# fish getting sick form petsmart



## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

well about to give up on petsmart fish they just keep dieing! I dont no what to do any more change to another place? my bigger kissing gourami has just died swiming all day long and just stoped and laied down and died.     my stats are : nho2 0 n2 10 n3 0.5 <its a lil high but i went to the lfs today and they said that its not high at all is my tester going?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Do more water changes. Nitrites at 0.5 can kill your fish.:blink: :blueshake:
Your tank appears to not have cycled or you may have used meds that can harm your biological filter.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

lil bit but i went a cuple days ago and it said that it was cycled i shouldn't of believed them  i didnt have test stirps at this time


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

joeshmoe said:


> lil bit but i went a cuple days ago and it said that it was cycled i shouldn't of believed them  i didnt have test stirps at this time


If you have seen ammonia and nitrites zero for the first time during cycling, wait for a few more days and see if you received the same results. If you do, then your tank has cycled.

Now that you have fish, all you have to do is keep monitoring your water parameters and if you detect ammonia and nitrites, do water changes immediately to nullify those two substances.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

i have one of those thing were u keep it in the tank and if it gets high it will show u


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

joeshmoe said:


> i have one of those thing were u keep it in the tank and if it gets high it will show u


Were you referring to digital gadgets that monitor water stats?
Don't panic too much when things like those happen. It's never too bad to do water changes. Besides there's a lesson learned on this and it certainly will help you avoid that in the future.:thumbsup:


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

How did you acclimate the fish?

Unless you know the water parameters are the same as yours, you should acclimate them properly..

1. Turn the lights off in the tank
2. Float the bag in the tank, this will allow the temp in the bag to adjust to the tank temp
3. After about 15 minutes, open the bag and pour some water from the tank in the bag. I normally like to use a disposable shot glass or dixie cup.
4. After another 15 minutes, add more tank water to the bag.
5. Keep adding water until the bag gets full. Then empty some of the water in the bag into the sink and continue with 4.
6. Net the fish in the bag and release into the tank. The tank lights should still be off. Best to leave the lights off over night.

For sensitive fish:
1. Put the fish into a small container
2. Using an airline tube, start a syphon from the tank into the container. Tie a small knot on the airline tube so that the water drips into the container.
3. When the container gets full, empty some of the water.
4. Continue the drip method.
5. The water in the container should reach the same temp as the tank. Check the temp with the thermometer. If there is a big difference in temps, put the fish in the bag with the water from the container and float the bag in the tank for about 15 minutes.
6. Net the fish in the bag and release into the tank.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

ya i do the first one all the time and still


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

I never had problems from Petsmart or Petco. Also make sure that when you get fish, do not get them the same day or day after the fish arrive. Wait a few days later, which helps the fish settle.


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## Rebecca (Aug 3, 2006)

Some of my friends who have fish say that they often have problems with Petsmart fish; either they're tanks get infected or the fish dies or something horrible happens. It may be whoever they buy from; maybe different areas buy from different suppliers and some suppliers have inferior fish (which could be why only SOME people have problems with PS fishies.)


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

mine gets theres from ohio and im in nj i dont no y they go that far out? eddie were do u live and were do u get your fish?


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## SimplySplendid (Aug 1, 2006)

I live in Arizona and I usually get my fish from PetSmart. I used to have a problem with them infecting my tank so I figured out that if you don't dump the whole bag of PetSmart water into your tank there are less problems. Float the bag, like Eddie said, but instead of letting the PetSmart water into your tank, use a net and scoop the fish out of the bag and into your tank. It might be slightly more shocking to the fish but atleast the whole tank doesn't get sick.


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

joeshmoe said:


> mine gets theres from ohio and im in nj i dont no y they go that far out? eddie were do u live and were do u get your fish?


It's been awhile since I bought fish from Petsmart. The last time I bought them was when I bought my angels, clown loaches, and harlequin rasboras. I never really knew where they come from. I'm assuming Ohio too, since it's 2 states over, but I'll check the next time I go over there.


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## dprUsh83 (Sep 11, 2006)

I haven't had a problem with any types except for Oscars. A friend has also had troubles with Petsmart oscars. We have each lost one due to the same infections, fortunately my current oscar from petsmart is doing VERY well! I haev had good luck with other fish though, Blood Parrot Cichlids, Corys, Clown Loaches, et cetera.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

ive never put the water in there i all ways take it out with a net


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

all of petsmarts fishtanks are connected through one single water system, so it makes it more likely that all their fish have been introduced to sickness, especially if they get one in thats sick already. youhave to be very careful when purchasing from them, make sure you take ample time to examine the fish you want to make sure it has no spots, ragged fins, etc. and dont be afraid to pick your fish out and tell them that you want a particular fish.


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## love_my_fish (Sep 17, 2006)

> make sure you take ample time to examine the fish you want to make sure it has no spots, ragged fins, etc. and dont be afraid to pick your fish out and tell them that you want a particular fish.


I'm bad at this, and really need to start doing this a lot more. I have been jipped of fish because I don't count, and I've gotten some not so good looking fish as well. I even got 2 platies and a guppy, when I just wanted the platies. I guess I feel bad, cause usually the people getting the fish are young, probably not making much and probably don't even know better? I feel bad to double check. But I really need to do that. This is most common with the LFS that I frequent the most, is probably the largest, but generally appears to have good quality or what I feel are "happy fish". :roll:


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

every things fine now. they probly hate me there i take to pick the fish so i no it wasn't that. but thnx


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## Tracy (Aug 4, 2006)

I work part time at a petsmart, and yes, the tanks are all on one big system. I am also honest with people when they choose a fish that obviously has ick or something else . But, yeah, float the bag, but net the fish out of the bag before you add it to your tank. (and yes, much of the staff are young people, and I presently work with a girl who doesn't even own an aquarium! The store provides no training whatsoever; i work there because I like it and I have had every kind of pet, from goldfish to horses, so hopefully I can assist people with questions.


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## jinithith2 (Oct 23, 2006)

generally, people at PS or PC don't care about the fish. I recently went to my local PS and the person in charge just threw in vacation feeders so he wouldn't have to feed them all twice every day. 
well he must have forgotten the baby oscar tank, because almost all of them, save one or two, were just floating around with extremely sunken stomachs!
their medium sized angelfish have fins that are only about an inch long...


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## Rebecca (Aug 3, 2006)

Our Petsmart is okay. There are a couple young people there who have an idea of what they are doing and of course there are those who just work there because it's a job. 
Our Petco seems to have excellent, healthy fish, but they don't always have what we want in stock.
Petsmart is very good; they have people who actually know what to do about their pets. However, it is more expensive; for example clown loaches are twice as much money. So we don't normally buy there.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

jinithith2 said:



> generally, people at PS or PC don't care about the fish. I recently went to my local PS and the person in charge just threw in vacation feeders so he wouldn't have to feed them all twice every day.
> well he must have forgotten the baby oscar tank, because almost all of them, save one or two, were just floating around with extremely sunken stomachs!
> their medium sized angelfish have fins that are only about an inch long...


 yup they do that here too. :roll: the o's are allways sick and the gouramis allways dead and they say there ok ill pick the dead ones out later. :roll: :x i wish i could work there just to help the ppl


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Be careful what you wish for. One thing to remember is that if people aren't trained to do a job, how can we expect them to do it properly? The burden there lays on the store and management. Another thing to remember is that "store policy" has a lot to do with how the staff treats the animals as for basic care. There is a LFS not far from me who's owner and manager don't feel the need to feed the fish, claiming they shouldn't be there long enough to need food. These same 2 men also claim that water exchanges are also unimportant for the store tanks. The only thing either of them sees in their job is a chance to make a quick buck. When a staff member approaches management or even an owner about these issues, it's not always received with open arms. A friend of mine quit working at this store because of their practices and beliefs. She went to work one day and heard the general manager telling a customer that bettas breathe and blow bubbles via a hole in the top of the head, like a dolphin or whale. When she approached him, he was vulgar with her, and ordered her to "get back to work". When she approached the owner, he laughed at her, told her it didn't matter. My friend was told that her job was on the line if she medicated the sick fish, planted the tanks with live plants, or did other "maintenance" to the tanks other than just selling the fish. When she finally witnessed the general manager put an entire shipment of mudskippers into a full freshwater tank, like fish, and killed them all in 24 hrs, she'd had enough and gave her notice.
Unfortunately, these are the horrors at many pet stores... lack of education and lack of humanity are the 2 big causes.
When buying fish, NEVER put their water into your tank. In places like described further in the thread have systems running all together like that, ask what the water parameters are... they probably don't even know. Many times these systems are overloaded in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. This is not water you want going into your healthy tank at home. 
When shopping anywhere with an enclosed system, 1 sick fish anywhere in the system means all of the other fish have been exposed to whatever the problem is. The best way to prevent illness from coming home with you is to walk away. If you really find a fish you feel you must have, then take it home to a quarantine tank for the first 2 wks. Most disease issues will be obvious within that time frame, and the quarantine tank provides a safe environment to medicate just the sick fish, and it prevents the new fish from spreading disease to the main tank before you're even aware it's sick.
I will always suggest someone have a quarantine tank set up whenever possible. It's easy, not really any maintenance, and saves a lot of money, headaches, and heartaches in the end.


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