petsmart or petco for fish?

Question

im looking for fish and since my walmart fish died i want to go to one of these stores which would be better

Answer 1

I'll deviate a little and say that either are fine as long as you know your fish and know the signs of sick or diseased fish. Don't rely on an associate to know anything at all about the fish. Nothing... nada. They are there to sell you things. Got algae, here's the drops. Got a disease, here's the meds, got a filter problem, here's the new filters, dead fish, here's the new ones, you get the idea. Now, some store associates do know their fish and can help you, but unless you also know what you are talking about, you won't know the correct answer from a load of BS.

All of that said, the best place to go is your locally owned and operated aquarium stopre or pet store. They really will know what they are talking about (usually) and will try to actually help you, not just sell you stuff (usually).

Oh and just to let you know, I an biased on this answer as I now own an aquarium store.

MM

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

Both places are about the same, just make sure you observe the fish for signs of illness. Don't just tell the person helping you to get you one of this fish or one of that fish. Look for one that is healthy and active. Don't rely on the employees to know what a healthy or sick fish looks like.

Also for the people who say neither, you can find very healthy fish at both Petco and Petsmart, you just need to know how to tell if the fish is healthy or not. My guess is you probably don't and just rely on the employee finding you a good looking one.

Answer 4

I say neither! As the others are saying, go to a local pet store, they care more about their customers, are usually more knowledgeable and take better care of their fish, and also usually have a more unique and better selection. My local pet store Petland hand pick their fish, so you know they are healthier. Petco and PetSmart to put it simply care only for the money. And they get what they get when it comes to ordering fish. Meaning whatever their breeder gives them.....whether good or not. And Walmarts the worst!

Answer 5

I would say petsmart over petco simply because the petco in my area seems to starve their fish and seem to know very little about aeration to the tanks. Depending on the type of fish you are looking for you are probably better off going to your LFS.

Answer 6

As a general rule petsmart has a better filtration systemn imo than petsmart. but both generally get there fish from the same supplier and can have the same type of problemns. Personnally for the actual fish I would find a reputable local fish store and not the box pet stores.

Answer 7

I would say neither if you can help it. No one at these places that I have encountered seems to knows too much about the fish they carry or fish in general. Also the fish that both places carry around where I live seem kinda washed out and unhealthy. They are great for cheaper fish supplies, however. Do you have any fish specialty stores around you? If not I would suggest Petsmart. They seem a little better than the other to me. Hope it helps.

Answer 8

petsmart takes better care of there fish at last were im at both petco and petsamart are near me

Answer 9

I have never bought fish from petsmart but i have bought birds, hamsters and ginny pigs and I would recomend petsmart to anyone. There customer service is top notch. After I bought my second ginny pig ( i bought two but one month apart from each other) I brough her home so my first pig would have a cage mate. about 2 weeks later i realized the pig i just bough had a respatory infection and gave it to the pig I already had. I went and told petsmart what had happened and they could have easily said the respatory infection occured after I bought the ginny pig but instead they told me to bring both pigs to any vet i wanted to and they gave my a phone number for the vet to call so petsmart would pay for all the vet bills. It was awsome customer service, I never would go anywhere else.

Answer 10

Petsmart is better. It has a much better variety of fish equipment, chemicals, food, tanks, etc., and although they don't have as many kinds of fish as Petco, they are of better quality.