PETSMART fish - pricey ? healthy ?

[Shawn P. Good]

Hello :

I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and now I'm
thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while. Due to
a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no longer
patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy my new
fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger town about
an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip, however, if
they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of fish, or the
fish are not healthy.

Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me advice ?

Thanks - Shawn

[Tedd Jacobs]

"Shawn P. Good" wrote...
> Hello :
>
> I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and now I'm
> thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while. Due to
> a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no longer
> patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy my new
> fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger town about
> an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip, however, if
> they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of fish, or the
> fish are not healthy.
>
> Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me advice ?
>

the initial reaction you are going to get is a negative one when asking about
most of the chain type stores. the have questionable reputations among some
circles, mostly due to poor advice by inexperienced employees and a proness
towards poor health in their stock (a result usually of poor care by
inexperienced employees). the consensus view may be that they are at best to be
shied away from, while the reality of it is that you really must take each one
for itself and be your own judge over repeated visits and time: do they
habitually have dead fish floating (or worse, half eaten) in the tanks? do they
seem to always have something marked "do not sell"? do any of the tanks show
signs of illnesses (especially ich)? what is the impression of the people
working there? ask them questions you already know the answers to. i like to
know when fish shipments come in and then i can see first hand the condition of
the new stock, then come back a week later to check on their health.

in my opinion, the chain stores already have one stick against them for live
stock, they deal in bulk and aim for quantity, not quality. i'll drive the extra
distance and pay a few dollars more for a store i know deals in quality and not
the mass market strategy. when it comes to equipment and staples however, the
chain stores are usually better on prices because they do deal in bulk.

bottom line; you're going to have to determine for yourself if they are good or
not. ask the stores about their own quality and reputation. make your own
judgements. just like you did with your decision to leave your former local
store.

best of luck! :-)

tedd.

[NetMax]

"Shawn P. Good" > wrote in message
t...
> Hello :
>
> I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and now
I'm
> thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while.
Due to
> a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no
longer
> patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy my
new
> fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger town
about
> an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip, however,
if
> they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of fish,
or the
> fish are not healthy.
>
> Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me advice
?
>
> Thanks - Shawn

I think the general consensus whenever this question has been asked, is
it depends. The particular manager running the fish dept. makes the
difference, so sometimes you can even have a good Wal-Mart and your
specialty shop is poor. Staffing is usually by teenagers who mean well,
but lack the experience which is really needed for the wide variety of
questions which come up. Don't judge a shop by the first employee you
encounter. Better (lucky) shops have a couple of experienced staff, and
the difference shows up quickly. Be observant, ask what their quarantine
practices are, and start judging their advice, so you can make your own
mind up.

NetMax

[Carlos]

My experience has been very good with small, one owner stores, not the big
chain stores. The big ones usually dont care as to what happens with the
fish, plants, they want to make their money. The small ones usually have
only one full time employee who knows about everything in general for
keeping fish and plants happy, they sure are pricey but it is affordable if
you are looking for quality and a one to one talk with owner or employee.
Big chains usually have many many employees who know nothing and its like
Netmax said its usually not employees but managers fault, and usually theres
no manager around to look for and complain to or ask a few questions about
live stock.

If you have the time and are willing, go to that other town, one hour is not
that much and have a look, maybe you will be surprised. Also take a friend
with you it will make your trip much worthy.

take care.



hope this helps


"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Shawn P. Good" > wrote in message
> t...
> > Hello :
> >
> > I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and now
> I'm
> > thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while.
> Due to
> > a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no
> longer
> > patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy my
> new
> > fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger town
> about
> > an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip, however,
> if
> > they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of fish,
> or the
> > fish are not healthy.
> >
> > Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me advice
> ?
> >
> > Thanks - Shawn
>
> I think the general consensus whenever this question has been asked, is
> it depends. The particular manager running the fish dept. makes the
> difference, so sometimes you can even have a good Wal-Mart and your
> specialty shop is poor. Staffing is usually by teenagers who mean well,
> but lack the experience which is really needed for the wide variety of
> questions which come up. Don't judge a shop by the first employee you
> encounter. Better (lucky) shops have a couple of experienced staff, and
> the difference shows up quickly. Be observant, ask what their quarantine
> practices are, and start judging their advice, so you can make your own
> mind up.
>
> NetMax
>
>

[NSP]

"Shawn P. Good" > wrote in message >...
> Hello :
>
> I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and now I'm
> thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while. Due to
> a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no longer
> patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy my new
> fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger town about
> an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip, however, if
> they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of fish, or the
> fish are not healthy.
>
> Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me advice ?
>
> Thanks - Shawn


I know I'm not answering your question directly, but I'd like to share
an experience of mine.

I live in Toronto, Canada - and unfortunately, the closest petshop in
my area is "PJ's Petcentre" in Yorkdale Mall. Yorkdale is one of the
fancier malls in Toronto.

I have to say the the level of service and understanding in that place
is absolutely HORRIFYING.

I only buy inanimate products there now because I simply don't trust
the staff, and the tanks I have seen lack a basic level of health for
a comfortable purchase.

Whenever I ask a question, I get a look of fear like a deer in
headlights, a brisk walk to the manager who also gets a similar look,
and a best guess answer. Some reps don't even know where products can
be found on the shelves!

There is nothing I admire more than a salesperson who is confident and
sure enough in himself to say the words "I don't know - I don't feel
comfortable advising you on this."

My fiancee and I feel guilty whenever we make a purchase there.

Now, I'm not sure about Petsmart. I went there with my Fiancee as
well, and we did not have the opportunity to test their knowledge.

However, I did witness a salesperson successfuly selling a Betta in a
tiny Betta Bowl to a father trying to please his children. My fiancee
stopped me from saying something in the interests of social grace.

Their fish selection was pretty good for a franchise, but I would go
by what you see in the tank versus the health claim by the
salesperson.

A benefit worth noting is the larger franchises tend to offer a
livestock warranty of a week or two.

Good luck,

Neil

[NetMax]

"Carlos" > wrote in message
...
> My experience has been very good with small, one owner stores, not the
big
> chain stores. The big ones usually dont care as to what happens with
the
> fish, plants, they want to make their money. The small ones usually
have
> only one full time employee who knows about everything in general for
> keeping fish and plants happy, they sure are pricey but it is
affordable if
> you are looking for quality and a one to one talk with owner or
employee.
> Big chains usually have many many employees who know nothing and its
like

> Netmax said its usually not employees but managers fault, and usually
theres
> no manager around to look for and complain to or ask a few questions
about
> live stock.

Well... that's not exactly what I said, or at least, not what I meant.
The manager controls the purchasing, medicating, moving, environments and
sets maintenance programs for others to follow. Without this, the shop
will not operate well. With a good staff, everything works great, but
the turnover in teenage helpers is high, so there is always a high
variability in staff expertise. A poor manager with good staff will not
do so well, as the manager controls overall operation. A poor manager
with poor staff is what is sometimes encountered when we describe horror
stories. The best you can expect is a good manager and several
experienced employees mixed with some part timers would lack experience.
If the first person you meet is a new part-timer doing his best to help,
but obviously not well informed, then you would be doing yourself an
injustice by judging the store on that encounter. The realty of the
business is that most of the people working there well intended 'pet'
people working at minimum wage. Ask around to locate the key people, and
make a point of seeking them out for advice.

Another thing about the chain stores, during busy hours, staff shortages,
holidays, lunch-hour replacements etc, you might find yourself being
given advice on how to cure Ich by someone from the dog dept. filling in,
so beware ;~).

NetMax

> If you have the time and are willing, go to that other town, one hour
is not
> that much and have a look, maybe you will be surprised. Also take a
friend
> with you it will make your trip much worthy.
>
> take care.
>
>
>
> hope this helps
>
>
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> . ..
> >
> > "Shawn P. Good" > wrote in message
> > t...
> > > Hello :
> > >
> > > I recently lost a complete 55gal aquarium of Malawi cichlids and
now
> > I'm
> > > thinking of switching over to a planted community tank for a while.
> > Due to
> > > a recent disagreement with the owner of the local pet shop, I'm no
> > longer
> > > patronizing his store and so I'm looking for another place to buy
my
> > new
> > > fish and plants. I live in a small town, but there is a larger
town
> > about
> > > an hour away with a PetSmart. I don't want to make the trip,
however,
> > if
> > > they're prices are high, or they don't have a good selection of
fish,
> > or the
> > > fish are not healthy.
> > >
> > > Has anyone had any experiences with this chain and can offer me
advice
> > ?
> > >
> > > Thanks - Shawn
> >
> > I think the general consensus whenever this question has been asked,
is
> > it depends. The particular manager running the fish dept. makes the
> > difference, so sometimes you can even have a good Wal-Mart and your
> > specialty shop is poor. Staffing is usually by teenagers who mean
well,
> > but lack the experience which is really needed for the wide variety
of
> > questions which come up. Don't judge a shop by the first employee
you
> > encounter. Better (lucky) shops have a couple of experienced staff,
and
> > the difference shows up quickly. Be observant, ask what their
quarantine
> > practices are, and start judging their advice, so you can make your
own
> > mind up.
> >
> > NetMax
> >
> >
>
>