I know you don't think you can get anything good at a chain Pet Store, but you should really look at Petco in NLR. Apparently they have moved up in levels where now they can aquire quality fish. You need to be a "PALS" member to get some of the deals, but you might be amazed. Recntly aquired from PetCo NLR, ORA Green Planet, ORA Premium Snowflake Clownfish, Salon Wrasse, just to name a few. If you don't see what you want talk to someone in aquatics and see if they can get it for you. I also think we should approach them about sponsorship as I still prefer to purchase from our local SPONSORS as my first option and it sure beats going to the "darkside". Again, please choose our SPONSORS, The Fish Tank (LR), Paradise Pets (Benton), and The Fish Bowl (Searcy) as your first choice; but give NLR PetCo a look.
I am new to the forum, and this is an odd first post, but it is still fresh in my mind so had to post. I was in the NLR Petco yesterday at lunch. There were 21 total saltwater fish. 11 were completely dead and laying on the bottom. Several had obviously been that way for days. One tank had 5 ORA clowns (don't remember the type) and 2 were completely dead and on the bottom. A third was sitting on the bottom and breathing lightly about to die. I couldn't find an employee, only one I saw was the cashier. I mentioned it to her and she acted as though she hears it regularly. I just walked out.
I go to NLR Petco every so often in hunt of things for my experiment builds. Their tanks can easily handle marine fish but alot of times, their fish come in already sick or dying. I saw one of their fresh batch clowns once and they were already stick like looking. I don't think its specifically them that causes the fish to become like that. I think by the time they get them they are like that some times. Transporting weak and sick fish, many or most are bound to die. That third one you saw breathing heavily amongst the dead is a good indication they got a bad batch of fish from their distributor.
I agree with you on the supplier. My issue is really that they just left all the dead fish in the display tanks, some obviously for days. If over 50% of the fish in your tanks are currently dead, I suspect there is a bigger problem.
Yesterday (Monday 7/29) around 11:30 or so. I actually submitted feedback on the Petco website. I received a reply that it would be addressed asap.
Really!? Just talked to the GM said there was one dead in saltwter. Yesterday. Yesterday was fish count.
That wasn't the case at 11:30. I truly hope it was the case sometime later in the day. Hopefully someone had removed all the dead ones by then. Maybe the feedback I submitted got them to take action. The one dead one he/she mentioned might have been the one barely holding on when I was there. I have zero reason to lie about any of this. No dog in the fight. The GM was not there when I was there, or at least the cashier said he/she wasn't when I asked. I did walk around the entire store looking for an employee with no luck. I am going to go back in 15 minutes or so. If there are still dead fish, I will take pictures this time. I'll report back either way.
Just got back, and they have indeed cleaned up the tanks. I only saw 1 dead fish, and they promptly removed it when I pointed it out. They had just received/stocked a shipment of saltwater fish. The boxes where still on the floor and I attempted to see who the supplier was with no luck. The box itself was branded Petco instead of the supplier. They received two sailfin tangs, several bangai and pajama cardinals, 5 or 6 firefish, and another batch of ocellaris clowns. All appeared to be in good shape. They also added two fairy wrasses, but both were struggling. Since they had just been added, they are most likely still acclimating and will hopefully freshen up. The employee I spoke with works aquatics regularly. He is the one who removed the dead fish yesterday. He said he was off all weekend and when he got there yesterday afternoon, it was mess. He said it was the exception and didn't know what happened. I have no reason to doubt him so hopefully my visit yesterday was just a one time issue and I evidently have bad timing. I actually purchased a tomato clown for my nephew's tank. My first saltwater livestock purchase from Petco.
I didn't ask his name. He wasn't in uniform and no name tag since they all appeared to be taking inventory. I also spoke with a lady who was friendly but she was just in that department for inventory purposes.
Hiya, I was hoping to stop by there today since I had a closing over on JFK, but unfortunately another client back in Benton needed my attention. Kim/Benton, AR
