Does Anyone Have Any Thoughts About Wal-Mart Fish?

[Chef Dave]

My 3300 gallon pond is up and running. Since I live in a rural area, the only immediate source of live fish is Wal-Mart. Does anyone have any experience with Wal-Mart fish? When I google searched this topic, I found dozens of negative blogs and articles about live fish from Wal-Mart.

Does anyone have any experience with having purchased fish from this store?

 

[DrDave]

No, but there are thousands of Walmarts and each fish section is managed by a person who makes very little money. Whether or not yours has a competant person managing the fish is an assessment you have to make in all fairness to WalMart. Talk to that person and get to know them if you want to get a warm, fuzzy feeling about how they care for the fish.

I would be safe in saying they all don't get their fish from the same place either. So the quality of the stock will be different.

We have a local Petco here and I saw over 10 dead Koi in their tank once. When I reported it to the manager of that area, he did nothing while we were still there. If I was first of all that stupid to have dead fish in my tanks, I certainly wouldn't have added to my incompetance by ignoring a customer.

 

[Chef Dave]

No, but there are thousands of Walmarts and each fish section is managed by a person who makes very little money. Whether or not yours has a competant person managing the fish is an assessment you have to make in all fairness to WalMart. Talk to that person and get to know them if you want to get a warm, fuzzy feeling about how they care for the fish.

You make an excellent point. The aquariums all look clean and although the colors of the koi are muted, all of the fish seem healthy.

 

[kirscp]

It really doesn't matter where you buy fish. I have purchased KOI from wal-mart with no problems. I won't purchase any if I notice any fish that are looking sick or unhealthy.

I have been to PetSmart and PetCo, both have had some sickly looking koi and poor selections.

You are best off finding out when the Wal-Mart gets their fish delivery and get them soon after they arrive.

Most have their 7 or 14 day fish guarentee. *knock on wood* the only fish that I've lost after purchasing it, was a koi that was dropped on the floor 3 times before making it into the bag. It was a pretty looking koi and was hoping it'd make it, but didn't last more than a few hours, which didn't surprise me.

 

[DrDave]

Koi are not as colorful when viewing thier sides. Plus they lose some color indoors and in a sterile environment. Like most animals they rely on camoflage in the wild.

 

[Greg373]

I got a shubunkin from Petco testerday that was missing part of it's tail but it was swimming all over and VERY lively. I brought it home and he was acting fine and hopefully he will be ok. He seems to have adapted quickly. I've also got fish from Wal-mart and as long as they look healthy and you observe them for a few minutes and all is well w/ them then get them.

 

[christie210]

I have gotten several Fantails from Walmart with absolutely no problem at all. In fact, the flourished, tripling their size in just a matter of months...

 

[johns55belair]

I have bought fish there a long time ago and know people who have.I would not recommend it as they all get sick and die.i would google fish hatcheries or koi farms to see what might come up.it all depends on what kind of fish you are trying to put in your pond.hope this helps

 

[Chef Dave]

I wound up getting 2 comets from Wal-Mart and spent over $100 (not including the cost of express shipping) to buying koi and other fish from a pond supplier in Tucson.

So what happened?

During a torrential rainstorm, Sonora green toads came out of hibernation, discovered, my pond, and began croaking for mates. Some of these toads were huge, nearly the size of my clenched fist. While they were having their toadfest, they ate most of my fish.

The only survivors?

The two comets from the local Wal-Mart.

 

[christie210]

Oh my goodness...so sorry about them eating your fish!

If you must know the truth...the fish that I have gotten from Petsmart has died within days of my buying them...my little Walmart fish have been very healthy and flourished. So...go figure...I have no idea. I also got my Koi from a local petstore which takes really good care of their fish, etc. No more from Petsmart...

 

[kirscp]

Pet stores don't raise their own fish, they get them from suppliers. The supplier is the ones that you have to worry about. Normally fish are only at a pet store for a short period of time.

 

[PHYLAL]

The main question is, what is the quality of the water, and what conditions are the fish in? Not just the ones you want to by, but all the fish in the tank. (You still need to quarantine any new fish.) Dirty water, dead fish floating around, grossly over crowded…. these should throw up a red flag. I usually spend a long time watching the fish I intend to buy, how it swims, how it holds its fins, how active is it…etc.

I cannot answer for your store, but I have found in my area that the low-priced fish stores usually do not have quality fish (by that I mean quality standards). I think they buy culls from breeders. There is nothing wrong with the fish and I have bought them myself. In my area I can buy 4-5 inch comets for US$3 and the same size comet at another store for US$7. Am I being ripped-off? Well, the expensive comets have tails almost as long as the body, as they should be. The cheaper comets have tails half as long as the body. They are still beautiful fish. The choice is yours.

 

[poppamole]

I bought 4 koi from walmart, they were about 2 inches when I bought them last spring, they are all 10-12 inches now and very healthy.

 

[DrDave]

Pappamole
You have supported my earlier statement quite nicely, thank you.:icon_smile:

No, but there are thousands of Walmarts and each fish section is managed by a person who makes very little money. Whether or not yours has a competant person managing the fish is an assessment you have to make in all fairness to WalMart. Talk to that person and get to know them if you want to get a warm, fuzzy feeling about how they care for the fish.

I would be safe in saying they all don't get their fish from the same place either. So the quality of the stock will be different.

 

[lovinglife]

I have had great luck with Walmart and Petsmart. I got a couple real nice butterfly koi this year that have done fantastic from Petsmart. I agree, just have to watch them and not buy any if there are any problems, even in other tanks since most of the large stores have one filter system that circulates through all the tanks.