Fish from Petco bad idea?

b4tn · Jul 30, 2015

Funny, I was just at Petco yesterday and noticed that they had some SW fish and even some frags. The tanks where not looking that great but the fish looked healthy. Since the nearest tropical fish store to me is 45 minutes away and petco is 5 minutes away I was thinking of saving some of them.

ReefMadScientist · Jul 30, 2015

JVH said:
OK here are my new additions! Red hawk fish peeking around A piece of coral and my small Picasso trigger fish. He is the coolest looking fish with beautiful markings since he's a hearty fish and he was moved around in different tanks I decided to put him right in my main display tank..they told me the damsels were attacking him so they moved him a couple of times and that he was very peaceful and got along with everybody well as soon as he went in my tank my Midas blenny opened his mouth as wide as I ever seen it and put up quite a fuss! Hopefully they will all figure out their territory and get along I would hate to have to take him out he is a beautiful addition!I am hoping to get him in my new tank within 10 days

JVH said:
And FYI I plan on quarantining for a few weeks to observe the fish.

Hey! I thought you said you were going to QT the fish?

JVH · Jul 30, 2015

I was planning on it but the QT was not really ready..
I was afraid the biological filter needed more time to develop. Just putting in my old sponge right before didn't seen long enough and I also can't seen to get the temp below 80! No A/C in the qt room but I had a fan on it but it didn't help..I was afraid to put them in however, since my 68g upgrade will be ready in about a week I will keep my original DT (where they are now) as the QT for the next few weeks..
If I need to medicate Ill remove the cuc. then ill transfer to new tank in maybe 3 weeks..

JVH · Jul 30, 2015

b4tn said:
Funny, I was just at Petco yesterday and noticed that they had some SW fish and even some frags. The tanks where not looking that great but the fish looked healthy. Since the nearest tropical fish store to me is 45 minutes away and petco is 5 minutes away I was thinking of saving some of them.

A few members said not all petco s are created equal and the same goes for small privately owned stores..I was just NEVER going to get a fish at petco but honestly, the fish section mgs has several reef tanks and they really take great care of the tanks. My original source store has really gone down hill.. I know algae breakouts can happen but they seem to have gotten lazy with these husbandry and so many of these beautiful tank look terrible! The next closest store is over an hour..The best one is 2hrs away!

Cleo642 · Jul 30, 2015

I hate seeing Betta's in those little cups at Walmart. Almost want to rescue them all but I can't obviously. It's sad to see them in those little cups of blue water, in their own filth. They look so depressed. :(

ReefMadScientist · Jul 30, 2015

JVH said:
I was planning on it but the QT was not really ready..
I was afraid the biological filter needed more time to develop. Just putting in my old sponge right before didn't seen long enough and I also can't seen to get the temp below 80! No A/C in the qt room but I had a fan on it but it didn't help..I was afraid to put them in however, since my 68g upgrade will be ready in about a week I will keep my original DT (where they are now) as the QT for the next few weeks..
If I need to medicate Ill remove the cuc. then ill transfer to new tank in maybe 3 weeks..

I've used the filter sponge before but I tend to just use a small to medium sized seeded live rock for the bio load. Seems to work much better and I just replace that rock with a new rock in the system .

JVH · Jul 30, 2015

Cleo642 said:
I hate seeing Betta's in those little cups at Walmart. Almost want to rescue them all but I can't obviously. It's sad to see them in those little cups of blue water, in their own filth. They look so depressed. :(

Funny you bring that up. I took a pic of them in Wal-Mart when I was in there picking up bird food and decided to check out the fish supplies and I wanted to post the pic online and complain because t looked so in humane but I knew it would not do me any good and that's how they sell betas all over and I hate it!

Lynn52 · Jul 30, 2015

I have bought a number of fish from petco. I won't buy them if they look emaciated otherwise, because their system has ich in it, I typically QT in hypo salinity for 6 weeks, about I week dropping salinity 4 weeks at 1.008-1.009 then 1 week to 10 days to bring salinity back up. If the fish showed any signs of ich the hypo time starts when all visible signs are gone increasing the time in QT a few weeks. All are still alive and thriving.

Cleo642 · Jul 30, 2015

JVH said:
Funny you bring that up. I took a pic of them in Wal-Mart when I was in there picking up bird food and decided to check out the fish supplies and I wanted to post the pic online and complain because t looked so in humane but I knew it would not do me any good and that's how they sell betas all over and I hate it!

Also kids and other people pick up and shake the cups. It's a sad life. Maybe a couple get luck and are bought by someone who can care for them right.

JVH · Jul 31, 2015

Cleo642 said:
Also kids and other people pick up and shake the cups. It's a sad life. Maybe a couple get luck and are bought by someone who can care for them right.

I have a rescue dog and I had 3 cats all rescue and I just want to bring all living thing home and give them a better life! Even those betas! Do they ever get fed? I can't even think about it that hard because it hurts my head and heart!
BTW, is that a helfrichi fire fish in your pic?

JVH · Jul 31, 2015

Lynn52 said:
I have bought a number of fish from petco. I won't buy them if they look emaciated otherwise, because their system has ich in it, I typically QT in hypo salinity for 6 weeks, about I week dropping salinity 4 weeks at 1.008-1.009 then 1 week to 10 days to bring salinity back up. If the fish showed any signs of ich the hypo time starts when all visible signs are gone increasing the time in QT a few weeks. All are still alive and thriving.

I had ick in my tank a few month ago and did a QT and boy what a mess! Lost half my fish.:( I got a lot of advise and gained a lot of knowledge but still unclear. because of the many different opinions.. But this is what I learned from so experienced reefers. I am under the impression that all tanks and fish will carry Ick and its the healthy FAT fish that have a good immune system that can keep it at bay. So I give my guys vitamin C and garlic drops and garlic in the food and I am fattening them up so they will be healthy. I try to monitor all parameters in the tank and keep up with my water changes every 7 to 10 days. During the outbreak I treated with copper and that was the only thing that killed the parasite and reduced symptoms. I hated using the copper. My goal is to keep them healthy from the start because any tank and fish can have it..
But like you said, If they look healthy and not emaciated you starting with a goof fish!

Cleo642 · Jul 31, 2015

JVH said:
I have a rescue dog and I had 3 cats all rescue and I just want to bring all living thing home and give them a better life! Even those betas! Do they ever get fed? I can't even think about it that hard because it hurts my head and heart!
BTW, is that a helfrichi fire fish in your pic?

I don't believe they get fed, and if they do is not often. Even the saltwater fish that gets caught in the ocean for the hobby never really feed on their transport where they are going. And that with poor conditions they are kept in some times kills allot of fish before they make it to their final destination.
Yes, it is. It's a picture I found somewhere, the fish seemed to have an expression. It was either that or this.