Petco is the only pet store in my area that is within 60 mile. Every single tank has this cup o salt in them. what p----- me off is that every time i go there in the hope they will have some thing for a 155g tank. Half of there fish are dead:devil:
PetCo and Salt
- Thread starter SftWrmRain
- Start date
I don't work at Petco, but I do work at their competitor PetsMart. While I don't think our staff fall in the particular category of idiots, I do think that my company as a whole and other pet stores promote many myths about aquarium salt.
We are required to do daily salinty tests on our system, add salt as needed and also add those unecessary "tubs" of salt in a select few of our livebearer tanks. Why? Because our District Manager tells us to that's why. My personal theory is to compensate for the poor condition we recieve many of our fish in from those oh so wonderful breeders. Our info tags for many of our fish also state that half of them require aquarium salt.
Believe me, it's get's old trying to convince customers that it isn't a necessity and explain why we are contradicting the information our company is putting out there.
We are required to do daily salinty tests on our system, add salt as needed and also add those unecessary "tubs" of salt in a select few of our livebearer tanks. Why? Because our District Manager tells us to that's why. My personal theory is to compensate for the poor condition we recieve many of our fish in from those oh so wonderful breeders. Our info tags for many of our fish also state that half of them require aquarium salt.
Believe me, it's get's old trying to convince customers that it isn't a necessity and explain why we are contradicting the information our company is putting out there.
one good point. the people that work at these places get min or low wages. i think most only know what they been told or read from the company. i am sure most have no idea what fish keeping is really about. for me if i say idiots at petsmart or petco its the whole company how its run and not that one person i dealt with.
I commend you for both being here to learn more about fishkeeping, and also for trying to properly educate customers even though it contradicts your company's policy. I wish I could figure out WHO in the company MAKES these rules, and how much they know about fishkeeping.
Once, I talked to the store manager at PetCo about their "aquarium plants" not really being aquarium plants but rather plants to be grown out of water, and he didn't have the slightest idea what I was talking about. He quickly realized I was the one with more knowledge and followed me around the store, learning. LOL I wasn't terribly comfortable with that, but it shows you what kind of knowledge the management will have as you get higher on the totem pole.
I found a new LFS and I spent 15 minutes or so talking with the owner--a woman in her 60's who has been keeping fish for over 40 years. She uses salt in all her tanks. It's what has worked for her and her fish are very healthy. A lot of fish keepers keep salt in all their tanks--there's quite a few here that do. Her reasoning is that it keeps them healthier--she doesn't use any meds in her tanks and she believes that aquarium salt works wonders. I have never lost a fish to acclimation from her tanks even after an hour drive in the cold. I can't say the same about her competitor, a large LFS. In particular, I was about ready to give up on rummy nose tetras. They have a reputation for being hard to acclimate, and I was inclined to agree after losing about $40 worth over the course of a month. I went into her store and found a bunch of healthy ones a dollar cheaper. Brought them home, acclimated them, and they're going strong. I am not saying it's the salt but it works. Salt in Petco's tanks is probably the least of their transgressions.
Jackie
Jackie
All I can figure is they use the salt to help ward off disease before being sold, and figure since it is only temporary home they'll be fine . :huh:
Youre right Buc. It assists in the healing of injuries, promotes formation of slime coating and is effective against some parasites. Petco basically uses salt to keep the fish alive until you buy them, how thoughful huh? Just so you know my petco does'nt use salt in any of thier freshwater aquariums. I must have lucked out my local petco's tanks are kept in good condition. They also have "older" employees who seem to care about thier fish, sometimes LFS employees can be careless when it come to things.
I was in my local petco the other day, and i heard one of the young ladies who worked in the aquaria section arguing with a customer over putting 4 (yes, 4) baby oscars in a 10 gallon tank. she tried and tried over again to convince this customer that he was making a very bad choice and that all 4 of the fish would die, but he would have none of it. the girl offered other options (tetras, guppies, etc) and he wasnt hearing that, either. he wanted those oscars, and nothing else. needless to say, she pretty much refused to sell him the fish, and he stormed out of the store with his family. lol. of course after he left the girl recieved a bravo from the other workers and customers who knew what she was talking about.
That is cool the little lfs in my area has been bought out so many time i was in there and the lady was trying to sell a saltwater angel to a girl looking for fresh water angel .. I had to step into that one ... but they use the salt i thought it was sold in the tubes but after further investigation they are betta tubes?
