My First Mistake

[FoscoSands]

Hi,

I started my first tropical tank a few weeks ago and for the first couple of weeks just had Neon Tetras in there while I was deciding what else to have. The Rainbow Sharks had always caught my eye anytime I was at an aquarium or pet shop and one day, decided to get "some". Normally I'm the sort of person to research something before I jump in but this time I didn't. So I asked the pet store for 2 Rainbow sharks. The lady there said I should only keep them in odd numbers, so not wanting the little fella to be alone I purchased 3. Since then everywhere I look I see that they should be kept on their own.

I guess my questions are...

Was the lady at the pet store correct or is she just trying to turn a profit?

Am I able to take 2 back to the store without any drama?

I am kicking myself for the impulse buy as this is the very reason I don't normally do that!

Thanks for any advice.. this is a fantastic forum btw. Have just stumbled across it tonight. Feels like home already!

Fosco

 

[jacko32]

hi the pet store is wrong they should only be kept 1 to a tank also if its a new tank did you fishless cycle the tank first if not adding more fish will only result in dead fish sorry if im the bearer of bad news
oh lastly the neons can be very sensative to new tanks

have you looked in the begginers resource section theres some great info in there which will really help you out

 

[FoscoSands]

hi the pet store is wrong they should only be kept 1 to a tank also if its a new tank did you fishless cycle the tank first if not adding more fish will only result in dead fish sorry if im the bearer of bad news
oh lastly the neons can be very sensative to new tanks

have you looked in the begginers resource section theres some great info in there which will really help you out

Hi Jacko,

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Yes I did do a nitrogen cycle before adding the neons. The filter I have on it came from my girlfriends turtle tank so already had heaps of beneficial bacteria. Still, I ran that filter for a couple of weeks then added a couple of feeders for another couple of weeks, has been about 3 weeks since then that i've had the tetras in there. Sorry if I wasn't more clear on that.

Also I tested the water for ammonia and nitrites to which they were both at 0 ppm

I'm am highly annoyed at the pet shop though, typical isn't it! A few extra bucks in their pocket at the expense of the fish. I'll head back in there tomorrow and see if I can return 2.

Thanks again.

 

[jacko32]

yes a lot of pet stores and garden centers can be like that i think unless its actually a shop that only sells fish most of the staff dont even know unless they keep fish themselfs

so how bigs your tank then must be pretty big if you had 3 sharks in there

 

[FoscoSands]

Hmm lesson learnt! Thanks mate.

My tank is 150L 3Ft long... Am very excited about it as I had to give up my old cold water tank when I little ones were born.

Do you have any suggestions as to what will go well with a rainbow shark? I'm having a great time researching all the possibilities but making up my mind is proving to be a challenge! So many directions to take the tank in...

This link is a vid of my tank.

 

[Jenste]

I have fun with my local pet stores - - I act like a complete newbie - - tell them i got this tank ready to go and need fish - - and then I let THEM stock it for me, pleading total ignorance.

I had this one woman try and stock my 35 gallon bow front with - - 5 bala sharks, 2 rainbow sharks, 2 common plecos, 1 albino bristlenose pleco, neons, green neons, a baby JD (!), a baby albino/reddish oscar, and a group of sword tails.

She was positively gushing....telling me that the balas are great in a group (true - - if you have an ENORMOUS tank...not the little 35 I have), that the rainbows were a male and a female and would breed for me (nearly an impossible fish to breed in the aquarium and impossible to sex!), that the common plecos stay under a few inches which was why i needed the albino bristlenose to help with the tank cleaning - and 3 was a good number because they are such minimal waste producers (HA!), neons and green neons would add "flash" to my tank, the JD and oscar were greatly exaggerated and would be fine in my tank....



so then she is getting ready to bag them all and I look at her and say, "ok, so at what point are you going to tell me that eventually all the sharks will end up killing eachother because as they get older they get very territorial and will need atleast a 5 foot tank, that the common plec will grow close to two feet, that neons should never be put in a new tank, and that the JD and Oscar are going to become enormous, most likely kill everything in the tank and will need a massive tank upgrade?"

she just looked at me - - shrugged and said..."you want the fish, we give them to you...what happens in your tank in not our concern" she then asked me that if I knew all of these fish were unsuitable, why did I let her keep going...and I told her it was because I wanted to see which she cared about more...making a few more dollars in profit, or the well being of the animals she has chosen to be responsible for. Then I left while she just gaped at me lmao

 

[FoscoSands]

OMG!!!

Hahaha you have totally got my emotions mixing at the moment! lol Firstly I can't believe the gaul of some people... Even as a noob I know that's way too much for a tank. She's got some nerve trying all of that on hey! haha wow!

Secondly, good for you putting the wind up her! I know it's not going to help, but I'm certainly going to give the pet store a serve for misleading me like that. Makes you wonder what other things they've done to the unsuspecting customer.

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[OldMan47]

I just watched the first part of your video. The BNP and neons are looking good. the white clouds may not appreciate the higher temperatures both the BNP and neons would prefer. I am not that familiar with your sharks but would expect no real trouble returning unsuitable fish to my LFS. I am sure they would know, but may not admit it, when they are selling me something they should not be. Any dramatics about me returning bad advice fish would mean they would never see me again. That would not be a threat but a fact in my case.
I have 3 pet shops that handle fish within 10 KM of my home and have another pair that are located as close as my fish club. With that many places to choose from, plus club auctions, I have no reason to deal with any one fish shop other than trust and a good relationship.
Let's look at my most local fish shop. I could walk to it and carry home my fish but they almost never get my business. They do not have good fish health, they are more expensive for equipment than on-line locations, even after I pay for shipping and they do nothing to help me have any desire to deal with them. Annual sales to me are probably less than $20. I have a LFS that is over 50 miles, 80 KM, away. It has a very good selection, cooperates with my fish club to give me a minor discount, always has the healthiest fish within my shopping distance and is very willing to work with me on getting the right stock for my tanks. The other 3 shops within striking distance are between these two in convenience and their willingness to work with me to get what I need in terms of fish and hardware. All of these other shops get far more business from me than the first place I mentioned. At my favorite, not very local fish shop, I spend over $100 per year, mostly on hard to find fish stock. Unless we, as hobbyists, are wiling to forgo buying from less respectable shops, they will continue to survive on the margins of the hobby and will do well with less informed customers. Instead, I like to give my business to the shop that works with my club to help us thrive and does all they can to support the hobbyists who use them as a source. That shop is deserving of my business unless they are completely out of line with their prices. In that case I will buy things on line instead of dealing with them.
On line sources of fish materials are a good source to investigate when comparing to local shops. A local shop should be able to match or even beat the best deal I can find on line after I take into account the shipping charges involved. Since the shop can buy from similar sources, they should be able to stock materials at less cost, by buying in bulk, and still compete with the on line stores. If they do not at least make that attempt, they deserve what they get in terms of total business volume.

 

[FoscoSands]

Thanks for the advice OldMan, I appreciate it!

I went into the place I bought the sharks from today and found a little resistance. The girl there told me the sharks got along fine in their tanks, to which I argued that that was because they were still young and not in there for very long. She then told me that due to it being a financial issue, I'd have to talk to the manager who was at lunch. I left my name and number and asked for the manager to call me... still waiting.

I have found a shop that is a little further away and has seem to offer the best advice so far, I think I'll be taking most of my business to him from now on.

*Edit - Good news, the store just called and will take the sharks back. Thanks everyone for all your advice.

 

[JoshuaA]

The BNP

You may want to use another acronym the BNP is an extreme far right party in the UK which causes much controversy.

 

[Assaye]

Great story, Jenste!

When I first started out I was advised that I could have a common plec, 5 neons and a betta in my 14 litre tank I even knew how big the plecs would get, having been gushing over their adult specimens, but the guy in the shop assured me it would take "years" for them to outgrow my tiny tank.

I never got the plec but did end up with 3 neons and a betta in that tank for a while (after two of the neons died).

Glad you've got the sharks sorted. Always do your research before you buy

OldMan is right - we like to moan about stores that don't look after their fish or give bad advice but many of us (myself included at times) return again and again to the store that is closest to us or cheapest for us, even if that store isn't great for fish welfare abd advice. I know in my case I can get to two P@H stores and a small "mamma and pappa" store but no further as I don't have a car and I'm not generally willing to get a train to the next city. I hate all three stores but unless I start buying fish online, I have to deal with them to keep up in the hobby. Being a student and thus with a low budget makes it even harder.

Must try harder!

 

[OldMan47]

I could use any such advice Joshua. I cannot begin to know the abbreviations of political parties in the dozens of countries where this forum is available. To me a BNP is simply a bristle nosed plecostomus and has nothing to do with any politics. Now GOP, NDP or similar abbreviations do mean something to me, being local political organization appellations. The GOP is the Grand Old Party, another name for the US Republican party while the NDP is the National Democratic Party which is a political party in Canada. I may even have more insight than most of the MODs by having been exposed to Canadian politics as a child. Many of the folks here are only really familiar with the politics in a single country.

 

[FoscoSands]

Hehe.. even in a fish forum conversations turn to politics!

To get back on topic, I returned two of the rainbow sharks today, unfortunately I had to virtually destroy my tank to catch the little tykes! So it seems a good opportunity to change the design up a bit as the one in the vids is my first attempt in many many years.

Oh and I now have a credit note at that LFS so perhaps will use it for food only!

Thanks again for the advice people. Much appreciated!

 

[Mattsissons]

thats weird about keeping rainbows on their own, ive got 2 rainbow sharks and a red tailed shark in the same tank and they get on fine with each other maybe im just lucky?

 

[kaivalagi]

Lucky for now, I assume they are quite small...wait until they get bigger...