how do you return fish?

[fontell]

how do you bring your fish back to the store?would a ziplock bag work or some tupperware?? also like what do you say to the people?the only stores around here are pets mart and petco so big companys like that take stuff back? becuse i got couple fish i would probly like to take back or exchange for some other fish

[gm72]

Call the store first and ask them. My question though is why you bought fish that you now want to return?

[Deleted User]

If you go into the store and just ask for a couple of fish bags. Most places with give you some. :ssmile:

[Lady Hobbs]

Not very many of the cooperate stores will take fish back. They are contracted to only get fish from their distributor. Some of the ma and pa stores do. I can understand it, really, because they get fish back that are ripped, torn, sick, with ick and possibly has not been in a cycled tank. I don't think I would, either, if I had a fish store.

[lahlumdi]

One positive return situation I had was this. I did not have any cory cats yet and I saw Pictus catfish at Walmart, at a good price. On a whim (never a good time to buy fish), I bought 3 of them. I took them home and put the bag in the water to start acclimating them. Immediately I began to research them here and other places online.

I discovered rather quickly that they grow to a foot and can be rather agressive in the tank. They no longer looked "cute" to me. I really didn't want that kind of fish down the road in my tank.

So I immediately brought it back to Walmart with my receipt. Told them they hadn't even been out of the bag. They gave me a refund on the spot.

OK, OK - I never told you guys this! I know... I have read the warnings here before. NEVER go to Walmart. And... never buy fish without researching. I like to stop by Walmart and LOOK at the fish. I'm afraid that day I was suckered in. It turned out to be a bad experiment that ended OK for me. The fish looked OK too, but they went right back to the Walmart environment.

[annageckos]

Big box stores won't take the fish unless you bought them there and it is in the time frame of the garrentee. Some smaller stores may take them but not all will give credit for them. Call around first and see. A bag or plastic container will work for transport.

[lahlumdi]

I should also mention that I keep a few bags and dry them out. They can always be cleaned out with some vinegar and rinsed well, to transport later.

And Petsmart told me if a fish dies within a time frame (it might be 10 days or 2 weeks), bring the dead fish in and they will reimburse or replace it. I had one Platy that died in a couple days. I took it out of the water and froze it in one of my spare bags, till 2 days later when I had time to bring it back (with the receipt, of course). They took it back immediately and gave me refund.

My mom and pop LFS have only a 3 day turn around, and for one, anyway, it is for a dead fish, not buyers remorse.

[annageckos]

Some of the big box stores will take the fish back dead or alive in the time frame. Smaller stores don't normally do it. You have to ask though.

[Wild Turkey]

I agree call and ask first if you are trying to trade or return fish youve had for a while. You wont have any luck with that at chain stores but privately owned stores are a possibility.

If you cant take care of the fish finding a store that will take them (for free) is a good thing though.



When i bought fish from chain stores that needed to be returned under warranty due to some disease or defect I freeze them myself and return them in the ice block after culling. The only reason is because this way I know the fish are being culled humanely, chain stores cull returns anyway(and really, should)

Otherwise, a plastic bag is fine as long as its not a long trip

[Northernguy]

Most stores big or small do not take fish returns in Ontario.
They is too big a risk of infecting their tanks.
Call ahead but I do doubt it.

[Scrup]

petco and petsmart near me both treat fish like normal merchandise. 30 day exchange period on it, for any reason.

Unused ziploc bags work fine, though they can be leaky at the top.

[fontell]

My question though is why you bought fish that you now want to return? the fish is not getting along with tank mates and i can see hes the odd one out every single fish picks on him and just thaught maybe i could take um back i dont wanna just let um suffer.

[bluebluecow]

I agree with ringing 1st, when I had a MAJOR overhaul on my tank, I talked to my LFS, and they took from me 1 comon plec, 1 featherfin, 1 African bush leaf fish, 1 Scat and 1 Mono, all of which had been missold to me or brought on whims and where outgrowing my tank. They had homes already found for the scat and the mono, The bush fish one of the guys took home, plec and featherfin where then rehomed through the shop. They gave me £30 store credit, so I brought loads of rocks LOL, and now have under their advice a nice tank full of little guppys and plattys

Liz

[HeatherB]

I have 2 petco's and 2 petsmarts near me. Petco will take 'adoptions' on fish, which basically means they take the fish, drop it in their tank, and sell it later. Pretty much free money for the petstore. Petsmart however, will not take fish back unless it's on thier like, gaurentee or something. However, if something goes wrong with my fish, I like to take them back to Petco, because they don't ask questions, they just give you new.

[lowlight]

I don't know what kind of fish you want to return but maybe you could trade them at the place you bought them. I gave my LFS a 6" Bala and expected nothing in return and he gave me 7 Neons that I intended to purchase to replace the Bala. Worth a try.

[gadget228]

My LFS has on the receipt 2 day warranty and no warranty on sale fish but after talking to the store they said that I could return any fish that I bought regardless if it was on sale or not for store credit, also that I had to provide a water sample from my tank by adding extra water to the bag that I returned the fish in.

Their water has a pH of 7.6 and mine is 8.2 so I doubt they would let me return anything, plus if i do return one under warranty I have to provide a water sample also.

[tetra]

i keep all my fish bag... I have way to many know lol. I used to keep them because i used to breed guppies. Zip lock baggys will work but if the bag is moving around it will pop open, ask me how i know that lol

[aspects]

+1 for calling first.
different stores have different store policies on livestock returns. theres no sense in making the trip only to find out they wont take it.