Buying Fish From Petcetera...

[Blaizze]

I've heard many bad things about purchasing fish from Petcetera but when I visited my local store, the fish seemed to be in fine order.

They had a Buy 1 Fish and Get 2 Free deal so I bought 2 fish and now have a total of 6 in my 29 gallon.

A few people are telling me they most likely will die because I bought them from Petcetera... whats everybody elses opinion on the store?

 

[monkey_toes]

The only problems I see with "big box" pet stores that don't also apply to locally owned shops:

1. The people who work there give terrible advice out of ignorance and because they are told to make the sale, no matter what. ("Of course you can have 3 oscars and an oranda goldfish in a 20-gallon tank.")
2. They have a "Wal-Mart effect" on smaller shops, often pushing them into specialization or out of business. That makes it harder to find good advice locally.

There are some exceptions to both, I'm sure. I prefer to go through a local shop because the owner appreciates my business, knows my name, and is all too happy to special order whatever I want. (Plus he remembers what he sold people two weeks ago, and when they come back for more fish he grills them about whether they'll be putting the bumblebee gobies they want in with the parrot cichlid they bought before.) All too often at the big retailers, you're just another face without a name, and their customer service sucks because of their "we have plenty more customers where you came from" attitude.

 

[twig]

I go to a big name petshop. "Nature" it's called. It's really not so bad at all. The people they have in charge of the tanks are very knowledgeable and they are hobbyists as well

Everyone there knows my name and asks me how my tank is doing. I also let them know a few things about plants, too. I've set up one of the girls with macro nutrients from gregwatson ...

They take really good care of the fish and they give advice that is often sound. At least about fish ... They aren't too knowledgeable about plants over there but these forums cover all the questions one might have eh....

 

[jaymasta]

I buy most of my fish from my local petcetera, my tank has been running for nine months, 6 of which it has been fully stocked with 8 fish, and I just recently added a crayfish, non of them have died or showed any signs or symtoms of distress or sickness, they also offer a 30 day warranty if the fish does die for whatever reason as long as you bring in a water sample. My petcetera always has a buy 1 get 1 free thing on, and sometimes they bump it up to a buy 1 get 2 and even buy 1 get 3 sale. I buy mostly from them becuase just to buy one fish it is usually half the price of a fish from an "aquarium fish" store, only you get 2 fish, so your looking at nearly a 1/4 of the cost when all said and done, and it adds up extrememly quickly, the fish in my tank cost me just under $40 after tax for all of them, and if I was to buy them from one of the other stores it would have been around $120 before tax. I don't ask them for advice or many questions, I do my research beforehand, and go in knowing exactly what I want, I might ask to see what they say but I wouldn't go in without previous knowledge.

 

[TheZoo]

what kind of advice did they give you on yuour fish? and what kinds of fish do you have now? and welcome to AC!

 

[Blaizze]

Currently I have 2 Gold Gouramis and 4 Guppys, 3 Male and 1 Female

All looked healthy although now it appears as if one of the Gouramis has bitten the Males tale... and I don't like that occuring.

29 Gallon and I still want to put 10 Neons in there and more plantation

I don't have any tall plants currently, just letting the new ones grow.... Java Fern, Baby Tears and Malayan Aqua Fern or something.

The two staff working in the fish department both have their own tanks and both seemed very knowledgable.

When I went to a different Petcetera location about 20 minutes away, most of the fish looked distressed and dying and non-colorful as compared to the location with the two knowledgable staff

 

[D-Bak]

When I went to a different Petcetera location about 20 minutes away, most of the fish looked distressed and dying and non-colorful as compared to the location with the two knowledgable staff

I found that it is pretty easy to determine who knows what they are talking about and who has no clue...

Just ask some more difficult questions that you already know the answer to and wait to see what they say. Also try to determine if they have any experience with the specific type of fish you are interested in....

I have a petsmart, petco, and 'pet supplies plus' locally. The 'pet supplies plus' is heads and shoulders above the other two and they get all of my business.... it really just depends on who they hire at that specific store....