My Petco’s beautiful reefs
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cancun
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Wow! My Petco is almost as bad!
Mystery brown stuff tank 1
Mystery brown stuff tank 2
They have several more beautiful tanks, thought you’d all enjoy.
mcarroll
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Show me a surprise walkthrough at any retail place...local or online.
Or most home tanks.
If they weren't trying to sell that sand to you, then I'm not sure it's worth worrying about - algae is natural, spot-free tanks are not. ;)
Or most home tanks.
If they weren't trying to sell that sand to you, then I'm not sure it's worth worrying about - algae is natural, spot-free tanks are not. ;)
cancun
Valuable Member
I agree to an extent....but I can tell you when I walk into a LFS, I am more likely to buy something from clean tanks. I don't go to LFS that have dirty tanks. I may have gone once, looked at the condition of the tanks and left.....never to return. That's just me though....I view the condition of the tank like the way they take care if all their livestock. Also my tank is clean.....I am sure OCD about keeping a nice clean tank.
mcarroll
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True, but that's a result of marketing and perception that we're all susceptible to. Calling this place on it is pretty much beating a dead horse anyway. If you consider it, spot-free tanks probably aren't as healthy if you had some way to compare them...what would it say about the rate of feeding since there's no real outlet for nutrients? But there isn't a way to compare...so it's written off as "bad maintenance" rather than "really well-fed fish". Which is fine since nobody owes anyone any favors over this and there's no way to say for sure.
But the bottom line is that vacuuming a set of tanks daily/at the rate cyano can grow simply isn't practical. You can be OCD or I can be OCD, but consider that's what it takes. You can't be OCD x20 or x50 and be at the beck and call of your customers. And the algae doesn't pause and wait while you're taking the time to be nice to customers. :D
You're likely to find tanks like this at retail...even in good shops. Online shops have the distinct advantage of being out of sight 100% of the time. :)
The funny part is that it's caused by adequate retail lighting plus the system keeping the nutrients too low...usually nitrates. Low nutrients is good right???? :D (Joking!)
Keeping nutrients out or limited in any real way is off the table as it's a densely stocked fish-only system by design. Feeding is sometimes the main anti-stress activity the fish has access too, so it needs to be used.
Algae will grow under these conditions of high nutrients but low nitrogen...almost always cyano.
If nutrients were kept balanced, then normal algae could grow...and either contained in an ATS or fuge and/or harvested and fed to herbivore fish and snails.
That's not entirely compatible with a retail fish system though....and certainly isn't normal anywhere I know of.
All that said, it can still be an indicator of quality....just not by itself. Algae is good and healthy in almost all cases. But if it's one sign of many indicating neglect, then that's a different proposition.
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Brian1f1
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It wasn’t even really the algae I was pointing out. It was the general state of the displays and their contents. Brown, brown, brown, unidentified, no price, anemones (I think) of some sort in about 5 tanks. Spare me the whole it’s not indicative of quality and we already know they suck stuff...
Yes, but it was extra bad today and I felt like sharing it.
Awesome Dennis
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I feel like I should say the petco in my area has updated tanks and look normally clean and heathyish. The girl that runs the fish dept does a great job and also has a small frag tank which I've seen her clean and feed.
I will say I do drive at least 45 min to a real LFS.
I will say I do drive at least 45 min to a real LFS.
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Brian1f1
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Here is a candid shot of mine from right now. It’s definitely not free of “spots” but does it look like the petco tanks?
If you really like the healthy product petco was hawking from those tanks, I can provide you with that location’s address, just let me know. [emoji6]
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Brian1f1
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Ours is an epic disaster. Every tank looks like that. Half have no life stock, a quarter brown inverts that aren’t tagged/priced and a quarter with a royal gramma, a scopas, or a freaking single purple queen anthia (really? Lol).
cancun
Valuable Member
Thanks!!! [emoji16]
cancun
Valuable Member
Tank looks good!
Here is a candid shot of mine from right now. It’s definitely not free of “spots” but does it look like the petco tanks?
If you really like the healthy product petco was hawking from those tanks, I can provide you with that location’s address, just let me know. [emoji6]
Dancingmad
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Not bad. Pretty typical. I'd rather see some cyano and brown nems than several tanks filled with clownfish all limping around with brook surrounded in condy hell. I seent it and it wasn't pretty.
StephenGlidden
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We are lucky here in Maine and our petco actually has some interesting things! Decent coral and fish nothing out of the blue but not what you’d expect from a big box store
Sailingeric
Valuable Member
Was in my local Petco today for a dog harness and saw that their SW area was really good. I was wavering on adding a second saddle valentini puffer to my tank as they had one in stock until I found out that is best to only have one in a tank.
Petco's saltwater is hit or miss based on local staff.
Big box stores rely on simple procedures that anyone can run (especially on minimum wage)
Anyone can stock and sell the bewildering array of dog and cat food*, and the even more bewildering array of dog and cat accessories. Freshwater fishkeeping is not that much harder - witness how well kept and clean the FW fish section is in every Petsmart I've been. Saltwater is much more complicated, as well all appreciate.
Some are awful. The one closest to me is fairly decent. The one near my brother's house in Farmington Hills, MI is even better run. But if they pass some sales quota, the local fish manager gets to run it the way s/he wants to, with Petco/Liveaquaria's contracts with Quality Marine, ORA, and numerous other wholesalers.
That being said, if it's poorly run, complain to corporate about the store.
My beef with Petco is that they get stuff (Quality Marine pushes stuff?) that shouldn't be in their inventory. Best example was at Farmington Hills, they had two snowflake morays. The young lady managing saltwater when I was there made a good effort to feed them and remind me when I was looking at them that they need a big tank, which is great. I trust her to care for them as well as she can while they're there. But IMO, morays, puffers, butterfly fish, triggers, and tridacnids do not belong in the average big box store tank, just because it's too easy for someone ignorant on how to take care of these demanding animals to just pick them up.
(addendum for clarity: all of them get some mix of inappropriate livestock, including butterflies, tridacnids, etc.. The better ones are allegedly very well run and can get a lot of different stuff, as good as many LFS, and I'm not complaining about those because they their management and clientele are above par. I'm complaining about the regular ones)
* my most ridiculous example is one brand of trout and venison cat food mix, complete with mountain lion artwork on the bag. And for the record, I have bought this food for my kitties...............
Big box stores rely on simple procedures that anyone can run (especially on minimum wage)
Anyone can stock and sell the bewildering array of dog and cat food*, and the even more bewildering array of dog and cat accessories. Freshwater fishkeeping is not that much harder - witness how well kept and clean the FW fish section is in every Petsmart I've been. Saltwater is much more complicated, as well all appreciate.
Some are awful. The one closest to me is fairly decent. The one near my brother's house in Farmington Hills, MI is even better run. But if they pass some sales quota, the local fish manager gets to run it the way s/he wants to, with Petco/Liveaquaria's contracts with Quality Marine, ORA, and numerous other wholesalers.
That being said, if it's poorly run, complain to corporate about the store.
My beef with Petco is that they get stuff (Quality Marine pushes stuff?) that shouldn't be in their inventory. Best example was at Farmington Hills, they had two snowflake morays. The young lady managing saltwater when I was there made a good effort to feed them and remind me when I was looking at them that they need a big tank, which is great. I trust her to care for them as well as she can while they're there. But IMO, morays, puffers, butterfly fish, triggers, and tridacnids do not belong in the average big box store tank, just because it's too easy for someone ignorant on how to take care of these demanding animals to just pick them up.
(addendum for clarity: all of them get some mix of inappropriate livestock, including butterflies, tridacnids, etc.. The better ones are allegedly very well run and can get a lot of different stuff, as good as many LFS, and I'm not complaining about those because they their management and clientele are above par. I'm complaining about the regular ones)
* my most ridiculous example is one brand of trout and venison cat food mix, complete with mountain lion artwork on the bag. And for the record, I have bought this food for my kitties...............
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Brian1f1
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Petco's saltwater is hit or miss based on local staff.
Big box stores rely on simple procedures that anyone can run (especially on minimum wage)
Stocking and selling the bewildering array of dog and cat food (trout and venison cat food mix, with mountain lions on the bag, really??!!!), and the even more bewildering array of dog and cat accessories is something anyone can do. (and I say this as a multiple dog and cat owner who spends a lot at these stores on the kitties' allegedly necessary prescription food) Freshwater fishkeeping is not that much harder - witness how well kept and clean the FW fish section is in every Petsmart I've been. Saltwater is much more complicated, as well all appreciate.
Some are awful. The one closest to me is fairly decent. The one near my brother's house in Farmington Hills, MI is even better run. But if they pass some sales quota, the local fish manager gets to run it the way s/he wants to, with Petco/Liveaquaria's contracts with Quality Marine, ORA, and numerous other wholesalers.
That being said, if it's poorly run, complain to corporate about the store.
My beef with Petco is that they get stuff (Quality Marine pushes stuff?) that shouldn't be in their inventory. Best example was at Farmington Hills, they had two snowflake morays. The young lady managing saltwater when I was there made a good effort to feed them and remind me when I was looking at them that they need a big tank, which is great. I trust her to care for them as well as she can while they're there. But IMO, morays, puffers, butterfly fish, triggers, and tridacnids do not belong in a big box store tank, just because it's too easy for someone ignorant on how to take care of these demanding animals to just pick them up.
Like a purple queen anthia? Your right though, and that’s an interesting idea for the cause. Maybe it is quality marine pushing. My location, horrendous, I can’t imagine they meet any quota, but I think you must be right, maybe they did at one point.
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