Went To An Lfs

Piltdownpaul · May 24, 2008

I got asked today before buying any fish (guppies) whether i knew about the ratio of males to females and breeding habits. This took me back ( i was really surprised ) as i wasnt expecting this. I said i bred guppies etc and was aware of what she was telling me and she said " i have to inform you or i wouldnt be doing my job". Its nice to know some staff are on the ball. I did see 2 tetras with neon tetra disease in the tank and pointed them out to my wife. The member of staff overheard me and said that is what some of them are like. So maybe not 100% helpful but well on the way. But in the same shop ,maybe 50% of the tanks had a dead fish in them. I can never understand that-surely they should remove them straight away as it doesnt look good. Anyhow the fish i bought came from a tank with no corpses and they looked healthy (You never know with guppies). So big thumbs up for the staff but as my old teacher used to say "could do better!"........

bam_emma · May 24, 2008

When i first went to my LFS to get my first ever lot of tropical fish, i asked the man for some advice as i was starting out and never done it before.

I told him i had a 30l tank and i was wanting some platys, he then said i could have 5 tetras as well as 5 platys.
So he bagged them up for me as i thought it must be ok as he works there.

Anyhow another member of staff came over coz i was asking him about food or something and he looked in the bad i had and was like why have you got that many to start out a tank, i was like coz the man over there told me i could lol

He took the tetras off me and said the platys would be enough.

So not everyone knows what there talking about!!!!!!

pauly · May 24, 2008

So not everyone knows what there talking about!!!!!!

but how do you know who was right? A lot of advice is down to personal opinions, hence the variability of it.

snoopyfrench87 · May 24, 2008

as a LFS employee; i am very glad to finally see some one saying something nice about us.

yes we do make mistakes; we are only human, and yes there are fish dead in some tanks (we are often soo rushed off our feet that we dont notice them instantly) - but fish are goign to die, they have had a stressful journey to the store, they are in large shoals and get net being flung in every few minutes; its not that we dont know how to care for them or dont care - its just life - fish will die in stressful situations; in my store we attempt to lower the stress by adding live plants, and caves etc to the tanks - this however annoys custoemrs because we take too long to move objects - to try and catch the fish without stressing them.

I feel i will tell customers what they need to know to the best of my knowledge; if there is something i dont know i will say that and i will go and research it for them, or give them a book to read up before they purchase anything.

I hate when we all get labeled with the same bad name; its hard enough with stroppy customers - telling us they want nemo; and saying they have the tank blah blah, then gettting arsey when u try explaining nemo cant live in a tropical tank!

i even had someone come in and shout at me because i refused to sell her 14 year old (spoilt brat) 4 clown loaches, and a fighter fish for a goldfish bowl!

some people are impossible - so next time you get some good advice from a fish shop worker - let us know; its nice to be recognised for something good! :good:

Piltdownpaul · May 25, 2008

It made a change in this shop as the advice (and service) has been poor for years. She was quite youngish too which is encouraging. I just wish all staff were that knowledgable.

Mind you some months back we went into b&q to buy a cordless drill. My wife wasnt sure which was the best for what we required. She asked a member of staff for advice and he came along -stood next to us and then read the label information off the shelf-muppet. Still you pay peanuts and you get monkeys.!

shelaghfishface · May 25, 2008

lol your right paul, that happens quite a lot if we think about it ( label reading by staff)....even in chemists ,which is quire scarey!

anyway its nice to hear an LFS getting positive feedback for a change, hope it stays like that for you !

shelagh xxxxx

Piltdownpaul · May 25, 2008

Well it didnt work for b&q because they didnt get a sale in the end so paying some lacky pocket money lost them some big money. I suppose its like any big chain-the human touch disappears. A small aquarium shop always gives better service i find.

tenohfive · May 25, 2008

I've got a theory that it comes down to whether the LFS employee you speak to has an interest in the fish themselves. I was in a P@H shop recently and the young lad in there grew up in a house where the garage was used purely for breeding livebearers, and as such he knew his stuff. In the same shop was another lad who's knowledge was minimal and who (whilst attempting to be helpful, I can't knock his intent) wasn't the sort of person I'd ask advice from again.

Those LFS employee's who take it home with them and keep fish themselves know what works in the home aquarium. Those who are there because its just a job (and theres nothing wrong with that) will only have experience of fishkeeping in a shop environment-which isn't close to home aquaria. So their practical knowledge will be less.

You take it for granted that someone working in a fish shop knows about fish-same as any other shop. So you remember when they don't, and I suspect thats why LFS employee's get some stick.

**Disclaimer: this is just a theory, feel free to discuss and disagree-but if I find a horses head outside my door when I wake up, I draw the line there.

Aphotic Phoenix · May 25, 2008

I've got a theory that it comes down to whether the LFS employee you speak to has an interest in the fish themselves.

Really depends how much they are into fish, and how responsible a pet owner they are. Have met a lot of pet shop employees that apparently decide to start a tank since they're working in the shop, but don't bother to further educate themselves on how to properly take care of their fish. This sometimes makes them worse because then they have "first hand experience", when in reality their tank hasn't been set up long enough for the impeding bad results.