Another case of buyer beware in big chain pet stores

[bekateen]

Our local PetSMART started advertising butterfly plecos for sale, for less than $7 USD! I had to check them out, and to my dismay I discovered that they were selling hillstream loaches. I don't mind so much that they are calling hillstream loaches "butterfly plecos" because that is relatively common in fish stores. But what really annoyed me was the species description and photograph that appears in the store, which actually shows a photo of real butterfly plecos (the nice one,

L168

, not the drab one,

L052

)!!! What a disappointment and a deception. PetSMART, you've let us down again.

[jp11biod]

I will never buy fish from a big box store again and have not for years. It is online sales from reputable breeders and importers or locally owned stores with good experience. Even then, I will only deal with the employees I know.

[bekateen]

I will never buy fish from a big box store again and have not for years. It is online sales from reputable breeders and importers or locally owned stores with good experience. Even then, I will only deal with the employees I know.

In general, I hold your position about preferring to buy fish at LFS, both for the quality of the fishes and in order to support small local businesses economically. So far I've only dared buy fish online once; in that case I received good fish for a good price (Thank you Rob McLure! ), but I must still confess a certain nervousness about shopping for fish sight-unseen. I prefer to buy fish in person.

That said, in the past I have gotten some good fish from PetSMART (I can't say the same about Petco), so if they really did have L168 for sale, I would have taken the chance and bought a half dozen or more in a heartbeat.

[Bas Pels]

Hillstream loaches are very interesting fishes, but hardly intermedium where it comes to the experience of the owner.

It would be much better if the fishes were sold as what they are - in order to have the people know how to care for them

the loaches will, after all, need much more current and I think lower temperatures

[bekateen]

Exactly. It's not just about misleading the customer in order to sell fishes, it's about misrepresenting the requirements of the fish. People might take these fish home and put them in warm slow moving water, or worse.

After posting the OP of this thread, I took an unusual action: For the first time ever, I visited the PetSMART website and used their "Contact Us" option to write an email expressing my concern about this issue. I'm interested to see what kind of reply I get.

[nvcichlids]

we have a local store/chain (not big box, but there are like 5 total in our state) and I was in there getting dog food at the time and I always browse the fish. There was a man and his 10 yr old son.. buying fish for a 10 gallon fish tank. THey asked about algae control and what could live in a 10 gallon tank. The sales person ( who I know knows fish as we have talked about them.. they have ordered in some for me, etc) suggested the common pleco and said the fish would never outgrow its environment. I had to interrupt them.. I told the guy that the common will outgrow the 10 gallon extremely fast (as it was already 4"TL) and that they aren't really algae eaters. If he wanted an algae eater, I pointed out the bristlenose pleco and told him they keep tanks much cleaner of algae than common plecos, one would never outgrow the tank, and they are pretty darn peaceful. The sales person said I was lying and that the bristlenose can grow to 10" The father then asked the sales person.. what IF the common pleco outgrew the tank.. the employee said just flush it alive.. I left there that day and haven't ever gone back. I now order my dog food online because they were the only place that carried what I fed, but I won't give them my money anymore..

[FerocactusLatispinus]

Personally, I don't mind PetsMart or Petco at all, but it is disconcerting to see so much misrepresentation in the sale of much of the aquatic life there; I feel sad when I see fish like Pangasius hypophthalmus and Arius seemani for sale, knowing there'll never be a tank large enough for the former, and it's not often noted in-store that the latter will require a saline environment when adulthood is reached. The condition of the aquariums there and the fish in them vary from good to poor, but I think that may be partly because of their cleaning schedule, whatever it may be; I must note that my LFS in Shawano has somewhat messy aquariums, but the fish I purchase there are top-notch! Only once did I get a fish there that perished from pre-existing illness: a Brochis splendens that must have had a parasitic infection, because it had wasted away even though I always gave special attention to it during feeding time for the time I had it. We also have a TruValue in the same city, and the aquariums are a bit more neat and clean, but I always notice one or two severe ich infestations among the catfish. Large and small stores don't seem to be all that different in my experience, and it seems that accurate husbandry info in general is what is truly lacking.

I have bought some fish from a couple PetsMart in Green Bay and Wausau in the past, and the fish I've obtained were always in good health (e.g., I have four Synodontis nigriventris from Wausau's PetsMart for about 2 1/3 years now, and all growing nicely ). I'm also keeping a portly, cheeky Microglanis iheringi I bought from the TrueValue for about 1 3/4 years now.

I've heard misinformation and misrepresentation also plagues the sale of live plants at PetsMart, mainly aquatic plants. I can't say as I've observed this much in the past (though, I have noticed their keeping Dracaena "Bamboo" in emersed form above the open tank with the immersed plants); only just recently am I now switching to live plants, so my LFS is really being very helpful. I have read of plastic tubes that contain terrestrial plants labeled and sold as submersible/aquatic in PetsMart, but I haven't seen this at the two stores near me since my last visit.

Overall, I really think the big issue is the sale of fishes that outgrow the average home aquaria or are otherwise unsuitable, and the presence of incorrect or absence of correct husbandry information of the saleable flora and fauna. These are businesses, just like our small, local stores; ignorance/indifference regarding proper care of the fishes sold isn't limited to just big chain stores; helpful/knowlegable employees can be found in both. I have found in both the large and small stores the employee whom is keen on just making a sale and the other whom is genuinely concerned about the proper long-term care of the fishes. I believe this unfavorable stigma attached to big businesses, seemingly soley, is not well-deserved.

[jodilynn]

Well, after the "12 dead guppies" episode I am just about done with Petsmart.

The manager did call me and offer to "fix" things, but I have not called back. Totally disgusted with them, the fish lived one-two days and developed some weird infection and all I did was change water and medicate and run back and forth to return and re-buy these guppies, and they all died but one, who is now the whipping boy for a really b*tchy female betta. My son doesn't even want any more fish because of them.

But I did get some SA Bumblebee Cats there, and after a 6 week quarantine they all seem to be doing very well. So...in that respect I am glad I went there.

The Petsmart here was selling what appeared to be Synodontis Hybrid #8 as

Synodontis longirostris

, and apparently have done so for several years!

I totally agree that it is deplorable that they are selling Hillstream Loaches as plecos, not even that they are being deceitful about an expensive pleco but that Hillstream Loaches need very cool (no warmer than 72 degrees) and highly oxygenated water with a strong current. I love those fish but I have not gotten one simply because I cannot give them the proper environment!

[bekateen]

Below is the text of the letter I sent them. I tried to express my feelings accurately and at the same time keep a positive tone, so as not to sound like an angry person or hater.

I've already had two emails from them, one asking for more details about where and when this occurred, and the other stating that they have forwarded my letter to someone else in the company whose job it is to investigate such concerns. They say I'll receive an email by the end of the week. I'm eager to hear what they have to say.

Dear PetSMART,

I am deeply troubled and concerned about a particular species of live fish you are currently offering in your stores in my area. The fish is being sold as a "butterfly plecostomus (Dekeyseria sp.)." In fact the fish is a type of Asian hillstream loach. I can overlook the fact that you have misnamed the fish as a butterfly plecostomus, because many wholesalers offer hillstream loaches using that name, even though the fish is not a plecostomus. But what I am so troubled by is the fact that on your in-store aquarium labels, the information and photograph you display are that of a real butterfly plecostomus (Dekeyseria).

False advertising aside, my main concern is for the health and welfare of the fish. Hillstream loaches live in cool waters with fast currents and high oxygen levels. By contrast, butterfly plecos come from South America, from much warmer tropical waters and they do just fine in much slower water currents, like that found in most aquariums. Hillstream loaches can easily be killed in the typical water conditions of an average person's home aquarium. They require special care and maintenance. If people buying this fish take care of it using the requirements for real butterfly plecos, the fish will die before too long.

I appreciate PetSMART for trying to introduce unique fish for sale on a seasonal basis. I look forward to the new fish you will offer from year to year. Honestly, when I saw the photo and information on the aquarium label referring to butterfly plecos, I was really excited about buying several at that time, and maybe coming back for more later. But when I discovered what you were offering under that name and photograph, I was really disappointed in PetSMART. That type of intentional mismarketing is not only deceptive to the customer, it puts your company profits before the very welfare of the fish you sell.

I've seen PetSMART misrepresent fish before. Last year, you were selling Apistogramma agassizii cichlids and the photo on your label was of a more expensive and colorful fish, Apistogramma cacatuoides. I overlooked that at the time because (A) these two fish are very similar to each other in terms of aquarium care/requirements and (B) even though the photo was wrong, the information on the aquarium labels was still correct (the name said Apistogramma agassizii).

I hope you stop this practice. It really abuses the fish, and it leads your customers on. I also hope that you chose to sell real butterfly plecos - properly marketed, I would be happy to continue to support your store and buy those fish.

Sincerely, [my name]

In hindsight, I feel like I underrepresented the care requirements of the butterfly pleco. I didn't mean to imply that the plecos like slow water with low oxygen; I meant to say that they could be maintained better in a more typical aquarium setting than your average hillstream loach.

[Jools]

It's easy to bash chain stores, but at least they have the infrastructure to respond to these kind of issues. Mind you, it's early days, it will be interesting to hear what they say.

Jools

[Marine590622]

Your letter seems well thought out. I would have bought ten of the loaches, as I would love to have them again. I paid $10.00 apiece after shipping the last time I had them. The title of the thread says it. Buyer beware, I will pick up fish from the big box stores, but I am very careful about what I will pick up. I have been questioned by the staff at the big box stores about the tanks I was going to put a fish into.

"What size tank do you have?"

Ummm, which one?

"the one this is going into."

Well as it's only 2 inches and it's fresh bought it is going into a 20 gallon quarantine tank?

"Well, I can't sell you this a 20 gallon tank is not big enough This will require at least a four foot tank"

well that;s true, but he won't need that for a couple of years. For right now he could live in a 5.5 gallon tank.


My wife said I was being a jerk to the clerk, but I was just having fun.

[TwoTankAmin]

I do not know about other folks who sell their fish, but my policy has been the same since day one. If you do not like the fish, return them and I will refund your full payment, including shipping as well as the return shipping. When selling zebras, I pull the actual fish I will send, photograph them and email the pics to the buyer. They can pay me and have them sent the next day or ask for different fish or outright turn things down. But then I do not make my living selling fish and I mostly sell fish born in my tanks.

I also charge more when I ship than when somebody comes and picks up the exact same fish. i do not like to ship but I do it pretty well. With some people I may send them the fish and tell them if they are happy, then they can pay me. I do not do this for just anyone however.

I also buy most of my fish directly from folks who breed or import them and whom I either know personally or by their well established reputation.

One live healthy fish is worth at least 3 DOAs.

[bekateen]

UPDATE: PetSMART originally said I'd get a reply within 3-5 working days of our first correspondence. After 5 days, there was still no reply from PetSMART. So I sent them a polite reminder email, along with the photo which I posted at the top of this thread (I did not include the picture with my first correspondence to PetSMART):

Dear XXXX (name of customer service representative),

I just wanted to follow up with you about this inquiry, as I have not yet received a response from PetSMART about my concern. In case your company needs additional information, I am attaching a photo of the store's product information label/price tag in question.

Sincerely,
[my name]

They replied the next day:

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your email. We are sorry you have not yet been contacted. We have resubmitted your information and inquiry to our Store Management Team, accompanied by an email letting them know that you have not yet been contacted.

Our Management Team should be getting in touch with you within 3-5 business days. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We look forward to assisting you further.

Sincerely,
XXXX [Customer service representative's name]
PetSmart Customer Care

Well, it's been five more business days, and still no actual response from PetSMART.

I sent one more reminder tonight. Here it is:

Dear XXX [customer service representative's name],

I just wanted to follow up with you about this inquiry. It has been 17 days since my original correspondence and I still have not received a response from PetSMART about my concern.

On a recent visit to a nearby PetSMART, I found the same fish being sold under the same mislabeled name/information. Again, this misinformation is so far off from the actual care information for the fish you are selling that it puts the lives of these fish in jeopardy when they are brought home by unsuspecting consumers. I know that PetSMART puts "pet care" and animal welfare as a priority, and it promotes responsible and caring pet ownership for its customers. This type of misinformation is at odds with that value.

And as I stated before, I am intrigued by the fish that you are advertising (but not actually selling). So if you'd like a suggestion from a loyal customer, I'd like to see real butterfly plecos offered for sale in my local PetSMART.

Sincerely,
Eric [my name]

What do you think? Will I get a response this time? Is anybody a "betting" type of person? I'm not a betting person, but honestly, I hope they do reply, and soon. I'm not looking to be disappointed by PetSMART and then trash-talk them, but I think I will feel more disappointed by PetSMART if they ignored a customer three times than I am already about them using the name butterfly pleco for this hillstream loach. (okay, no, that's not true - I'm really peaved that they would try to sell a hillstream loach using a photo and scientific species name for a real pleco).

The wait continues...
Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Hi TTA,

Thanks for sharing your business philosophy as a fish seller. I wish more sellers took your approach. By the way, IME, your willingness to charge less for pick-ups is at odds with some commercial stores, which apply the opposite logic: i.e., if a buyer is willing to pay a shipping fee for a fish, then it implies that they think the fish is worth more than its advertised price. Thus, in-person purchases are charged at a slightly higher price than purchases which are shipped. I suppose they might use a reverse logic to justify this philosophy: they refer to the higher price in the store as the "actual" fish price, and they "discount" the fish for on-line orders to "offset" the cost of shipping. While that is an admirable policy from the perspective of the on-line buyer, it's punitive for the in-person buyer.

I also buy most of my fish directly from folks who breed or import them and whom I either know personally or by their well established reputation.

So this is a really interesting point. One of the things that fascinates me about many of the people on this website is how many of the members seem to have ties with importers. Myself, I have never met any importers, and I have no idea how to meet them. Whatever happens to be in my LFS, then that's what I get to chose from when shopping for new fish (unless I shop on-line at places like Aquabid.com). So I'd really like to know how a hobbyist can meet importers and make such contacts. @Jools (or any other @moderator), this leads me to a suggestion for a future "Shane's World" article: I'd like to read an article in which several of the PC members are interviewed, each one of them asked about how they got deeper into the purchasing side of the hobby, how they were able to meet their first importers (or wholesalers who are willing to sell direct to you PC fish keepers), and how they interact with these importers. I think that would be a fascinating story, and it would help some of the nOObs on here, like myself, get deeper into fish keeping by helping us open up access to some of the more unusual fish spp.

Thanks TTA. Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

ANOTHER UPDATE: Since my most recent contact with PetSMART (about two hours ago, shown above), I've already received another reply. Here it is:

Eric,

Thank you for your email and for bringing this to our attention. I have taken the liberty of entering a customer complaint on your behalf. Your complaint will be addressed by a member of our Management Team within 3-5 business days, and you can expect a reply at that time.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused you, and we appreciate the opportunity you have given us to set the matter right.

Sincerely,
XXXX [Customer service representative's name]
PetSmart Customer Care

Okay....

[Narwhal72]

Eric,

You should consider joining a local fish club if you want to meet importers and breeders. Many small importers are devoted hobbyists and are often members of clubs. There are 3 of them in our club alone. Also importers are often also speakers at club events where they talk about the fish they have imported or raised that are of particular interest to them. Being in a club is the best way to meet hobbyists that are local to you that share your interests.

Not sure which club is closest to you but COAST is a good place to start.
http://www.coastfishclub.com/ncms/

Andy

[Narwhal72]

Eric,

It should also be pointed out that retailers with brick and mortar locations have overhead that they need to cover. That is why a fish is more expensive in a store than it is online. Online retailers have lower overhead which allows them to sell for less. Some of the larger retailers never even touch the fish. It ships directly from a wholesaler.

It's quite different than a hobbyist selling fish from their home as a side business.

Andy

[bekateen]

Hi Andy,

Good point. Thanks. To clarify my previous statement, it was specifically in reference to retailers that operate both online and as a brick-and-mortar store, not to strictly online stores that sell at lower prices than competing brick-and-mortar stores. But to your point, I can imagine that some businesses operate both online and as brick-and-mortar stores, and they could still operate those as independent operations.

Cheers, Eric

[TwoTankAmin]

I am aware of two businesses that have dual operations. In one they import fish (or buy from farms) which they then wholesale to stores and online vendors. In the other they operate a retail LFS which will also ship to retail buyers.

One thing to understand about buying wholesale or importing is that the quantity of fish one must buy is not small. If I want a box of rummy nose tetras, I have to take 150 to 180 depending on their size if I want to pay $0.30/fish. And once they are mine, I have to keep them alive, there are no refunds or make goods for these. And then one has to be prepared now and then to lose most or all of them. Sometime most do fine and other times you lose them all.

I have one really good LFS about 30 minutes from me. They are about as high priced as any seller I have seen. Their fish are usually very healthy and their employees must pass a test on fish before they will be hired. I have traded some of my fish for store credit, but I cannot make myself pay their prices for most things. That doesn't mean they are not worth what they charge only that I am cheap enough to shop elsewhere. But as we all know, there is a huge difference between a good LFS and the fish department of a big pet store chain.

[bekateen]

UPDATE: As of yesterday, still no response from PetSMART. So I sent one more email:

Dear XXXX [customer service representative's name],

Thank you for going to the effort to file a "customer complaint" on my behalf. Honestly, my initial inquiry wasn't a complaint at all, but merely a concern for the fact that the marketing of some fish being sold might put the health of the fish in jeopardy.

But now it's been weeks since my original inquiry, and I have yet to get a response from PetSMART, other than the replies I get from customer service representatives like yourself who let me know that my concern has been received and that it has been forwarded to the appropriate person(s) within the PetSMART company.

This is indeed getting tiring and annoying. I appreciate the prompt responsiveness of yourself and others in your office, who have received and forwarded my emails. But I do not appreciate the ... I don't know whom, the management team?... for not bothering to follow up on my original concern or my subsequent inquiries, not even with an acknowledgement that they are looking into it.

Sincerely,
Eric [my name]
An otherwise loyal PetSMART customer who is becoming frustrated with the PetSMART infrastructure

Their initial screening layer in customer support is very prompt about acknowledging receipt of a concern or complaint: I received another reply within hours (see below). However, I also see that the text of these replies is repeating itself from one email to the next; so maybe their response is a simple computer-generated automatic reply, or maybe it's a form letter issued by a customer service "receptionist". But if the latter, it doesn't help to have a live person receive the concern and then send it forward in the company, if someone else doesn't eventually respond to the concern or complaint in person, with real commentary addressing the point of the concern. After all, sending the customer off into limbo is just as bad as not taking any action at all (maybe worse, because the former feigns the appearance of caring about the customer).

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your email. We are so sorry you have not yet been contacted by our Store Management Team.

Please be aware that we have resubmitted your information and inquiry to our Store Management Team, accompanied by an email letting them know that you have not yet been contacted, and that you need to be contacted for a resolution to this matter as soon as possible.

Our Management Team should be getting in touch with you within 3-5 business days. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and we certainly appreciate your ongoing patience. We look forward to assisting you further.

Sincerely,
XXXX [Customer service representative's name]
PetSmart Customer Care

[bekateen]

Without meaning to hijack my own thread, I must say that I don't just like to complain about companies. I also like to commend companies when they have good customer service. And on this note, I'd like to take a moment and commend two companies that sell aquarium filters.

First is Aqueon: Aqueon's QuietFlow HOB filters are certainly not the best filters (IMHO, mainly because they lack any real volume of biological filtration in them), but their customer service has been great for me. On three occasions, I've had parts wear out or break (in one case, we accidentally threw a part away in the trash). I emailed Aqueon asking for a price so that I could buy the replacement parts. In each case, they sent me the replacement parts for free, no questions asked.

Another high point about Aqueon, they have what appears to be an aggressive buy-back/trade-in program (at least in my part of the country; I don't know about their behavior in the rest of the USA). Once or twice a year, they come to town, to LFSs in my area, and have customer appreciation days - you can bring in any aquarium filter you have, working or not, Aqueon or another brand, and for about $5 they will give you the equivalent-sized Aqueon QuietFlow HOB filter. They have even let me trade-up to a bigger filter than the one I traded in. So for the last two years, I've been able to replace my HOBs for new models every 6-12 months.

Thank you, Aqueon.

Second is Hagen: I use several of their "Elite" sponge filters (models A-900 (single) and A-902 (double)) in my tanks. Again, not the greatest sponge filters, but they work pretty well. Recently I bought one which had a broken part when I opened it up. Rather than returning it to the place of purchase (a LFS one hour away from my home - not worth the gasoline to drive there just to return the broken part), I contacted Hagen for a replacement part. That's all I asked for, the replacement part. But I guess that Hagen doesn't have parts; their response was to send me an entire new filter! Only one problem: the new filter was broken at the same place, the same part (sounds like a manufacturing/design flaw). So I told them, and they sent me a third filter, and this time they checked to make sure it was in good shape before shipping it to me. Plus they let me keep the broken filters, which I'll use for spare parts.

Thank you, Hagen.

If any of you have positive stories about customer service from aquarium-related companies, perhaps we could start another thread (either in tank talk or speak easy) where you post those praises, and share with the rest of us why you like those companies. That way, we can buy their products if we have the occasion and opportunity, and thus reward those companies that do a good job of taking care of us, their customers. Thanks.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

It's easy to bash chain stores, but at least they have the infrastructure to respond to these kind of issues. Mind you, it's early days, it will be interesting to hear what they say.

Indeed, their rapid acknowledgement system evoked expectations of corporate concern and interest. Sadly, so far these apparent virtues have not proven their worth. Case in point: It's been over a month now since my first email. Still no reply. So tonight I sent this:

Dear PetSMART,

I am emailing you again, for the SIXTH time. This is getting frustrating and very disappointing. I sent my first email over one month ago, expressing my concern, as an appreciative PetSMART customer, for a business practice of yours that might be compromising the very welfare of the pets you sell to customers like me.

In my earlier emails, I was not angry or complaining, but simply voicing my concern. I provided detailed information, along with a photograph (which I would attach here, but I see no way to do so).

After each of my emails, I was very grateful to receive a prompt response from a PetSMART customer service representative, assuring me that my concern had been forwarded to the appropriate parties in your company, and that I would be receiving a reply from PetSMART within a week regarding this matter.

I'm sorry to say that four weeks have gone by, without any reply from PetSMART. As you can see in the correspondence chain shown below, each week I wrote a respectful and patient email, asking to receive a reply. But you seem to have ignored the emails and just placated me with updates saying that someone would contact me in the next 3-5 business days.

Frankly, I'm ready to give up on this, but I won't. I was concerned for the fish you sell when I wrote my first email, and I'm still concerned for the fish. I hope you realize that as a big chain store, PetSMART is often spoken poorly of for its fish care standards and the quality of the fish you sell. But some people, myself included, have enjoyed the fish we've bought at your stores in the past, and in on-line forums, I, and people like me, have stuck up for and supported PetSMART when such matters were discussed in public forums.

However, I must say that this false interest you are showing in my concern as a customer is patronizing and saddening. I expected better of you, PetSMART. When you say you'll respond in a week, two weeks, three weeks, and now four weeks, I would have expected to hear something from you. But that's obviously not the case.

I hope you don't misread this email as a simple rant or complaint, ragging about how bad PetSMART is. It didn't start that way, and until recently I have spared all words of true criticism. But now I am critical, critical of your customer response system... Not the individuals who acknowledge that they've received my email, but the people in the "management team" who are supposedly going to reply. {Although I have to be honest - if you read the replies I've received from PetSMART to each of my emails (reprinted below), you'll see that the text of your responses is starting to repeat itself - I'm wondering whether there are live people reading this and then writing from scripted replies, or just computers generating automatic replies saying "thank you for your submission." You can only tell me that you'll write me back in so many ways before it starts to sound automated}

Hopefully you will reply this time. Wise up PetSMART leadership - This is not how you engender favor from your customers.

Sincerely,
Eric [my name]

I'd like to keep pursuing this matter, because I do worry about what PetSMART buyers might believe when they buy the hillstream loaches, but this email may very well be my last correspondence with them... After all, there's no point in yelling at a wall, whether it be a physical wall, or a virtual one. And a smoke screen is a smoke screen.

Eric

P.S., In hindsight, as I re-read this message, I get the impression I'm snooping on some poor kid while they're breaking up with their high-school sweetheart. That's unfortunate! LOL.

[scREAMZ]

This isn't only at your PetSmart - we saw this in San Diego (Point Loma) today. It was listed for $6.xx and I got really excited when I saw the tag, but realized after looking in the tank that they only had a hillstream loach. I tried raising the issue with the salesperson nicely but she wouldn't hear that the fish could be mislabeled. Unfortunately they didn't have the actual card with the pic of the fish or else I could have showed that they're quite different.

Just like you, though, I was most concerned that they fix the label so that a buyer would know what they were getting and most importantly how to care for it.

Maybe they're mislabeled at all PetSmarts?

[bekateen]

Maybe they're mislabeled at all PetSmarts?

No doubt this is correct. For one thing, butterfly pleco is a commonly used name for hillstream loaches in the pet trade. And I have no reason to think that PetSMART would ever sell real butterfly plecos because of their actual value, far more expensive than the typical aquarium customer would be willing to buy.


... But we can always dream, right?

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

UPDATE: Things got worse before they (finally) appear to be getting better. Read on:

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your email. We are sorry you have not yet been contacted. We have resubmitted your information and inquiry to our Store Management Team, accompanied by an email letting them know that you have not yet been contacted.

Our Management Team should be getting in touch with you within 3-5 business days. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We look forward to assisting you further.

Sincerely,
XXXX [Customer service representative's name]
PetSmart Customer Care

Still no response from PetSMART. How long has it been since my initial contact? I hope you're not trying to alienate your loyal customers.

Sincerely, Eric [my name]

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your email and for bringing this to our attention. I have taken the liberty of entering a customer complaint on your behalf. Your complaint will be addressed by a member of our Management Team within 3-5 business days, and you can expect a reply at that time.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused you, and we appreciate the opportunity you have given us to set the matter right.

Sincerely,
XXXX [Customer service representative's name]
PetSmart Customer Care

Dear XXXX [Customer service representative's name],

Really? Do you think it will be addressed this time by the Management Team? I hope so. Because so far, it hasn't.

Sincerely, Eric [my name]

And then today... AHHHHHHH! (that's supposed to be the "sound of angels" emanating from bright clouds, with white light beaming across the sky)... here is this:

Dear Mr. Thomas,

Thank you for contacting PetSmart and I greatly apologize for the delay in our response. There were some huge gaps in communication and for that I do apologize. Your concerns were shared with our corporate veterinary team so that this can be looked into and addressed appropriately.

We appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention and thank you for following up. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
XXXX
[A new PetSMART representative, not anyone I've heard from before and NOT anyone with the term "PetSmart Customer Care" after their name in their signature]

If nothing else, I've made it past the first level of screening. That's a good thing.

Cheers, Eric

[loachlover]

How can they sell a hillstream loach as a pleco? They are not even the same species of fish? I have a pleco and a hillstream loach in my 30 gallon aquarium. It can't be a hillstream they are selling because hillstream look like mine with the halo fins the other loachs the long skinny ones are not hillstreams. If they are selling actual hillstreams like mine that cheap I will buy em all these things can run anywhere from 15-20 dollars (US) a fish.

PLECO AND HILLSTREAM LOACH

[bekateen]

How can they sell a hillstream loach as a pleco? They are not even the same species of fish?... It can't be a hillstream they are selling because hillstream look like mine with the halo... If they are selling actual hillstreams like mine that cheap I will buy em all these things can run anywhere from 15-20 dollars (US) a fish.

They are indeed real hillstream loaches, although I can't tell you which species of hillstream loach.

And unfortunately, calling them butterfly plecos is a common practice in the fish industry; just Google "butterfly pleco" and look at all the hits.

Cheers, Eric

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Keep up the good work Eric.

When I went into a local chain-store in the UK a few years ago and told them that their fairly expensive Apistogramma "viejita" pairs were both A. macmasteri and all male, they told me to "p*ss off" if I wasn't going to buy anything.

Why we are on the subject of wrongly labelled aquarium "items".

"Loachlover" the variegated plant in your post image is a non-aquatic. It won't grow in a tank, and as it decays it may compromise water quality.

It looks like a Dracaena, and would make a good house plant.

cheers Darrel

[bekateen]

Thanks Darrel.

UPDATE: No word yet from the "higher up" people at PetSMART...

BUT there has been an unexpected game-changing development, coming "out of left field" (well, technically, it's coming out of Olympia, Washington, not left field; but if I'd said Olympia, that wouldn't have completed the phrase properly). Anyway, I just heard from my brother who lives in the Olympia area that his local PetSMART store is selling real

L052

, alongside hillstream loaches in the same aquarium, and they are both being sold under the same label and for the same price - "Butterfly pleco" for $6.99 USD.

I did NOT see this coming. Now I'm checking out all the PetSMARTs in my area, seeing if they are getting, or can get L052. So far, no luck in my area of Central California (but they still have hillstream loaches with the butterfly pleco label, photo, and Dekeyseria genus name).. But given this development, I have NO IDEA what to expect from the people in PetSMART's corporate office when they finally do reply.

Cheers, Eric

[Aquaticus]

I've been checking my Petsmart here in Madison, but I'm not even getting hilstream loaches, which I really want, BTW!