Please respond!

[alex7ktrc]

Hi, I've been on aquaria for about 6 months now and have a few questions for you guys. I work at a pet store and often wonder customers thoughts about fish stores, I plan on doing a post a week, each a different poll. My first is about the cleanliness of the tanks and how does it affect your attitude towards the store and buying a fish there.

 

[knashash]

Well they vary drastically depending on the fish store. Some suck..like PetCo and I would never buy fish there...others are great and are typicallly not part of a chain.

I cant believe Im commenting on Fish stores at 11:16 Fri night....Im such a geek!

 

[FooF]

Not too much, as long as the fishes look nice.

my wife and i seem to have a thing for rescuing fish from nasty conditions.
its really a problem and the main reason i upgraded from a 55 to a 130 lol
but yeah, if the fish look like they may have ich, i sometimes feel like i am the only one that can save them. if they look like they have fungus (wich i know very little about) i dont touch them, or if they are beat to crap i wont get them.... however i have a one eyed blue gourami and a one eyed angelicus pictus.

really, i think alot of places with nasty tanks buy from crappy distro's in the first place and the fish have problems before they ever reach the lfs tanks.

i almost expect an ich outbreak every time i buy a new fish anymore... even when i quarentine first.

 

[Raskolnikov]

What do you mean by cleanliness of the tank? I have no problems if the LFS tanks are over-run with algae (like The Pet Shanty), and I can't see problems in the water like parasites or toxins, so I use the fish as a guide.

 

[Emg]

Actually, the PetCo near me keeps thier tanks very clean and tidy and they are decorated nicely and enjoyable to look at. The PetSmart however...needs improvement..I usually buy from PetCo because the tanks are in much better shape and I just figure the fish will be too.

It depends on the person they have who cares for the fish dept. THAT's the job I want !!! If they are concientious and like what they are doing, the tanks will show that...If they look good on the display end, it's probably a good bet that the filters and the like are cared for properly too...I would hope..

 

[mister ben]

Really, I don't know my *** from a hole in the ground when it comes to fish, but I chose the "not to much, as long as the fishes look nice" option because the way I see it, a vey nice and clean tank could still have potentially harmful agents within it. I would rather buy my fish based on the quality of the actual fish rather than their tank. Luckily, I don't have to worry about it though, my lfs has very clean tanks!

 

[mister ben]

Also, if you work at a fish store, I would definetely be interested in hearing your 'side' of things. If there's one thing I do know about keeping fish, it's that every fish store has it's own agenda and you have to be wary!

 

[knashash]

It depends on the person they have who cares for the fish dept.

Exactly....Conditions at Places like PetCo and Walmart can vary quite a bit depending on whos running things, but usually the case is not very good at least thats my experience in the Chicago area.

 

[daveedka]

Algea or mulm don't bother me much, dead fish do. The fact is, petco in my area always has pristine looking tanks as do Wal-mart, meijers and a few others. those tanks also always have dead fish floating around. On the contrary the LFS where I buy my livestock, often has algea growth, but the fish are immaculant. I can't say that the dirty looking tanks don't bother me at all, but I will say that they don't keep me from looking at or buying the fish.
Dave

 

[Harlock]

How the tank looks matters to me. If it's an ugly old bare tank with algae growing on it I begin to assume things (and yes, I know what assume can be made to say). First thing I think of is overfeeding. Next I think , "What if the algae isn't getting all of the ammonia out of the tank." Then I start closely inspecting the fish, looking for red gills, imagining worse things and so I move on. There is an LFS close to me that doesn;t overstock their tanks and has actual plants and decorations in the tank. I am much more confident in these fish's health than I am at other places.