know why everyone bashes petco/mart all the time...there are a great deal of bad ones, but there are some really good ones too...and often you can get really good deals. I got my bristlenosed pleco for 4 bucks there(most LFS around here sell them for 10+), my dwarf puffers for .99 cents each(usually 5-10 at LFS) and back when i had my oscar i only paid i think 3-4 bucks for him(8-12 dollars at LFS). Ive never caught any diseases or lost any fish from either store. Petco seems to usually better care of their fish as they usually have a much smaller selection, but if you know what to watch out for and know what your doing, some great deals can be had at these stores!

[often dignified]

I don't mind Petco or Petsmart - however I hate Wal-Mart.

The people at Petco and Petsmart don't try to intimidate you like a LFS would... not constantly bugging you and trying to give advice. If advice is needed, obviously you have the most powerful tool sitting in front of you -- the internet. Research your fish before buying so you know everything. Often times I find great deals in the stores, but the LFS is still cool to go in if I feel like spending twice as much.

Every body has fish die at some point, them killing them isn't much different from you, myself, or some nimwad who buys a tank and fish on the same day.

Do I agree with the chain stores keeping 50 bala's in a 10 gallon? No, nor do I agree with them leaving dead fish in their tanks all day and just turning off the light. I mean, if you are there to turn off the light or put a sign on it, please take the extra minute to scoop out the dead fish. I can't really control those issues so I try to look away. Wal-Mart doesn't care about anything, so that is expected of them... but not expected of a pet store.

[/rant] :p

[125gJoe]

The PetSmart in this area is 'average' on the fish they sell. I have seen worse at LFS here. I haven't been to a PetCo.... I'll have to give one a 'look over'... I have heard they aren't that good at attending to the stock.. :(

[Karlsbad]

I think Petsmart is better than Petco, I asked at the Petco and they have a 'fish specialist' come to the store once a week, and Petsmart has 'Technical specialists' that work at that one store only in the fish dept. But I've been to other Petsmarts with smaller fish depts. Still they have all that Marineland stuff and a refrigerator, you'd think there would be no reason for them not to sell bio spira which they don't, hopefully its not so they can sell chemicals to panicked newbies who they were too happy to sell fish and a tank to at the same time.

[ewok]

i sort of like petco actually. bash away, most of it's bull.

i almost hate to step into this, but it's all about the employees ........ if the teenager or whatever working there doesn't give a ****, then you're gonna have problems, ditto for management. i have been in all types of stores and this seems to be more the common denominator. if you have good employees then you have good fish. if the managers aren't keeping them busy in other parts of the store or dragging people in from other departments to do their work..... you also have a decent stock.

i actually tend to hate more the image of the LFS, crammed floor to ceiling with junk to try to compete with petco. instead of specializing in something "good" that works. how many times have you seen this? you barely have enuf room to walk down the aisles and sometimes it's actually hazardous. :rolleyes:

it's probably me, and this is probably why i'm not in business. but it would seem more like the cramped little places shouldn't be trying to compete with big chain stores head to head and work more on specializing and providing excellent service. you're not gonna beat wal-mart type stores for prices, so it would seem it would be better to make people actually want to come back. be more accessable to "special orders", maybe even cut good customers a break on the stuff that's way over priced, and most of all quit trying to sell them junk!

i have only ever seen one store with anything near this philosophy (125gjoe knows which one). i drive 45 minutes or so to go to one store (1 way) *just* because they have ghost shrimp and i like the rocks they stock. i *always* pick thru the bins, even if i don't need anything. alot of times i buy them "for the future" even if i don't need them at the time. there's another place i go to just because they have "fairly" priced fancy plecos and a decent selection of plants........

sort of sick of this bashing chain stores kinda thing. if you don't like them either don't go or get a job at the place and try to improve them. :(

as an aside note, i'm pretty sure petco's have generators. around here i'm pretty sure i've seen them.

[vaheelsfan]

Unfortunately, I live in a small town, and my options for buying fish are limited to two lfs and Wal Mart. The smallest store is the one I try to get most of my stuff from, and then wal mart, with the bigger lfs coming last. Even though the small store doesn't have a huge selection of stuff, I have only lost two fish I have bought from there. One showed signs of being sick about a week after I had him, as he swam spastically in a figure-8 pattern for a few seconds and then seemed fine. A couple months later it suddenly got worse and he couldn't swim, so I put him out of his misery. The other just died for apparently no reason about 6 months after I had him. Of the 3 cories, 6 cherry barbs, and one red tailed shark I got from wal mart, I lost two cories, one of which in an accident that was 100% my fault. The rest are fine. The large lfs has a 1 of 7 success rate. I just think it's shoddily ran, and the people that work there seem to think they're experts because they work at a pet store. Honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with buying fish at a large chain. As long as you get ones that don't have anything obviously wrong with them, and don't do anything stupid, I don't see where there is any difference.

[fuddmain]

The PetSmart in this area is 'average' on the fish they sell. I have seen worse at LFS here. I haven't been to a PetCo.... I'll have to give one a 'look over'... I have heard they aren't that good at attending to the stock..

125gJoe:

There's a new Petco on 50 and Bumby by the Barnes & Noble. It's not bad. Their tanks seem fairly clean, the store is new so that may not last. I can't say the selection is great. Their selection of plants is sparse.

I'm just getting back into the hobby after a several year long hiatus (marriage, kids, no money:) ) and I've been reacquainting myself with the LFSs in the area. The one's I've been in seemed to have gone downhill. Fishy Business on 427 is the only good one so far and only for livestock at that.

Do you have any recommendations?

~Brian

[snakeskinner]

I agree Jeffro. I've bought fish from many places including several petsmarts, walmarts and LFS's. Every place has the potential for idiots. I've filed a complaint with Wal Mart over one store and I've bought fish from others. Actually, I have yet to lose ANY of the fish I bought from the walmarts I did buy from. On the otherhand, I've lost a fair share of fish from several LFS's I've purchased from. I've also seen a few LFS shops where I knew more about the fish than the owner's did and I don't know a whole lot yet. I go to about every place I can find, if I get a bad vibe or have a bad experience, I don't go back. I have found who to talk to at certain places (including petsmarts) and know who not to talk to. I've heard bad advice in about all the stores and I've heard good advice in most as well. I believe this is called stereotyping, just because one's bad doesn't make them all. Kyle

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by fuddmain
...... Fishy Business on 427 is the only good one so far and only for livestock at that.

Do you have any recommendations?

~Brian Thanks, I will stop in there sometime. Maybe this weekend, since we are supposed to have a front come through - rainy weekend so they say..
For plants, Petland on 436 near the airport has been good. Large selection of driftwood, but it's up high and out of reach right before you get to the fish tanks...

[ewok]

Originally posted by 125gJoe

For plants, Petland on 436 near the airport has been good. Large selection of driftwood, but it's up high and out of reach right before you get to the fish tanks...

nahacky (sp?) in melbourne..............? it's not *that* far off. :p

[Rocketman]

Aqurium Fish Guy and I both live in the Rochester Hills, MI area. I work at the Pet Supplies Plus on Rochester and Auburn. In the last 5 month's we've really been doing a lot better with the fish. I really can't tell you everything, but both our managers are learning a lot, (one even took some kind of fish course in college) and we're starting to look at new products from new distributors, (what do people think of ViaAqua? It's basically fish products literally built in the same plant, with the same parts, as other more expensive products.) We're getting some Eheim products in, (I challenge you to find another Pet Supplies Plus that carries Eheim. If you do know of one, can you please tell me where so I can talk to them?) And a new freezer.
It really depends on the manager and the persistance of employees. I've been to other PSP's, and the tanks are covered in algae, the stock is old and dusty, etc.
Also, ya all know that big blackout in the Midwest? We lost power for 2 or 3 days, and we have no generators, and NEITHER DOES PETCO. Our former assistant manager at the time said the last time there was a power outage there, she had to go there and take all the small animals to some boarding house a few hours away.

[aquariumfishguy]

Just got your PM...and yes, am familiar with the place you work at as I travel past it about every day! I look forward to coming by...:)