Do you buy supplies/food at

[lynzy420]

a pet store that sells pets? If yes, for the love of yorkies why? Please do not purchase anything from pet stores that sell pets, every single purchase is counted and every penney earned keeps them in business. Please go on line and purchase the item instead, anything just don't go in these stores - please, you can make a difference, spread the word, tell your friends and family...please.

Thank You, from Miss Mini (the yorkie on the left!!)

[chachi]

I admit I am guilty of it and I feel bad about it. I have an aquarium and a pond in my back yard and I do buy fish and fish supplies from the pet store because they have the best selection and thats the only things I buy from there. I could buy some of the fish online but not all but its also expensive to buy fish online because you have to pay a $60-70 shipping fee. These arent your typical tropical fish you can get at pet supply places. They are koi and fancy goldfish so Im kinda stuck. I try to buy most of my koi from the pond store though but I did buy one that had some size to it from the pet store last year for $70 that are priced at $200 at the pond store. Im sorry I hope you dont judge me I would never buy a dog or a cat or any animal from a pet store and I dont like it that I buy fish there but I dont have too many other choices.

[Lovetodream88]

I don't but things from stores that sell puppies but I do buy from Petco and Petsmart and will continue to do so. I would never buy from a store selling puppies but buying food online can sometimes be expensive because cans of dog food are heavy.

[jadabug]

I am lucky I guess because there are no pet stores here where I live. There is one in the mall about 20 miles away, but I never go there. The little pet grooming boutique in my town where I did buy my kibble closed...so I will be ordering online from here on out.

[GypsyVille]

Nope, I don't buy from petstores that sell pets. All My dogs are raw feed so I get most of their food from family that raises chicken, beef, lamb etc. I buy very little from pet stores in general but they don't sell any pets.

[gracielove]

I buy my pet food online from a supply store. The pet store in our mall sells only a small amount of food that is way over priced. I buy some items like collars and harnesses from ebay. Sometimes you can find things there that you can't find in most stores. I think that the stores that sell dogs and cats are making most of their money on the animals and just have some pet supplies to try to make themselves look legit.

[sganow]

There is a pet store near us that sells puppies and pets but I have never been in there (Petland I think?)? See, I'm not even totally sure of the name. I don't know what foods they sell or what their prices are, and I don't intend to ever go in there. In fact I stay away from it completely. I buy from a local pet food boutique store that also has a doggie daycare, or I buy online.

[Cherie6446]

I buy my koi from a pond store. That's all they sell. Try looking in your area for a pond store. They have great pond plants also. I would never buy anything at a store that sells birds, dogs, cats or warm blooded animals.
We aren't judging you - you have to buy where you can. Just try looking at other shops.

[CouversMom]

No, I do not support stores that sell puppies or kittens. I do however occasionally shop at Petsmart and Petco. I try to use my local pet store as often as possible, but because they are more out of the way, I occasionally use Petsmart and Petco. We did have a PetLand here a couple of years ago, and I would walk around and look and hold the puppies, but I never spent a cent in there. I felt bad for the puppies, so I would go in and hold them so they could get out of the cages, but I did not support it. It was eventually shut down because they didn't make a profit. I feel happy knowing I did not support them and they went out of business

[chachi]

Originally Posted by Cherie6446

I buy my koi from a pond store. That's all they sell. Try looking in your area for a pond store. They have great pond plants also. I would never buy anything at a store that sells birds, dogs, cats or warm blooded animals.
We aren't judging you - you have to buy where you can. Just try looking at other shops.

The vast majority I do buy from our pond store but I wanted one with some size and the ones with some size are like $200 at the pond store and Im sure you know how ridiculous they are online. I dont even go in there but like once a year to look at koi and fancy goldfish. I know though Im a pretty principled person and I just probably should suck it up and not shop there even though I save alot of money. I like to give the pond store my money anyway because they gave us alot of tips on how to do our pond so I like to give them our money

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by chachi

I admit I am guilty of it and I feel bad about it. I have an aquarium and a pond in my back yard and I do buy fish and fish supplies from the pet store because they have the best selection and thats the only things I buy from there. I could buy some of the fish online but not all but its also expensive to buy fish online because you have to pay a $60-70 shipping fee. These arent your typical tropical fish you can get at pet supply places. They are koi and fancy goldfish so Im kinda stuck. I try to buy most of my koi from the pond store though but I did buy one that had some size to it from the pet store last year for $70 that are priced at $200 at the pond store. Im sorry I hope you dont judge me I would never buy a dog or a cat or any animal from a pet store and I dont like it that I buy fish there but I dont have too many other choices.

I see nothing wrong with buying fish from a pet store either. A fish can live its entire life in an aquarium and be happy. The fish’s mom and dad are probably being treated right too, otherwise they die. Also, You have no way of knowing if the online places you buy from are any better than the local pet store. I personally wouldn't spend too much on fish, until your pond has stablized, and it can take around 3 years for this to happen.


I hope people are as strict about not buying dogs online as they are about not buying from a pet store. Remember, the dogs sold at a pet store have to come from licensed breeders, and this means someone is inspecting the kennels. The dogs sold directly to the public do not have to have any inspections what so all, and these are usually the worst puppy mills of all. Pet stores are one step up from buying online.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by CouversMom

No, I do not support stores that sell puppies or kittens. I do however occasionally shop at Petsmart and Petco. I try to use my local pet store as often as possible, but because they are more out of the way, I occasionally use Petsmart and Petco. We did have a PetLand here a couple of years ago, and I would walk around and look and hold the puppies, but I never spent a cent in there. I felt bad for the puppies, so I would go in and hold them so they could get out of the cages, but I did not support it. It was eventually shut down because they didn't make a profit. I feel happy knowing I did not support them and they went out of business

Also, Petsmart and Petco have adoptions for rescues for dogs and cats, and this saves a few lives too.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I see nothing wrong with buying fish from a pet store either. A fish can live its entire life in an aquarium and be happy. The fish’s mom and dad are probably being treated right too, otherwise they die. Also, You have no way of knowing if the online places you buy from are any better than the local pet store. I personally wouldn't spend too much on fish, until your pond has stablized, and it can take around 3 years for this to happen.


I hope people are as strict about not buying dogs online as they are about not buying from a pet store. Remember, the dogs sold at a pet store have to come from licensed breeders, and this means someone is inspecting the kennels. The dogs sold directly to the public do not have to have any inspections what so all, and these are usually the worst puppy mills of all. Pet stores are one step up from buying online.

That is the first time I have heard to wait untill your pond stabilizes before spending too much on fish. I quess it has to cycle like an aquarium does right? The pond store told me I could safely add fish right away. I spent $70 on one fish from the pet store because he had size but the rest are less than that because they are small. I love them though and watch them like a hawk and would be heartbroken to lose one.

I agree about buying online and see on here often and I even had that perception once that is an accepted place to buy a pup. Unless you have been to the breeders house you will never know for sure you didnt just buy a puppymill dog.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by chachi

That is the first time I have heard to wait untill your pond stabilizes before spending too much on fish. I quess it has to cycle like an aquarium does right? The pond store told me I could safely add fish right away. I spent $70 on one fish from the pet store because he had size but the rest are less than that because they are small. I love them though and watch them like a hawk and would be heartbroken to lose one.

I agree about buying online and see on here often and I even had that perception once that is an accepted place to buy a pup. Unless you have been to the breeders house you will never know for sure you didnt just buy a puppymill dog.

Yeah, I know, people condemn a pet store and see nothing wrong with buying from a website.


I did lose one and it did break my heart. This fish was so friendly and let me hand feed it. It takes a while before the pond stabilizes, you might have an overgrowth of algae or different other things until your plants are larger. You can safely add fish right away, and in fact, your pond will never stabilize without fish, but you might lose some in the beginning. Koi are very temperamental regarding water quality, and it needs it to be so much better than what goldfish can tolerate. The ammonia from the fish feeds the biofilter and this in turn works with the plants to make good healthy water. After about three years you have a self-sustaining ecosystem that you don’t have to do much besides pump and adding water. By the way, have you heard of koi clay? It does great things for clearing up water, and this can be really helpful when a pond is new or after a windstorm. It also is good for the fish to eat and they say their colors are better with the clay. It also keeps string algae in check which can be a real problem at first. You want a small growth of algae on your liner, it's very pretty, but it can quickly get out of hand and grow into large clumps when things aren't balanced.

[chachi]

I havent heard of the koi clay but Ill look into it thank you! The algae in my pond is crazy right now because we had a warm winter but it wasnt warm enough to treat the pond so the algae grew. We got the stuff to treat it and we are just waiting for it to get to 50 degrees so it will work. I hate algae I like the pond to be crystal clear. We also get the string algae because we have a stream and waterfall and string algae loves streams. We have treated the stream though and killed the algae. Im interested in the koi clay though because I really dont like to have algae but it is good to have some so the koi can eat off of it in the winter when you dont feed them. If it balances the pond and is also good for the fish Im all for it thanks again