Welcome to Reef2Reef, glad you've decided to join us! You can always check the classifieds on here, Facebook marketplace, and some of the online stores like Saltwateraquarium.com.
My wife just got home from Couer D’Alene, she has a habit of stopping at petco and grabbing random corals and bringing em home. Brought home a Asterospicularia today. It was that or a red Yuma, would have preferred a Yuma… oh well! Will go in her softy tank!
A few are great, but these rocks had hundreds. I should have taken a photo. It was a pretty bad infestation, and you have to think that the shop isn't exactly proactive about caring for its animals. (and if we're being honest, bristle worms kinda freak me out.)
Hi, welcome to RR2R. I do buy some of my saltwater fish at PETCO. They are a little cheaper than some actual Saltwater fish shops. The only thing I don't like about Petco is they don't take care of their fish like they are supposed to. When I look at their tanks I sometimes see fish that are dead, fish picking on other fish, and lumps of food at the bottom of the tank. This so-called Saltwater Expert that Petco has, is not a very good expert when I see the above happening. I have also asked the manager to order me a particular fish or coral, that their main tank did not have and they actually did it. I just put the money down and they called me when it came in. So that may be an option if you don't have a regular shop where you live. Thanks for posting.
I forgot to say that when I buy from Petco I always ask the sales assistant to feed the fish, this is a big indication that they are doing well. Also, inspect their tanks, and look at all the fish, in the tanks for spots, blemishes, and torn fins. And above all do not, I say again do not put any of their water into your tank. (you may get a little residual from the net you place the fish in after the acclamation process, but try to not get any of Petco's water in your main tank). I believe they have one or two sumps that connect all of their tanks. If I see any of the above or they say I just feed them, then I leave.
Yeah, the big chains are hit and miss. Some have employees who actually like fish and take care of them. Others do not.
The petco in missoula has two sumps, one for each column. So if a fish has ich in one column every fish does in said column. Additionally there is a significant amount of cross contamination like moving one live rock in one column to the other. So just think of it as one single system. Other petcos like the one in coeurdealene seem to better. The one in coeurdealene has three columns and one of them is a dedicated qt tank copper dosed. Not ideal but it is the only column with tangs so that is a plus.
From the employees that I have spoken with all of their saltwater tanks are connected to 1 or two filter sumps. So that means numerous tanks are circulating the same water. I always scan all of the saltwater tanks that Petco has and look for dead or sick fish, dead corals, and sludge-filled tanks. This means that when I buy a fish at Petco the water that is in the bag, with the fish, could be holding something like parasites, Ich, or something nasty in their tank that you don't to put in your tank.
Could not have said it any better.
