Petco Saltwater problems

[nicoleblkwidow]

I will apologize ahead of time if this is forbidden to post on here. I know other forums, who will remain nameless, have rules against posting opinions...

This is my final trip to Petco!
Below is the e-mail that I just sent to the corporate office:

I was in the Queen Creek (Rittenhouse and Ocotillo) store today to buy some saltwater items. I have followed the progress of the saltwater aquatics section over the last few months and am shocked at the lack of attention and care of these tanks and livestock!! A few months ago I talked at length to the aquatics manager (no longer there I was told today) about the problems with the system and how the corporate guidelines made it impossible to correct the known issues!

Today was the last straw! The tanks still have cyano covering the substrate because corporate refuse to use the necessary GFO or cheato to remove phosphates. Clown fish and tangs were covered in Ich! Not just a few spots, COVERED from nose to tail and most had labored breathing. I found two dead Pseudochromis in different tanks that didn’t make it through the infection. There was a Yellow Eye Tang on the brink of death lying on his side, covered in Ich and struggling to breathe.

I asked for a manager and told her that the tanks were in poor condition, they were covered in parasites, there were two dead and one that wouldn’t make it through the night. Her response was “I disagree they are 110% better.” Her response to the dead fish, “Oh, I must have missed some.” I told her about the necessary steps to correct these issues and she informed me that they are using Ich attack on the fish. This is an herbal remedy that is not known to work well, especially in this type of severe infestation! There was no remorse or even concern for the dozens of fish struggling for life.

(Edited ~ PM sent ~ RL). I have seen inadequate lighting for corals dozens of times, leathers on the brink of death at full price. These are unacceptable practices!! Saltwater and Reef aquariums take time and money to maintain and care for.



I know that not all Petco's are this bad, but there sure are lots with these problems in AZ. Here are some pics, sorry all I had was my camera phone so not the best.









Sorry for the rant, I just can't stand to see these fish suffer when it can be prevented easily!

[sambrinar]

You are not the first or the last to rant about Petco.. It is NOT the place to go!! Petco and SW don't mix

[BigJay]

It probably should be moved to vendor feedback. But there are lots of complaints about Petco's live goods and many boycott them.

[nicoleblkwidow]

Honestly Jay, I hope it stays here.
I think some of the newbie salt keepers need to be aware. I don't buy any livestock from them, I too had to learn the hard way, but others may not be aware of how unhealthy they are.
Thanks, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one. Boycott! Boycott!!

[BLAKEJOHN]

Before I ever even thought of starting my tank I knew I would never buy any live stock from Petco. Weather it was a cat, dog, ferret, bird, hamster FW fish or SW fish none of thier animals are cared for properly. Even my mother, being the animal lover she is, went to work for them thinking that she could help these poor animals. But Corparate gets in the way of proper treatment for all the animals. Even through all the complaints she made through different agencys the store still operates just as poorly as it always has. Inevitably, she quit.

[mettjl03]

I hate Petco too!!!! I had some problems with them a couple of years ago and ended up reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. To make a long story short. This Petco no longer sells saltwater fish or corals.

[degibson84]

that is just how the Petco here in my town was before they ended up closing down.

i think whoever is in charge of running these stores should be arressted for animal cruelty

[lcstorc]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Unfortunately you are not the only one.

[kyle1284]

true honest to god story. I went into the perco in conroe abouta year ago now and the amount of dead fish inside all their tanks was insane for every live fish there was at least 3 dead fish. I purchased some mysis shrimp and on the reciept there was a customer service number. I got on the phone as soon as i walked out the store and began going through their survey. At the end of the survey you can request a area mgr to call you. so i left a detailed 3minute message(becasue thats all the message would let me leave) and told whom ever that they would be saving a ton of money if they just closed the entire saltwater area and explained the reasoning. 2 days later i got a call from the area mgr and he said that he was going to go look at it in the next week. I id not believe him at all and just shrugged my shoulders and said to myself "at least you tried" well i went in there a month later to pick up some more mysis and holy crap, the entire salt water area was shut down and it had a sign saying "we are sorry but the petco in conroe is no longer going to be selling marine fish" VINDICATION!!!!!

[lcstorc]

I almost never go into Petco but occasionally will go there for dog or cat supplies because of the selection. I usually wander through the fish section I suppose just to get mad for some reason but this time I found that they no longer sell SW and all the tanks were filled with FW fish. They actually seemed to be reasonably healthy FW fish from what I could tell.

[ReefLady]

Like Lynn, I sometimes go for dog supplies ... always browse through the fish section. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised the last time I visited ... the fish looked pretty healthy, and they even had a warning article printed and posted next to the tank that the PBT was in, explaining how the fish is extremely susceptible to Ich. Things definitely looked better than I have seen in the past.

[BigJay]

I was at the local Petco last week. I take my daughter to pet stores to look at the inhabitants whenever we are close by. I heard the clerk saying to someone that the fish they were looking at had ich and didn't recomend the purchase. Could have just been that one caring person who works there and hasn't been there long enough to be corrected , but it still happened.

[nicoleblkwidow]

Thanks Kyle and Jess, sounds like the BBB and the area manager will be hearing from me next. These tanks have been in horrible conditions for months now, probably 6 months or more. Plenty of time to go through a cycle and stabalize a normal system. I haven't heard back from corporate yet, but I am a squeaky wheel and WILL get a response. After running a dog/cat animal rescue for 4 years, I have a very low tolerance to animal abuse!

Jay, I believe that many of the employees want to do the right thing and care for these animals properly. Corporate simply refuses to allow the proper tools! The last aquatics manager in there was asking for donated cheato for the system on our local forms!! This is the closest store for fish supplies in our area, but I will gladly drive an extra 15 minutes to a specialty store that puts in the effort and money to care for the fish and corals.

Thanks all!

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Before I knew any better I got my clown from Petco... she's still doing great

Haven't bought a thing from them since though.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Originally Posted by nicoleblkwidow

Corporate simply refuses to allow the proper tools!

I think this is the best point brought up yet. Like my company/ place of work (Cracker Barrel ), these employees are probably overworked, underpaid, and hassled around every corner by managers that don't want to do anything. At my job for instance, they want us to stock and clean perfectly, but we get a stern talking to for staying later than our scheduled out time. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Not gonna happen.

Many people want to do the right thing, especially when animals are in the picture, but human beings are only as good as they're allowed to be. When someone's making it easy for you to be lazy or take the "easy" way out, I think just about anybody would.