# Petco vs. Petsmart !?



## MasterMegan (Jul 20, 2012)

So I've always went to petco (except for my first couple from walmart) for my bettas, BUT we are now getting a petsmart! And now I am curious to what everyone thinks about petsmart and how their betta's and betta supplies are compared to petco? 

The petsmart is going to be much more convenient for me to get to, so I'm hoping its decent!


Thanks!


----------



## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

Petsmart is a LOT more expensive in my opinion.

As for the pet care advice, I'd definitely say that Petco is better. All the Petsmarts I've been to have give off the worst pet care information, although their fish are always great. Petsmart once gave me a old/sick hamster for free because I was new to the hamster world.

Petco really seems to want to know your pets better. But they don't treat theirs as well as I'd like...


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

In general, from my experience in all the places I've lived since I started fish keeping, my experiences with Petsmarts have been a little better then Petcos. I remember one I lived by a few years ago was very clean, and the employees even gave out decently correct information, better then any other chain store I've ever been to/have been to since. 

Where I live now though, my Petsmart is rather....merh. Not as kept up and clean as it could be, and while I can generally pick out a couple of gems their stock isn't as great as I've seen other places. However, its still better then my Petco here....its also much cheaper fish-wise. 
The Petsmart by my best friends house, about an hour away, however, is quite wonderful. The tanks seem clean as well as the betta cups, the fish look much perkier and healthier and there is much more of a variety. I kind of want to move there just because of that Petsmart xD Lol

Thats just my personal experience, though. It really depends on the area probably, though yours will be new so hopefully it will be nice and shiny for at least a while xD


----------



## stephanier (Jul 15, 2012)

I just got my betta from Petsmart and they seemed pretty well taken care of. He was in a decent cup (as decent as cups come...) and the water seemed very clean.


----------



## MasterMegan (Jul 20, 2012)

well thank ya guys!  So I guess it all depends on the store! Maybe I'll buy my supplies from petco and my fish from petsmart ;D


----------



## toad (Jul 17, 2012)

It definitely depends on the individual store and the people that are staffed there. Some stores have a wonderful, caring staff, and some do not. I go to Petco (far too often, in fact), but mostly out of convenience. It is a whopping 30 seconds from my house. My Petco does a good job with their animals, the aquariums are always spotless, the bettas are kept pretty clean (though they tend to be overstocked, IMO) and the small pets' enclosures are clean, as well. I'd never buy a small pet from any pet store (I adopted Bernadette, my old lady rat from Petco, after her family left her there), but my first 2 bettas are from Petco. My second boy has an injury/congenital defect on his face, leaving him blind in one eye, and I probably could have gotten him for free if I had complained about it, but I didn't mind paying to take him home; he's a wonderful little animal.

I would suggest going and inspecting - thoroughly - both stores and see which one is kept cleaner and staffed better.


----------



## LaLaLeyla (Aug 17, 2011)

My petco seems to have more of a selection of bettas instead of petsmart


----------



## Sapphoira (Jul 16, 2012)

Honestly it really depends on the store. As corporations go, they are nearly identical, with Petsmart being bigger and more profit. However, how each store is run and how well educated the employees are and how healthy the animals are is completely up to the store manager.


----------



## Kenny G (Jun 9, 2012)

For me it's PetSmart hands down. The staff at PetSmart in my neighborhood are very friendly and knowledgeable. I will say both took great care of their betta's. Heaven knows I looked in every cup for dirty water, unsanitary conditions and sick betta's. I find PetSmart had better prices and there were more locations nearby.


----------



## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Each store is individual, but here's my experiences...

Petsmart:
Wider selection 
Better quality, quantity live plants & fair prices.
Better sales (not just in fish section!)
Clearance on end caps of aisles
Carries fewer bettas than petco, meaning less selection

Petco:
Carries NLS betta pellets
Seems to care for bettas better
Bettas aren't by the cashiers(I hate when the cashiers Stare at me while checking out the bettas LOL)
The "fish guy" is always around and doesn't have to be called in to the fish section

For me petco is closer too


----------



## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

They can be both equivalent, but it depends on your area. My Petsmart is pretty nice, but I feel like the fish people at Petsmart are more knowing. They are both the same distance so I just go to which ever one is better for the product or animal. I like Petsmart for their cheap plakats, Petcos are like $5 more in my area. Teeney mine is the exact opposite! I always have to have a fish person come and help me, some times I leave the store empty handed because they take so long that is at Petco.

I prefer to go to a local fish store though, I think they are much better since they should have specialized people there, my local one has a great store that is super advanced, even selling ADA products (Those products are like the Porsches of aquaroums, super nice) ADA products are a famous aquascaper/naturist Takashi Amano...


----------



## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Petsmart hands down. I paid $9.00 for both of these small plants and $1.99 for this small pant in Balthy's 1 gallon


----------



## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

I have to go with Petsmart by a landslide, but that is directly based on my opinions of the Petco and Petsmart where I live. The Petco is not very clean, the staff has no knowledge whatsoever of the animals they are selling, and the one here has exactly ONE endcap of fish and fish supplies. They had maybe a dozen bettas total... in the whole store. Not only that, but the betta I got from them was not a healthy fish. Nobody there seemed to give a crap about me or my fish.

Petsmart, on the other hand, is a much larger, friendlier, better stocked store. The staff there was so good about answering questions for me and helping me, and they were very kind and sympathetic when I told them my fish wasn't doing well. They were quick to offer advice and several of them told me they'd be keeping my fish in their thoughts, which really touched me. Beyond that, they have steered me toward good products for my fish, answered all the questions I had about him, and were just all-around good people. Plus, their selection was amazing... they had this gorgeous black halfmoon I had to keep myself away from.

For me, I will choose Petsmart over Petco anyday. But again, this is based solely on the stored around where I live.


----------



## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Each store is different.*


It's completely dependent on the the employees of the stores.
You can't judge a entire company for a couple idiots that work for them. 



 At both of these stores, sometimes they're short handed because someone's out on lunch break & they send someone out of another department to respond.
If you're asking a dog groomer/trainer fish related questions, they're probably going to give you the WRONG answer.
 
If you own any PET, that is dependent on you for their well being, you have to be responsible and educate yourself somewhat & don't just assume what someone tells you is 100% accurate. 

The cashiers at the stores I visit don't bother me. They're rather friendly and courteous. 

Also thanks to one of them mentioning the survey, I ended up getting 3 female bettas for free. 



Lava Red Princess (Fire Red - blue diamond dusted scales, Blue eyes)
Bumblebee (Mustard Yellow - Citrine/Blue Eyes, diamond dusted scales & highlights)
Angelfish looking Bueroza (Steel Grey, Dual Red Stripe Operculum, Blood Red Ventrals)
The last time I was at PS, they rearranged their cups again & moved the girls to the front display. 

Walked around for 10 minutes looking at the other equipment and eventually bumped into one of their employees that I've had pleasant conversations with in the past. Asked if he could do something about the blue water, and presto, new clear water for 3 of them. 

The only problem was even with the new water, I couldn't tell if the bettas I picked out were hiding their true colors. Asked C for his opinion & he helped me sort out the characteristics between the 4. He also let me open up the aquarium tank cover so I had 8ft long light fixture illuminating the cups. 

I got to put away my LED flashlight and then proceeded to get a good look @ the bettas. I noticed one had what looked like a hint of purple & orange on the outside of her fins.

After careful debate among 4 that caught my eye. 2 of them were too dark, 1 had navy blue type coloration, and had dark black body and reddish fins. 

I took one more look at the little mystery betta, put the other 3 back on the shelf and brought her cup with me to the checkout counter.

Needless to say, I WON another survey, so I've had good experiences @ PS so far. Their employees are cool with me. 

Thought about redeeming it today, but I had too much work to do.


----------



## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

Give the new store a try out, see how well/if their people seem to know their stuff or at least care for their stock.

Sadly, both my Petsmart and PetCo are meh in the betta department. PetCo gets in some *amazing* bettas, but I always see a couple dead in the cups :| Petsmart....same story usually, but mine doesn't seem to have quite as many different kinds as PetCo...though I was interested to see they had double tails last time, which they have rarely had in the past.

Petsmart happily hurries bettas off to be "treated" if I point out ailing ones. I wonder myself if I'm just sending them off to a quick instead of slow death when I do point said fish out to the managers. I'd do the same at Petco, but I think there are like two employees in the whole store, so I tend to have to purposely run someone to ground there to get attention.


----------



## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

Shadyr said:


> Give the new store a try out, see how well/if their people seem to know their stuff or at least care for their stock.
> 
> Sadly, both my Petsmart and PetCo are meh in the betta department. PetCo gets in some *amazing* bettas, but I always see a couple dead in the cups :| Petsmart....same story usually, but mine doesn't seem to have quite as many different kinds as PetCo...though I was interested to see they had double tails last time, which they have rarely had in the past.
> 
> Petsmart happily hurries bettas off to be "treated" if I point out ailing ones. I wonder myself if I'm just sending them off to a quick instead of slow death when I do point said fish out to the managers. I'd do the same at Petco, but I think there are like two employees in the whole store, so I tend to have to purposely run someone to ground there to get attention.


I can't speak for your Petsmart, but I will say, my Petsmart takes excellent care of their fish. If any of them are pointed out as sick, they take them to be treated. I am confident they are actually being treated, as an employee was explaining how their hospital tanks were set up when I went in there looking for some help when my betta was sick. They really seem to know their stuff.


----------



## craiger75 (May 31, 2012)

I'd say up them both and find a local fish store (LFS). Haven't been into Petco because the wife is boycotting them over something that happened here in NY last year (long story). My guess is they are better tho judging by what I've seen online. 

PetSmart I've had limited success with. They are about fourth on my list when looking for/buying something after the LFS, online, Pet$aver and anywhere else ... LMAO!


----------



## MsGita (Apr 24, 2012)

As others have said, it really varies from location to location. 
My experience with my local (Harrisburg, PA) Petco and Petsmart is this:

Petco
-bettas are healthier and in better conditions
-staff are more knowledgeable (they have 3 "fish guys")
-store and animal habitats are clean

Petsmart
-bettas are always in terrible health and conditions
-have not met any knowledgeable staff
-store is dirty and animal habitats are overstocked and not well maintained


----------



## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

I've looked for an LFS, and sadly, for bettas at least, it's big chains. There are three non chain fish stores in my area that I've found so far, and they are all saltwater only. They say they just can't compete with the chainstores on freshwater fish. (They do have some kicking reef setups tho)


----------



## craiger75 (May 31, 2012)

Yeah, saltwater rox but wat a PITA and expense - OMG!


----------



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

For me, petsmart is over 30 miles away, petco is about 15. My local petco is the absolute WORST in not only fish selection and care but in customer service. For example, I wanted a snail, and IVORY snail because I have dark blue sand. The dog trainer guy gives me a big black snail. I said, no, i want the ivory one. He told me they are all the same and will not scoop out the ivory one because he said they are all boring. I was like, that is NOT the point. I got pissed off and took the black mystery snail and walked away. Everytime I take my eskie into petco and he is there, he fawns over him because he also has an american eskimo dog. However, due to the bad experience I had inthe past with him and the snail - I just ignore him. And their bettas are more expensive. 

Petsmart has a huge selection of fish and their employees are alot nicer, plus their awuatic plants are actually..ya know...alive as opposed to petco's who are dead and rotting in the water. Not sure they get any better care but everytime I am there I see someone comming out of a room with a betta in a cup. I'm guessing water changes?

As for prices and supplies - Not sure. Petsmart seems to have more tank styles but I don;t know if they are more $$ then at petco. Dog food prices are about the same


----------

