petco sucks

[waverz]

Not to be a dick here but this it's not really in the best interest of the club to flame any pet stores.

Your mom.

[usmcr0811]

I understand your concern about whats best for the club, but this is an independent statement. I think if a pet store does a bad job or doesn't meet up to your expectations there is nothing wrong with expressing that opinion. If the store has a problem with what is said they should do something to make their store better to avoid that complaint. It sounds to me like I am not the only one who has had problems with petco and maybe if there would have been a post for me to read about tangs being bad from petco, I would have chosen a different pet store and would not be out $36.

[Nykademus]

Originally posted by usmcr0811
That was the first "big" fish that was on my list to get and its frustrating that I didn't work out.

Just wanted to throw this out there as I do not know what your knowledge level might be, but in case you do not already know. Tangs do not make good starter fish, and by starter fish I mean when you start.. not when the tank starts. They can be very picky eaters (especially if wild caught) and do not hold up to stress very well at all, of any kind.

I did the same thing on my first SW fish only setup as my GF at the time really liked yellow tangs (I still don't care much for yellows ) and to stay on top of lady faction (also to sneak in the purple lobster I was eyeballing) thought it a good idea to get her one.. after another.. about 4 times.

The best thing that I have found is to look around and pick your favorites, then research them to see whats required to keep them. It helps the chances of keeping livestock. Don't forget to cross research how a new addition will interact with what you already have also, so you don't come home to see your angelfish making a buffet out of your corals.

Also, if you do want to buy something from a petstore the first thing I do is ask a couple questions of the fish people that would require them to know a little about the subject (they often do not) and let that determine if I would even consider purchasing from that store. Or, bite the bullet when it dies.

[waverz]

No worries man, i thought it was common knowledge that those types of stores aren't desirable when it comes to healthy live stock.

LOL

Originally posted by usmcr0811
I understand your concern about whats best for the club, but this is an independent statement. I think if a pet store does a bad job or doesn't meet up to your expectations there is nothing wrong with expressing that opinion. If the store has a problem with what is said they should do something to make their store better to avoid that complaint. It sounds to me like I am not the only one who has had problems with petco and maybe if there would have been a post for me to read about tangs being bad from petco, I would have chosen a different pet store and would not be out $36.

[Tommy Sandler]

Originally posted by usmcr0811
Yeah it wasn't tiny, it was medium size. It looked really good at the store and was eating. It was even eating after I put it into my tank so I don't know. Maybe it was my fault. That was the first "big" fish that was on my list to get and its frustrating that I didn't work out. 36 bucks is a lot of money for a fish to only live 2 days!

Believe me, I'm not a Petco defender..but..is it really Petco's fault that a fish that "looked good" and "was eating" dies 2 days later ???

Stuff dies dude..they had no idea it was going to die -just like you didn't- mother nature can be a beast...if you can't afford to have a fish die don't buy it

[Nykademus]

Originally posted by Tommy Sandler
Believe me, I'm not a Petco defender..but..is it really Petco's fault that a fish that "looked good" and "was eating" dies 2 days later ???

Its possible, yes. Cyanide capture.

[usmcr0811]

That was one of my thoughts....cyanide capture. I don't hate petco, I am just frustrated that it died so soon and expected a large chain to have a warranty. I guess I am mostly frustrated that I didn't know about the no return policy they have. I just assumed that they had a 3 or 4 day warranty. I know that is partly my fault for not doing the research. Are there any LFS in the Des Moines area that have a warranty period on salt water fish?

[tibbs2]

Iowa Pet Foods has a warranty. They have two prices for their fish. One without the warranty and one with the warranty. I think you pay about 15 to 20 bucks more if you want the warranty.

[usmcr0811]

that makes sense. I think more stores should offer a warranty you can pay for if you want it. That way at least you know you are paying for what you want!

[acidlittle]

it's actually a great idea. I wish petco had a warranty on saltwater. A powder brown tang that I got did the same thing...he looked great and was for 2 weeks then he nuked my tank and killed off my fav fish. I was sad! Will not buy a tang without QTing it from now on period. Should QT them all though.

[Jojoyojimbi]

Originally posted by acidlittle
it's actually a great idea. I wish petco had a warranty on saltwater. A powder brown tang that I got did the same thing...he looked great and was for 2 weeks then he nuked my tank and killed off my fav fish. I was sad! Will not buy a tang without QTing it from now on period. Should QT them all though.

the flameback angel, bicolor dottyback, and blue spotted watchman goby i've gotten from petco are all doing great

[Jojoyojimbi]

but, i've lost 3 clownfish and 2 six line wrasses

[xroads]

Originally posted by waverz
Not to be a dick here but this it's not really in the best interest of the club to flame any pet stores.

Your mom.

The main reason he was making was that these LFS do read what we write & will remember it when we ask to hand out flyers, make donations, so on and so forth.

Not saying dont share your experiences with them, but dont bash them into the ground publically. Maybe the members section of our site would be better for that.

[usmcr0811]

I fully understand what waverz was trying to say and agree to a certain extent. But it I think if there is a problem with their store and they read about it, then maybe they will be more inclined to make some positive changes to their store. Maybe the title of this post was a little harsh but it was intended to draw attention and get feedback and I wasn't real happy at the time...I should say not all my experiences with petco have been bad, but I think it would be cool if they added the option to insure your fish for a little extra money. I think a lot of people would take them up on that offer.

[xroads]

Ya unfortunately the sales people & many of the managers feel the same way we do. They say the home office wont support them on it.

[usmcr0811]

That sucks, that is why I am not a fan of the larger chains, you have to jump through so many more hoops to get something accomplished....it is hard because the larger chains have better prices a lot of times like wal-mart...not a fan but I still shop there all the time because there prices are good and its convenient.

[Ziggy692]

annewayne1 got a this bad a** lion fish 4 mts and still kicking. he is so cool in the reef tank.

[Nanemene]

Just a tip on Petco. The one location I have had absolutely no luck whatsoever with is the one in Windsor Heights. Buffalo Rd and 74th St I believe. Not only has every fish I've ever bought there died within days, but they usually have horrific ich. Most recently, I bought a PBT there for $58. It looked great in the store tank. In the 20 minutes it took me to drive from that store to my place, the fish was absolutely covered in white, fuzzy spots. The stress of the trip clearly brought out the very bad infection it was already harboring. It died within 3 days. Meanwhile, I've yet to lose anything I bought at the Jordan Creek location, despite their extreme case of hair algae and cyano.

[CRUZING2000]

in california every fish i bought was fine and is steal alive. cherub angel, all my croms, my clowns i lost my cardinals but i lost them from, other placese too. I dont know whats up with those fish after getting 10 of them from different placese one finaly stayed alive and is growing well

[acidlittle]

I don't think we have that much hair algae! Cyano yes, mostly because one of our return pumps wasn't functioning up to its potential. Did you guys know that we actually use Iwaki pumps? Now I just gotta convince them to carry those pumps on the shelves!
Oh and if anybody needs something from there let me know (discount)

[rottbo]

Originally posted by acidlittle
I don't think we have that much hair algae! Cyano yes, mostly because one of our return pumps wasn't functioning up to its potential. Did you guys know that we actually use Iwaki pumps? Now I just gotta convince them to carry those pumps on the shelves!
Oh and if anybody needs something from there let me know (discount)

you will lose your job for giving someone besides a family member residing in your house your discount I should know I was aquatic CAS at the buffalo store for a few months untill I got tired of watching Karen order all these "pretty" fish that just kept dying because they will not let us feed them properly I mean they order anthias in all the time and barely feed them twice a day wahts with that.. Hey josh whats up?? its Adam... The rpoblem with the buffalo store now is that Tina is the CAS and she doesnt know anything about SW the only person working at that store that knows anything about SW is the old guy Tom and his knowledge is still lacking and for the Jordan creek store you guys wil always have problems getting anything done around there with those managers trying to control everything IE Andy came in and completely tryed to change everyones ways which he knows alot about SW tanks but not as much as he thinks.. also at the Jordan Creek store Daniel is a great person to help you out but he is still learning the whole reef thing but his little 40 breeder is coming along nicely

[rottbo]

so I guess the point I was trying to get across that didnt get out there is that while there are a few good SW reefers at petco most quit because the policies and the managers being total hypocrits

[rottbo]

Oh and josh check out the hitchhiker that came in with the liverock at the jordan creek store bottom right hand tank in the invert section it looks like a gorilla crab but I am not sure he is pretty big and mean looking though