Pet Store Cycling?

[Hollywood1992]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

Some stores need to look closer at the fish though, my branch had a nearly all eaten Gourami still in a tank

Unfortunately sometimes dead fish do get missed especially if the store is really busy or short staffed.

Very true but on the whole I am proud to say I work at P@H, esspecially my store

 

[Dieses Madchen]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

Some stores need to look closer at the fish though, my branch had a nearly all eaten Gourami still in a tank

Unfortunately sometimes dead fish do get missed especially if the store is really busy or short staffed.

Very true but on the whole I am proud to say I work at P@H, esspecially my store

Should I be concerned about the fish at my local petsmart? Every betta I bought from them died within 3 weeks, but the bettas that I bought at a store thats wasnt a chain are alive and well and extremely healthy. I do nothing different between the fish, and they are all cared for exactly the same. Why is it that I cannot keep fish alive that I buy from these chain stores? Is my local store just a bad apple in a healthy tree? I understand that p@h is different from Petsmart and Petco but it is a chain just as well. I am not trying to bash these stores by any means, I am just curious why my fish die when i buy them from those chains, but live and flourish when I buy them from a little mom and pop store.

 

[Hollywood1992]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

Some stores need to look closer at the fish though, my branch had a nearly all eaten Gourami still in a tank

Unfortunately sometimes dead fish do get missed especially if the store is really busy or short staffed.

Very true but on the whole I am proud to say I work at P@H, esspecially my store

Should I be concerned about the fish at my local petsmart? Every betta I bought from them died within 3 weeks, but the bettas that I bought at a store thats wasnt a chain are alive and well and extremely healthy. I do nothing different between the fish, and they are all cared for exactly the same. Why is it that I cannot keep fish alive that I buy from these chain stores? Is my local store just a bad apple in a healthy tree? I understand that p@h is different from Petsmart and Petco but it is a chain just as well. I am not trying to bash these stores by any means, I am just curious why my fish die when i buy them from those chains, but live and flourish when I buy them from a little mom and pop store.

It could be that when their fish are delivered they have been in tranist for a long time and/or that they were put on sale with no cooling of period ie when we get a new fish delivery in the lights are turned off, they are left floating for 20mins then netted into the tanks and are not allowed on sale until either late evening or the next morning. We havn't had any problems like this with bettas in our store- perhaps do some detective work in your local petsmart and find out about their fish deliveries, you could also ask about water test results on their betta tanks as they should be testing the tank water at least tri-weekly and keeping the results on record. P@H is checked up on by the british pet care trust to make sure we adhere to these standards, I would assume something similar is in petsmart- although I don't know.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

Some stores need to look closer at the fish though, my branch had a nearly all eaten Gourami still in a tank

Unfortunately sometimes dead fish do get missed especially if the store is really busy or short staffed.

Very true but on the whole I am proud to say I work at P@H, esspecially my store

Should I be concerned about the fish at my local petsmart? Every betta I bought from them died within 3 weeks, but the bettas that I bought at a store thats wasnt a chain are alive and well and extremely healthy. I do nothing different between the fish, and they are all cared for exactly the same. Why is it that I cannot keep fish alive that I buy from these chain stores? Is my local store just a bad apple in a healthy tree? I understand that p@h is different from Petsmart and Petco but it is a chain just as well. I am not trying to bash these stores by any means, I am just curious why my fish die when i buy them from those chains, but live and flourish when I buy them from a little mom and pop store.

It could be that when their fish are delivered they have been in tranist for a long time and/or that they were put on sale with no cooling of period ie when we get a new fish delivery in the lights are turned off, they are left floating for 20mins then netted into the tanks and are not allowed on sale until either late evening or the next morning. We havn't had any problems like this with bettas in our store- perhaps do some detective work in your local petsmart and find out about their fish deliveries, you could also ask about water test results on their betta tanks as they should be testing the tank water at least tri-weekly and keeping the results on record. P@H is checked up on by the british pet care trust to make sure we adhere to these standards, I would assume something similar is in petsmart- although I don't know.

I will check into that, thank you very much. I don't want to bash these stores at all, but I lost three bettas in the course of two months. But i have 2 now that are flourishing. I just want to rescue all of those bettas from those little jars!!

 

[BIGbadJOHN]

I heard a customer ask a Petsmart associate how they could keep so many fish in one tank - his answer was because all of the tanks were linked with the constant water changes so it was like having one big x thousands of gallons tank so it was ok. - So sad

It is sad that these corporations don't properly train their associates on the care of the animals they sell. Can you imagine how many more people would know how to properly maintain an aquarium if the huge chain stores were to give their customers the correct information!

So true!!

I am really torn, my local petsmart is hiring. On one hand I'd like to apply so that I can educate customers on proper fish/reptile care. But on the other hand I want nothing to do with that horrible place!!

I know what you mean when you say you want to apply and make a difference. If you're a strong willed person and you need a job go ahead and do it. Just keep in mind there are some very hard headed people you will meet coming in there and also people you are going to work with who think that the way to care for an animal is the way the corporation has told them. With persistence and a strong will you can make a difference at least at the local level. It does get aggravating though after a while of having to deal with some of the kooky people that come in and have no clue as to what their doing. It's sad how people always want to hear the easiest answer and not the truth.

 

[BIGbadJOHN]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

I for one made no presumptions. I worked for one of these companies for 3 years and know first hand how they operate and the educational materials they give their associates. It may be different in the UK, I don't know. All I know is that the chain companies in the US are more concerned with quantity, not quality and they sure aren't very concerned with educating their customers with the correct information. Their more concerned about a customer buying a bottle of fake bacteria than educating them on how to do a proper fishless cycle. They only get the story HALF right. You'll get just enough good info to make you think you're hearing sound advice. Then when your tank goes haywire you're left scratching your head wondering what you did wrong.

 

[BIGbadJOHN]

When our old fish system got replaced at the P@H store I work at we took some sponges from a nearby P@H and stocked the tanks lightly for the first month or two.

Hey, Which one do you work at? I'm at the bradford branch and we did the same thing. We also wouldn't sell any fish the first week we got the new stock in.

To others:
P@H have a list of things we need to do every day on the fish section- water changes are every 3 days, but we test the water every day. Each bay of 6 tanks has its own filter system- ask to have a look next time you go into one.

There are alot of people on the forum who think our stores are bad, but at the end of the day one of our company rules is PETS BEFORE PROFIT, I know in my store we live by this and do refuse animal and fish sales if we think there is a danger to the fish. I can't comment on other stores but I'd like to think they do the same.

Hello

I don't want to mention which branch I work at on here, but I'm in the south region.

Some of the assumptions people make on here make me laugh, the procedures are all in place to make sure the fish are properly cared for, in store and by customers. If some stores choose to not follow those procedures they should be singled out, critisised and reported to head office, not the company as a whole. It all comes down to the staffing.

Some stores need to look closer at the fish though, my branch had a nearly all eaten Gourami still in a tank

Unfortunately sometimes dead fish do get missed especially if the store is really busy or short staffed.

Very true but on the whole I am proud to say I work at P@H, esspecially my store

Should I be concerned about the fish at my local petsmart? Every betta I bought from them died within 3 weeks, but the bettas that I bought at a store thats wasnt a chain are alive and well and extremely healthy. I do nothing different between the fish, and they are all cared for exactly the same. Why is it that I cannot keep fish alive that I buy from these chain stores? Is my local store just a bad apple in a healthy tree? I understand that p@h is different from Petsmart and Petco but it is a chain just as well. I am not trying to bash these stores by any means, I am just curious why my fish die when i buy them from those chains, but live and flourish when I buy them from a little mom and pop store.

It could be that when their fish are delivered they have been in tranist for a long time and/or that they were put on sale with no cooling of period ie when we get a new fish delivery in the lights are turned off, they are left floating for 20mins then netted into the tanks and are not allowed on sale until either late evening or the next morning. We havn't had any problems like this with bettas in our store- perhaps do some detective work in your local petsmart and find out about their fish deliveries, you could also ask about water test results on their betta tanks as they should be testing the tank water at least tri-weekly and keeping the results on record. P@H is checked up on by the british pet care trust to make sure we adhere to these standards, I would assume something similar is in petsmart- although I don't know.

Animal services is virtually non existent here in the US except in more populated areas. In smaller cities and rural areas there's not much aside from Federal Game Officers and the local Animal Control. I had never seen anyone inspect our animals at the store I worked. I think maybe the breeders and transporters of the animals get inspected more so than the retail businesses that sell them. The only people who could do anything would be the local Animal Control and they won't go to a retail business to inspect unless a call or multiple calls are made about poor conditions. And another little clue of the knowledge found at a chain store in the US is that they use water test STRIPS. They advertise far and wide that they provide free water tests. I suppose they would when they use a cheap, inaccurate test strip! They don't even use an API liquid test kit on their own tanks! They even use the strips for their own water as well!