Petland in Poco

[Jonesy]

Just wanted to let everyone know that Petland in Poco is now open....Going out there in a few hours..i'll let everyone know how it is.........

[Melody]

Kewl - thanks for the heads-up!

[Jonesy]

well, gotta say that i wasn't overly happy:mad:. The store it self looks amazing. Fish department was, umm, lets just say not so amazing. They had very, very few fish..A few tetra's, and a community cichlid tank. They have alot of tanks, but none are cycled. Water quality reminded me of tap water in the midst of the boil water advisory. Not worth anyone racing out there in hopes of great Grand Opening sales because there weren't any. The equipment/tank/food/chem area looked great with lots of variety..Prices are comparable to any chain store, so good prices but nothing you won't see elsewhere....

Hopefully in the next few weeks they'll get the tanks setup properly and add more livestock...I work close by so i'll post once they get more livestock or if i see any worthwhile deals.

[Melody]

I suppose we should be patient before saying how it will be. Nice to have someone reporting live from location anyway :yes: .

Pardon my limited world...lol....but this isn't the first Petland in these parts is it? I get them all confused - Petsmart, Petland, Petco... who can keep track?

[fishenthusiast]

There is a Petland in Langely. The manager of the fish department is pretty knowledgable, and will talk fish with me for hours. Overall I am happy with the condition of the livestock there, but like with any store the quality isn't nearly as good as what breeders have.

I suppose we should be patient before saying how it will be. Nice to have someone reporting live from location anyway :yes: .

Pardon my limited world...lol....but this isn't the first Petland in these parts is it? I get them all confused - Petsmart, Petland, Petco... who can keep track?

[Melody]

Well, some stores buy from local breeders :D . I think that there are often other factors involved when it comes to store stock, outside of economics. I know several stores that make an effort to bring in quality Livestock, but the fish still endure the stress of shipping, acclimating, crowded conditions, etc, then they're sold to us for more transport, acclimating and other stress.

I don't blame the stores for all that. I can usually spot quality fish that are just stressed from shipping, etc. We need the stores to bring us variety, and I appreciate them for that. The privately owned stores are really finding their niche with quality and variety. The bix boxes will never be able to compete with that because they only see the obvious numbers. They don't seem to understand that quality brings you repeat customers who will happily pay a bit more for the fish if they're healthy.

The best way to get the message across is to support your fave local stores, regardless of size.

[Jonesy]

Just got back from Petland in Poco again. Looks like most of their tanks are now cycled and water quality is about 90%. MUCH more livestock!!! I would say that within the next week it will be worth going and checking out for all you non tri-city area people......

[Melody]

Anything odd or unusual so far?

[Jonesy]

nothing odd or noteworthy of yet. Did talk to someone in the fishroom that said they will provide livestock lists upon requests. Basically, they will bring in what you are looking for if it is available to them.....And still no great sales:no:

[Melody]

That's good news about special ordering. I'm surprised there's no opening sales though. Did you ask about it? Sometimes merchants don't have the sale until later when they're fully stocked.

[Jonesy]

ya they said that there will most likely be a "grand opening" sale/event once they have all the stock in. They are just waiting to get more fish and reptile livestock