Silly advice from the lfs

[TylerFerretLord]

I was at petsmart and i said i would like to get a mollie( female), so she asked me about all the things i had in my tank( which is a first), so then i tell her that i have 1 male and 2 female dalmation mollies. SHe looks at me like i am stupid, and says that mollies are a egg layng cichlid that need a 55 gallon tank with alot of filtration and a temp of 100 degree's. She said that you cannot keep 2 of the same fish becasue they will beat eachother up and lay eggs inside of eachother. So then i point out that they keep like 50 in one tank and they are laying eggs inside of eachother( i was almost bursting with laughter),she said taht is becasue i shook the bag up real well before i put them in, and i i catch them everymorning and take them outta of the water for 30 seconds so they dont fight. Dont you think she was retarted. Also, half the mollies were dead so i left the room.

That's... Just... Holy hell.

Just the other day I was scoping out this new store and while I was looking at the angels (Very pretty, but a little ragged), when one of the assistants came up and said i should never keep them with neon tetras (was looking at them before), then continued and said that the neons would eat the angels.

 

[vinylman]

Blimey, there's some real nightmares here. I'm really fortunate in that I found an 'ordinary' pet shop (Pet City) that has a guy in the fish section who really knows and loves his stuff. Never in four years have I had one bum piece of advice or guidance; he's even dissuaded me from buying certain fish. I feel for any newcomers to the hobby being exposed to some of the numbnuts that are allowed to sell fish.

 

[CathyGo]

I was at petsmart and i said i would like to get a mollie( female), so she asked me about all the things i had in my tank( which is a first), so then i tell her that i have 1 male and 2 female dalmation mollies. SHe looks at me like i am stupid, and says that mollies are a egg layng cichlid that need a 55 gallon tank with alot of filtration and a temp of 100 degree's. She said that you cannot keep 2 of the same fish becasue they will beat eachother up and lay eggs inside of eachother. So then i point out that they keep like 50 in one tank and they are laying eggs inside of eachother( i was almost bursting with laughter),she said taht is becasue i shook the bag up real well before i put them in, and i i catch them everymorning and take them outta of the water for 30 seconds so they dont fight. Dont you think she was retarted. Also, half the mollies were dead so i left the room.

Kind of an old topic but if you get THAT bad of advice from somebody at PetSmart call corporate and report the conversation and who you had it with. I work at PetSmart and complaints to corporate are taken seriously. They might even ask to talk with her the next time they do a corporate walk. Even if they only order her to to read their pamphlets on livebearers she'll be better educated. Those were always great for sending new tank owners home with especially if they had kids. The kids could read through them while the tank was getting set up and water temp stabilized before they got the fish. One of them was on new tanks and had a fairly good explanation of cycling. Not fishless but pure ammonia is REALLY hard to find out here.

 

[aimeec]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents, seeing as someone else bumped this thread.

From a specialised aquarium store I was sold 2 Male Paradise Gouramis to go with my goldfish and quote "Because they are peaceful fish and like cold water".

And a differest LFS told me that fresh water tanks dont need cycling. Only saltwater tanks do.

Another LFS told me Peacock eels only eat goldfish flakes.