A thought of mine about LFS

[DragonFish71]

With the ease of internet access these days, there really should be no reason that people should go into pet stores totally uninformed.

That says it all right there and a lot nicer than I would say it.

 

[Bl80]

That says it all right there and a lot nicer than I would say it.

I agree...

 

[Rosenweiss]

I have a story--just went to Petco today and they said that a common pleco gets, ADULT SIZE, 4-12 inches. I wanted to tell them off, seriously. The only way a pleco would stay that size is if it was stunted to death.

 

[Oblivion]

sadly, there is people out there who expect the local pet store/fish store to know everything about everything, which is literally impossible.

the first few fish i bought were just "looks nice, ill have it."
then i bought a victorian cichlid by mistake, astatotilapia latifasciata.
the male was a complete jerk and about a week later i returned him and got another male (but kept the original female i had)

he grew, gained colour, bred with the female (i now have 8 fry) and within a few days i seen him being a jerk to others including:

-dragging my pleco across the tank by its fin.
-pleco has a bit missing from his tail, and one of the fins behind the gill (pectoral fin ??)
-a small silver shark with the tip of its dorsal fin missing.
-one of my bigger sharks (approx 10cm/4") missing the lower tip of its tail.
-my other male cichlids spin around quick and flare up if he ever approaches from behind.

the breeding pair went back to the fish store pretty quick, and i still have 8 "jerks" to return when they grow up.

caveat emptor
i now note the fish species and go home and research it before purchasing.
if i want it i come back to the fish store a 2nd time. its a pain in the arse, but it beats coming back to the store a 2nd time to return unwanted fish.

for some reason, returning fish to the store makes me feel so guilty... like im returning an unwanted dog to the pound or something

 

[BeavisMom62]

Yes, true, hukit But it would be nice if they were newbie friendly. I realize that people should do their research, but you get a newbie talking to a friend who's had a tank for years (does it all wrong, but just got lucky), goes by their advice, not knowing any better. There really should be someone at the lfs to at least steer people in the right direction, not necessarily being experts. I mean, you go to buy a car and the salesman can tell you everything about the car (of course what they tell you about financing is a different story!). They know their product. And its like that at lots of places where you buy anything. Usually the salesman at least knows their product, they might do anything to make the sale, but they know what they are selling. LFS it seems, generally don't.

But again, its true, you should still do your research and caveat emptor.

 

[BeavisMom62]

True, that! And I know what you mean about returning fish. I always feel bad about it.

 

[Bl80]

Kinda like a weatherman..... Lol but I agree ... Ppl should at least know about what they are selling... Or at minimum have references avail to look up or answer ur questions.....