jwh0818
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hahahahaha!
It was fleco wasnt it?
Dumbest Aquarium advice you've ever been given?
- Thread starter Miyavp
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It was fleco wasnt it?
Coursair
Aquarium Advice Addict
When I worked at my local Petsmart , we had a pretty good Fish department. Partly due to me vetoing customers bad ideas. But one day when I was off, a new employee, who meant well, sold a customer our Planted Tank kit , I think a 30g. But they got confused and sold the lady LIVE SAND from our SW section
Plants died, tank looked crappy. We let her return everything and I started her over with Eco Complete and a new tank.
Our Planted Tank substrates were quite near the Live Sand and lots of customers grabbed SW stuff by accident over the years. Too rushed to pay attention.
In the employee's defense , this customer came in right at closing and was in a hurry. Tank was a gift. I got it straightened out. Educated the employee. Tried to educate the customer.
I heard a lot of idiotic opinions over the years.
A lady complained because I refused to sell her a Bala Shark for a 10g. Single baby Balas tend to panic and hit the sides and die, esp, in small bare tanks. She swore she'd buy a bigger tank "later".
I stopped letting people put Goldfish in bowls. Even Bettas I sold 2.5g tanks as a preferred minimum.
One man swore Angels were fine in 10g.
One employee tried to tell me Bettas NEEDED small spaces ( yes, he is still alive, but I may have ripped his ego up a bit ).
Lots of odd ideas about live plants.
People wanting to add the "pretty" Cichlids to their Goldfish tanks *shudder*
Ooo the best was a man walked in and said he wanted to buy our tank of red wag Platies.
He wanted the display tank !!! The one that is part of the WALL of tanks and NOT removable !
I explained the "tank" was almost 1,000 gallons and he was just looking at a small divided section. He then wanted a 10g with the entire stock of Platies. Trying to explain he could have 2 fish, not 20, was not easy. Explaining holding tank vs home tank was a battle. I finally took this stubborn guy in back and showed him the massive sand bed filter and sump for the "Platy tank ".
I asked him to buy a book, Google some info and then come back. Fish are not just decor for the livingroom !
Plants died, tank looked crappy. We let her return everything and I started her over with Eco Complete and a new tank.
Our Planted Tank substrates were quite near the Live Sand and lots of customers grabbed SW stuff by accident over the years. Too rushed to pay attention.
In the employee's defense , this customer came in right at closing and was in a hurry. Tank was a gift. I got it straightened out. Educated the employee. Tried to educate the customer.
I heard a lot of idiotic opinions over the years.
A lady complained because I refused to sell her a Bala Shark for a 10g. Single baby Balas tend to panic and hit the sides and die, esp, in small bare tanks. She swore she'd buy a bigger tank "later".
I stopped letting people put Goldfish in bowls. Even Bettas I sold 2.5g tanks as a preferred minimum.
One man swore Angels were fine in 10g.
One employee tried to tell me Bettas NEEDED small spaces ( yes, he is still alive, but I may have ripped his ego up a bit ).
Lots of odd ideas about live plants.
People wanting to add the "pretty" Cichlids to their Goldfish tanks *shudder*
Ooo the best was a man walked in and said he wanted to buy our tank of red wag Platies.
He wanted the display tank !!! The one that is part of the WALL of tanks and NOT removable !
I explained the "tank" was almost 1,000 gallons and he was just looking at a small divided section. He then wanted a 10g with the entire stock of Platies. Trying to explain he could have 2 fish, not 20, was not easy. Explaining holding tank vs home tank was a battle. I finally took this stubborn guy in back and showed him the massive sand bed filter and sump for the "Platy tank ".
I asked him to buy a book, Google some info and then come back. Fish are not just decor for the livingroom !
OP
OP
Miyavp
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Good call showing him the pump and everything needed. Sometimes all you can do is show people the work and equipment really needed to keep fish healthy and happy. They often dont listen but seeing a massive and messy filter often makes them rethink their ideas.
Random Fishy
Aquarium Advice Activist
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The sad part about fish keeping though is that everything can be expensive.
bigfuzzymonster777
Aquarium Advice Freak
I hate that aspect of it. I just recently caught MULTIPLE TANK SYNDROME, so getting that is like saying, "Goodbye, money! I'll never see you again! So, goodbye!"
Random Fishy
Aquarium Advice Activist
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Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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I was at my lfs concerned because my mom bought a few cichilds from a town an hour and a half away because she was there for work and we were limited to cichilds in our area. I thought one of them might have had ich. He was rubbing himself over everything. So I asked her what she knew about the disease and told her what I knew. I told her, I cranked the heat up to around 82-84°, I added salt, and was looking for something that would add to the slime coat and kill of the parasite. (Keep in mind im 14) This was her response. Actually you are over reacting, ich is like the aquarium common cold, its no big deal. Its not a parasite, it is like a runny nose to us. Plus most fish dont have slime coats. But if you want, I can direct you to our medicine area. (When we got there she picked up a bottle and read off the back...) Okay lets see, Ich is a serious disease that can spread through your aquarium quickly and be fatal to your fish. To remove this parasite from your aquarium, first turn up your temp to low to mid eighties, in addition to this, add aquarium salt. She then stopped reading and looked at me with a terrified look as she knew this 14 year old knew more than her and made her look like an idiot. I picked up a bottle and walked out of the store before another word was said. I dont even feel bad. P.s. my fish never had ich. He was showing his territory in a way I hadn't seen before. I only saw the shake n' dance display. Whoops.
Surfer
Aquarium Advice FINatic
^ I have nothing to add but... That was great lol.
TheCommunityCichlid
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well done... Well done..
Musicfreak
Aquarium Advice Activist
bettaowner
Aquarium Advice Addict
I can't guess who's who but I do know who's going to die in that bowl
jwh0818
Aquarium Advice Addict
Mickey mouse and tiger and fancy!
Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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Four goldfish in a maybe 2 gallon bowl. " Ladies and gents, fins and gills, this is the fish keeper of the year. She probably does a 50% water change every hour to keep it clean. Im glad these people are in our hobby. They show with perseverance, anyone can be an arrogant, idiotic, fool to keep 4 goldies in a bowl"
* Anything in a "..." is sarcasm if that wasnt obvious
bettaowner
Aquarium Advice Addict
The goldfish would be lucky if its more than a gallon
Random Fishy
Aquarium Advice Activist
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Wow........
Musicfreak
Aquarium Advice Activist
Yeah I was super surprised when I seen that pop up on my Facebook. I looked at it dumbfounded or a minute or two, even when I was a kid I never kept a gold fish in a bowl.
It somewhat saddened me to because I have always thought the company to be a little better then some of the other competitors out there. At least the locals stores around me would not recommend something like that.
Oohitsae
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm pretty sure I saw the same one, she was trying to sell the bowl for $50 because she was going on vacation a lot and didn't want to give them back to the LFS because they might become feeders... Pretty sure being a feeder would be a better fate than that! Heck, even a 5-10 gallon tank would be
Edit:: just saw it was a company, mine as on a Facebook classifieds group so not the same, but this lady had 4 goldfish in a 1 gallon bowl at most and the Goldie's hardly had enough room to turn around, worst thing was that they were commons
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Fishperson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Wow, it's kind of the opposite for me. My dad doesn't care, he's glad I am spending my time on something "worthwhile" and not videogames and stuff, and as long as I pay for most of it (I actually pay for all of it) then he is glad I am into the hobby. But my mom says that fish tanks are "tacky", so she's doesn't like it at all.
*facepalm*
Fishperson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Holy cow that's brilliant! A water conditioner AND decor at once?! Wow, I bet when my cories come in, they would be making tons of soap bubbles, perfect for healthy oxygen levels!
But I wonder what's better, Shea butter or Lavender scent? I don't know about you, I think they'd appreciate the Shea butter..who doesn't like butter?! Wow, I can't believe water conditioners are on the shelves anyway..what a scam!
Guys, if a employee ever tells you to use soap as a water conditioner, you have a right to get all the water conditioner you want. For free.
OMG! I was roflmao when I read this conversation. Soap, really!!!
Fishperson
Aquarium Advice Addict
The dumbest advice I've ever heard (and this just might take the cake) was when my brother went to a store and told them he had a 2.5 gallon tank and wanted fish. They sent him home with a giant danio and a rainbow shark, a pound of gravel, no heater, and no filter. A 7 inch aggressive fish and a 4 inch semi aggressive fish in a ten inch long, 2.5 gallon tank. Seems legit.
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