Seeing Red!

[Harlequins]

Now i don't want to start a war about raging about lfs, but i couldn't help my shock & horror when i was browsing some fish at a local 'store' - quite a few dead fish in tanks etc,etc...
Anyhows i overheard a customer talking to an assistant,saying her tank had been set up about a week and she would now like to add fish and asked what she would recommend,so the assistant said if she adds some biological liquid to aid the filter,so hence picked up the biggest bottle of filter aid!! then she would reccommend adding some neon tetras has these are ideal first fish in a new tank, then obviously the customer wanted more fish and was asking what other ones she could have then showing her the corys and RTS etc... i was stood there shaking my head whilst this assistant with probably little knowledge was planning all the fish for this customer and then said come back in a few days and she add some more...another assistant came up to me to see if i wanted any help,i said to her that there was numerous dead fish around,and she said they hadn't had time to fish them out,( at least she was honest about that!!) i said is it common policy to always let peeps fully stock tanks when barely a week old. Oh we sell them additives for that was her reply,with that she obviously wanted to escape my grasp...

I couldn't help myself i apologised for interrupting them and said to the customer had she thought about fishless cycling,which i got a blank stare,i advised her to read up on it and if she really wanted to take fish home to start with a few danios and buy a testing kit to test the water.With that the assistant said o yes,danios are a good start with neons!!

I gave up after that,has i could see the assistant was determined to flog the whole works to her...

O well that customer will learn the hard way,but unfortunely its the fish that will suffer yet again,and the lfs will rub its hands in glee when more money comes through the tills when she loses them!!

 

[This Old Spouse]

I honestly wish you had been nearby when I stocked my tank from the lfs! Not knowing then what I know now, I put my trust in the lfs employee, whom I later determined hadn't a clue about anything fish related. I think I'm fairly lucky, though, having lost only a few fish. My remaining fish are healthy and happy in a nice, clear tank. There is no way to know what you DON'T know when starting up a new aquarium. Newbies rely on the lfs staff to know what the heck they're talking about, when in fact all they're trying to do is make a sale. The welfare of the fish is NOT their number one priority, unfortunately. All I can say now is thank goodness I found this site and am trying to educate myself as best I can by reading as many posts as I can about the fish I have. Not that it's always easy trying to get answers or determine what's best because of many conflicting opinions, but I feel I know MUCH more now than I did a couple months ago.

 

[Skins]

Now i don't want to start a war about raging about lfs, but i couldn't help my shock & horror when i was browsing some fish at a local 'store' - quite a few dead fish in tanks etc,etc...
Anyhows i overheard a customer talking to an assistant,saying her tank had been set up about a week and she would now like to add fish and asked what she would recommend,so the assistant said if she adds some biological liquid to aid the filter,so hence picked up the biggest bottle of filter aid!! then she would reccommend adding some neon tetras has these are ideal first fish in a new tank, then obviously the customer wanted more fish and was asking what other ones she could have then showing her the corys and RTS etc... i was stood there shaking my head whilst this assistant with probably little knowledge was planning all the fish for this customer and then said come back in a few days and she add some more...another assistant came up to me to see if i wanted any help,i said to her that there was numerous dead fish around,and she said they hadn't had time to fish them out,( at least she was honest about that!!) i said is it common policy to always let peeps fully stock tanks when barely a week old. Oh we sell them additives for that was her reply,with that she obviously wanted to escape my grasp...

I couldn't help myself i apologised for interrupting them and said to the customer had she thought about fishless cycling,which i got a blank stare,i advised her to read up on it and if she really wanted to take fish home to start with a few danios and buy a testing kit to test the water.With that the assistant said o yes,danios are a good start with neons!!

I gave up after that,has i could see the assistant was determined to flog the whole works to her...

O well that customer will learn the hard way,but unfortunely its the fish that will suffer yet again,and the lfs will rub its hands in glee when more money comes through the tills when she loses them!!

Same thing happened to me in Pets at home, but the assistant advised the customer to come back in three days time for the fish after they have let there new tank settle.