why not to buy fish from this walmart

[tropfish]

ok i found this online, its kinda stupid but look at the fish, theres so many dead ones.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFod7Mvx7E&mode=related&search=

[Drumachine09]

Haha, dead fish? At walmart??? NOOoooo.

[Kaga's Kritters]

did you see the "tank" she picked out? only thing that is good for is a betta. she is going to put some guppies and suckerfish and god knows what else in that little thing. no wonder they die. of course i dont think buying fish at walmart is good anyway.

[Drumachine09]

Thus is the trip to walmart for the average uneducated person. Its kinda sad, isnt it?

[Kuli_Loach]

Wow, they really know nothing about fish do they?

[2manyfish]

And to think this happens day after day hundreds of times across the country. Not only in Wal-Marts but in PetSmart and all the other pet stores....


The part I don't get: let's say the store doesn't hire or train their employee on fish and their care. The guy/gal is just there to sell. "Oh yes" they say "that oscar would just love that 5 gallon tank" and "he needs a buddy too" kind of thing. So the store sells that tank and the fish and all the other crap you have to buy to start it up. Then the fish all die. And the people come back and buy some more fish but they die too. And after just a little while the people say it's just too hard and give up the hobby. So the pet store makes (and lets be generous) maybe $75 for the whole shebang.

Another scenario: the store hires or trains their employee properly. So when the people come in they can help them be successful. So the people buy that little tank but they learn about cycling and maybe they end up only putting 3 guppies in the thing. And the fish all live. And the store maybe sells a bit less than before let's say $50.
BUT....as you and I know, once you are successful in this hobby what happens? Are you content with that little 5g? Does your heart not desire another, bigger tank with perhaps more difficult fish? I don't know about you guys but I have spent thousands over the years. But if I had failed when I first started, that probably would have been the end of it for me.

The stores may make more money in the short term when they sell anything to anybody but they lose out so much more in the long term that way.

[cocoa_pleco]

i agree with 2many fish 100%. after the death in my first mega-overstocked 5.5g i wanted to quit, but someone FINALLY explained aquariums to me and now its smooth going, havent had a fish die in a long time. before i lost about a fish a week when i started. its like when i went to pj's with the guy and the 20g. the worker said "dont get the aquaclear for 55g, the 20g will be too clean". HOW can it be too clean? nothing can be too clean, a house cant be too clean, a car cant be too clean, nothing.

[tropfish]

exactly, and also if they want to make money then they should want us to stay in the hobby, because we will keep having to buy supplies for the tanks, they make more money in the long run by educating ppl.

[Nick89]

whats you guy's thoughts on Petco and other Pet places such as this?

-AK

[Kaga's Kritters]

I think you should observe the store for awhile to see how they care for their animals. I have heard about bad petcos and good ones. So each is run a little differently.

[Nick89]

Then what type of place would you go to buy like an Oscar, or any type of fish really?

-AK

[cocoa_pleco]

PJ's is good here, petsmart is sorta bad, aquagiant is rally good, aquarium illusions is excellent, big als is excellent, superpet is good, and theres too many stores to mention

[Nick89]

Ive never heard any of these places and I'm sure there isn't any of them around here. Are these places online??

-AK

[cocoa_pleco]

nope, mostly all are canadian stores. aquagiant is amazing though, really cheap. yellow tangs are 30$ each, and HOB's for 10g are $2.99

[tropfish]

We have 2 petsmarts, 1 petsplus, and two petcos al within 15 minutes of us. One of the petsmarts is REALLY good, while the other is ok. The petcos take really good of their animals, and the pets plus isn't good. They have some clean tanks, but most are very dirty with dead fish. When i went half the tank lights were off too. The tiled floor for the fish section was all scummy too. they musta had a spill before.

[Kuli_Loach]

Privately owned LFS are were I get most of my fish.

[2manyfish]

Then what type of place would you go to buy like an Oscar, or any type of fish really?


Any place that the fish appear to be healthy really. Because you see, you have an advantage....you have everyone here at AC! We are not out to sell you anything. We want you to be successful. We want you to save your money when you can.
So if you want to buy another fish for your tank you can ask here on what will or will not work for the size tank you have and the fish already in that tank. And then when you go to the LFS you will be informed so it really won't matter what knowledge the salesperson has or hasn't. Your only concern will be whether the fish are healthy or not. :c3:

[tropfish]

well posted amd so true 2manyfish. We want healthy tanks and fish, not money, we want nothing in return besides a little advice to our questions.

[MeganL3985]

Eck that video of walmart disgusts me.....those poor fish. Though my walmart is way worse than that. I counted 10 dead ones in one tank one day. Maybe i'll document my next trip with my cellphone and show ya'll. Its really gross.

[cocoa_pleco]

Privately owned LFS are were I get most of my fish.

yep, thats what i do for my saltwater tanks. that was, i get to know the manager and get discounts:c7:

but also, the place where i get my salt fish is very clean. they sell a few specialty FW fish like africans, discus, koi, and severums and angels, but ALL saltwater fish are quarantined for 2 weeks prior to going to the buying from tanks, and i have never seen a dead fish yet. they have a 500g liverock tank and 300g coral tank. thats where im getting some corals and fish tomorrow for the 5.5g

[MeganL3985]

I get my fish from Petsmart with my savings card. lol :)

I have yet to find a decent LFS around here.....but when I do i'll be going there.

[Kuli_Loach]

I have seen dead fish in all my LFS except one. It is an hour away but every fish I have ever purchased from there is still alive to this day. It is privately owned and all tanks run off a separate filter and they breed most of the fish there and sell them from there, as I said once before when I got my severum, I saw the parents of him that same day, amazing how many tanks are in such a small area in there breeding room.

[2manyfish]

I'm lucky because we have several good stores near me but the best news is our super Wal-Mart is going out of the fish business! We were there not too long ago and they were emptying their tanks...no more fish sales at that store!! thumbs2:

[tropfish]

thats always good to hear! What does walmart do with their fish? Probably dump it in a local stream knowing them.

[cocoa_pleco]

I'm lucky because we have several good stores near me but the best news is our super Wal-Mart is going out of the fish business! We were there not too long ago and they were emptying their tanks...no more fish sales at that store!! thumbs2:

thats what happened to mine! 5 aisles away they were building a store add-on for produce, and their excuse for getting rid of fish? - construction. what a coincidence that its construction when most wal-marts back then in march were getting rid of fish. im happy that the fish did leave though, terrible tanks

[Kaga's Kritters]

both of the walmarts near me still carry fish.......they are building a new supercenter near me too, wonder if they will have fish there as well.

[*Sarah*]

We have a decent lfs near me, but far from perfect. They didn't know a thing about fishless cycling, and they aren't that knowledgable about what fish can go together...but their tanks are clean and the fish seem to be healthy. They also have a lot of variety of fish, which is cool.
The only thing I don't like about Big Als near me is that they sell puppy mill dogs :(