Poll: Do you shop at chain pet stores or a local fish store for your fish?

Local fish store called aquarium paradise. Their family run and really nice. Unlike those ***** at chainstores they don't try and sell fish that will grow huge without telling you how big they are going to get. They treat them as pets, not just merchandise.

I shop at both.

A local fish store is about 30-40 min away from my town. All we have close is PetCo, PetSmart, and a Walmart. I won't drive that far to pick up conditioner, food, etc..especially when gas around me in IL is over $4 a gallon. If I have to purchase a special fish I'd go to the family owned store but I can't afford to do that every time I need something.

I have books at home but I'm not in habit of buying them especially when I can find almost everything online now. I research online. It could take me a couple days but eventually you can find what you're looking for. I don't ask the people at pet stores questions..they really don't know.

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Chainstores.... almost never. This has part to do with me only having salt water. I do seldom stop at petco but I have only bought one thing from there and that was a beautiful bright neon yellow anemone with a neon pink around the mouth and a few pink tentacles along the disk. Can't wait to find out what it looks like when it is not bleached.

What I hate most about chain stores.... The employee who's job is to put bags of dog food on the shelf can not be expected to know anything about that mini anemone. That's why I got my anemone home and put the store water on the refractometer to find it at 1.014... yes an anemone housed in brackish water. I was surprised the anemone made it.

The Local fish stores usually have people that know what they are dealing with. If they don't then they talk so much rubbish that it is obvious. Iphone and online research browsing really help here. At least the marine tanks are kept at proper parameters.

Magazines and books, not at all. Care sheets would be great. Mostly online research. Best part here is that after researching some info on an animal you can search forums on it get info from people getting actual experience with the animal. Some of the guys at the LFS might be a reliable source of information but this does not mean they know everything. They might know what lighting and flow a giant cup mushroom needs and may have even had one themselves. This does not mean that they know this coral will eat your clown fish. So after all the info that they tell you, this little piece gets conveniently left out for not being known.

I work at Petsmart so that is mostly where we shop for animals stuff. I don't like Walmart and there is not one near by so we do not shop there. We'll go to Petco if need be. Its more convenient to shop at larger stores. We have other animals (dogs, cat, geckos) in addition to fish so we only go to the local stores if we are looking just for fish.

Generally not, as I can find correct and more up to date information on the web. I used to rely on employee advise and still will if I know they are correct but otherwise I don't. Much of the information they give employees is old, outdated or wrong.

Occasionally I'll buy fish from PetSmart or even Petco, but never from WalMart. Mostly I go to one of two local shops for fish and food, mainly because the species I keep now flat out are not available through chains.(Plus the owners have become friends) Also, none of the three aforementioned chains carry half the prepared foods I feed.(Friends don't let friends feed Wardley)

I will buy tanks from chains(if buying new!), my lfs's freely admit they can't compete there, their profits come mostly from foods, the type of customer they both cater to tend to keep fish alive for years, not weeks.

Research I mostly do online unless someone I know has the species or a relative of the fish I'm researching. Even if an employee sounds educated and experienced, I tend to double check unless I've gotten a LOT of good info from them before. I love fish, and will talk to anyone who seems knowledgeable OR wants to learn.

I get all my things from Pet Smart, but occasionally I get food from Walmart. No specific reason. Just I like all the cool little fish at Pet Smart. I check the site maybe a little more often then biweekly. I like to see what's on sale so I can alert my friends. I research both online and books, but by mostly online. I don't use the advise from the employee for the risk of getting the wrong info. I sometimes pick up books and magazines.

i don't shop walmart, but i do shop at petsmart. Not so much petco. I visit my LFS more often since they have a good selection of plants and fish. I don't buy magazines, and go to the library for fish books. I also visit a few fish forums from time to time.

I go to my local fish/pet store for fish, since they are knowledgeable and keep their fish healthy. I go to PetSmart for tanks and supplies, though, as they are the same thing but cheaper. I have gotten pretty healthy fish from PetSmart in the past, but I would rather go to my LFS. I will never go to PetCo again, especially for fish, and won't consider going to Walmart.

I only go to my local fish store for fish and information. I found that I get too much conflicting info from chains. At the LFS I talked to the same person every time and he has never steered me wrong yet!

always got ours off the web site never had any problems with any of the ones we gotten they look healthier and happier then ones in stores before we buy any fish we research it at the web site were we buy so we know they will be ok too house in our tank with our other fishes we have an 80 gallons tank and been raising fishes for over 6 yrs now we put the page up for you in stores they are there for one reason too sell as fast as possible any other people who rises fish will like this page also it covers everything