# Who thinks Pet at Home are good with fish ??



## Coal And Ciller (Apr 27, 2008)

I say they are rubbish. Most ones near me give stupidity quotes like 

" Gold Fish are harder to keep that Marine"

Say your options.

I only started this thread as others where arguing other thread.


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

arguing? :whistling2:


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## Coal And Ciller (Apr 27, 2008)

I think we both are on the same wave level about our thoughts of Pet At Home fish keeper.:lol2:


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## rugbystar55 (Aug 11, 2008)

nowon is arguing where just debating and having a general chit chat


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

:notworthy::notworthy::notworthyto both of you)


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## squirl (Jan 1, 2009)

I think there are certain stores that have one maybe two people who are enthusiastic and willing to learn, but pah offer crap training and they realy dont care about the fish.....i think that their bad with fish in most 99.9% of stores.


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

squirl said:


> I think there are certain stores that have one maybe two people who are enthusiastic and willing to learn, but pah offer crap training and they realy dont care about the fish.....i think that their bad with fish in most 99.9% of stores.


there probably are a few hobbyists in there who wanted to work with fish but it's a pity the vast majority don't give a damn


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## squirl (Jan 1, 2009)

It is a shame, but i think pets at home is more of a starting point for people with an interest and no experience to get that on their cv.
but other than that its evil and should be closed hehe.


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## Frogmad (Nov 10, 2008)

no but generally thiink its due to suppliers and bad training:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

even the initials sound half arsed 'pah' (now i'm nit picking):whistling2:
perhaps i should make anti pah badges? :lol2:


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## rugbystar55 (Aug 11, 2008)

yes id love 1 but put they do have cute rabbits 
ps._in small print_


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## Reaper941 (Mar 21, 2008)

Quite ironic really - A fair wee while ago, I applied there - With plenty experience, guess who got the jobs? Complete idiots. :flrt:


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

Reaper941 said:


> Quite ironic really - A fair wee while ago, I applied there - With plenty experience, guess who got the jobs? Complete idiots. :flrt:


probably because they knew you'd give them hassle :lol2:


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## Taxemic (Aug 13, 2008)

It doesn't end at fish unfortunatley.


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## LauraandLee (Nov 11, 2008)

*White spot*

I always see fish in there with white spot!!!!


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

Taxemic said:


> It doesn't end at fish unfortunatley.


we know, have a look through the other thread and see the damage :whistling2:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

daftlassieEmma said:


> probably because they knew you'd give them hassle :lol2:


Thats what I thought:lol2:
I want a job in there when I am older but doubt I will get one as I would put everyone off of buying any animals :lol:


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## Taxemic (Aug 13, 2008)

daftlassieEmma said:


> we know, have a look through the other thread and see the damage :whistling2:


Seen it already.


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## squirl (Jan 1, 2009)

Frogmad said:


> no but generally thiink its due to suppliers and bad training:Na_Na_Na_Na:


 true! this is the main part then its aided by the lack of caring taken by most staff there. they do offer an oata training course after a while but its basic, they also do a pct one but again its only a basic one.


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## Bobbie (Jun 25, 2008)

i work in a fish house not far from a pets at home, and we have customers come in saying they have this 'lobster type thing' (crayfish) in a community tank eating their fish, you ask who sold it to them.. and its pets at home =|


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## LauraandLee (Nov 11, 2008)

Bobbie said:


> i work in a fish house not far from a pets at home, and we have customers come in saying they have this 'lobster type thing' (crayfish) in a community tank eating their fish, you ask who sold it to them.. and its pets at home =|


 
We had one of those cray fish - was told they could be kept in community tank with large fish. However when spider thats wot we called him got bigger unfortunatly the large fish were in danger!!! He started eating them. We had to give him away to a garden centre in the end!!! He was eating all the fish!!!
Please dont not buy one!!!!


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## Coal And Ciller (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks for the comment.

We should call pets at home " Stores with employees that don't know what their doing":lol2:


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## Bobbie (Jun 25, 2008)

LauraandLee said:


> We had one of those cray fish - was told they could be kept in community tank with large fish. However when spider thats wot we called him got bigger unfortunatly the large fish were in danger!!! He started eating them. We had to give him away to a garden centre in the end!!! He was eating all the fish!!!
> Please dont not buy one!!!!


 
yeh, they dont tell you this, its rediculus, if they had any sense and even listened to their customers sayin they are eating my fish, then maybe they wouldnt sell them to tanks with other fishes


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

Its a shame because they spend a lot on the set up and sytemisation but employ people who really dont have a clue.
One of my assistants was browsing in PAH and overheard the assistant telling a customer she could keep swordtails and mollies with Oscars.
Sheeeshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!
Its far better to say i dont know rather than B^^&sh*t


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

Have PAH started their marine centres instore yet? Cant wait to hear what they advise their customers then...."yes of course the cute pufferfish will be fine with your inverts"....only a matter of time.


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## alphakenny1 (Sep 16, 2008)

pets at home are useless with information about fish, there could be the odd one where they may employ someone who actually knows his stuff bit the possibility of them seeing the poor conditions are kept and keeping their jobs is unlikely, in short answer NO


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

LauraandLee said:


> I always see fish in there with white spot!!!!


 
Whitespot isn't an idication of a shite shop. Whitespot is a condition that most fish carry anyway. Stress brings this out. Things like clownloach can have the best possible handling the whole way through transit and still come out with whitespot.

I used to work in what was arguably the best fish shop in my area. We would have whitespot in at least one tank due to shipping. Half our clown loachs would come in with it.

Can't judge a shop just because of disease. 9 times out of 10, disease is caused by the supplier not the shop.


Right, I think everyone agrees that PAH aren't great. Pretty poor to be honest. BUT. How is it that they are still so successful as a business? It's because the customers exist that will still shop there. Blame the shoppers not the shop. It's not just the person selling's responsibility. The buyer has a duty of care to the animal and as such should know what they are doing. Blame the shop and the customer. I guarantee every single person on this site has bought an animal purely on what they were told in a shop. No matter what the animal was or when this happened. All of us have done that at some point. I know I have, I don't anymore but I used to and so did all of you, so don't have a go at something. PAH is only what the customers have made it


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## LauraandLee (Nov 11, 2008)

mike515 said:


> Whitespot isn't an idication of a shite shop. Whitespot is a condition that most fish carry anyway. Stress brings this out. Things like clownloach can have the best possible handling the whole way through transit and still come out with whitespot.
> 
> I used to work in what was arguably the best fish shop in my area. We would have whitespot in at least one tank due to shipping. Half our clown loachs would come in with it.
> 
> ...


 
I understand wot your saying. However im sure these fish should be treated and not sold!!! I know wot white spot is many people may not, and then the fish they buy will infect there tank. Im sorry but the pets at home by us is selling fish with white spot, and 2 wks ago I had to tell someone not to buy the molly as it had white spot, and number of times I have told staff!!! I hope your fish werent sold with white spot??


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

We shoud do this to all the stupid PAH employee's : victory: YouTube - Balls Of Steel New Series 28/03/08 - The Annoying Devil


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## LauraandLee (Nov 11, 2008)

LauraandLee said:


> I understand wot your saying. However im sure these fish should be treated and not sold!!! I know wot white spot is many people may not, and then the fish they buy will infect there tank. Im sorry but the pets at home by us is selling fish with white spot, and 2 wks ago I had to tell someone not to buy the molly as it had white spot, and number of times I have told staff!!! I hope your fish werent sold with white spot??


*Whitespot isn't an idication of a shite shop.*

Also im really sorry but didnt I mention that 'white spot was an idication of a :censor: shop???????????'


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## DRACONODON (Apr 28, 2008)

gah they know a littlte bit but if u go the snnaller plases like penshaw reps and aquatiks they are good and giue full refunds or replasennents if the worst should happen


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## REDDEV1L (Nov 27, 2008)

After reading the bad press about pah I went in for a look at my local one. Two things stood out , 
They were keeping betta's in with other fish (Or rather were..the betta was dead!!) and they had some fire bellied newts which either had a serious infection or were being cannibalised by either eachother or the mudskippers they were housed with as most of them had atleast one foot chewed off/missing/hanging off !!!!
Their plant tanks were absolutely crawling with snails too
and the one thing that struck me as odd straight away was all the fish & tanks were on a mezanine floor above the fluffy pet stuff (Nothing wrong with that really but it'd have made more sense to have it the other way round so if a tank burst or there was a problem with the RO etc. it wouldn't potentially wreck all their other stock below LOL)


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

Yes and I cant wait until they start doing herps. i own a small petshop that has suffered commercially at the hands of PAH although they are coming round and actually recommending my shop when they dont stock an item.

My fish stocks are all quarantined on arrival and as you say 99 times out of 100 the clown loach develop white spot within minutes of arriving in the shop. If its spotted and it usually is. Any tanks that deveops white spot is quickly treated and labelled fish not for sale if i cant move the fish out back for some reason.

All supermarkets should be banned !!!!

..............................................................

"Chickens are for eggs.....rescue a battery Hen or two"


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## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

WE've had rats, ginny's and fish from pets at home and they have all had problems and/or died within a month or so. So I'd say they were complete crap and there's no way we'd be getting anything from there again


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## Lover (Apr 3, 2007)

i say knowledge that the staff give out is shit. but our local [email protected] have done the store up all fish in massive tanks and they got starfish and other things too.. there is a massive tank there with big fish in and they had a pirate ship built with tanks on its amazingly done.

tbh i dont like how the furries are kept but its improving in our local store alot more room for them now including a adoption part i ended up getting a bunny.


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## neep_neep (Oct 18, 2007)

Berber King said:


> Have PAH started their marine centres instore yet? Cant wait to hear what they advise their customers then...."yes of course the cute pufferfish will be fine with your inverts"....only a matter of time.


Yes they have, and they are (surprisingly) good.

I suspect because the employees of the aquatics section are separate from the rest of the store, so have been hired for their fish knowledge (rather than their love of fluffy widdle bunnies).

But generally agreed, on the whole i've always been unimpressed with the way the fish departments were run. Usually with maybe one or two knowledgeable staff, but when they are rota'd on the till or gone on lunch, or day off (thus left to the weekend staff) those people who only work there to cuddle some bunnies (and not interested in horrible slimy fish) are left to look after the aquatics instead :bash:


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## shadowfrog (Nov 16, 2008)

My local P&H isn't exactly bad, but could do better with the fish (about 1 dead one, in every 3 tanks).

I just wish they would sell Fire-Bellies as I'm looking for some.


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## kailogan (Oct 22, 2008)

were we come fr we had no probs from pets at home , i got my daugther rabbits fr their , over 3 yrs ago, he still with us , and the fish are a lots better them they use to be as they put in new tanks, and keep well, , think its down to the ppl were they dont knoe much info, who works their , but you cant go my all the shops in the uk, as the one we go to in taunton are very good ,like i said we had knoe probs


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## Coal And Ciller (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks for your thoughts.


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## Serious D (Apr 12, 2008)

I agree pets at home have a lot of employees that dont know much about fish,they know how to look after n feed em, but they cant anser many questions, customers ask, i worked for pets at home for about a year and it was me and another person that always got called to deal with customers that wanted fish as we were the only 2 that kept fish and could anser any questins.


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## Shelly24 (Aug 28, 2008)

Coal And Ciller said:


> Thanks for the comment.
> 
> We should call pets at home " Stores with employees that don't know what their doing":lol2:


 i find comments like this quite ignorant - I used to work for pets at home and did know what i was doing but its very hard because you are always told the customers right and unfortunately the customer likes to lie to get you to sell the fish!
you get people come in and say i want that black and red stripey fish please, you then say do you have the right tank, tank mates, water quality etc and they say yes of course blah blah and even if you dont beleive them you cant call them a liar. 

i think that there are people in all pets shops who havnt got a clue but pets at home are targeted because they are a big nationwide retailer that 99% of people are familiar with.


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## chellenjon (Aug 26, 2007)

i've spent loads on fish from pets at home in the past and they always ended up wiping out the whole tank with one disease or another, even though we treated them they still died, it's not just pets at home there's another local shop thats the same, we test our water regularly now to make sure it's safe and only buy from a guy who owns a small shop just selling fish, we've never had any problems with his stock and he really knows what he's talking about.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Lover said:


> including a adoption part i ended up getting a bunny.


The animals there are usally animals from people how bought them from the store and it got sick and they didnt want to pay/it got the other rabbit pregnant/it bit somebody/it stinks/it s**ts everywhere/its become mean/whatever excuse they can think of because the shop didnt tell them about it.



Shelly24 said:


> i find comments like this quite ignorant - I used to work for pets at home and did know what i was doing but its very hard because you are always told the customers right and unfortunately the customer likes to lie to get you to sell the fish!
> you get people come in and say i want that black and red stripey fish please, you then say do you have the right tank, tank mates, water quality etc and they say yes of course blah blah and even if you dont beleive them you cant call them a liar.
> 
> i think that there are people in all pets shops who havnt got a clue but pets at home are targeted because they are a big nationwide retailer that 99% of people are familiar with.


Like this whole thread has been saying, there is SOME employees that are good but the majority spoil it for the minority. The customers arnt always right so the managers of [email protected] need to drop they're balls and stand up for the animals - or hey , I know what DONT SELL ANIMALS IN THE FIRST PLACE, or instead of wondering whether everything they have is right go check it out, go do a homecheck like they should in the first place. I refuse to spend money in that shop unless absolutely necessary on animals or otherwise and if I do spend money there I make it as little as possible. :bash::bash::censor:


*Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand breath... * :lol2:


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## ryanthepet (May 6, 2008)

funny you should ask this i went for a job at the the new branch in wolvohamton the guy made me wait so he could go on his lunch break twat he was to so then i desided to have a wonder round and to my saprise it was see how many dead fish you can spot before he came to interview me so after the interview was over i took him aside and mentioned how many dead fish was in his tanks he did not have a reply but i did not get the job i wonder if it was becouse i was not THICK euf 99% of them cant even look after themselves let alone animals total shite:censor:



7 x hissing cockroaches 15 xafrican land snails 
2x chilli rose 1x giant white knee 1x pygmy chilli 1xsalmon pink birdeater 1xcane toad 2xemporer scorps 
5xybs stick insects and the rottie ie missis


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## Shelly24 (Aug 28, 2008)

chellenjon said:


> i've spent loads on fish from pets at home in the past and they always ended up wiping out the whole tank with one disease or another, even though we treated them they still died, it's not just pets at home there's another local shop thats the same, we test our water regularly now to make sure it's safe and only buy from a guy who owns a small shop just selling fish, we've never had any problems with his stock and he really knows what he's talking about.


this is why a good fish keeper quantines all new fish. 

all the fish that PAH get in are from suppliers, they do not magically breed sick fish out the back or anything. when they come in they are quarantined for 48hours, all fish are guaranteed for a further 48hours once you have bought them so if they do die you can go get your money back. 

they do sometimes have dead fish in the tanks, this is because there may be 5 people in the store working, they do not employ people purely for the fish counter so people are busy putting deliveries away, cleaning out animals, on the tills etc. the fish are rota'd to check every hour so its no wonder in that time you will have ones that have given up. 
the rule is, if there is more than 5 fish dead in a tank per day then the tank must be quarantined and tested.
all tank water is tested every hour in the store. 
i really dont think they are any worse than most other pet stores out there. 
the difference is that a fish store employs people to check on the fish and perform tasks every minute rather than every hour and these people usually have a passion for what they do.


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

Oh my.
cant comment on all the [email protected] stores but the water is so, not tested every hour at mine unless they are testing for wetness only.

If the water is tested every hour surely they would see the half eaten bodies in most of the tanks.

Nor do 5 dead fish mean a quarantine. Nor are the fish quarantined for 48 hours after delivery.

The biggest issue is the ignorance of the staff. Its no different to Sainsburies or B&Q. Supermarket mentality and despotic management.

The customer picks what they want and they pay for it. Do not ask for advice cos the staff are rarely qualified to give it and are prone not to say sorry i dont know and just blatantly lie.

best advice for [email protected] is to stick to community fish and teach the staff the basics of disease recognition. specially white spot. or just stick to selling dry goods. RANT OVER.. part II


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## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

I have to disagree with the majority of the comments, my local PAH, is amazing with fish. There is a few employees that really know there stuff on fish, and would call you a liar:lol2:


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## LDP (Jan 16, 2008)

I think a lot of the bad advice comes from over enthusiastic young staff who are given too much of a free rain and too little supervision. I over heard a lass sell a green spotted puffer to go in a freshwater biorb with a couple of angels, tetras and guppys. 

Poor fishes thats all I can say


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Shelly24 said:


> when they come in they are quarantined for 48hours,


Wow, two days. Whoooooopie hey everybody, its ok! [email protected] are great! they quarentine fish for 48 hours! yey. :lol2:



> all fish are guaranteed for a further 48hours once you have bought them so if they do die you can go get your money back.


Yep, you are guarenteed quality and long life...just like tank you bought with it :bash: 


> they do sometimes have dead fish in the tanks, this is because there may be 5 people in the store working, they do not employ people purely for the fish counter so people are busy putting deliveries away, cleaning out animals, on the tills etc. the fish are rota'd to check every hour so its no wonder in that time you will have ones that have given up.


"given up" ? Yeah, probably given up because they are kept it dirty tanks and mass produced. 



> the rule is, if there is more than 5 fish dead in a tank per day then the tank must be quarantined and tested.


It takes 5 dead fish for somebody to realize something is wrong? riiiiiiiight, how fab.


> all tank water is tested every hour in the store.


Not in every store.


> i really dont think they are any worse than most other pet stores out there.


Oooooooooh yes they aaaaaaaaaare!



> the difference is that a fish store employs people to check on the fish and perform tasks every minute rather than every hour and these people usually have a passion for what they do.


There should be no difference. Do you REALLY think aquatic stores check every single tank every minute of the day and do clean ups, scoop out dead fish, feed etc? 
Actually, looking at the bigger picture, do fish owners check they're tanks every minute?, no. Do they have dead fish constantly popping up?, no. There is _NO_ excuse for it. 



Paul B said:


> unless they are testing for wetness only.


:lol2::lol2::no1:



herpmad_boi said:


> I have to disagree with the majority of the comments, my local PAH, is amazing with fish. There is a few employees that really know there stuff on fish, and would call you a liar:lol2:


There is one guy like that in our local [email protected], not a thing he dosent know about chinchilla's and has called many breeders/showers/fanciers liars and idiots :lol2:


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## linda.t (Sep 28, 2007)

well i once went in to buy some fish and was told i couldn't buy any as they didn't sell them on a tuesday:lol2:yer right just to bone idol to get me any 
and i told them so and phone there head office who admitted the where lying to me and sent me £10 gift card which i did not use on fish.
but i will say there fish in my local store do look in good health


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## chellenjon (Aug 26, 2007)

*


Shelly24 said:



this is why a good fish keeper quantines all new fish.

Click to expand...

*


Shelly24 said:


> well silly me, i wasn't aware that everyone kept a spare tank goin for quarantine, i thought following the instructions on the bags they supply would be good enough, if not why did the staff there not tell me?
> 
> an employee of my local branch said they will be selling reptiles soon and instead of employing new staff with hands on experience, they've given their existing employees books to read, aint it great :bash:


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## kelstar (Dec 12, 2008)

to tell you the truth is there any reptile or pet shop whos got workers who know what the f***k they are talking about or know how to look after animals.

i brought a turtle they told me it was a yellow belly but it was a cooter after doing some research on them myself.
also when i brought my iguanas they sold me a bulb that was miles to powerful for my cage at the time so they had to pay for the vet bills .

ive brought untold fish from pets at home and they die within day or are ill.


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## chellenjon (Aug 26, 2007)

*


kelstar said:



to tell you the truth is there any reptile or pet shop whos got workers who know what the f***k they are talking about or know how to look after animals.

Click to expand...

*


kelstar said:


> good ones!! which should be the only ones, but unfortunately there is quite a few that talk s:censor:t and know sod all, i'm lucky that the one i use has staff that are well experienced and always know what they're talkin about, the fish department aint as good though, the staff are good but quality of fish isn't.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

kelstar said:


> to tell you the truth is there any reptile or pet shop whos got workers who know what the f***k they are talking about or know how to look after animals..


There isnt many, but they exist. : victory:


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## Coal And Ciller (Apr 27, 2008)

:welcome:

Why don't Pets At Home just keep to things that they can sell that is not live Stock. 

They would probably get a better reputation that way. 

As a conclusion I say every Pets At home store is rubbish when having live stock.


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## Shelly24 (Aug 28, 2008)

as my conclusion i think people should know what they are doing before they buy pets including fish, that way they can make the educated decision not to go to places they think are not up to standard.


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## LauraandLee (Nov 11, 2008)

*all the fish that PAH get in are from suppliers, they do not magically breed sick fish out the back or anything. when they come in they are quarantined for 48hours, all fish are guaranteed for a further 48hours once you have bought them so if they do die you can go get your money back*. 

Y are there still goldfish with white spot in my local store!!!!!


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

Shelly24 said:


> this is why a good fish keeper quantines all new fish.
> 
> all the fish that PAH get in are from suppliers, they do not magically breed sick fish out the back or anything. when they come in they are quarantined for 48hours, all fish are guaranteed for a further 48hours once you have bought them so if they do die you can go get your money back.
> 
> ...


There is no way that every tank in a shop is tested every hour. say a shop is open 9-5. Thats 8 tests per day per tank. Say 20+ tanks, so at least 160 tests per day. No member of staff no matter how great would do that. Those that do actually know what they are doing with fish would also know how pointless it is as well.

The only way it would be financially viable is with test strips and they are for the most part shite. Any fish shop that is relying on test strips is worthless. Any shop using liquid test kits for 160 tests a day is stupid. Way too much money for an essentially pointless excersise.

two tests daily would be pretty impressive in a shop. Once weekly pretty good, bi-monthly would be pretty average. 8 a day is epic and bollocks.

sorry, not having a go, just saying it doesn't happen


As a side note. Any tank that has it's levels changing every hour needs a lot more work than hourly tests.


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## Heppy (Apr 11, 2007)

I personally think pets at home are sending out the wrong message to potential fish keepers i checked my local store for the first tine since it was recently refurbished. They have what there are calling a shark tank on display, housing various 12" bamboo, cat and carpet sharks the tank itself is a 4 or 5 foot cube while this is fine for them at present but it no where near going to be big enough when these fish are adults, not the mention the other vaious fish in the tank. The is a pure publicity stunt where these fish are being used to promote sales, the tank can not house these fish for life. there is a reason most aquatic stores do not have a shark tank and its because there specialist only, who knows what advice they will pass to the public. At least if the tank was large enough its sending out the right message if you want big fish you need a big tank. Whats going to happen when these fish out grow the tank?


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