Petco selling Gem Tangs??

[alton]

I still find it unbelievable that a Petco would have one of the most expensive fish that exists.

there are 1500 petco's, if only half buy 2 yellow tangs a week that is 1500 yellow tangs. Do you know any other store that buys in bulk? Plus you have to add DD and LA in their buying power. A few years ago before LA getting bought by them, Petco sold redsea regal angelfsh for $105. Of course it was like the lotto you just kept ordering until you got one.

 

[Jeff Evrard]

I read on Reef Builders that PetCO was shutting down F&S and keeping the Live Aquaria division. Maybe that is why the influx of diverse stock is occurring ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Although a good price, what is the actual state if health- not talking visual health. Warranty?
I see a Gem tang in the future but would currently apply that mont towards 3-4 nice tangs in my collection

 

[vetteguy53081]

I read on Reef Builders that PetCO was shutting down F&S and keeping the Live Aquaria division. Maybe that is why the influx of diverse stock is occurring ?

They’ve already shut it down. Many of their established customers got no warning and they had crappy clearance sales to exhaust their inventory

 

[Crazyfishguy]

You are some lucky people to see a gem tang in a petco. My petco doesn’t even sell saltwater fish. I would gladly pay $499 for one in person.

 

[mattzang]

went to my local petco earlier tonight

-no gem tangs
-probably only a half dozen fish in stock, numerous tanks completely empty
-coral tank had 2-3 bleached brown sps and several dead/dying xenias or softies
probably the most pathetic i've ever seen it

in petco's defense: i was at a real lfs the other day and they told me their front display tank was in trouble due to a 5 hour power outage the week prior. i go look at the tank and it looked like a clear velvet problem. would fish be struggling a week later after a 5 hour power outage? just covered in ich/white film and not moving?

 

[Mike.P]

Bleh... I called every Petco in the Denver Metro area; no one has a Gem, and most of them didn't even have a clue what one was.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

went to my local petco earlier tonight

-no gem tangs
-probably only a half dozen fish in stock, numerous tanks completely empty
-coral tank had 2-3 bleached brown sps and several dead/dying xenias or softies
probably the most pathetic i've ever seen it

in petco's defense: i was at a real lfs the other day and they told me their front display tank was in trouble due to a 5 hour power outage the week prior. i go look at the tank and it looked like a clear velvet problem. would fish be struggling a week later after a 5 hour power outage? just covered in ich/white film and not moving?

You think your petco is bad, well at mine you are guaranteed a sick fish if it is not already dead in their tank. The coral are all shriveled up. The conditions they keep them in its awful.

 

[Mike.P]

You think your petco is bad, well at mine you are guaranteed a sick fish if it is not already dead in their tank. The coral are all shriveled up. The conditions they keep them in its awful.

It's not really their fault, not the people in the store anyway... I've done a lot of retail management in my life while going to school, then when I dropped out to care for my sick dad, then going back to school, etc. Anyway, I was an ASM at Best Buy, and got laid off at the end of 2008 (yay, recession), and the first thing that came along, which took six months, was a GM position at Petco. I was there for about a year and a half, and it was one of the worst companies I've ever worked for. The people were great, and my staff worked their hearts out, especially when it came to animal care, including fish. But there was zero support. There were never enough hours allocated to begin with, and they were constantly being cut. Equipment upgrades and additions were a non-starter. Store-use budget was something like $300 a month (for the whole store), which is nothing. I remember working 80 hour weeks, going a month at a time without a day off (while making a whopping $45k, as a GM) just to keep the place going, and make sure that the animals and fish were cared for. I even used to pay out of my own pocket, after a "generous" 10% employee discount, to buy supplements, extra carbon, crap like that, just to keep the systems from crashing.

I don't know what's changed in the past decade, they do seem to be doing a little better now, but not by much, as far as I can tell. But I'm sure a lot of the employees at the store, especially the aquatics specialists, try their very best, and really do care. Only so much they can do though.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

I agree the people working there are great and know what they are doing but the conditions they keep the fish in is gross they just leave dead bodies in there to rot.

 

[Mike.P]

I agree the people working there are great and know what they are doing but the conditions they keep the fish in is gross they just leave dead bodies in there to rot.

Now that there is absolutely no excuse for.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

I wonder who is in charge of cleaning the tanks.

 

[Mike.P]

I wonder who is in charge of cleaning the tanks.

If it's still the same as it used to be, any employee working should take care of animal issues immediately. Plus whatever manager is in the store, has to do a walk of all the animals and fish every three hours, if I remember right. There was a whole checklist for it.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

I don't blame them for not wanting to clean those tanks about half of their fish are dead the rest ar sick I would not want to stick my hand in there.;Yuck

 

[OrionN]

How difficult are Gem tang?
I thinking of break the bank to get one, but I am wondering if they are impossible or near impossible to keep in captivity. Unlikely that this is the case, but any body with first hand experience of Gem tang?

 

[Reefltx]

How difficult are Gem tang?
I thinking of break the bank to get one, but I am wondering if they are impossible or near impossible to keep in captivity. Unlikely that this is the case, but any body with first hand experience of Gem tang?

They’re no more difficult than your purple tang. If you have a good QT, shouldn’t have any problems.

 

[OrionN]

Thanks

 

[Knirbrs]

I've got a gem and it's pretty much like a black purple Tang as far as aggression.
Great fish tho!

 

[Jon Fishman]

Petco near me has no salt.......

15 minutes away the petco has a frag tank and they had about a dozen lightning maroons. I was fairly surprised. If the anemones in the tank with them were any indication I would say their condition was decent

 

[Jon Fishman]

I've got a gem and it's pretty much like a black purple Tang as far as aggression.
Great fish tho!

Thanks. Was about to google pictures. And welcome.

 

[dylana407]

Petco near me has no salt.......

15 minutes away the petco has a frag tank and they had about a dozen lightning maroons. I was fairly surprised. If the anemones in the tank with them were any indication I would say their condition was decent

I have never seen a frag tank or lightning maroon at my Petcos. This make ma want to check them out now.