Petco and Petsmart FIsh?

Question

I was just at Petco and Petsmart to buy a new goldfish because our old one died of a swim bladder problem. I looked in the tanks of each store and saw fish that were sucked to the filter, with ich, and others that simply couldnt swim anymore. These fish were worse then our local wal-mart's fish look sometimes. Our local fish store also has fish with swim bladder problems and a low supply right now..

Does anyone else have these problems?
Is there someone I can report this to?
Where can I get just ONE healthy goldfish?

Answer 1

It really depends on EACH individual store. I thought all Petcos were nasty and horrible forever until I went to one a littler further away. It was very clean and nice with healthy fish.

It really depends on who works there and how much they care about the fish. How well they take care of the system and fish.. ect.

Being a past Petsmart employee I know that you can go online and submit a complaint and that petsmart takes them very seriously. So that might help with increasing the qualities at that store. Petco may possibly have the same thing as well.

Every walmart I go to has HORRID fish. But like you said, your walmart isn't that bad. So different stores are different.

Depends on who runs it and who works it.


All I can reccommend is look around, try different pet stores, fish stores ect.

One more thing - NEVER buy from a store that doesn't garantee the fish for at least a little while - I've found out from experience there is usally a reason why they do not garantee their fish.


(edit: If you talk to management directly, they will usually act concerned when with you - but not really doing anything. Go to the websites and file complaints, because those are sent to district managers - when the distirct manager sees it they usually yell at the head manager - who then yells at the fish department manager to get his/her act cleaned up. )

Answer 2

PetCo has an email communication on their website that you can use to report problems. Not sure about PetSmart. Probably what would get you the farthest would be to talk to the management at those stores. Take them to the fish tanks with the problems, show them the fish that are sick, and politely give them suggestions as to what they could do about it (Ich medication, removing the dead fish etc.) Politely point out that it is a customer service issue because you were going to buy fish from them and now you aren't--if they've lost your sale because of the condition the tanks are in, they've undoubtedly lost others. If you go in there again later and see that the tanks are still in bad condition, complain to management again. Showing them the specific problem and speaking up about it is the only way to get it fixed!

Answer 3

Well, this is actually very common and in fact PETA was doing an undercover investigation of Petsmart and found horrible and cruel treatment of their fish and other animals. So...their is a boycott until they clean up they're act. As for fish...I only buy from smaller, independent local fish stores. The owners are usually passionate about what they are doing and exceptionally knowledgable about what they carry. The prices are usually cheaper than the bigger chains in my experience and you usually can get deals after shopping there regularly. Also, if you ever need to trade in fish because they get too big for your tanks or something-you can do that and get store credit. And you have the comfort of knowing that it'll be taken care of until someone else buys it.

Answer 4

I would never buy a fish from anyone of these three stores. I would buy supplies, but never plants or fish. Nor would I ask for advice. Look in your phone book or do a little research online for aquarium stores in your area. If you city is big enough for Petco, Petsmart and Walmart, it is big enough to have what is referred to as LFS, or your local fish store. These are the little shops that specialize in just fish. Who have people who do this because they love fish and who have tons of knowledge about fish, not because they are looking to make a little extra money after school. I'm glad that you actually look at the fish in these tanks and realize that these sick and dead fish have an impact on the fish you want to take home.

Answer 5

I have never seen Petco or Petsmart fish with ick. Their fish have always seemed healthy to me. Suprisingly Wallmart seems to have the healthiest fish. I don't know why that is. It's actually at our locally owned pet store that the fish seem to be the sickest. It might have to do with the variety of fish. You can report this on the internet just like you did. You can get a goldfish from either Wallmart or your locally owned pet store. Good luck.

Answer 6

Big stores like that shouldn't be allowed to sell animals, especially fish! The employees aren't properly trained to take care of them and all they do is serve as advertisements for why they shouldn't sell them.
I've got a great local pet store by me and wouldn't think of going anywhere else. They've got knowledgeable, help full people who actually give me good advise when i need it.
I would say get out the phone book and start calling some pet stores near you and decide how far you're willing to drive for a healthy fish.

Good Luck

Answer 7

That situation is common to many, many of the large chain stores that sell fish. You do of course also see it in smaller, independent stores, but they are far more likely to know what the problem is, tell you and not sell you a fish they know is sick. I would suggest you shop at just this kind of store. Another good source for some fish is your loca aquarium club. Asking at smaller pet shops should get you informaiton on one if one exists.

Yes, report the problem to the store manager and the regional office of he chain in question. You may even report it to quality control of the national headquarters. don't expect any big concern past the store manager though and even that will most likely be faked. Also report it to the ASAPC, maybe they will have the louder voice that will encourage the store to clean up it's act a bit.

MM

Answer 8

unfortunately the whole thing is to maximize profits not fish health. i get sick bettas from large retail places all the time and i am only sometimes successful in getting them better.

sadly i don't think anyone monitors fish health and if they did your fish would probably glow green from over medication or something.

like other people suggested find an actual fish shop where the tanks are immaculate and it is obvious they care about the fish. petco and petsmart both have enough tanks somebody should be cleaning constantly and you never see that.

Answer 9

I was told not to buy fish from petsmart. The last 3 I had from there all died within a couple of days. Check out Superpet for fish.

Answer 10

Uncle Bill's? Even though I get my goldfish from PetsMart, none have had any sickness or death since October.