I feel bad...

[UnknownFishies]

So the other day I went to a PetSmart to buy more live plants and 3 more gouramis. While I was there I saw 2 dwarf gouramis with really, really, bad ich. I wanted to bring it up and say you guys need to treat this but my mom said they were professionals and knew what they were doing. Unfortunately I couldn’t get them because I would’ve sounded weird, getting a sick fish. In the end I felt awful for letting it suffer.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

my mom said they were professionals and knew what they were doing

Ha!

I know how you feel, but that is just plain up hilarious. “Professionals”? She doesn’t know a thing about fish does she?

I know you are supposed to respect your parents, but you can try to gently explain that they are far from professionals.

——-

I had similar feelings today when I went to a pet store in Lexington. There were all of these Red Eyed Tetras that had super bad fin rot, but I couldn’t take any home. There were also lots of goldfish crammed into one tank, all with multiple diseases.

Wish we could, but you can’t save them all.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Ha!

I know how you feel, but that is just plain up hilarious. “Professionals”? She doesn’t know a thing about fish does she?

I know you are supposed to respect your parents, but you can try to gently explain that they are far from professionals.

——-

I had similar feelings today when I went to a pet store in Lexington. There were all of these Red Eyed Tetras that had super bad fin rot, but I couldn’t take any home. There were also lots of goldfish crammed into one tank, all with multiple diseases.

Wish we could, but you can’t save them all.

Unfortunately this is true☹?

 

[UnknownFishies]

And no she doesn’t really know a lot about fish. She knows some facts don’t get me wrong but doesn’t really pay attention to diesels and injuries.

 

[663]

It says something about you that you feel this way, UF. I'm starting to wonder whether I should even consider taking a chance, even after quarantining new stock. I want more fish, but not at the potential expense of animals I've had for years. Part of me says I'm being too soft. ?

 

[OliveFish05]

2 dwarf gouramis with really, really, bad ich.

There were all of these Red Eyed Tetras that had super bad fin rot

It makes me so sad to think how often that sort of thing happens?

In the end I felt awful for letting it suffer.

Don't feel bad, at least you care

Wish we could, but you can’t save them all.

?

 

[Colin_T]

Maybe they were being treated?

You don't want dwarf gouramis anyway, they are riddled with diseases like TB and the iridovirus, neither of which can be cured.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Maybe they were being treated?

You don't want dwarf gouramis anyway, they are riddled with diseases like TB and the iridovirus, neither of which can be cured.

I concur. As pretty as they may be, they have a hideous amount of diseases just waiting to be unlocked.

 

[AbbeysDad]

It really depends. My daughter Abbey had a job at Petsmart for a time and was trained in pet care. I was surprised at how much she learned and how accurate it was. So I think it depends on the particular store, policies, and the working individuals. Not to mention the quality of fish they get from their suppliers.
Also, think of it like this...with all their education and training some doctors are top notch and then there are quacks!

 

[FishNturt808]

Remember a lot of those stores have their tanks (at least sections of them) on the same water pumping system. So, if one tank has ich, the rest in that bank do as well.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Remember a lot of those stores have their tanks (at least sections of them) on the same water pumping system. So, if one tank has ich, the rest in that bank do as well.

Yeah I looked but didn’t see any other fish have ich

 

[chkltcow]

I emailed Petsmart corporate to complain about our local store. I went in one day at lunch killing time with a buddy of mine. One of their guppy tanks had 4 dead guppies in it. I told him it's unfortunate, but sometimes things happen and tanks crash. Things can go downhill really fast if you have an ammonia spike overnight. "But they probably should have caught it by now... they've been open since 10 and they should check tanks for dead fish first thing"

Two days later I went in to pick up some plants and that same tank had the same 4 dead fish in it. I left and emailed Petsmart corporate to complain. To me that means they haven't checked the tanks or probably fed them in at least 2 days... possibly more.

 

[UnknownFishies]

I emailed Petsmart corporate to complain about our local store. I went in one day at lunch killing time with a buddy of mine. One of their guppy tanks had 4 dead guppies in it. I told him it's unfortunate, but sometimes things happen and tanks crash. Things can go downhill really fast if you have an ammonia spike overnight. "But they probably should have caught it by now... they've been open since 10 and they should check tanks for dead fish first thing"

Two days later I went in to pick up some plants and that same tank had the same 4 dead fish in it. I left and emailed Petsmart corporate to complain. To me that means they haven't checked the tanks or probably fed them in at least 2 days... possibly more.

it’s sad

 

[vanalisa]

So the other day I went to a PetSmart to buy more live plants and 3 more gouramis. While I was there I saw 2 dwarf gouramis with really, really, bad ich. I wanted to bring it up and say you guys need to treat this but my mom said they were professionals and knew what they were doing. Unfortunately I couldn’t get them because I would’ve sounded weird, getting a sick fish. In the end I felt awful for letting it suffer.

I'm sorry. I know how that feels.
I try to avoid the fish area when i pick up cat food and keep my fish purchasing to my LFS.
If I do go by the fish aisle for something and allow myself to look at the tanks I always walk out crying inside, and often on the outside, too. Mostly because I know they are most likely selling things that will suffer, tiny betta bowls, incompatible tank mates, wrong sized tanks...etc Then there are so many fish sometimes in the tanks and they are in tanks at all I wish I could let them out. At that point. . .....
I start to wonder am I not then a monster, too?

 

[chkltcow]

As an update on my Petsmart... I went by there today to grab a cheap heater for a quarantine tank. I decided to take a look at the tanks, and... shockingly... everything looked great. It actually looks like everything has been stripped out and removed in the past month or so since I complained. The gravel is a different color, a more natural color.... there wasn't a speck of algae in sight... and all the fish looked healthy. Their neons even had good color to them and weren't washed out like the usually are when they're in a small tank, borderline overstocked, and stressed.

I don't know if my email had anything to do with this, but man... it looked amazingly good.