Craziest fish sold at Petco/Petsmart

[VioletThePurple]

Common goldfish are sold in nearly every pet store, but there's really no need for them to be. They are often sold as a feeder fish, but they aren't even a healthy feeder choice. And the average aquarist can't handle/don't want a common goldfish. Those with big ponds typically aren't looking to stock them with common goldfish, but rather koi. And those with monster tanks typically want cichlids. Even those that want and can handle goldfish are usually looking for the smaller fancy varieties. And these fish are sold for less than a dollar, costing more than a singular snail despite snails being suitable for almost any aquarium.

Next on monster fish is the dinosaur bichir. You can buy a dinosaur bichir for the same price as a dwarf gourami. This isn't the type of fish I expect a commercial pet store to be selling.

What fish do you think they shouldn't sell? And please don't say glofish. I see so many people complain about glofish. The process to make them glow does not hurt them. And they are fine fish for an average community tank (besides the glosharks) Yes, children may be enticed by their bright colors, but it's the same with bettas as they come in many bright colors too. There are many pets that appeal to children. That doesn't make them bad pets.

 

[connorlindeman]

What fish do you think they shouldn't sell? And please don't say glofish. I see so many people complain about glofish. The process to make them glow does not hurt them. And they are fine fish for an average community tank (besides the glosharks) Yes, children may be enticed by their bright colors, but it's the same with bettas as they come in many bright colors too. There are many pets that appeal to children. That doesn't make them bad pets.

Here we go again.

 

[gwand]

I’m not sure I understand the points you’re trying to make in the first two paragraphs. But in response to your third paragraph I say the following: If you would not place the glo gene into a human embryo then why would you inflict it on any other animal? Unless you don’t object to the gene being placed in non consenting human embryos.

 

[Magnum Man]

well, like the bichir, there are many shock and awe fish, from piranhas, to common plecos... I do buy fish occasionally from one of those sellers, that also sells "normal fish" there is a giant gourami, that gets near 4 feet long, and a giant barb, that gets near 9 feet long, should those be for sale to the general public???

when I was a kid, I kept many piranhas, and could buy them for a quarter dollar from the local dime store... however people releasing them into the local lakes, prompted the state to ban them,,, the videos of invasive plecos in florida are terrible

 

[anewbie]

There are many fishes the non-informed consumer should never buy - while gold fishes are a common example truth be told not many of them make it very far - as is the case of most fishes that are mass produced - we could fill a page or two of species that are often sold that should never be sold to the uninformed consumer from red tail catfish to oscars but what's the point - at least we can hope they take better care of their kittens and puppies they buy.

While on the surface these threads are fun they often repeat themselves. On the plus side the local petco around here pre-pandemic was pretty darn good in the fish dept; post pandemic it is still better than a lot of petco but not that great. Oh well time passes.

 

[GaryE]

We aren't going to fix the hobby, and I'm sure there are already keepers of large fish in small tanks who are angry at this thread. It's something we've discussed a lot, but that we still need to think about. This morning on Facebook a local aquarist is upset because no one will take the giant pleco she thought she could give away when it outgrew her tank.

It's like people who love puppies or kittens killing their pets when they get to adult size. We'd never accept that with mammals, but with fish, it's somehow okay.

Bad fish stores trade on trust and naivete, but they want fish cheap for them to buy with maximum markups, and young specimens of future big fish are produced in broods of thousands, compared to smaller and more expensive to raise species with tiny broods So Jack Dempsies, pacus, common plecos, goldfish and such suit the business model - especially considering they die young and need to be frequently replaced.

We can rant and rave, but as a hobby we've stopped breeding fish, allowed clubs to die, cheaped out, bought online and killed local stores, stopped learning about fish and left ourselves at the mercy of the market. You can't blame a store for being low quality if low quality is what we demand.

 

[sharkweek178]

We aren't going to fix the hobby, and I'm sure there are already keepers of large fish in small tanks who are angry at this thread. It's something we've discussed a lot, but that we still need to think about. This morning on Facebook a local aquarist is upset because no one will take the giant pleco she thought she could give away when it outgrew her tank.

I never understood this idea of getting a pet and then planning on relying on the kindness of strangers for its care later.
It's like when I was a teenager. There was always some guy around in the neighborhood who would get a baby alligator. And everyone would ask him, what are you going to do when that thing gets big. They always had the same answer. "I'll give it to the zoo". And I'd be like, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the zoo has all the alligators they need. They are full on alligators. And even if they did need one, they got someone they can call. They have an alligator guy. The zoo isn't sitting around wondering where they're going to get another alligator and waiting for some idiot to offer them one."

 

[GaryE]

I've told this story here before, but I knew one pet store who would accept all large plecos and oversized fish. The manager hated doing so, because a couple of hours after reception, the 'client who was just waiting for a call to pick one up' would be the grim reaper. They would take them into the back and euthanize them.
They rarely sold mega-fish, to their credit, but they saw it as a nasty part of their job. It made the irresponsible fishkeepers happy. The fish couldn't live in pet store sized tanks, and no one would ever adopt them. Some weeks, they'd receive several common or gibbiceps plecos, along with large Cichlids.

 

[gwand]

I find fish over 2.5 or 3 inches unappealing regardless of behavior.

 

[VioletThePurple]

I find fish over 2.5 or 3 inches unappealing regardless of behavior.

I mean I love angelfish, but I know my limit in size of fish I can keep is 3 inches because I don't have a big enough tank for bigger fish.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am going into year 25 of keeping fish and I have never bought any fish from either Petco or Petsmart. We do have a Petco in my town but their prices are too high unless it is a tank sale. They never have a lids on sale.

 

[anewbie]

Just before the pandemic i purchased a wonderful flash pleco (l208) from petco for $10. My local fish store (which i do not trust with regards to disease said they could special order one for $70.

 

[emeraldking]

Just before the pandemic i purchased a wonderful flash pleco (l208) from petco for $10. My local fish store (which i do not trust with regards to disease said they could special order one for $70.

An independant store will likely have just a base discount from the wholesaler which won't enable them to lower the price as chain stores can do.

 

[anewbie]

An independant store will likely have just a base discount from the wholesaler which won't enable them to lower the price as chain stores can do.

Yea right - our 'idependent privately own store' is far from cheap - the store is no bargin by any stretch of the imagination but it is the only one in 100 miles.