Too bad the store is so far away from you...maybe he could hire you on as a consultant to care for the discus!
Rant begin.......
Went to petco(i loathe them) to grab some prime, went to check out, I buy prime, filters, media from them cause they are the ONLY pet place within an hour drive of me.... anyway, the guy knows im into discus and he is all excited and says "Hey did you see we got a discus?"
"Really? I didnt see it; show me"
Takes me over to the display, they got this 2inch solid red discus in with about 8 african ciclids that are 1/2inch bigger than it is...... poor fish was huddled in the back eyes darting freaking out ---- I was like DUDE... please move that fish RIGHT NOW.... he moved into with some tetras right away, they had a 59.95 price on it - went last night to get some fitler media and they had it marked down to 24.95 as "assorted ciclids" -
No wc's, small small tank - I know the manager personally cause he eats at my BBQ Joint and had no issue telling him to please never order another discus cause they had no clue about them.
Rant over........
Tom
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75 DT (couple angels and some loaches for now); 30 Gal Peacock Mantis/Reef Habitat;
If I ever see any Discus show up at any of our 4 Petcos or 3 PetSmarts I'm gonna cry. Central systems, 74F, 10/15 gal tanks, mixing whatever together, it's a cryin shame.
I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.. - W. C. Fields
Joan R
This is why I am always glad to see no discus in any of our lfs. Would you all believe I actually bought a discus, 2" or less, for $8 or 9 at a WalMart fish dept. about 15 yrs ago? I did! It was the only one they had. It grew to be a beautiful red turq and was at least 4" or more as I recall. I am sure this is a one in a million case though...
Barb
I have one about a mile from me and it depresses me every time. I only go in there when I'm in a pinch and need something, otherwise media, prime and filter materials are MUCH cheaper online even with shipping assuming you get some quantity worth...
Last edited by rich815; 12-19-2009 at 08:00 PM.
To be honest.....they got'em because somebody once bought'em. Its the sad story of the LFS discus. The discus are the low fish on the totem pole.
There is a Hans retailer by my house that this IS NOT the case... he is VERY VERY reputable and he takes care of his Discus better than anything else (maybe besides his freshwater rays) in his store!
Azalea Aquariums - Richmond Va.
This store IS NOT your normal LFS! His fish look GREAT from Hans! There is another one by my house (name left unsaid) that sells fish that are not up to par with Azalea but I like the people.... So I go there a lot as well... but for Discus Azalea is almost as good as getting them directly from Hans!
They can buy them at 3" and grow them out almost as good as Hans... Also they once had one of Hans' award winning fish for a while... (later sold for an ungodly price)
Agreed... Petco, I walked into a relatively new one here to find EVERY fish infected with ICH... My stomach turned and I wrote an email to corporate... never been back since...
I am lucky to have a few stores around me that are good.... With good distributors on top of that!
I would be careful of the blanket statements though that all LFS are like PetCo when they are NOT!
Last edited by lemondiscus; 12-19-2009 at 09:03 PM.
There is a Petco on Route 1 South Bound side in Edison NJ. I challenge anyone to go in there and see if the water quality and condition of fish are not top notch. It depends on who's running the department.
Also - keep in mind that the reason one finds "junk" Discus in a LFS is because anybody who breeds these fish for a living is going to try to make the most money. Selling Discus to a LFS is BAD business. Typically the fish that find their way into these stores are probalby farm raised or something someone new bred in their basement.
We should'nt be so hard on pet stores that give young people jobs.
Explanation to BAD business - you will make the most money either selling direct -or through the internet. Selling to pet stores will give you the least profit. Most LFS will take but a handful of Discus from you.
Last edited by Tito; 12-19-2009 at 09:13 PM.
I was at my local Petco last summer. They had a TFH magazine with a picture of a Discus on the cover. I was there with my sister as she was picking up rabbit food, and I jokingly asked the girl in the fish dept. if they had any of these fish like the one I pointed to on the cover. She promptly informed me that they do NOT carry saltwater fish!...I just smiled and walked away...Bill
You should have just bought it when they reduced the price............
An lfs around here keeps discus. He does a good job with them but he's not part of a big chain either...
Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society
Horticulture Awards Program Chair
I do things my way because they work for me sorry if you disagree.
No. Not just No, but HELL NO!
I wouldn't touch LFS discus with a pole. Their provenance is entirely unknown, and they've been exposed to every imaginable pathogen in most shops' central "filter" systems. Petco? You gotta be out of your mind or totally uninformed.
I've made a point of going to as many LFS as I can find, and have yet to see a discus in any of them that wasn't pretty much as good as dead. What I consider to be the better shops don't, won't, carry 'em, because they admit they don't know how to take care of 'em. I figure if I bring 'em home, it's a completely unnecessary exercise in quixotic behavior and a threat to the health of my own discus...
I do feel badly for the poor things, but it's not my place to try to save 'em even if I thought I could. Any of you who have LFS who really can take care of discus, consider yourself lucky. Me? I got lucky when I bought fish from Kenny. When and if I want more, I know who to call.
At one time over 10 years ago, the local Petsmart started bringing ins wild greens, blues, and heckels. They kept them in separate tanks, by themselves, at 82 deg. Bought several from them and would do so again if I had the opportunity but only for wilds. However they say corporate policy is that they only buy their standard fare. Therefore, no fish from them anymore.
Kirk