Petco BITES

[Steve]

For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
running for my kids.

I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
& I had NO problems with them or the fish.

I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.

But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
back without the fish or water sample.
I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
there the next day.

My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
tank!

PETCO NEVER AGAIN!

[FishNut]

I thought Petco gave a 15 day fish guarantee. All the smaller LFS give 24
hours. I like Petco.

"Steve" > wrote in message
om...
> For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
> running for my kids.
>
> I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
> & I had NO problems with them or the fish.
>
> I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
> Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
>
> But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> back without the fish or water sample.
> I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> there the next day.
>
> My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
> tank!
>
> PETCO NEVER AGAIN!

[lonerider]

"Steve" > wrote in message
om...
> For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
> running for my kids.
>
> I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
> & I had NO problems with them or the fish.
>
> I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
> Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
>
> But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> back without the fish or water sample.
> I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> there the next day.
>
> My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
> tank!
>
> PETCO NEVER AGAIN!
Not to defend petco,but neons are fragile fish. In the begining i killed
fish by just dumping them in the tank after bringing them home. You need to
let them sit in the bag in the tank for a good period of time and slowly add
your tank water to the bag. The water chemistry of their tanks could be
nothing like your's at all. The fish need time to adjust or they get
stressed out and die. I usually take about 45 minutes of slowly adding my
tank water before turning them loose. Maybe they were un-healthy before you
brought them home but i always slowly let them adjust.
lonerider

[Ben]

Steve wrote:
> But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> back without the fish or water sample.
> I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> there the next day.

ummm... They have it written all over that they will not refund/replace
w/o you bringing in the dead fish and a water sample.

Also, just because your other fish are alive, doesn't mean the water is
good. It may just mean they're hardier.

If you don't want to go back to them because of how they treated you,
that's fine, if you're not going back because you're mad at the policies
you don't like, I think you might want to give up now.

(It makes no sense that they should give you a new fish without the old
one.)

-Ben

[Ben]

FishNut wrote:

> I thought Petco gave a 15 day fish guarantee. All the smaller LFS give 24
> hours. I like Petco.

They do give that. He was complaining cause he didn't want to keep the
fish in the freezer until he could go back and was mad that they would
want to check his water.

I also like petco. While I agree that their staff is less than perfect,
their return policy makes me much more comfortable when I want to buy
pricier fish.

-Ben

[Dinky]

"Steve" > wrote in message
om...

|
| PETCO NEVER AGAIN!

Couple things, depends on the Petco, the one I have here is terrific,
the 'fish person' is a genius, sometimes I just go in to BS with her
about fish stuff. Also, Petco has a wonderful return policy, the fact
that you didn't hold up your end of the agreement (return the fish
and a water sample) does not mean the store sucks. When fish die that
I aquired from there, I toss em in the freezer until I can get back
there. There are a great many people who would love to walk in and
claim to have bought fish that died, and walk out with free fish.
They're covering thier own investments, all that much more important
with the economy the way it is, retail is getting hit hard.


--

billy
--
Need tech help?
news://news.winextra.com

[luminos]

"Steve" > wrote in message
om...
> For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
> running for my kids.
>
> I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
> & I had NO problems with them or the fish.
>
> I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
> Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
>
> But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> back without the fish or water sample.
> I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> there the next day.
>
> My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
> tank!
>
> PETCO NEVER AGAIN!

I have kept freshwater tropicals for 43 years.

I have been terribly surprised the the livestock I get from the Petco here
in California is among the best I have ever received. And the least
expensive. I have fish that have survived their entire rated lifespan
purchased from Petco.

It depends entirely on the owner and manager of the individual store, I
think.

[MarAzul]

"Ben" > wrote in message
...
>
> (It makes no sense that they should give you a new fish without the old
> one.)
>
> -Ben
>
See, that's why I like my LFS. I've gone in there without the dead fish,
told them fish died a few hours/days after I brought it home and they offer
me a new fish.. I don't even have to ask. I know most places aren't like
that though.

Mar
-------------------------------------
"Did you find the gun?"
"Yeah.. it was in Buffy's underwear drawer. She has nice things."
"Show me."
"Well, I didnt take 'em but there were thongs and regular underpants..."
"Show me then gun!"

-Andrew and The First
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[James and Vikki Gilby]

I have to ditto what the others are saying. For the price I can't beat my
local PetCo. My only complaint with them is their lack of knowledge or
experience. They sold a neighbor kid an albino channel catfish for his 20
Gal. community tank. This was in december...it is already 8-9 inches and
I've had to adopt it. I now have it in a 135 Gal., but It will outgrow that
before too long. He says they told him it would only grow to the size of the
tank, and would be just fine.
I wish I had a LFS that was close enough to justify the cost vs. knowledge
delema.


--Jim--

[Charles]

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 16:48:19 -0500, Ben > wrote:

>FishNut wrote:
>
>> I thought Petco gave a 15 day fish guarantee. All the smaller LFS give 24
>> hours. I like Petco.
>
>They do give that. He was complaining cause he didn't want to keep the
>fish in the freezer until he could go back and was mad that they would
>want to check his water.
>
>I also like petco. While I agree that their staff is less than perfect,
>their return policy makes me much more comfortable when I want to buy
>pricier fish.
>
>-Ben


Generalizations.

We have two petcos near here. One isn't too bad, the other one is
quite bad. Their fish room smells of dead/dieing things. If you want
to buy a 100 pound sack of dog food, they are probably okay.


--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

[FishNut]

There's nothing worng with them checking your water. It's standard
procedure when you return a dead fish. If your chemistry was off they would
make you fix the quality of your water before you could take home anymore
fish. It is good business on their part and it makes perfect sense to me.
The only down side to Petco is that some of the people working there aren't
knowledgeable. This also varies. Anyway, where else are you going to get a
15 day fish guarantee on fresh and salt water aquaria. Not likely. It
sounds like you were annoyed that they didn't take your word about your
water quality. Put yourself in their shoes.

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Petco BITES
>From: (Steve)
>Date: 3/22/2004 3:23 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
>running for my kids.
>
>I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
>& I had NO problems with them or the fish.
>
>I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
>Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
>
>But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
>back without the fish or water sample.
>I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
>water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
>fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
>there the next day.
>
>My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
>tank!
>
>PETCO NEVER AGAIN!

Neons are pretty delicate fish. It's not uncommon for healthy ones to die from
the stress of being bagged, driven (sloshed around) home, and then released
after floating.
Also, did you really think they were going to replace them without bringing in
the dead ones? All ya had to do is place the fish, no water, in a baggy and put
it into the freezer until you go back to the store. No stick-o-rama. = )
I have a shelf for fish food and deceased if the need arrises. That way no
fishy stuff touches food items.

[FishNut]

I have a few dead fish in the freezer as we speak but don't let my wife find
them. Shhhhhhh
"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
...
> >Subject: Petco BITES
> >From: (Steve)
> >Date: 3/22/2004 3:23 PM Central Standard Time
> >Message-id: >
> >
> >For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
> >running for my kids.
> >
> >I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
> >& I had NO problems with them or the fish.
> >
> >I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
> >Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
> >
> >But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> >back without the fish or water sample.
> >I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> >water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> >fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> >there the next day.
> >
> >My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
> >tank!
> >
> >PETCO NEVER AGAIN!
>
> Neons are pretty delicate fish. It's not uncommon for healthy ones to die
from
> the stress of being bagged, driven (sloshed around) home, and then
released
> after floating.
> Also, did you really think they were going to replace them without
bringing in
> the dead ones? All ya had to do is place the fish, no water, in a baggy
and put
> it into the freezer until you go back to the store. No stick-o-rama. = )
> I have a shelf for fish food and deceased if the need arrises. That way no
> fishy stuff touches food items.

[TYNK 7]

(snipped)

>Subject: Re: Petco BITES
>From: "FishNut"
>Date: 3/22/2004 10:02 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >

>
>I have a few dead fish in the freezer as we speak but don't let my wife find
>them. Shhhhhhh

LOL....I learned the hard way. Hubby found a dead fish and just about tossed
his cookies. That's when I declared the shelf on the door for fish stuff only.

[MarAzul]

"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
...
> (snipped)
>
> >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> >From: "FishNut"
> >Date: 3/22/2004 10:02 PM Central Standard Time
> >Message-id: >
>
> >
> >I have a few dead fish in the freezer as we speak but don't let my wife
find
> >them. Shhhhhhh
>
> LOL....I learned the hard way. Hubby found a dead fish and just about
tossed
> his cookies. That's when I declared the shelf on the door for fish stuff
only.
>

I've made sure to point to the fish and tell hubby "Now don't eat that..."

Mar

[Polarhound]

luminos wrote:

> "Steve" > wrote in message
> om...
>
>>For about 2 months I had a small 10 gallon tank setup
>>running for my kids.
>>
>>I bought all of my fish at PET SMART :) They seemed nice
>>& I had NO problems with them or the fish.
>>
>>I went to by the last 3 fish (3 neon Tetras) at PETCO! They Suck.
>>Withen 12 hours 2 fish dies. OK these are not high price fish.
>>
>>But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
>>back without the fish or water sample.
>>I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
>>water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
>>fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
>>there the next day.
>>
>>My tank had (2 zebra dano, 2 platy, alge eater) Not an overstocked
>>tank!
>>
>>PETCO NEVER AGAIN!
>
>
> I have kept freshwater tropicals for 43 years.
>
> I have been terribly surprised the the livestock I get from the Petco here
> in California is among the best I have ever received. And the least
> expensive. I have fish that have survived their entire rated lifespan
> purchased from Petco.
>
> It depends entirely on the owner and manager of the individual store, I
> think.

It also helps that CA is a major import point for fish, so they don't
have to endure a second round of travel/acclimation.

[T]

"Ben" > wrote in message
...
> Steve wrote:
> > But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> > back without the fish or water sample.
> > I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> > water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> > fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> > there the next day.
>
> ummm... They have it written all over that they will not refund/replace
> w/o you bringing in the dead fish and a water sample.
>
> Also, just because your other fish are alive, doesn't mean the water is
> good. It may just mean they're hardier.
>
> If you don't want to go back to them because of how they treated you,
> that's fine, if you're not going back because you're mad at the policies
> you don't like, I think you might want to give up now.
>
> (It makes no sense that they should give you a new fish without the old
> one.)
>
> -Ben
>

Ben, why would you freze the fish??? That makes no sense to me, because by
the time you get them back to the store they will be thawing out and falling
apart.. That makes sense to know what type of fish the blood of mess thawing
out is.. PetCo is not a great place to get livestock of the fish kind...

Granted I agree that Neon's are a fragile fish,defianatly not a
beginners fish. But to tell a person to quit with the aquarium before they
even get started Ben, gees your a freidnly one aren't you.. Perhaps you
might have suggested the person to read and educate themselves a little more
before telling them to give it up.

Tim....

[T]

Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is a
local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so they
can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an Oscar
or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when you let
the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through the
returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a nice,
identifiable, non stinky, state..

Tim..
"MarAzul" > wrote in message
news:RcQ7c.80$cx5.65@fed1read04...
>
> "TYNK 7" > wrote in message
> ...
> > (snipped)
> >
> > >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> > >From: "FishNut"
> > >Date: 3/22/2004 10:02 PM Central Standard Time
> > >Message-id: >
> >
> > >
> > >I have a few dead fish in the freezer as we speak but don't let my wife
> find
> > >them. Shhhhhhh
> >
> > LOL....I learned the hard way. Hubby found a dead fish and just about
> tossed
> > his cookies. That's when I declared the shelf on the door for fish stuff
> only.
> >
>
> I've made sure to point to the fish and tell hubby "Now don't eat that..."
>
> Mar
>
>

[Ben]

T wrote:
> Ben, why would you freze the fish??? That makes no sense to me, because by
> the time you get them back to the store they will be thawing out and falling
> apart.. That makes sense to know what type of fish the blood of mess thawing
> out is.. PetCo is not a great place to get livestock of the fish kind...

I freeze the fish because it works easily, doesn't stink and I don't
have a place I'd be comfortable putting a dead fish to dry. For me, I
have nice little plastic tubes I can put them in, they go on the freezer
door til I go back to the store. I've never once had a problem with
people not liking the way I do it, etc.

And as others have said, YMMV when it comes to the fish at petco. For
me and lots of people, it's a great place to get fish. For others, it
is not so good.

> Granted I agree that Neon's are a fragile fish,defianatly not a
> beginners fish. But to tell a person to quit with the aquarium before they
> even get started Ben, gees your a freidnly one aren't you.. Perhaps you
> might have suggested the person to read and educate themselves a little more
> before telling them to give it up.

With his attitude of not bringin in water for a free check that is
necessary when returning a fish, what's the point. This person didn't
want to be educated. He wanted to complain that he didn't like the
rules, knows his tank water parameters are 'good' because other fish are
fine. He didn't want to be educated. If someone asks a question I can
answer or at least give a decent arquement, I'll be happy to do it. I'm
nice and friendly when I do it also.

-Ben

[NetMax]

Freeze or dried, I just usually chuck them in the garbage and spend a bit
of time discussing what observations they had prior to the mortality, and
about water conditions. You can't see Ich on a dried fish any better
than on a frozen one, but you are right about frozen fish getting pretty
snarly smelling when they start to thaw and rot ;~). Returning the fish
(and a water sample with their receipt) is just to provide reasonable
evidence of purchase and loss. Unless the fins and eyes are gone, or
there are other obvious symptoms, you can't tell much from inspection
(especially with Neon tetras!). I lost one of my new CLs this morning,
and he is currently in my own freezer (in my case, I just don't want to
tempt my cat ;~).

NetMax

"T" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
> cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is
a
> local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so
they
> can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an
Oscar
> or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when
you let
> the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through the
> returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a nice,
> identifiable, non stinky, state..
>
> Tim..
> "MarAzul" > wrote in message
> news:RcQ7c.80$cx5.65@fed1read04...
> >
> > "TYNK 7" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > (snipped)
> > >
> > > >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> > > >From: "FishNut"
> > > >Date: 3/22/2004 10:02 PM Central Standard Time
> > > >Message-id: >
> > >
> > > >
> > > >I have a few dead fish in the freezer as we speak but don't let my
wife
> > find
> > > >them. Shhhhhhh
> > >
> > > LOL....I learned the hard way. Hubby found a dead fish and just
about
> > tossed
> > > his cookies. That's when I declared the shelf on the door for fish
stuff
> > only.
> > >
> >
> > I've made sure to point to the fish and tell hubby "Now don't eat
that..."
> >
> > Mar
> >
> >
>
>

[Ben]

NetMax wrote:

> (especially with Neon tetras!). I lost one of my new CLs this morning,

CLs???

-Ben

[Eric Schreiber]

Steve wrote:

> But The employees at PETCO suck they treat you like a child! I went
> back without the fish or water sample.
> I tried to explain to the guy that my water was fine. If I had bad
> water my other fish would have died. I wasn't going to keep 2 dead
> fish around for 7 days because I am too busy with working to run back
> there the next day.

PETCO is treating you like a child because you're acting like one. The
problem isn't them. It's you. They have set policies specifically
because of people like you. Why on earth do you think they should
believe you when you walk in without dead fish or a water sample, no
proof at all, and complain about their stock? I certainly wouldn't
believe you.

I doubt they'll miss your patronage.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

[T]

"Ben" > wrote in message
...
> T wrote:
> > Ben, why would you freze the fish??? That makes no sense to me, because
by
> > the time you get them back to the store they will be thawing out and
falling
> > apart.. That makes sense to know what type of fish the blood of mess
thawing
> > out is.. PetCo is not a great place to get livestock of the fish kind...
>
> I freeze the fish because it works easily, doesn't stink and I don't
> have a place I'd be comfortable putting a dead fish to dry. For me, I
> have nice little plastic tubes I can put them in, they go on the freezer
> door til I go back to the store. I've never once had a problem with
> people not liking the way I do it, etc.
>
> And as others have said, YMMV when it comes to the fish at petco. For
> me and lots of people, it's a great place to get fish. For others, it
> is not so good.
>
> > Granted I agree that Neon's are a fragile fish,defianatly not a
> > beginners fish. But to tell a person to quit with the aquarium before
they
> > even get started Ben, gees your a freidnly one aren't you.. Perhaps you
> > might have suggested the person to read and educate themselves a little
more
> > before telling them to give it up.
>
> With his attitude of not bringin in water for a free check that is
> necessary when returning a fish, what's the point. This person didn't
> want to be educated. He wanted to complain that he didn't like the
> rules, knows his tank water parameters are 'good' because other fish are
> fine. He didn't want to be educated. If someone asks a question I can
> answer or at least give a decent arquement, I'll be happy to do it. I'm
> nice and friendly when I do it also.
>
> -Ben
>

[T]

"Ben" > wrote in message
...
> T wrote:
> > Ben, why would you freze the fish??? That makes no sense to me, because
by
> > the time you get them back to the store they will be thawing out and
falling
> > apart.. That makes sense to know what type of fish the blood of mess
thawing
> > out is.. PetCo is not a great place to get livestock of the fish kind...
>
> I freeze the fish because it works easily, doesn't stink and I don't
> have a place I'd be comfortable putting a dead fish to dry. For me, I
> have nice little plastic tubes I can put them in, they go on the freezer
> door til I go back to the store. I've never once had a problem with
> people not liking the way I do it, etc.
>
> And as others have said, YMMV when it comes to the fish at petco. For
> me and lots of people, it's a great place to get fish. For others, it
> is not so good.
>
> > Granted I agree that Neon's are a fragile fish,defianatly not a
> > beginners fish. But to tell a person to quit with the aquarium before
they
> > even get started Ben, gees your a freidnly one aren't you.. Perhaps you
> > might have suggested the person to read and educate themselves a little
more
> > before telling them to give it up.
>
> With his attitude of not bringin in water for a free check that is
> necessary when returning a fish, what's the point. This person didn't
> want to be educated. He wanted to complain that he didn't like the
> rules, knows his tank water parameters are 'good' because other fish are
> fine. He didn't want to be educated. If someone asks a question I can
> answer or at least give a decent arquement, I'll be happy to do it. I'm
> nice and friendly when I do it also.
>
> -Ben
>

Dang, where was I when I responded to you Ben.. It doesn't make sense..
Seems like I was ranting a bit.. If not coming off a bit rude.. Which was
not my intentions.. IMO, from the many PetCo's I have gone too, ( about 20
of them all over Southern California ) I have not been very happy to seeing
thier stock.. The fellow in question, was wrong for assuming he could get
around the store's policy without the receipt or fish for that matter, only
because that is PetCo's policy. This guy though, needs to educated about
the fish purchase as well, and perhaps the people working at the store
should have educated enough to ask what he was putting them into and what
they were going to co habitat with. the point I failed to make is the both
groups need to get a lot more educated, PetCo and the complaining fellow. I
think Steve should really invest $10 in a general Aquaurium Book for
Tropicals or take a visit to the library or come here a little more often
to ask before he gets his feet wet. Unfortunantly most people assume water
and fish, how hard can this be. Theres a lot more to it than that, and thats
what Steve should have heard.. I hate responding to the Pet this and Pet
that chain store posts. As I usually get a little frazzled, as my preference
is more toward the Mom and Pop stores where the staff is generally more
knowledgable about what they are selling.
Now does any one an Okeetee Albino Creamsicle for sale?

Tim...

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Petco BITES
>From: "T"
>Date: 3/23/2004 10:27 AM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: .net>
>
>Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
>cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is a
>local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so they
>can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an Oscar
>or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when you let
>the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through the
>returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a nice,
>identifiable, non stinky, state..
>
>Tim..

Well...a fish the size of a male Betta left out to dry will stink pretty badly.
I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply take it
out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed it in the
freezer.
I couldn't even imagine the smell if you left a medium sized Angelfish out to
dry, my goodness!
You must not have a good sniffer.

[Elizabeth Naime]

Quoth (TYNK 7) on 23 Mar 2004 23:32:59 GMT,

>I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply take it
>out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed it in the
>freezer.

That would be my plan as well. The only times I've returned fish were a
while back, and the stores were close enough that I put the fish in a
baggie in the fridge (ziplock type, for those worried about smell!)
since it went back the following day.

Really, I think they only want to see the fish so that they know you
aren't getting a two-for-one special. A reasonably fresh fish or a
still-frozen fish is reasonably identifiable, but I doubt they'd notice
much besides "it's about the right size for what the receipt says you
bought."


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.

[flupke]

Ben wrote:
> NetMax wrote:
>
>> (especially with Neon tetras!). I lost one of my new CLs this
>> morning,
>
> CLs???
>
> -Ben

Clown Loach?

Tell us Netmax ! :)

[NetMax]

"flupke" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Ben wrote:
> > NetMax wrote:
> >
> >> (especially with Neon tetras!). I lost one of my new CLs this
> >> morning,
> >
> > CLs???
> >
> > -Ben
>
> Clown Loach?
>
> Tell us Netmax ! :)

Nothing much to tell. I don't completely trust new CLs for a few months
due to the internal parasites they can carry, so when I caught glimpses
of one starting to hang out alone and not eating, I figured it wouldn't
take long (took less than 24 hours). Hopefully it's still within my
warranty period ;~)

NetMax

[T]

"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
...
> >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> >From: "T"
> >Date: 3/23/2004 10:27 AM Central Standard Time
> >Message-id: .net>
> >
> >Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
> >cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is a
> >local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so
they
> >can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an
Oscar
> >or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when you
let
> >the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through the
> >returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a nice,
> >identifiable, non stinky, state..
> >
> >Tim..
>
> Well...a fish the size of a male Betta left out to dry will stink pretty
badly.
> I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply
take it
> out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed it
in the
> freezer.
> I couldn't even imagine the smell if you left a medium sized Angelfish out
to
> dry, my goodness!
> You must not have a good sniffer.
>
Actually got a great sniffer.. Can smell gopher's fart a mile away.. ( j/k
of course.. I couldn't resist.. ) I had the circumstance of losing a larger
female Haplochromis Ahli ( about 5 inches or so in length ) left her to dry
on the wondow sill, on a paper towel of course. No smell.. Actually tried
freezing the corpse of a few goldies over night, then took them back to the
Pet Store ( they were in quite dismay that I actually froze them ) and told
me to just let them dry out on a few sheets of paper towel the next time. I
thought they were crazy to, until one of the cory's dropped dead and I tried
thier way.. Needless to say the fish stayed better intact when dried as
opposed to the goldies falling apart because the meat went mushy while they
were thawing and did not smell.. I suppose if it was a Koi, Oscar or larger
Pacu they might take a while to dry out and stink.. Most tropicals are
considerable smaller than these in the hobby though and don't create a hugh
stink if any...

Tim...

[Victor Martinez]

NetMax wrote:
> take long (took less than 24 hours). Hopefully it's still within my
> warranty period ;~)

Hmmm... aren't you the boss? Or did you get him at a competitor's store? :-O

--
Victor Martinez
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Victor Martinez]

T wrote:
> Pet Store ( they were in quite dismay that I actually froze them ) and told
> me to just let them dry out on a few sheets of paper towel the next time. I

You realize some of us live in climates that are humid enough so that a
fish would never just dry out like that, right?

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Petco BITES
>From: Elizabeth Naime
>Date: 3/23/2004 5:52 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>Quoth (TYNK 7) on 23 Mar 2004 23:32:59 GMT,
>
>>I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply take
>it
>>out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed it in
>the
>>freezer.
>
>That would be my plan as well. The only times I've returned fish were a
>while back, and the stores were close enough that I put the fish in a
>baggie in the fridge (ziplock type, for those worried about smell!)
>since it went back the following day.
>
>Really, I think they only want to see the fish so that they know you
>aren't getting a two-for-one special. A reasonably fresh fish or a
>still-frozen fish is reasonably identifiable, but I doubt they'd notice
>much besides "it's about the right size for what the receipt says you
>bought."
>

Oh, exactly. I've only ever had one guy (a pet shop I don't frequent often)
check a dead male Betta for damage.
I questioned it and he said they've had quite a few people try and return dead
male Bettas that they fought.
I, of course do NOT condome fighting Bettas ever.
Other than that one time...they're just looking for a body of the same fish on
the receipt.
I have had a few girls at another shop that I will occasionally buy female
Bettas from mark on the receipt what color they are.
As for looking for a disease or parasite.....never.

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Petco BITES
>From: "T"
>Date: 3/23/2004 8:34 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: . net>
>
>
>"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
...
>> >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
>> >From: "T"
>> >Date: 3/23/2004 10:27 AM Central Standard Time
>> >Message-id: .net>
>> >
>> >Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
>> >cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is a
>> >local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so
>they
>> >can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an
>Oscar
>> >or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when you
>let
>> >the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through the
>> >returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a nice,
>> >identifiable, non stinky, state..
>> >
>> >Tim..
>>
>> Well...a fish the size of a male Betta left out to dry will stink pretty
>badly.
>> I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply
>take it
>> out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed it
>in the
>> freezer.
>> I couldn't even imagine the smell if you left a medium sized Angelfish out
>to
>> dry, my goodness!
>> You must not have a good sniffer.
>>
> Actually got a great sniffer.. Can smell gopher's fart a mile away.. ( j/k
>of course.. I couldn't resist.. ) I had the circumstance of losing a larger
>female Haplochromis Ahli ( about 5 inches or so in length ) left her to dry
>on the wondow sill, on a paper towel of course. No smell.. Actually tried
>freezing the corpse of a few goldies over night, then took them back to the
>Pet Store ( they were in quite dismay that I actually froze them ) and told
>me to just let them dry out on a few sheets of paper towel the next time. I
>thought they were crazy to, until one of the cory's dropped dead and I tried
>thier way.. Needless to say the fish stayed better intact when dried as
>opposed to the goldies falling apart because the meat went mushy while they
>were thawing and did not smell.. I suppose if it was a Koi, Oscar or larger
>Pacu they might take a while to dry out and stink.. Most tropicals are
>considerable smaller than these in the hobby though and don't create a hugh
>stink if any...
>
>Tim...
>
>
>
>

I got to thinking....
Did you thaw it before you went to the store or did ya take it from the freezer
to the car, to the store?
I don't give it time to thaw..I take it out and go.

[NetMax]

"Victor Martinez" > wrote in message
...
> NetMax wrote:
> > take long (took less than 24 hours). Hopefully it's still within my
> > warranty period ;~)
>
> Hmmm... aren't you the boss? Or did you get him at a competitor's
store? :-O

Even the boss pays for his fish (I'm not the owner), so I have to set a
proper example for my staff. I'll show up with my dead fish, my water
sample and my receipt. I do buy from competitors sometimes, but not very
often. It has to be something unique that I've been having trouble
finding, or a product I don't carry. Although not a competitor, Wal-mart
has a good source for Pictus cats, so I rescued a couple from there once.
Sometimes the best place to buy a fish is where you find it ;~)

NetMax

> Victor Martinez
> Send your spam here:
> Email me here:

[T]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Victor Martinez" > wrote in message
> ...
> > NetMax wrote:
> > > take long (took less than 24 hours). Hopefully it's still within my
> > > warranty period ;~)
> >
> > Hmmm... aren't you the boss? Or did you get him at a competitor's
> store? :-O
>
> Even the boss pays for his fish (I'm not the owner), so I have to set a
> proper example for my staff. I'll show up with my dead fish, my water
> sample and my receipt. I do buy from competitors sometimes, but not very
> often. It has to be something unique that I've been having trouble
> finding, or a product I don't carry. Although not a competitor, Wal-mart
> has a good source for Pictus cats, so I rescued a couple from there once.
> Sometimes the best place to buy a fish is where you find it ;~)
>
> NetMax
>
> > Victor Martinez
> > Send your spam here:
> > Email me here:
>
>

Strangely enough, Walmart does get some Oscar's from time to time that have
much nicer patterns than the chain stores or the Mom and Pop LFS's get..
Even seen the odd Victorian Cichlid in with thier mixed African's..
Obliquidin's I believe ( I think the spelling is correct... ).. Pictus cat's
like Netmax stated show up quite often too, when the LFS's don't or can't
get them..

Tim...

[T]

"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
...
> >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> >From: "T"
> >Date: 3/23/2004 8:34 PM Central Standard Time
> >Message-id: . net>
> >
> >
> >"TYNK 7" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> >Subject: Re: Petco BITES
> >> >From: "T"
> >> >Date: 3/23/2004 10:27 AM Central Standard Time
> >> >Message-id: .net>
> >> >
> >> >Why do you guys freeze your fish?? What a mess you get from the thaw
> >> >cycle.. Have you guys ever though about letting them dry out? There is
a
> >> >local Chain store here that tells people to let there fish dry out so
> >they
> >> >can be ID'ed a lot better... Lets face it, unless your dealing with an
> >Oscar
> >> >or some other larger fish it is not going to stink up the house when
you
> >let
> >> >the body dry out.. Needless to say I rarely ever have to go through
the
> >> >returning fish procedure myself, but when I do, the fish are in a
nice,
> >> >identifiable, non stinky, state..
> >> >
> >> >Tim..
> >>
> >> Well...a fish the size of a male Betta left out to dry will stink
pretty
> >badly.
> >> I'm not understanding what you mean by "mess" when it thaws. You simply
> >take it
> >> out before you head to the shop...it look the same as when you placed
it
> >in the
> >> freezer.
> >> I couldn't even imagine the smell if you left a medium sized Angelfish
out
> >to
> >> dry, my goodness!
> >> You must not have a good sniffer.
> >>
> > Actually got a great sniffer.. Can smell gopher's fart a mile away.. (
j/k
> >of course.. I couldn't resist.. ) I had the circumstance of losing a
larger
> >female Haplochromis Ahli ( about 5 inches or so in length ) left her to
dry
> >on the wondow sill, on a paper towel of course. No smell.. Actually tried
> >freezing the corpse of a few goldies over night, then took them back to
the
> >Pet Store ( they were in quite dismay that I actually froze them ) and
told
> >me to just let them dry out on a few sheets of paper towel the next time.
I
> >thought they were crazy to, until one of the cory's dropped dead and I
tried
> >thier way.. Needless to say the fish stayed better intact when dried as
> >opposed to the goldies falling apart because the meat went mushy while
they
> >were thawing and did not smell.. I suppose if it was a Koi, Oscar or
larger
> >Pacu they might take a while to dry out and stink.. Most tropicals are
> >considerable smaller than these in the hobby though and don't create a
hugh
> >stink if any...
> >
> >Tim...
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> I got to thinking....
> Did you thaw it before you went to the store or did ya take it from the
freezer
> to the car, to the store?
> I don't give it time to thaw..I take it out and go.


I don't have the winters like I used to.. But a ten mile drive ( usually a
20 minute affair ) and 10 to 15 minete wait at the store is often long for
them to thaw out and get some seriously mushy.. Summer time is worse here
for that ( most people don't get the extreme's of up to +45C or 115F ).
Needless to say, the thread has swerved of the importance of the subject,
education ... Ah well.. C'est La Vie... NEXT!



Tim

[Victor Martinez]

NetMax wrote:
> Sometimes the best place to buy a fish is where you find it ;~)

As usual, you're absolutely right! Good for you for setting an example!

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Kay]

FishNut wrote:
> There's nothing worng with them checking your water. It's standard
> procedure when you return a dead fish. If your chemistry was off they would
> make you fix the quality of your water before you could take home anymore
> fish. It is good business on their part and it makes perfect sense to me.
> The only down side to Petco is that some of the people working there aren't
> knowledgeable. This also varies. Anyway, where else are you going to get a
> 15 day fish guarantee on fresh and salt water aquaria. Not likely. It
> sounds like you were annoyed that they didn't take your word about your
> water quality. Put yourself in their shoes.
>
>

Well, testing the water without asking questions is what one petco store
did. After they told these people that is was a low ph and gave them
chemicals, I nosed in and asked how old the tank was, if there was live
plants and what kind of filtration. the tank was 11 years old, never
broken down and cleaned and a ugf filter that has not worked in a year.
Gravel is what they bought 11 years ago. So I asummed it was Old tank
syndrome and gave my advice of what I would do and how i would maintain
afterwards. Also the fish were 11 year old also. The whole time I was
given dirty looks by the staff. Even though they spent more on maintance
tools, gravel, filter and master test kit.

Some workers care allot and some don't.

Kay

[Mudbunny]

Kay > wrote in message news:<V6i8c.74666$KO3.253825@attbi_s02>...

> Some workers care allot and some don't.


I have gone through this with dog stuff at PetsMart. However, I think
it is not that they don't care, it is just that they don't know any
better. I know some people who have gone thorugh the dog training (and
I hesitate to call it that) program that they give to their employees.
They are given the very basic tools, and that is it. I suspect that it
is similar for people in the fish department. They are given the
basics on what to do if A, what to do if B, what to do if C and so on.
No in-depth instruction is probably given to the employees. Thus, IMO,
calling them uncaring is probably more than a little unfair.

Marcel

[luminos]

> afterwards. Also the fish were 11 year old also.

What fish?