Have you ever bought any fish supplies from Walmart?

Question

I just bought a tank and it did not come with a book on how to take care of fish. It pisses me off. And the walmart company makes the tank. They try to hide under the name Aqua Culture.
The tank is great though.

Answer 1

Sure, I have bought supplies at Walmart more times than I can count. I don't buy fish at my local Walmart because like many it has a poor fish department.

Here's a link to a site that will help you get your tank all set up. Please not that there are several pages and you would do well to read them all before you start.

If you have any questions after reading these pages, feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 2

I get most of my stuff at walmart for my tank. Even Fish. I have had no problems what so ever. Some say don't buy there ...blah blah blah. Well i have gotten my 10 gallon and 29 gallon there and i have gotten most of my fish there, not all but most. And 2 of the once i got at the local pet store died and my walmart ones were still a live. OH don't get me wrong pet stores are great. Just making a point that walmart isn't as bad as people make it out. I don't think my tank from walmart came with fish care either. but it did tell me how to set up my tank. and all the stuff i should do to make the tank safe for fish. I actually asked around at pet store for my info about how to keep fish Because there are so many different kind i wanted to get information on the once i was interested in. Maybe its depends on your local walmart. Enjoy your tank. If you get fresh water fish and committee fish May i suggest you look into African dwarf frogs. They are so fun to watch and very active and they get a long with a lot of different kinds of fish

Answer 3

There are a lot of online references about fish and raising them. If you have any questions, email me directly and I can help you. I've had all kinds of fish my whole life. As far as fish go, don't buy from Walmart, it is hit or miss, I've had great experiences and I've had bad. The worse was when I got a couple new fish and introduced them to my 12 year old goldfishs' not knowing the ones from walmart had "Ich". So be careful really anywhere this can occure but look in a tank at the store and only buy fish that look healthy....example....if there is floaters in the tank....don't buy! Or if you see a picosomouse (sucker fish) in a tank with a bunch of goldfish, don't buy from there because they obviously don't know enough about fish that the only fish that can be with goldfish are goldfish because they produce too much amonia and kill everything else. Good luck!

Answer 4

Yes, the larger Walmarts do sell fish but please be careful when purchasing them as there's a huge difference between the quality of care they receive in store. If the tanks are dirty or there are any dead/dying fish in the tanks, do not buy from that particular store. The fish will no doubt carry disease and have a much shorter lifespan - something that wouldn't be pleasant for your friend. If you have a Petco or Petsmart near you then have a look there. The fish are usually slightly more expensive but generally well cared for in store and they have a return policy if your fish should die within so many days. Also, make sure your friend is prepared to care for a fish.

Answer 5

I have never bought fish or fish supplies from Wal-mart. However, if you plan to care for a tropical tank it isn't very hard. You really do need to get a book to read through and then have on hand for simple reference. The book will be pretty easy to understand and outline tank temperature, equipment, pH, ammonia, etc. It will probably also outline different types of tropical fish that live well together and the basic care necessary for popular breeds plus common diseases and problems.
That should be sufficient for a beginner. You should start with inexpensive fish because you will probably accidentally kill some in the beginning or buy sub-standard fish by mistake.

Here are some basic tips:

Leave water out in an open container for two days to allow chlorine to dissipate before adding it to your aquarium. You should test the water before adding it, but leaving it out will decrease the amount of chemicals you need to use to "clean it up"

Feed fish only what they will eat before it hits the gravel. Overfeeding can cause ammonia build ups and dirty tanks.

Keep the tank out of direct sunlight to reduce algae.

Use caution or chemicals when introducing natural live plants to prevent snails, they can become a plague.

Buy fish from a small dealer that you can develop a relationship with. He/she will be less likely to lead you astray and more likely to believe you if you purchase a diseased fish. Our local dealer lets us take water samples and test with our own kit so that we only buy fish from balanced tanks. He actually doesn't mind at all. At a chain store, that'd probably cause a riot.

Last, if you are getting "community" tropical fish, beware of angel fish. I only say this because I had collected some really gorgeous guppies with huge colorful tails and my angel fish ripped their tails to shreds and worried many of my other fish to the point where I returned the angel fish.

Answer 6

Usually, if someone is ready to buy a tank they know how to take care of the kinds of fish they want so the people that make the tank dont waste lots of paper telling people things they already know. Yes, I have bought supplies from WAL*MART. I bought my 10g tank.

Answer 7

I've bought more Tetramin Tropical Flakes and other foods there than I'd care to mention. I get some other things there as well. I stick with name brands...
I wouldn't expect a tank to come with a book. There's plenty of very good ones out there. Some are even free...

http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/bag.pdf
http://www2.tetra.de/tet_internet_import/import_data/The%20fascination%20of%20aquariums_GB_2006_T062048.pdf
Here two good free books.

Answer 8

Not often. I usually buy from an actual pet store where the animals are well taken care of, and some one cane help me with knowledgeable information.

Answer 9

Nah, they treat their employees like garbage and the greater portion of their cheap stuff is made by slave labour. I'll pay more at a real fish shop any day of the week.

Answer 10

Supplies is about all I've bought there. Their prices are good, but you get what you pay for sometimes.

Here are some additional websites:
http://www.fishlore.com/
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/