No way, a good PetsMart?

why would you have to kill the male to get the babies out? Sounds like they would be extinct if the male ate all the fry everytime they bred. Anyway, I did some quick searching because I had never heard that before and didn't find any support for you claim...have any resources to back that up?
 
The male cares for the babies when they are born. The babies instinctively enter the mouth to escape harm. (mouthbreeder) Therefore, to extract the babies, I would think you somehow have to get the male to open it's mouth and a full grown male won't be too cooperative. No concrete evidence to back it up though. Just my 2 cents.
 
arowanas do not need to be killed to get the babies, go to www.dragonfish.com and click on any link showing harvest or breeding. basically they just catch them and force their mouths opens to get all the eggs out. i thjnk it would be a little stressful at times but they aren't hurting them. i think they dont sell arowanas because noone would buy them because of price. i saw a 4 inch one there once but it was about 80 bucks. john
 
And just FYI damion, there are many species besides the arowana that are mouthbrooders. Keep in mind that even if someone didn't extract the eggs/fry, eventually the fish would let them go anyway...isn't that the purpose of breeding in the first place?
 
The PetSmart here is above average, but Pet Supermarket has better fish tanks and water quality. They actually have better tanks than most of the LFS's here. Walmart is another matter..
 
I have 3 PetSmarts within easy driving distance. I've found a lot of variation in knowledge levels between the stores as well as the quality and quantity of their stock. The care level has almost always been very good.

Another thing I've like about PetSmarts has been their response to consumer complaints. A couple of years ago I complained about the mistreatment of a large macaw by an employee and I got calls from not only the store manager but the district manager and somebody at corporate HQ as well and they took action necessary to protect the birds from further abuse.

Speaking of other fish/pet stores...I also have a PetLand that's not too far away. They have a well run fish department with a wide selection of fresh, brackish, and marine fish as well as a lot of plants. However, I hate buying anything from them because they sell 'puppy mill' dogs and they don't take good care of their birds and small mammals.
 
Petsmart

yeah the Petsmart here sounds just like the one described in the opening post. Sometimes you'll run into a few people working there who don't seem to know too much, but overall, I've found their prices to be best and their fish to be healthy.

Our LFS seems to attract a lot of people though, who have, IMO, a misunderstanding that smaller stores take better care of their fish...when almost all of the fish I've purchased there died within a few days. Furthermore, while the owner insists that his prices are better than Big Al's and Petsmart, I disagree. He's like an old car salesman...there's very few price tags on merchandise, so when you ask him "how much is this?" He'll be like "hmmm well, I see you in here often, so I'll give you a deal!...." but then you KNOW he just charges you more for other things you're buying at the same time. Drives me INSANE!! Needless to say, I don't go there much anymore.
 
First of all, it is the female Aro which carries fry (AFM, Sept. 2002), and secondly, the babies are released by her while in the net and she is left to swim away and hopefully have another brood. Now, if you have sources that say that mouthbrooding male Aros are killed in order to bring baby Aros into the hobby, I would like to see them. Otherwise, that is just hearsay and should be stricken from the record in this thread.
 
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