PetCo?Petsmart?Good?Bad?

[Raskolnikov]

Petsmarts fish garuntee is awesome too.

True, true. Petco also has a 14 day guarantee for aquatic livestock. My closest "non-chain" LFS has a 48 hour guarantee, which is another reason that I'd buy a fish from Petco/Petsmart before buying the same fish from the other store.

Like I said before, though, the general lack of unusual or oddball fish is why a lot of my fish purchases aren't from Petco/Petsmart.

 

[jonathan03]

You might ask petsmart for a special order. They special ordered a green terror for me a few years ago and a few other things I asked them for. They did know me though from going there so much. But the worst they can say is no (and double the price on every item you buy ;-) j/k)

 

[powellmacaque]

My Walmart has a 90 day guarantee 0.o. Plus it is pretty clean, and cheap too...

 

[z71silverado98]

my wal-mart has dark green water, fish w/ no eyes, and a 24hr guarantee :thud: no wal-mart fish for me.

 

[reiverix]

The fish at any store are at the mercy of the people running it, whether it's petsmart or owned by an individual. I guess it's a hit or a miss and if you find a well maintained store then consider it good fortune.

 

[Blinky]

I'm generally not a huge fan of stores like this selling fish, but my local Wal-mart surprised me recently - they've put information on each tank listing the fishes' names, adult sizes, and compatibility. There are pictures accompanying the info, so it's impossible to mix them up. Go Wal-Mart!
I do most of my fish/supply shopping at Big Al's and PJ's. They're both big chains, but for the most part have knowledgeable staff, clean tanks and healthy stock.

 

[Beagles]

The fish at any store are at the mercy of the people running it, whether it's petsmart or owned by an individual. I guess it's a hit or a miss and if you find a well maintained store then consider it good fortune.

I totally agree. I've been in a LFS and was totally disgusted and I've been in a chain store and been totally disgusted. And then there are standout LFS and standout chain stores.

 

[TommyR]

My local Petco (Poughkeepsie,N.Y.) is pretty good, the fish are healthy enough. You do see an occasional dead one but that's to be expected anywhere. I've bought corys,platies,danios,rasboras there and they were fine. Tanks are clean, fish are energenic. Not sure how knowledgable the staff is.

Dry good are way overpriced though.

Tom

 

[chinnp]

I've found it to be hit and miss. There's one Petsmart in town that generally has healthy livestock but pretty clueless sales people. I buy most of my dry goods at Wal-mart because it's cheaper, but would never buy livestock there. I get most of my fish from a small local store. The Petco's here in town both have horrible quality livestock, though I've bought dry goods from there before.

 

[SodeeMama]

As far as prices go, "Petco" offers super low prices for fish. I'm pretty sure they're cost is across the board, since it is a large corporation (dunno, BUT possibly). For instance, I just bought a pair of Marble Sailfin Mollies for $1.79 (US) each, and pair of Dalmation Sailfin Leartails for $1.69 each. So far, so good. None have been destined for the porcelain god to date :thud: !

Then again, fish quality and shelf life is pretty much based on a case-by-case basis as far as retailers go.