Fraoch
02-27-2009, 02:01 PM
OK, so being new around here, I'm not sure how people view PetSmart. Perhaps as kind of a Wal-Mart of LFSes maybe.
We bought our initial batch of stuff including our aquarium starter kit at a PetSmart about 20 minutes away. Typical big box store, very brightly lit. It could have been a Staples, I'm not sure.:rolleyes: However it did have a great fish section manager, very knowledgeable and not just trying to sell stuff - he talked me out of pH dropper, for example.
Recently I checked out my local one (5 minutes away), thinking all such stores were the same. Wrong!
The fish section is away in the back, which sort of indicated to me how "important" they thought fish were ("yeah, let's put 'em in the back!"). There was a big valence at ceiling level with neon light waves. Under the valence, there's very little light and it's painted black - which is surprising because it breaks the primary rule of retailing - keep everything brightly lit! The lighting is dominated by the wall of tanks. Unfortunately their fish don't look that good, not as good as the first PetSmart and definitely not as good as Big Al's.
But the section is dominated by a big rock structure with a waterfall pouring down. There's a pond at the bottom with goldfish and a pond at the top with HUGE catfish and koi! The big yellowish catfish they have is 2 feet long by 6-8" thick. He's curious but not quite as curious as the koi. I had heard that koi were very personable fish and it's fun seeing them. They come right up to see you, often fighting for position, and love to be petted. They suck and gasp at your finger. Big fish, 12-18" long. They could get my little guppies stuck in their gills and not even notice.
Probably they're just looking for food but I'd like to think they just like people. It could be, 99% of the people they encounter don't feed them, only store staff do and only a couple of times a day I'd imagine.
It's too bad their fish don't look so good. We got our fish at Big Al's but I didn't like the place. Way, way too crowded, unorganized, high prices and a surly cashier who wouldn't exchange something 5 seconds after I bought it when I noticed what I really wanted behind the counter.
If I could have a place that was as organized and easy to get around with the nice rock pond, catfish and koi as the local PetSmart with the manager from the first PetSmart and fish that looked as good as Big Al's, that'd be ideal.:shappy:
We bought our initial batch of stuff including our aquarium starter kit at a PetSmart about 20 minutes away. Typical big box store, very brightly lit. It could have been a Staples, I'm not sure.:rolleyes: However it did have a great fish section manager, very knowledgeable and not just trying to sell stuff - he talked me out of pH dropper, for example.
Recently I checked out my local one (5 minutes away), thinking all such stores were the same. Wrong!
The fish section is away in the back, which sort of indicated to me how "important" they thought fish were ("yeah, let's put 'em in the back!"). There was a big valence at ceiling level with neon light waves. Under the valence, there's very little light and it's painted black - which is surprising because it breaks the primary rule of retailing - keep everything brightly lit! The lighting is dominated by the wall of tanks. Unfortunately their fish don't look that good, not as good as the first PetSmart and definitely not as good as Big Al's.
But the section is dominated by a big rock structure with a waterfall pouring down. There's a pond at the bottom with goldfish and a pond at the top with HUGE catfish and koi! The big yellowish catfish they have is 2 feet long by 6-8" thick. He's curious but not quite as curious as the koi. I had heard that koi were very personable fish and it's fun seeing them. They come right up to see you, often fighting for position, and love to be petted. They suck and gasp at your finger. Big fish, 12-18" long. They could get my little guppies stuck in their gills and not even notice.
Probably they're just looking for food but I'd like to think they just like people. It could be, 99% of the people they encounter don't feed them, only store staff do and only a couple of times a day I'd imagine.
It's too bad their fish don't look so good. We got our fish at Big Al's but I didn't like the place. Way, way too crowded, unorganized, high prices and a surly cashier who wouldn't exchange something 5 seconds after I bought it when I noticed what I really wanted behind the counter.
If I could have a place that was as organized and easy to get around with the nice rock pond, catfish and koi as the local PetSmart with the manager from the first PetSmart and fish that looked as good as Big Al's, that'd be ideal.:shappy: