:( mean fishyman at the fishstore

[Quake2player]

On the postive side... my local Petco or Persmart has a 2 week "guarentee" on all of their FISH... and 2 weeks is my quararantine period... most of the small mom/pop places don't do this in my area.

... and to be fair, if I was a college kid looking for a summer job at a Petco and NEVER surfed online for fish information, I'd be just as clueless about fishless cycling .

BTW, for those who have worked at an LFS like Petco/Petsmart... those multi-tank systems look like they share all of the same water system or at least it seems that way. If so, how in the world can a large variety of fish share the same type of water?

 

[pltrbill]

Don't know about those Petsmart systems but with ours the warm water tanks share a common source/ bio wheel. The same for the cold water tanks.

That's really the only seperation......

 

[Guest]

I started keeping a freshwater aquarium about 2 months ago, and everything is going great, but my LFS is pretty good. Most of the people there know what they're talking about, but i've done a lot of research myself so that I would be educated. i now feel like I know more than they do sometimes when i go in to get supplies, they try to sell me a bunch of extra crap that i don't need< and they even tried to discourage me when i wanted to convert to all live plants! They said "well, its hard because you have to buy special lights and substrate... etc." I did my research, i knew what i needed, and if they really want to sell, why would they discourage me? i got what i needed of course, but sometimes it irks me at how they treat customers.

 

[fishyrican]

half the time the people working in mass pet stores know nothing

Speaking of one of the large pet store chains, I went in to one that is near my house to pick up some blackwater extract. The store I normally visit was closed and I happened to be driving by this one. The clerk told me she had never heard of it. I explained that it was a water conditioning product. She called the manager over and he said that they did not carry it and that it was probably not a good thing to add to my tank anyway. They did, however, show me the pH-altering powders.

Oh well.

 

[extremenewb]

Hopefully one day, when sales reps and even managers are humble enough to admit they may not know the same amount as the customer they're serving, such idiocy won't run so rampant in our large pet store chains. They may even pick up something, and stop selling and stocking rubbish to their customers

 

[electrikat]

I went to Petsmart the other day to get salt. The sales kid saw me getting it and started up a conversation about it. He was wanting to set up a sw and asked all kinds of questions. He seemed genuinely interested in learning and knowing all he could about it. Of course I wrote down this website for him. Hope he's here somewhere learning. They do get some people in there who are really interested in the fish and not the paycheck but on the whole they are not. And by the way, Petco is notorious for using copper in their tanks so you really don't want anything from their tanks anyways except maybe the fish.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Most people that work at fish stores only know what other employees have told them. I say "most" beacuse there are some people that actually know what they are talking about. It's a shame that the employers don't make employees take tests on their knowledge. It would be nice if the lfs had a computer in the store that was hooked up to the internet. That way during their down time they could read up on fish stuff. I know, they would probably check their e-mail and surf the net, but still. I have wanted to apply at the lfs many times, but the wages that they receive, it's not really worth my time. There is a lfs about an hour away and this woman has been working there for over 2 years and still doesn't know squat about fish. She is great at netting them out of the tank, but she can't tell the difference between a Rasbora and Tetra without looking at the tag.

 

[Jchillin]

I frequent a great LFS, it's pretty far from me but the employees are really knowledgeable. They do practice one thing that is a cause for concern. They will combine juvenile angels in a tank with neons. Now, we all know that neons are the natural prey of angels. The employees will constantly state that this is only when the angels mature and while they are juvies, they could care less about the neons. The problem is, when you see that type of community at a LFS, you would probably get the reverse impression. And, if no one informs the buyer of this "anomaly", they may very well combine them in their tank.

 

[Guest]

those guys are re-re's(retards)

they dont know squat

that is why i dont like to go to big chain companies and ask them for things cause they try to get you to buy a whole lot of unneccesary equipment that you may or may not already have

i asked a guy at Petsmart i said "How many oscars do you recommend in a 55 gal?" this is what he told me "4 or 5, i have a 55 gallon tank with that many in there and they are happy as can be!"

stupid stupid idiot!!! someone should smack him in the face, throw him in a closet with 4 other idiots and see how "happy" he is.

tsk tsk tsk such idiots on the fish market nowadays

i really wish they actually knew something about fish like everyone here

 

[ripvanrina]

i christen thee the venting thread

 

[Guest]

lol

i like it

there should be a venting forum

no rules

just us being mad ranting on about what is really bugging us

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It's not only large chains that are like that. It's the common every day lfs. I have found 2 places that are GREAT. A couple of the national chains aren't bad, and a couple of the lfs are horrid. It's universal, not just the national chains.

 

[Piscesgirl]

Maybe there are hobbyists on this site near you -- perhaps you should post a request for a handfull of gravel on the classifieds/trade area of the board.

 

[fishyrican]

Ripvanrina: "venting thread"

Maybe there are hobbyists on this site near you -- perhaps you should post a request for a handfull of gravel on the classifieds/trade area of the board.

Oh yeah. . . forgot about original question.

 

[patagonia]

well...i agree with all the opinions expressed here...about a year ago i was trying to decide what to do with my life so i said to myself...maybe i can work at this lfs while i decide if i go back to college or not...they were looking for people so i applied...handed in my resume and waited for a week...when i called they told me the position was already taken...so i asked if there was any particular reason why i didnt get the job...and the lady said to me..."oh im so sorry but you are over qualified" (i studied marine biology in my home country but never finished)...and that was it...i learnt about fish and cycling 2 months ago when i joined this forum (and after a few deaths due to ignorance) so till this day i dont know where the over qualification came from....

 

[Jchillin]

LOL...did you mention your marine biology studies in your resume? That would explain the "overqualified" tag. Chances are, they wound up hiring a family member (if it's not a chain).

 

[ripvanrina]

ya they were probably afraid of you proving them all wrong

 

[jersysman]

btw... I forgot it it was a Petco or Petsmart.... but years ago, the staff of one of my LFS used to "not recommend" Mollies cause they said they "carry ICH"... so 2 things came to mind:
1. I've never read that anywhere in either fish books nor online so I highly doubted this.
2. If you're talking your customers "out" of buying mollies, then why they heck are you stocking and selling 'em?

and they weren't just saying "their particular" mollies, but mollies in general. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Years ago (too many to remember), I heard the same thing about Mollies and Ich. So it was not your imagination.