Petco Clown Loaches

[Anubisscott]

First of all I am new to the site. Love the feel so I descided to register as I am not once again a Clown Loach keeper.

Currently I have been stocking a 125g fish tank. My center piece of the tank is a F2 Midas that I have grown out(Parrents) are from Jeff Rapps. Due to his layed back nature I descided to go ahead try dithers. I first added some Tiger barbs that were going to be flushed by some craigslister. He tolerated them and slowly I have built the tank up to have 8 of each of the 3 types of tigers. We are talking Regular, Green, and albino/gold barbs. I needed a bottom feeder that not only took care of food on the bottom, but also had personality and a moutgh that would allow them to eat excess food on the sponge filters that act as intakes to my canister and back pack filters.

So I was considering clown loaches when I went to a petco and noticed many of theirs were on their last fin. They were emaciated and not very active. So I have been taking the 2 or 3 they have there every time I am there and putting them in my tank. Some have made it, some have not which I just exchange for more. Currently have 7 survivers and they seme to be thriving. I see a big difference between the weeks between acquiring them. One was alone and schooled with the barbs until I got more. He since then has become the leader and is over twice the size of the others. He was their size 1 1/2" when I got them and thin. Now he is over 2 1/2" and at the very least double in girth.

Always good to bring fish back from the brink of death. Some have made it and some haven't, but I have given them all a better chance then they had at the store. It's sad, one of my personal favorites in the hobby. They seem to be abled to survive with just about anything. Almost like there is a unspoken law among most fish "not to mess with a clown loach". I'll be sure to throw up some videos when they put on more size.

[Diana]

I do not give my business to places like that. I am voting with my dollars in favor of stores that take better care of their livestock.

I do not tell stores that take rotten care of their animals that they are doing right. I am indeed sorry for those animals. However, perhaps if fewer people kept stores like that in business they would go out of business or take better care of their 'merchandise'.

[Anubisscott]

True, but Petco and Petsmart do most their business through the merchandise such as food which I have to buy there as none of the LFS's around Vegas carry the good stuff I need. It wouldn't matter to them as it's only a few fish here and there. I am just a sucker for clown loaches. All are still doing fine.

[sorce]

I got my 4 clowns from pet co and smart, and they are all good.
they were of course, good in the beginning. but i'm all for bettering the life of an almost dead one. you got 14 days.

[ruthcatrin]

I'm lucky in that my local Petco is pretty decent, & the head of the fish department actually cares. The local Petsmart though....not so much. But none of the privately owned places locally are any better & a couple are worse.

[Diana]

Knowing the local stores is important.
Around here there are several Pet Smart stores ranging from pretty good to horrid. (The worst one closed a couple of years ago).
I will not even go into any Petco, even the couple of new ones anymore. The several that were here for so long were all horrid. Some have closed. I have no idea if it is a company policy that made them that way, or managers interpreting the company policy one way or another, but when half a dozen stores are all bad, it does not make me interested in checking out the new ones.
Local or 'Mom and Pop' stores range from pretty good to not so good, but I also know what to watch for in these stores, what to ask, and who to ask. Certain stores are better for some things than others.

FAFS (Far Away Fish Stores- so good they are worth the trip) also have good and bad. I will occasionally make a trip about an hour away to any of several stores that are particularly good. This becomes an all day trip. An hour travel time each way, plus travel time between the stores, and shopping time. Often combined with a meeting of the planted aquarium club.

[perez1996]

My local petco is good for feeders and thats it......my local petsmart is pretty good , the fish r real small though......i like going to this place called Best in Pets , its a 45min drive and there like $2-$3 more expensive then every where else , but its worth it cause the fish r well fed and they are a pretty good size when you buy them

[kimura]

I have never had a problem with fish from petsmart. There are
at least 3 in my city that I visit ever so often. Two of these
I have visisted almost every month for the last few years for
either fish or dog supplies. I rarely see dead fish, there seems
to be decent cover in the tanks and the fish are usually healthy.

PETCO's fish tanks on the other hand are a disturbing sight. I
can usually see 2-5 dead fish throughout their tanks and can
quite often spot ich or fungus on somebody. I think they
purchase lower quality fish and then don't treat them as well.
The one time I did buy from petco, my fish came down with ich within
two days. I WILL NEVER BUY FISH FROM PETCO AGAIN.

Most of my fish are/were purchased from petsmart and a local
single store family owned pet store.

[Anubisscott]

I have about 50/50 between petco and petsmart. Right now they are doing good except one. He is almost clear as he is so skinny and doesen't seem to eat that much. All the others are fattening up and the largest one looks like a brawt, lol. Its amazing to see them schooling with the tigerbarbs like they are one solid schoal. Very colorful.

[Greensleeves]

I have taken issue with my local wal-mart. They house their clowns with tiger barbs and puffer fish. I frequent wal-mart and usually and around on the day (or at least the day after) they get new fish. The clowns always look great until the puffers start in on them. Once the clowns have had their fins nipped away, the barbs start in on them too. I've read that juvenile puffer fish are supposed to tolerate other fish, but after seeing clowns get their fins nipped away, I'd have to disagree. I could write a letter to the general manager (passive), request a meeting with the general manager (possible) but I'm not sure they will listen to my suggestions of not housing those fish together. I thought barbs and loaches got along, but after what I saw the other day, I wanted to buy each and every one of those loaches and bring them home. (and I do realize that I cannot buy each and every clown form them every time in the future.) Any suggestions? I don't want to be perceived as the 'wacky fish lady'.

[Diana]

The local Wal Marts (There are 2 within the area I usually travel) no longer carry live animals. Yippee! They were really bad at caring for them, and very bad at even paging someone to get the fish for a customer.

I have no idea how you get your local Wal Mart to quit carrying fish, but all you can do is try.
If the local managers are not interested in discussing the problem, take it higher up.

[PASoracco]

I do not give my business to places like that. I am voting with my dollars in favor of stores that take better care of their livestock.

I'm of the same school of thought as diana. I would rather support a business that treats its animals well versus trying to "save" abused animals from a place like petco.

[Greensleeves]

I do not give my business to places like that. I am voting with my dollars in favor of stores that take better care of their livestock.

I'm of the same school of thought as diana. I would rather support a business that treats its animals well versus trying to "save" abused animals from a place like petco.

I typically support my LFS - its owned and run by a husband/ wife team and they care for their fish beautifully. Wal-mart's lack of care just makes me sick.

Anyway, I think I will talk to the general manager and see what I can get accomplished. Today is my day off so I have time to clean my guns and drive over there

[digcolnagos]

I used to patronize the locally owned LFS, but no longer. Besides being more expensive than Petsmart, the fish weren't as healthy, which was reflected in the seven-day guarantee, half the warrantee Petsmart offers. At least where I live, the Petsmart is pretty good. Petco, that's a different story.

[arny]

I have seen a great improvement in my local pets at home. about 7 years ago i decided not to buy from them as i often saw dead fish in the tanks and the people didnt seem bothered. then about 4 years ago i had to start shopping there again for ferret supplies (as ferrets are a fairly new household pet in england and nowhere stocks anything for them apart from pets at home) and i just fell in love with some horse faced loaches so just had to have them. the tanks are much cleaner, i never see any dead fish, the tanks are not over crowded and if fish do have white spot they are in a quarantine tank with not for sale on them. the staff are really helpful with any questions and the head fish guy has a 8 foot tank dedicated to fish from the amazon i have never seen such a fantastic looking tank (he showed me pictures). o and if i ask for a fish they dont have or cant get hold of hell tell me where i can find it. i think you can see how much i love this particular pets at home though i know not every store is like this it just shows how well a place can do if you have the right team of people.