Why oh why...did i got to Petco for fish???

[Glass Algae]

Tons of amazing reefer owned businesses to support. Will gladly pay shipping prices for quality and knowledge garunteed.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

I appreciate everyone's input.

Maybe it isn't fair to blame Petco, but I am far from the first to complain about sick fish from them.

At the same time, given CIVID, and current shipping issues, stress could have also been a factor, and not always easy to see.

Quarantine...i get it, but you also don't know my living situation. When I say there's no room, I'm not making excuses. Plus there are other factors like kids, that make a bucket with water and electronics laying around not such a hot idea.

Anyway. Thanks all. In all honesty I needed to vent. I will most likely go captive bred to replace the ones I lost. Im still very upset over my female. She was huge but peaceful and took to the male without issue. Now i need to start from scratch. It is what it is.

Thanks all

Do you know someone, a local reefer, who could qt for you?

 

[Chessmanmark]

With fewer and fewer LFS around some hobbyists have PetCo as their only local option. I have lost a few fish from PetCo, but many others were perfectly fine. When PetCo took over Liveaquaria I figure the fish came from the same source.

 

[OrionN]

I go to Petco because I can get nice fish at a good price. IMHO, don’t blame any LFS for fish dying under your care.

 

[Chlorinated]

I go to Petco because I can get nice fish at a good price. IMHO, don’t blame any LFS for fish dying under your care.

Are you implying its MY fault the fish died? My female was plenty healthy and fat before I introduced that male. They both died becuase the male clearly brought it with him

 

[Chlorinated]

My other question, was what now? Leave the tank fallow for a while...think ive heard 3mo which sucks....or is it safe to get new fish, just feed well and observe?

 

[Vette67]

Are you implying its MY fault the fish died? My female was plenty healthy and fat before I introduced that male. They both died becuase the male clearly brought it with him

No implication necessary. I will unequivocally state, as fact, that is is indeed your fault. Any vendor can supply a fish that has a disease. Petco is not unique in having fish with disease. There would be no purpose for quarantine if this was a rare occurrence. It is simply the general rule, not the exception. So if you fail to plan accordingly, and fail to properly quarantine your fish, then who else is there to blame? It could have caught the disease from the catcher, the transporter, the holding facility, the wholesaler, or anywhere along the way before it even got to Petco's store. Or it could have had the disease in the wild. Who would you blame for that? Your fish don't care, and the pathogens don't care, if you have enough room for a proper quarantine. Be a man and own your mistake, instead of looking elsewhere to misplace your anger.

 

[Chlorinated]

No implication necessary. I will unequivocally state, as fact, that is is indeed your fault. Any vendor can supply a fish that has a disease. Petco is not unique in having fish with disease. There would be no purpose for quarantine if this was a rare occurrence. It is simply the general rule, not the exception. So if you fail to plan accordingly, and fail to properly quarantine your fish, then who else is there to blame? It could have caught the disease from the catcher, the transporter, the holding facility, the wholesaler, or anywhere along the way before it even got to Petco's store. Or it could have had the disease in the wild. Who would you blame for that? Your fish don't care, and the pathogens don't care, if you have enough room for a proper quarantine. Be a man and own your mistake, instead of looking elsewhere to misplace your anger.

So you're saying its my fault for assuming I would get a healthy fish from a pet store...thats like saying im stupid for assuming buying a new car from a dealer will work properly when i buy it.

I disagree with your opinion personally. I dont feel its unreasonable to expect healthy pets from a store who specializes in pets. To think the opposite and expect disease i think is wrong. And if that is reality then something should be changed with the way these stores handle their fish and NOT the way we buy and have to go through the whole QT process.

Going back to the car example..its like buying a new car knowing when you drive it off the lot the first thing you need to go right to the mechanic and get a new engine. Makes no sense.

 

[Alaeriel]

So you're saying its my fault for assuming I would get a healthy fish from a pet store...thats like saying im stupid for assuming buying a new car from a dealer will work properly when i buy it.

I disagree with your opinion personally. I dont feel its unreasonable to expect healthy pets from a store who specializes in pets. To think the opposite and expect disease i think is wrong. And if that is reality then something should be changed with the way these stores handle their fish and NOT the way we buy and have to go through the whole QT process.

Going back to the car example..its like buying a new car knowing when you drive it off the lot the first thing you need to go right to the mechanic and get a new engine. Makes no sense.

In that respect, if you get a brand-new vehicle, you have to break in the engine and that takes roughly the first 500 miles. That's your quarantine time. Fish are not manufactured. Most of them are taken directly off the reefs and transported thousands of miles in a stressful journey. Stress makes animals sick, and big box stores can't keep up with a single tank for each fish and treat it for 30 days or more. Its the responsibility of any pet owner to ensure they have the best chance of thriving. A single clown can be easily kept in a 5 gallon QT with frequent water changes. If you "don't have space" for a QT of even a negligible size, perhaps best practice is to wait before getting new fish.

 

[Privateye]

Honestly man, assuming you get a healthy fish from a fish store is going to get you into trouble like this over and over. There are things you can ask like "has this tank been treated with any medications?" or "how long have you had this fish?" That information may help you reduce risks, but you can't assume they are healthy.

Quarantine is how we avoid such issues. If that fish were held in a separate tank for a couple of weeks, when it died you would at least know that you didn't risk your other fish. It also gives you time to respond with medication in a separate tank if necessary.

The reason why the store can't be blamed, is all of these fish tend to get funneled through relatively few wholesalers (compared to retailers). They have fish from all around the world held in systems together, under stress. Diseases are easily exchanged. When your store gets it, who knows what illness it could be incubating? It's true that many LFS will treat their fish (not sure about your specific Petco) to avoid loss, but most are also selling things out of those systems before the treatment cycle ends.

 

[SaltISlife]

Are you implying its MY fault the fish died? My female was plenty healthy and fat before I introduced that male. They both died becuase the male clearly brought it with him

Yea actually he is. Did you qurantine ? You probably didnt. Unless you buy from a local store THAT DOES QT youre taking a risk from any shop. Petco or otherwise.

All my fish are from petco so are 60% of my corals. Yes my petco ive taken pics of some very sick and nasty parasite covered fish.. but ive seen that locally in snall stores too. Qt every fish you buy next time..trust me. Ive lost thousands of dollars in fish from not doing qt.

 

[fish farmer]

So you're saying its my fault for assuming I would get a healthy fish from a pet store...thats like saying im stupid for assuming buying a new car from a dealer will work properly when i buy it.

I disagree with your opinion personally. I dont feel its unreasonable to expect healthy pets from a store who specializes in pets. To think the opposite and expect disease i think is wrong. And if that is reality then something should be changed with the way these stores handle their fish and NOT the way we buy and have to go through the whole QT process.

Going back to the car example..its like buying a new car knowing when you drive it off the lot the first thing you need to go right to the mechanic and get a new engine. Makes no sense.

The thing is that new car comes with a warranty.

I do agree that the pet trade should be better at selling healthy fish....

I work at a state run trout hatchery. For years we were disease classification B....for bacterial furunculosis, a disease easily disinfected off of trout eggs by the receiving hatchery. Most if not all hatcheries follow "disinfecting in" protocols, so if you got eggs from us during those times you shouldn't get the disease if you disinfect in.

Currently we are an A station and we disinfect eggs shipped out now as well....but we still tell people to disinfect in just in case, it would be unwise for the receiver not to.

 

[stanlalee]

I went to Petco, saw a bucket of reef crystals for $85 and walked right out. Quickest pet store visit I've ever had.

 

[Tamberav]

You need to go fallow for 6 weeks for brook. I wouldn't try to feed well for clowns + brook.

Once that fish left the pet store, it was in your care and dependent on you for its life. Disease is rampant and you can get it from anywhere. The LFS fish come from the same place the Petco fish do. If someone sold me a sick puppy, I would bring the puppy to the vet and not just let the puppy die because 'it should have been healthy to begin with'. If I buy a fish and it becomes sick, I treat it's illness and try to save it, often times successful if caught early.

You can pay a higher price and have fish QT for you and shipped to you, many venders do this, a few are sponsors here. You can buy directly from a breeder or have fish drop shipped from ORA or Biota to your door or pick them up in a bag at a LFS so they never touch the pet stores water. There are ways to get healthy fish without your own QT if that is preferable.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

The real question is Why oh Why don't you quarantine...

 

[Chlorinated]

The real question is Why oh Why don't you quarantine...

If you actually read my post you wold know. But thanks for the not useful comment

 

[Chlorinated]

you all seem to think QT is so easy. We all have an abundance of space to do so. No kids, small living quarters, etc...

Whatever. I know not everyone agrees with me. Enjoy buying your sick fish and spending weeks quarentining..... I'll look for better sources next time.

 

[terraincognita]

LOL I didn't read everything but isn't LiveAquaria Petco's Online retailer for Fish?

They have a 14D Gurantee on online orders (It's store credit) but hey, better than most other places that have No guirantee.

 

[OrionN]

Are you implying its MY fault the fish died? My female was plenty healthy and fat before I introduced that male. They both died becuase the male clearly brought it with him

Did Petco hold a gun to your head and force you to put sick fish into your tank?
You are responsible to your fish. You should not assumed that the fish is healthy and took steps to prevent problems. How you keep you fish is your business but getting tank wipe out is no one else responsibility except your own.

 

[Alaeriel]

you all seem to think QT is so easy. We all have an abundance of space to do so. No kids, small living quarters, etc...

Whatever. I know not everyone agrees with me. Enjoy buying your sick fish and spending weeks quarentining..... I'll look for better sources next time.

I live in a very tiny duplex with practically zero flat surfaces to begin with. We managed to find room for a 10 gallon quarantine tank. You can QT a small clown in a 5 gallon no problem. Just clean off a tiny scrap of counter and you're golden.