Fish Stock at PetSmart/Petco

[Val]

I'm going to be setting up a tank for the local library's kid's room.    It's not going to be overly elaborate, they just want a lot of movement in a tank.  It's been 15 years since I last bought anything other than goldfish and the two decent fish stores have long since gone out of business.  I'm going to stock this tank with what can be found in the chains.  What is the quality of the stock there?  Are there some fish that fare better than others?  Any I ought to avoid?  At first glance, seeing what the local Petco (better than the PetSmart) has regularly, I was thinking tiger barbs.    Any other recommendations?

[Guppysnail]

That sounds lovely. I go with whichever seems to have the best quality. That alternates at times in my area. I don’t know anything about barbs. But if you can’t find those or the quality is questionable… Zebra danios have one of the highest activity levels when in a group. They are also extremely hardy and easy to care for. 

[Val]

Thanks.  Danios would have been at the top of the list, but my two local stores never seem to have them.  Sad to say.

[Ninjoma]

I've purchased mystery snails, zebra danios, fancy goldfish, corys and black skirt tetras from my petco. They were all really healthy. I've also purchased neon tetras from Petco, and half of them died of presumably neon tetra disease. think it probably depends on the individual store/ fish. 

If I was tasked with this project I would probably get glowfish tetras. Tiger barbs sound like a good idea, but I've never kept them before. 

[Cmike15]

I have had 2 years with 30 fish surviving from Petco but before i'd buy CPD's and a school of neon's and half died that night. After a water test my nitrate was low and ph nearly the same so i felt it was the fish being stressed. 

 

Now i pop in right when they get a shipment, if what i want is rare/hard to find buying it rolling the dice can work but i usually wait 2 days if the store has more than a few tanks with 1 fish dead. 

I buy from Petco yearly and i'm usually happy. They keep doing tank sales so i remember to pop in. 

[PineSong]

How large is the tank? 
 

I’ve had good luck with Petco near me. I bought my gold White Cloud Mountain minnows there. They are a good choice for price, ease of keeping ( don’t need a heater)  showing up well, and getting along with other species.

If you go with tiger barbs, there may be challenges in future if the library wants more fish; they’ll be limited to those who can live with the barbs. I love the looks of tiger barbs but haven’t kept any myself so I’m not sure how limiting that would be. 
 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/30/2023 at 12:30 PM, Val said:

I'm going to stock this tank with what can be found in the chains.  What is the quality of the stock there?  Are there some fish that fare better than others?  Any I ought to avoid?  At first glance, seeing what the local Petco (better than the PetSmart) has regularly, I was thinking tiger barbs.    Any other recommendations?

A lot of times you tend to see the same 20-30 fish over and over depending on store size.  I would honestly visit, go in and check the fish, just check on things.  If you see a ton of dead fish constantly, then expect issues.  I would tend to prefer to order online at that point. 

I will mention aquahuna as well as other online stores.  There is a coupon code you can use on the ACO website for aquahuna.  Shipping is very affordable as well.  A lot of the fish I have kept were from Petco/petsmart.  I also have some from aquabid as well as aquahuna, and from the forums now! 🙂

Anyways, there's always things to do, but my recommendation would be to find a store you're happy with care first, go from there.   If you can't, then don't feel forced and know there are other options available at similar price.

[rockfisher]

Think you will ok. There is not much you can do about the quality in those stores. It is what it is. Just stay away from the neon tetras. For me I hardly go there but that due to them not have any fish in stock. I I did take home a one eyed bleeding heart tetra that has lived for awhile and been very healthy. You may want to stock with a couple of kinds of tetras and some corys. Danios would be good as well. 

[Scapexghost]

The coop has some vids about which fish to get at petco/petsmart, but most importantly watch their videos quarantining fish

[Tanked]

My original pleco and barbs purchased at PetSmart did quite well.  My angelfish came from yet another department store that happens to sell fish. Some of my adoptees likely came from Petco.   Even my LFS got a bad batch of Zebra Danios once.  I would guess that these stores would never knowingly buy inferior stock. Their money is made on selling the extra stuff.

When purchasing from any of these stores, I make several visits, trying to determine what kind care the fish are getting. Finding dead fish on several visits would be a reason to look elsewhere. 

Tiger Barbs would be a show stopper if you were to go with a single species.  Zebra Danios get along with everybody, and are hardy.  Serpae, or any of the Tetras, might also be a good fit.  

[Biotope Biologist]

I worked at one of the chain stores in college. You can ask what day they receive fish and plan for 2-3 days after that to go in. Usually by then those that came in sick have been quarantined and the healthy ones will have put on color and started eating. 
 

I really don’t think you could go wrong with what fish you get. Barbs, tetra, danio, and minnows are all bright and active. 

[Levi_Aquatics]

I have had good success with tiger barbs, Odessa barbs, and a bristlenose pleco from petco. 

[Miska]

On 3/30/2023 at 3:30 PM, Val said:

I'm going to be setting up a tank for the local library's kid's room.    It's not going to be overly elaborate, they just want a lot of movement in a tank.  It's been 15 years since I last bought anything other than goldfish and the two decent fish stores have long since gone out of business.  I'm going to stock this tank with what can be found in the chains.  What is the quality of the stock there?  Are there some fish that fare better than others?  Any I ought to avoid?  At first glance, seeing what the local Petco (better than the PetSmart) has regularly, I was thinking tiger barbs.    Any other recommendations?

My Sister in Law is the Regional Manager for Petco in her area. She says that the quality of fish is largely determined by the store itself, and how they keep their tanks. She has Betas which tend to live for 5 years for her ish. She gets hers from the store where she was a manager and she still goes in to help feed them when they are closed. I have been into some LFS that are disgusting and some Petcos and a particular Petsmart that is pristine where the department manager loves her fish and knows them all and won't keep certain stock. 

If you can, try to talk to their department managers and see how they care for their fish and what their fish education level is. Hardy fish will probably be fine! 

[Biotope Biologist]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:53 AM, Miska said:

My Sister in Law is the Regional Manager for Petco in her area. She says that the quality of fish is largely determined by the store itself

Can confirm although I wanted to steer clear of saying it directly because the density of LFS and chain pet stores is largely determined by your area of residence. And the quality of such even more so.

 

I had the privilege of working at the top chain petstore in the region. All of us cared about the animals we sold and the people we sold them to. We had regulars who would come in just to hangout on slow days and talk about fish and animals. We had a user manual on fish medications from a university telling you exactly when and when not to use certain medications and we required water tests before purchase of medications. Having that been said I don’t even know if the one I worked at can still be held to that high of standards. The variability between them is just alot. And I don’t think you can judge them based on the passion of the workers if you only have 1-2 in your area. 
 

Rest assured regardless the stock is still decent and the health of the fish is insured by a 14(?) day return policy. Fish with high mortality or losses have been removed from the stores. They are acutely aware of such things at corporate.

[gardenman]

I was just in a Petsmart today and they had mostly empty tanks. They did have the smallest baby Oscars I've ever seen for sale. They were about nickel sized. I almost didn't recognize them.