If you wonder whether it’s a good idea to purchase some guppy fish PetSmart or not, I can give you a hint. Some say that guppies from PetSmart get sick easily. Some say that their guppies have been growing healthily and beautifully. What is the truth? From my experience, it’s worth picking up some pretty guppies from this brand when the store really cares for their animals. Here are 4 pros and 2 cons of purchasing guppies from PetSmart. I hope this helps!
4 Pros Of Purchasing Guppy Fish PetSmart
What does What does PetSmart have to offer? Personally, I’m mostly impressed by the variety, price, refund, and after-purchase policy and the ease of finding a PetSmart store at my local. Let me tell you the details.
Has A Good Variety Of Guppies
PetSmart’s variety of guppy options is quite impressive. If you are looking forward to filling the tank with guppies in different colors, you can do it with PetSmart. They have yellow guppies, turquoise guppies, Tequila Sunrise Delta guppies, etc.
And how do you purchase these beauties? PetSmart offers buyers the option of picking and paying online. Later, they will have to go and pick up the fish from a local store of this brand. Some may find this inconvenient, but I think it’s the best method to ensure the quality of the fish that you are buying. At any rate, it’s nearly impossible to pick a good guppy through a commercial photo.
The local PetSmart store you pick will save the reservation, and buyers select the fish with the right size, specie, color, etc. This process ensures that you end up with a healthy fish with characteristics that you are satisfied with.
Cheap Price
Generally speaking, guppies are affordable pets with beautiful and colorful appearances. That’s why they are one of the best starter fish for aquarists. Compared to swordtails, angelfish, and especially bettas, guppies are significantly cheaper to purchase and maintain.
How many guppies should you buy for a 10-gallon tank? An adult guppy is about 2 inches long, fairly small compared to other community fishes. So for a 10-gallon tank, you should be able to keep 4-5 guppies. I wouldn’t recommend more since a crowded and small tank will require more upkeep, and it will stress the guppies out.
Refund Or Replace Sick Guppies For Free
PetSmart published a policy that specifies that if the fishes that customers purchase manifest unfavorable health conditions, buyers have the right to replace them or refund them in the first 14 days after picking them up from their stores.
PetSmart Stores Are Everywhere
This company has tons of stores in every city, so it won’t be difficult for customers to go and purchase guppies in retail. Even though it’s more convenient to buy the fish online and have them shipped to your doorstep, I still suggest that you go to the stores to see how active they are in the community tank with other fish of the same species. It’s essential to know how each branch store treats their animals.
2 Cons Of Purchasing Guppy Fish PetSmart
There are 2 mejor issues that I find common in purchasing guppies from PetSmart. And they are:
Doesn’t Ship Live Fishes
While many other stores or brands offer to ship over the US of live fishes, PetSmart doesn’t include this service, which means customers only have one way to get guppies from them: go to the stores to pick them up. PetSmart also doesn’t offer to ship foods or products that get damaged easily, like glass aquariums.
Fish’s Quality And Health Depend On Each Store
This is the part that troubles me the most because it makes getting healthy guppies harder and depends totally on buyers’ experience. The health condition and the color of the fish vary a lot in each PetSmart store. If the workers pay attention to the well-being of the animals they are taking care of, there is no doubt that you will get healthy guppies from a peaceful community.
If the workers are involved in the breeding process of guppies and ignore the fries, male to female ratio, stress level, water condition, etc., the guppies will only survive a few days after you purchase them.
5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Guppies As Pets
If you are still hesitant about keeping guppies as pets, let me show you five reasons why raising them is worth it.
Beautiful Colors
Male guppies are generally more colorful and flashy than females. But in general, guppies are magnificent fish with various caudal fin designs. The color of guppies ranges from a simple red-orange tone in the entire body to specks of 3 or more colors that scatter from the body to the tail fin. You can catch turquoise guppies with traces of metallic silver color. Overall, I will always opt for guppies when I want affordable and pretty pet fish.
Easy To Maintain
Guppies are peaceful fish, and they don’t require much in their natural habitat. Since they are tropical fish, guppies survive in warm water temperatures, which should vary from 75-82 degrees F.
Like many other aquatic species, male guppies can get aggressive with tank mates when there isn’t enough food or mating opportunity. Male guppies will fight if they have to compete to mate with a female. So a big tank with hiding spots and a safe male-to-female ratio is what we need.
As for their diet, guppies can consume different types of food, from plant-base to tiny larvae. You can feed them with baby brine shrimps, algae, mosquito larvae, etc. They can even feed broccoli, cauliflower, or lettuce if the vegetables are minced small enough.
Easy To Breed For Commercial Purposes
If both males and females are in the same tank, they will naturally breed without needing our intervention. A female guppy’s pregnancy lasts for a month, and each time they give birth to 20-30 babies. Matured ones can reproduce up to 80 guppies.
Cheap Pets
Guppies are easy to get and affordable to invest in. PetSmart sells guppies at a very low price. There are also other platforms like Live Aquaria or Amazon, but guppies are slightly more expensive.
Quite Peaceful Fish Specie
Guppies will compose very peacefully if the living condition is right and there are more females than males in the tank. They can live up to 5 years in the ideal environment. If not, they live around 2-3 years on average.
Video: Guppies From PetSmart
FAQs
How much is a guppy worth?
It depends on each guppy’s rarity, growth, health condition, etc. But if you are looking to buy one, a basic guppy on PetSmart costs about 4-5 dollars. But in general, the price varies a lot. You should expect to purchase a guppy for anywhere between 5 to 30 dollars.
Do PetSmart sell guppy?
Yes, PetSmart sells guppies, and they offer them in various colors. By far, this store is the one that sells guppies at the most affordable price. Nevertheless, the quality of guppies is not consistent, which requires buyers’ attention and knowledge about the fish to get healthy ones on the spot.
Can guppies live with swordtails?
Yes, they can. These community fishes can cohabitate peacefully if owners set up the tank with enough space for them to swim around freely and provide enough food to avoid fighting. I also suggest having some greens at the bottom of the tank as hiding places for young fries or weak ones to hide when some tank mates turn aggressive.
How long can guppies live?
In a standard living condition with enough food and space, ideal water temperature, and suitable tank mates, a guppy can live up to 3 years.
Annette M. Chaney is an experienced marine biologist with over 20 years of experience as an aquarist and fishkeeper. She started her first aquarium at a young age, filling it with frogs and goldfish obtained from the ten-cent pet store.
Annette grew up caring for and breeding African Cichlids, which led to a hobby in high school that doubled as a profitable means. Attending Reed College gave her time to solidify herself as an accomplished aquarium caretaker with an eye for sales. After that, from 2009 – 2013, she studied at Roger Williams University – one of the most prestigious universities for Aquaculture and Aquarium in USA. She is the founder of AquariumCircle since 2010.