What Cleaning Animal Can I Put In A Aquarium With A Betta Fish
PetSmart: Behind the Fish Wall!
- Writer Makena95'GT
- Creation date
Howdy at that place. Typically every so frequently we seem to get a lot of hate posts or flame wars about chain pet stores, namely PetSmart and Petco. I tin can't say a ton about PetCo, but I do work for PetSmart. I am a Pet Care Associate and I have been stationed to work with the fish.
Not a lot of people know exactly what goes on "behind the fish wall" and many people just stick to listening to rumors and like-minded with each other that the company equally a whole must hate fish or mistreats them. I am here to requite you facts almost the policies and procedures that go into fish care at PetSmart. Sometimes you lot become a shop that doesn't follow the rules every bit they should. But the arraign for those stores should in no way exist placed on Petsmart equally a visitor. They put these set policies in place, and it is up to your local store managers and employees to follow them. I thankfully have an amazing staff and nosotros care virtually our animals.
Nosotros'll beginning with the Bettas. Yes, our Betta fish are kept in cups. No, we cannot keep them in fancy tanks. In that location is nowhere near enough room to accept small tanks prepare for each Betta. In the winter we must test the temperature of the Betta water to ensure information technology is kept warm, if information technology drops below 74, the Bettas must all be relocated to a warmer area of the store (Typically behind the fish wall is very warm).
The Bettas each go a water alter by either the lead cashier or whoever is assigned in pet intendance a minimum of 3 times a week. This is too when they go fed. In one case a week they go bloodworms, every other day information technology's the typical betta pellet food. If in that location is a dead betta on the shelf, we must pull it IMMEDIATELY, dispose of the body and sanitize the loving cup information technology was in for future use.
Now, on to the feeder fish. The comet arrangement is Not connected to the main system. They DO Not share the same h2o every bit the tropical fish. The Comet system in my store is just nether 300 gallons, and in no mode has annihilation to do with the main system. Each tank of feeder fish must always have an airstone in it, and a vacation feeder. These tanks are scrubbed and vacuumed a minimum of one time a week. Typically these are going to exist the fish that die in large numbers. When my store gets in a shipment of feeders, they'll have 800 small Comets in a pocketbook, and 300 large Comets in another with the worst water yous have ever seen. I cascade the entire contents into a large bucket and net out the fish to evenly distribute them betwixt the tanks. No acclimation. No time. Just go them out of the nasty bag h2o as quickly equally possible. Surprisingly enough, there are very few DOA. I practise DAILY h2o changes on our Comet organization based on the levels of toxic chemicals that tend to rise very quickly in these tanks.
Finally we movement to the primary system. In my store our arrangement is a few gallons under 2,500. Now, yous as a customer only see the fish wall, what's in front, and the water there. Behind the wall is a rather extensive system with a sump, two large filter pads, another large carbon filter, 12 UV sterilizers, and other crazy things that I don't even know what they are. The filter pads in this organization become changed twice daily.
The chief tanks get cleaned daily. They must never have algae or any other droppings in them, let solitary a dead fish. I do "dead pulls" every time a client walks into the fish surface area. Some fish for whatever reason will randomly get belly upward throughout the day. I tin can say that our guppies seem to be the worst in my store. Those, and Angelfish don't last very long.
Whatsoever time we see a sick fish, or injured fish etc. He/she gets plucked out and moved to an idolation tank we have behind the fish wall. Each store can ONLY take One iso tank. This tank is heated to 84 degrees and is HEAVILY medicated regardless of what is in it. Tyipcally there will be a minimum of v fish in at that place at a time. If there are aggressive fish, nosotros put up a divider. This tank has three HOB filters, 2 heaters, and 2 airstones running at all times. It gets water changes every other day and gets dosed with Quick Cure, PimaFix, Para-Guard, and Melafix as well throughout the week. We are non required to acclimate the fish to this tank, although I practise. Almost of the fish that get pulled from the chief system volition die in this tank due to shock or the abundance of medication overloading them. It's my final resort when I see a hurt fish.
In the back room there are posters and printouts of information on fish intendance, diseases, what to do in instance of 'blank' etc. Not every store volition have this posted, but information technology is all easily accessed using the "Fetch" system on shop computers.
When fish get shipped to our store they come in boxes that are insulated. Nosotros take policies and procedures regarding how these fish are added to the system. Ane box per employee tin can be opened at a time. Within 15 minutes, those fish need to be temperature acclimated and into the water. Seeing equally our system is so big, we are required to dump the contents of the bag including the bag water into the tanks. They bladder for about 15 minutes, then the numberless are cut and the fish are gently released. 2 hours after releasing all of the fish the entire system gets fed, then afterwards one more than hour the entire system gets dosed with Quick Cure. Whatever bags that have DOA fish are taken to the iso tank and whatever is still living is netted out and left in that tank for a few days before being moved out to the fish wall.
The main system tanks are all connected, making it impossible for one tank to take a sickness. When customers claim that "The Platy tank is diseased" that makes no sense, as if they were to exist diseased, the whole organization would be as well as they all share the same water. This also makes it hard to medicate simply 1 grouping of fish which is why the system always gets the Quick Cure when we get in new fish. Every and so often we volition get bad stock. It is likely that for a few weeks we will continue getting in weak or sick Neon Tetras, for case. This is non the stores fault. There is nothing we can do to fix poor stock.
PetSmart does not order its own fish. They are ordered for us based on what our concluding fish count was. Nosotros have NO Idea what we volition be getting in until we open up those boxes. That is one of the reasons why I dear fish receiving day. Information technology's similar Christmas.
Likewise, do non blame the shop employees for not knowing everything. NOBODY is trained in fish intendance. We are trained to know the basics in ANIMAL intendance, not much about fish. Also, sometimes the person working the fish wall is a cashier covering for a pet care persons luncheon. Everyone in the store is crossed trained to be able to help in pet care if need be. This does not mean they know everything.
I hope my article has cleared some of the misconceptions about how PetSmart works regarding fish. If you accept any other questions, feel free to ask me. I have nothing to hibernate and am open up nearly everything I do at piece of work.
Feel free to reply and ask questions, but hate posts volition not exist tolerated 
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Source: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/resources/petsmart-behind-the-fish-wall.18/
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