# Petsmart or Petco?



## EKandRJ (Jan 24, 2011)

Which do you prefer, and why? Not just for the fish themselves, but other products, prices, etc? Just wondering. 

I got both my fish at Petsmart, and they had a bunch of stuff on sale when I was there, and they have the discount card. I don't have enough comparative experience of both stores though.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

Petsmart has alot of stuff that i adore. but, i bought a betta from them ,and he died that night. D: none of their bettas looked too good. but, my first ever trip to a Petco was amazing! the store was wonderfully clean, the people nice, the animals healthy. i adored their bettas, fell in love with one right them and there. if i had money and space at that time, i'd have gotten him! i loved it so much, i put in a suggestion for one closer to me! lol


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

We don't have Petco here. I wish we did, it's really cool!


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## ChicagoPete (Dec 27, 2010)

I choose Petsmart, they always have the lowest prices.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

I like Petco for their bettas and equipment.

I like Petsmart for all other fish and decor. Also, the Petsmart people (in my area - Hanover MA) are better at answering fish related questions than most places I have shopped.

I have to get my filters for the Tetra Power Head (5 gallon) at Walmart. No one else seems to carry them.

My favorite brands are Marineland, Aqueon, Hakari, Omega One, and API.


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## Crazykat (Nov 23, 2010)

For me, Petsmart all the way. They actually clean their tanks. In addition, when my father asked the Petco fish department person (jokingly) if he could put cichlids in with a betta, they said, "Yeah, should be fine." :shock:


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## Maryrox247 (Aug 10, 2009)

Well, i have never actually been to a petco before but want to. But every time i have been to petsmart it has usually been a good visit so yeah.


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## EKandRJ (Jan 24, 2011)

Crazykat said:


> For me, Petsmart all the way. They actually clean their tanks. In addition, when my father asked the Petco fish department person (jokingly) if he could put cichlids in with a betta, they said, "Yeah, should be fine." :shock:


That joke is lost on me.. what are cichlids?


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## Bettas143 (Dec 20, 2010)

I chose petco because the store close to my place have really healthy bettas and other fishies but I think because they just opened recently. They have some pricy stuff but the quality of their stuff are really good......My petsmart in the other hand has more types of fish and less price but their fish looks sick and their betta cups are really tiny.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

Petsmart has alot more products to choose from. Petco only had a tiny shelf of fish stuff and rodent stuff and ferret stuff, Petco is mostly about just dogs and cats. Petsmart also takes better care of their animals. They clean the Betta cups and feed them each day. As for the other pets they have very large cages for the birds and alot of play things for the rodents.
So yeah, I would pick Petsmart. (The one here anyway)


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

EKandRJ said:


> That joke is lost on me.. what are cichlids?


 A Cichlid is a class of fish, Red Devils, Convicts, Jack Dempseys, Oscars, Blood Parrot, Flower Horn, ect...
Most are known to be very aggressive and messy, most also grow very large and will eat anything smaller than them.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

I guess it boils down to knowing your local stores and who does what best.

In order to get a khuli loach, for example, I had to drive over an hour away to a non-chain aquarium store. But for most things, Petco & Petsmart are only about 20 minutes away (and they are less than a mile from each other).


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## EKandRJ (Jan 24, 2011)

Aluyasha said:


> A Cichlid is a class of fish, Red Devils, Convicts, Jack Dempseys, Oscars, Blood Parrot, Flower Horn, ect...
> Most are known to be very aggressive and messy, most also grow very large and will eat anything smaller than them.


Ah, they're aggressive, I see. I was thinking maybe they were tiny things the betta would attack and eat. quite the contrary then lol.



Aluyasha said:


> Petsmart has alot more products to choose from. Petco only had a tiny shelf of fish stuff and rodent stuff and ferret stuff, Petco is mostly about just dogs and cats. Petsmart also takes better care of their animals. They clean the Betta cups and feed them each day. As for the other pets they have very large cages for the birds  and alot of play things for the rodents.
> So yeah, I would pick Petsmart. (The one here anyway)


Good to know about them taking good care of the animals. They have the bettas in blue water though, which I don't understand. It obscures their colors. I wasn't positive what either of my guys looked like until I got them home and into clear water.


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## ChicagoPete (Dec 27, 2010)

They usually put them in blue water to treate them for paracites and infections.


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## 619Ray (Jan 6, 2011)

ChicagoPete said:


> They usually put them in blue water to treate them for paracites and infections.


I was wondering why they did that. I went to Petsmart today for the first time, usually go to Petco, I must say I was very impressed. Clean store, helpful employees and alot more decorations and tanks to pick from. I'll be going to Petsmart for now on.


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## emberdragon (Jan 27, 2011)

cichlids are a very aggressive tropical fish. Depending on whether they're african or south american, they would eat a betta in a few seconds, or at least beat it to death..


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## EKandRJ (Jan 24, 2011)

I actually went to Petco today to look around. They seemed to have a lot less than Petsmart, less variety on accessories but higher prices. I was looking for a heater, couldn't find any, and also couldn't find anyone to ask. They did have more betta varieties though. The first time I saw anything other than a veil or crown tail in person, other than pics on this website.


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## DazzleKitty (Nov 9, 2010)

I voted Petco because they definitely have a bigger selection of betta types and lots of cool colors. They also seem to have a bigger amount of betta accessories.

But Petsmart certainly has more decor and other animal products I'll say.


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