Ugh my petsmart

It wouldn't be such a crime if the employees at the P-smarts had 1/2 a clue.
 
I've known the lady who works at my petsmart since I was 7 she is a fan of pets just like all of us. The tanks are always clean and I've never seen a dead fish. I buy my cichlid food from there and that is generally the place I go to stock my places. (the closest non petsmart is an hour away and I try to go there as often as possible)


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At my local PetSmart they are actually rather reluctant to sell any of their fish without getting a very thorough understanding of what size of tank they are going into, how long the tank has been established (cycled), what else is in the tank. Oh, I'm sure they are not Cichlid experts, but from my experience, even the mom-and-pop LFS shops with the so-called Cichlid experts give bad advice quite frequently. I don't fully trust any store or any one source. The responsibility is entirely on the shoulders of the person making the purchase to do their research before they purchase. "Doing research" entails not just asking store employees, but researching online, and posting questions in forums such as this. Impulse purchases are not the fault of any store.

So far as PetSmart, they have great prices and frequent sales. I purchase all of my decor from there and most of the fish in both of my aquariums. Their tanks are always very clean. And hey, who can beat a two week warranty on fish sold, even to dummies who kill them for lack of knowledge?

Honestly, I prefer PetSmart over my LFS. I wish they had MORE of a selection to choose from.


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littleg902 said:
You realize whatever "lfs" you frequent is hooked up to a centralized system too, right?
Click to expand...
I have worked at numerous LFS over the yrs, including petsmart and only Petsmart was plumbed into a central system.
 
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A guy at my PetSmart tried to get me to buy a Bicher...I laughed and told him my tank was only 40 gallons and that fish can get over a foot long and needed a much larger tank than I had...he shut up pretty quick and then left me alone until I had picked out my fish.

I'm not happy with these chain stores offering more and more "unusual" fish, it's just sad. Just like the way they have 50+ poor little bettas in stock sitting in those stupid cups everywhere (Petco puts them on top of the narrow center brace of a shelving display for crying out loud! One kid runs into the shelf and it's all over for those bettas...:( ). Is there going to be a rush for betta fish that I don't know about? These so-called "pet" stores do not seem very humane in the way they treat their fish.

Oh, and at Petco a lady was reluctantly selling some mushroom polyps to some clueless customers but she was trying to discourage them only due to the fact that "peeling those polyps OFF of the rock can take nearly an hour!" WTH? They sell them by the POLYP for $20, NO guarantee and I'll bet most of them end up dead once they are taken home from being ripping off of their rock! She goes on to say "I don't know WHY they send them to us on these rocks!" Stupid...just stupid. Here's your sign...
 
The only two non-chain LFS around here are also using a central filtration system. They are not any better than the chain stores, I'm afraid. :(
 
I must be lucky, my Petsmart has 2 very knowledgeable hobbiest and at least 1 is their most of the time. They have 180g sw coral tanks, outdoor ponds and fish rooms. They both belong to the local aquatic society also. My lfs on the other hand leaves much to be desired. The owner doesn't allow ill fish to be removed and quarantined and the plants also leave much to be desired. I have heard employees their tell of the 1" per gallon rule and when I spoke up about "I can keep an oscar in a 29g tank for life yet can only have 15 neons in a 15g tank" they were less than happy with me, lol.
Not that it matters to me, I made my point and know they are wrong in their thought.
The bottom line for me is research your fish yourself before you buy and trust no one with their input whether it be big box or LFS. At least until you have a good relationship with the outlet and know/trust those you are doing business with, and even then use caution and don't make an impulse purchase on anything you are unfamiliar with.
 
My petsmart even though I hardly ever buy from them only when they have really good sales, is very well taken care of and it become common for my to overhear "these fish are meaner fish not good for you or your tank size is too small maybe try these line of fish" they seem to always ask tank size if its anything remotely "big" I buy my fish from a fish store that I've veen buying from for like 10 years but I do enjoy walking my dog in pet smart very good interaction! Haha

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