Was At The Fish Shop Yesterday......

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Yeah, tonnes of exotic fish. They had about 9 different varieties of cory, every tetra under the sun and some cool looking spiney eels. They also had some epic looking apistogrammas, different varieties of brisltenose and a display tank from heaven. The display tank was large enough to fit a full grown man in it. Looked to me to be about ~2 meter long up had sharks, barbs, gouramis, tetras, cichlids, cories and Plecos.
 
Ha this isnt exactly what an employee did wrong, but i went searching my two local pet stores for arowanas today, and to ask if they ever get them in because ive never seen one at either. The first one i went to, i asked an employee, "Do you guys ever get any Arowanas in?" his response was "Uhhhh.... whats that? Is it a lizard?" It took so much not to face palm. However my other LFS, my favourite one, has one or two female employees that do have some good information, one more than the other. so i asked her and she was smart enough to say that they don't order them unless a customer specifically asks for one, because they dont realize how big they get, and shes only ever seen one. I was actually impressed with the store for doing so...Although they still sell shovelnose/red tail hybrids, and currently have a red tail...
 
In my opinion it is all on the idiots that buy them, the shops don't help but their hands are tied as they want to make money. Someone who buys a RTC is soon going to need a bigger tank, and more tankmates, and lots and lots of food. The internet is a huge resource and most people can access it anytime, even in their lfs.

If you are looking for idiots to berate, may I suggest Facebook groups? So far on my local fish group I have seen someone with a juvenile wolf fish in a fluval edge and the worst, claims of a wels catfish in a 100l! Two species I didn't even know you could get in the aquarium trade, and probably only know they exist courtesy of the show River Monsters. Why you would want to keep these fish is beyond me, maybe they're too young or poor to buy stupid sports cars but they still have issues with their manhood.
 
KrystaK said:
Gold fish for a 5 gal is about the worst, I've heard...
 
No the worst is buying gold fish for some bachelor party game
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When I was very little I remember we had a gold fish and a single zebra danio in a 3 gal... They both lived for three years
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Zebra danios will survive a nuclear holocaust!
 
My school does "eco-columns" and there was one left in about a quart (probably only a pint and a half) of water.  No heater, no water circulation let alone filtration and a lot of uneaten fish food.  I was able to rescue it and bring it back to health.  It survived another 6 months after that.  (Personally I hate the eco-column project and wish I could get it ended.)
 
This is an interesting subject and one that unless regulated will always have the "bad" fish stores.  Locally to me there are three close to each other, yet customers often only know of one of them!  For me I want to know who licences them, because if a store constantly has dying fish and sells them when they are sick, then writing to management is unlikely to have the desired affect?  Does anyone know who licences a fish store in the UK?  I did some research but could not find anything concrete on the subject.
 
In my case the good store will not sell a tank with fish, and have had customers say "well we will go up the road then, they will sell us them together".  So they loose the sale for being responsible and the "bad" store with sick fish etc., get the sale!  As Lock-Man said in his comment, at the end of the day a LFS needs sales to survive, especially competing with the internet, so trying to be responsible looses a store the sale - it is madness.
 
I have come across a number of people who state "oh, I used to keep fish, but I gave up as they kept dying".  When I ask them where they got their fish from it is the "bad" store.  For me it is about educating people gently so that they learn the correct way to care for their fish and advise them that they need to go to another store (recommend the better one) and try again.
 
I started fishkeeping In 2004. As a beginner I did all the commom mistakes a beginner normally does and to be honest some that not even a beginner will ever think of doing.
The day I bought my first tank was an example.I bought a 60 litre tank in a supermarket store. Instead of going home and assemble the tank I went to my lfs and bought alot off fish without any idea of size and needs. The shop owner did not question even when I mentioned the tank was still empty in the back of my car. I did not mess up much in regards to size of the fish but I took 2 bettas one male and a female. And the lady did not mention not being abble to keep 2 males together. Something that did not happened because she only had one.
Anyway I took my fish home and they stayed in the bags untill I finished setting the tank, that was an adventure on its own.
I poured the gravel in without washing. And had no idea about tap water being bad so I put my fish in just like that.
Of course the tank was a mess as the gravel came full of sand, so I took the fish out again an restarted the whole thing.
A few days after I noticed the surface I put the tank in was not strong enough was at risk of collapse. Once again I took the poor fish, teared down the tank and moved it to a safer stand.
I know this is more about my mistakes than the fish shop but in my head the lady in the fish shop could have made a big difference if she cared.when I mentioned my tank being empty in my car she just had to mention that fish cannot be kept in a tank that has just been set. My own curiosity would have done the rest and avoided most of these mistakes.
This went on for months untill I was ready to give up as my fish kept dying almost at a daily basis.
And this lady was making money out of me with more and more fish that just died without apparent reason to my knowledge. I was sharing my agony with her and she was not even giving me a clue. Only more fish to die and chemicals.
Desperate and ready to throw in the towell I searched the net and found a forum just like this one. When all the mistakes I had done became obvious to me I felt horrible. I was not a fishkeeper I was a fishkiller.
I never went back to that shop and when the lady saw me on the street I use to tell her I had given up on fishkeeping.
I still have a natural mistrust of lfs and it took me 7 years to find one that actually deserve my trust. And only after I moved to the uk.
 
Mikey1 said:
You know that, and I know that, but the unsuspecting customers likely don't know that.
 
yes i agree but, the problem isn't the fish store or employees, its the customers, most wont listen anyway
 
LFS "you know these plecos get big and not really suitable for your tank"
 
mommy and daddy "well my kids like them, we will take one anyway"
I get this treatment a lot where I work and in that instance I'd have to refuse the sale due to the care requirements not being met for the animal. I regularly hold workshops for the kids and parents anyway and get them to grips with the basics of the nitrogen cycle and how it'll benefit their fish in the long run. A little patience goes miles in this hobby.
 
I made a woman change her mind about buying more fish last time I was in the shop buying my own fish.  I forget what fish she had now, something aggressive that she hated and she longed for little colorful fish.  I taught her all about platies (which is what she was thinking to buy), taught her how to sex them, what they needed, how to feed them and suggested she contact an aquarist group to rehome her fish to someone who could care for it.  AND... it was a good experience.  She decided to wait on platies and hadn't known it was even possible to rehome fish.
 
Mikey1 said:
fish are alot more difficult to take care of than your average household pet....
 
what do you do for a dog or cat?....take him to the vet once a year, the work is done for you....give him a bowl of food and some water....a bit of neglect will not kill your average household pet, like it will a fish....thats the difference
Wow, if that's all you do for a dog, I hope you don't have any?!
 
Electric Warrior said:
fish are alot more difficult to take care of than your average household pet....
 
what do you do for a dog or cat?....take him to the vet once a year, the work is done for you....give him a bowl of food and some water....a bit of neglect will not kill your average household pet, like it will a fish....thats the difference
Wow, if that's all you do for a dog, I hope you don't have any?!
 
 
was not talking about myself, was speaking about the "average" pet owner,
 
i dont owe you any explanation, but just FYI i do have a dog which is the love of my life, he is walked twice a day everyday, and taken pretty much everywhere i go
 
I think Mike was using hyperbole to make a point.  In other words, its easier to neglect fish than other pets.  I agree with that.  Fish don't cry at the door when they need to go out, they don't jump in your face to remind you about things.  Fish don't have the 'luxury' of being able to breathe the same air quality that you yourself enjoy.
 
Well good for you then, but your previous post just worried me because there are way too many people that think that way. It's horrific how many dogs end up in, or return to shelters because owners can't handle them, never mind any neglect issues. It's like people that get bully's like staffies, pit bull terriers, Amstaffs, etc., and no know nothing about the breed or don't realise that these dogs require far more training, socialisation, and excersize than your average family dog.
 
eaglesaquarium said:
I think Mike was using hyperbole to make a point.  In other words, its easier to neglect fish than other pets.  I agree with that.  Fish don't cry at the door when they need to go out, they don't jump in your face to remind you about things.  Fish don't have the 'luxury' of being able to breathe the same air quality that you yourself enjoy.
 
 
yes you are 100% correct, thanks, that was exactly what i was trying to say, you just worded it better
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Electric Warrior said:
It's horrific how many dogs end up in, or return to shelters because owners can't handle them, never mind any neglect issues
 
 
yes i agree with you, and appreciate your concern
 

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