FishProfiles.com Message Forums

It greatly depends on where you live. Before I discovered the LFS that I now work at, I pretty much only shopped at the big chain stores. That was because most of them had some very knowledgable people there, while the smaller ones didn't and would do just about anything to make a sale. Also, the large chain stores around here refuse to stock dyed fish, while many of the smaller stores have tons of them.

So, IME, the large chain stores around here are fine. Other people on here have had horrible experiences with the ones in their areas, however.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Ooo... you're in Chicagoland, divertran? Whereabouts?

As has been said, it really depends on the individual stores. I've been to various different stores in the same chain, and they all differ in quality. There's a good Petco and a fair one. A decent Pet Supplies Plus and a really horrid one. There's two Petsmarts in the area, and both are decent. If I had to choose one store to buy fish at, it would be Petsmart.

Actually, the majority of the chain stores are better than one of the private LFS's in the area...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

WOW, look at all the replies. I think it all boils down to, and I repeat what many have already said, it depends on the individual store. There are many petcos and petsmarts here in the greater chicagoland area, and they are NOT all created equal. I've been in some I won't ever go back to due to the extremely poor quality of the water, tanks and poor health of the fish. On the other hand some (the majority, I think) keep their tanks and fish in good to very good condition. So far with the exception of three of my fish I have purchased them all from my local petsmart and they are all very healthy and active. The one I bought from the local lfs died, but the two yo-yos from a different lfs are doing very well. A major consideration is the quality of the tanks and fish, but another is the selection. Most chain stores only carry the garden variety fish. cichlids mollies danios tetras, etc. If you're looking for loaches you need to really hunt for them. anything that borders on the exotic also. All the fish I bought from these chains is very healthy, but be careful about which fish you buy from which store. Buyer Beware!

Last edited by divertran at 10-Jul-2005 20:30

The only thing that would make me go to PETCO is to buy food. Everytime i've gone in I look at the fish and either they look sick or there are dead fish floating in the tank. Might just be the particular location, or the boneheads taking care of them. Anyway i've got 2 private fish dealers close by so I would rather support them anyway.

i would never buy fish from petsmart, petco, or walmart..

we have a guy trying to get a job with us who use to work at petsmart and he says he knows alot about fish but he doesnt.. he knows about community fish and thats it.

after my shopping last weekend and looking around, here is one vote for the chains. i'm rebuilding a 5g tank for puffers and was looking for items. and at petsmart i found alot of their artifial plants on sale for like $1.50, and also found a Penn Plax Air Tech Pumps (up to 80g) on sale for only $12, i needed a newer one for my 40g so i got it and swapped pumps around.... so far, prices like this are the only reason some chains are better.

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

Generally the chain store around here arn't bad. I usually know exactly what Im getting so I research it before I even go there. I dont even ask the employees at any of my lfs any questions besides can you get it and how much. The chain stores are usually cheaper so getting the fish there is all good as long as you have a quarentine tank.

It more depends on the individual employees at the store than the actual store name. Ask questions of the employees, test questions to see their knowledge, that helps. Usually in my experience, at most chain stores 1 to 3 people really understand the subject matter, and the rest are just kids and people that need a part time job. Don't be to hard on the kids, they are not generally paid well, and often do their best with the information they are given.

As a customer, the more information you can give the store employee the better. If you go in and say my water is good, that has no real meaning. Or my fish keep dying, and the customer has insisted on having 5 goldfish in a 2.5 gallon tank, there is not much the employee can do.

I've been to a small nursery that sells fish that are overpriced, and I've been to Walmart where there was no maintnance on the fish or it's tanks. I've had the best luck with Petco, but when Petsmart opens im going to be a dedicated customer.

I've bought fish from both, and they were of poor quality. However, if I had to choose one over the other, I would definitely go with PetsMart, at least in my community. The clerks there are much more knowledgable and they have lower prices on supplies. I don't recommend buying their fish, but I do buy supplies every once in a while from PetsMart.

"I am a believer in punctuality, though it makes me very lonely" EV Lucas

I noticed a huge difference in these stores when we moved six months ago. Where we used to live I learned that while tanks may look good the fish aren't always the healthiest That store didn't have very knowledgeable employees either. The other chain store was absolutely disgusting, no other way to describe it.

Here there is a full-time employee at one store who knows what he's doing and cares about the fish. He often saves 'mystery fry' that arrive in shipments for me to grow out. I end up spending a lot of time in that store just talking fish

The other store has a similar employee and clean tanks, healthy fish. It's a shame they're not all like that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Well, as boring as it may seem, I also agree that it depends on the Super-Store. A generalization is impossible form me, simply because I haven’t seen them all.

I have never bought a fish in any of them, there is one of them near by that very often has a nice selection, for example the Yellow Twinbar Platy that my LFS does never seem to have. Unfortunately, if you happen to see one of their tanks a few days later, you find a lot of deaths and half eaten fish, I would say on average 1 per tank. Plus, usually 2 tanks have Ich. Their plant selection is really poor and also in bad shape.

I use this store to buy my food, filter bags, etc.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I have to agree it really depends on your local store. The less knowledgeable stores can be a good place to get a great deal on a fish that they can't identify. Providing you have a quarantine tank and possibly some meds on hand. The petsmart I went to in GA had about 1/4 their fish dead and they didn't identify species at all. It was just cichlids and agressive fish in these tanks, corydoras, plecos and bottom feeders are in these tanks, tetras are in these tanks... but they did have some uncommon fish mixed in there. I could have easily found enough fish I liked to stock a few tanks especially for the price. If the fish even made it the 5miles to the house alive. We have no petsmart or petco here but petland is the highest quality and most knowledgeable store in a 50mile radius. Then there's 2 small fish stores that usually have half the fish floating dead and all their tanks are labelled mixed whatever or like the petsmart I went to.

Again like many have said it depends on your individual petco, petsmart, walmart, whereever....i know i wouldn't buy from my petco here, but one across town is good...my petsmart here is good, but one in odessa i don't like...and same goes for the other assorted lfs and what have you...

go in ask questions, see how the fish look day to day, week to week, month to month...see who keeps the tanks in the best shape, and who is dependable...don't judge by one visit that was great or one visit that was horrid...

I find that new shipment and the day after can be the worst with sickness sometimes...but can also look the best for cleanliness...check them out repeatedly...

Best of luck, heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

i've had good luck with petsmart. petco, no way man. now that i got my moon light kids. i avoid them at all costs unless i get a coupon for food. our petco guys dont know their head from the whole in the ground

Last edited by monkeyboy at 07-Jul-2005 19:56

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

have you bought fish from Petco or Petsmart???
if you did then how did the fish do???

Last edited by kj fishy-finn at 07-Jul-2005 19:52

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
20 Gallon Album
5 Gallon Album

Just like a LFS. Are there fish healthy? Are there dead or sick fish in there tanks? I went to a new Petco here by my house and most if not all of there fish were sick or dead. I went back a couple of weeks later and they seamed better. As for there knowledge I was not impressed. So like everything else I try to research as much as possible. I would probably by fish from my local Petco as for my local Petsmart, noway. I am loyal to my LFS, maybe a little bit more money yet very fair and can work out deals that the bigger chaines can't.

I think it really depends on each store and their salespeople. Some are good, some aren't. The same with their fish, some stores are good some aren't. There is one large pet store here that I've had nothing but good luck with their fish.

for those of you who live in the USA would you say that Petsmart and Petco are good places to buy fish or not??? i was wondering since i have never bought fish there and thought to try it since they would be cheaper possibly, that is to my LFS but they are pretty cheap also.

just wondering if anyone has any comments about them so i know if they are safe places to buy fish from.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
20 Gallon Album
5 Gallon Album

u can't base a petstore chain on a few of there stores. for example, i just went to a walmart to buy a memery stick, and i looked in there tanks, and allthere fishes were dead b/c they didn't have the pumps running. but other walmart can have great fish selections. same with other petstores like petco.