negative reactions

[cheeky_monkey]

So I just had my first bad reaction to some fishy advice. Something as simple as certain fish preferring to be kept in a school rather than single.

Someone called me a "douche" because he had kept two tetras in his tank for years with no problems.


So when have you had a bad reaction to good advice?

 

[ashleynicole]

I don't speak to people at the fish stores. It would make me go mad. I dont ask the sales people questions and when they start questioning me about my tanks, I say "i know what I'm doing and I know what I want, thank you".

I was buying frozen mice the other day at petsmart and this crazy sales lady kept asking "what are you feeding". First I told her "i don't need help thanks!" But she kept hounding me. So I finally put the boxes down and drove a few blocks to petco.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Usually the best thing to do is walk in, grab what you want and get outta there! So many times I have tried to correct someone and had them look at me like I'm a complete nutter. I had one lady questioning me about how I keep my bettas the other week. She was trying to sell me a 'Betta bowl' to keep my new Betta in. She almost died of shock when I said they where cruel and I kept mine in tanks. lol.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I don't like people offering advice without me asking for it. Someone tried to tell me I was doing something wrong at the fish store one time and the response you got would be considered very mild compared to the one I gave. IMO, your suggestions are best kept to yourself unless asked for.

 

[ashleynicole]

I don't like people offering advice without me asking for it. Someone tried to tell me I was doing something wrong at the fish store one time and the response you got would be considered very mild compared to the one I gave. IMO, your suggestions are best kept to yourself unless asked for.

Yes I feel the same way! It's nice to have someone say "can I help you", but if I say no thanks, then that means "leave me the heck alone".

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Ya i agree, but i went to a pet store and because im a kid they think i know nothing and ask tons of questions about my set up. Anyways one lady aske me what size tank i had before selling me a fish so i was happy she did that

 

[ejaramillo01]

On the other hand, I almost sure that you have positive experiences helping someone at the pet store... I helped a family that was trying to buy a fish tank with a lot of fish at the same time, first time for them. With no idea of cycling the tank first, etc. The Petco way was packing everything already ( fish included )... The mom engaged in a conversation with me, and after 20 minutes they were so appreciative of the advise, they canceled the purchase of the fish (Petco guy not happy at all ) at least for that day.
I even email them the nitrogen cycle document and gave them the link to this forum...felt soooo good.

 

[ashleynicole]

On the other hand, I almost sure that you have positive experiences helping someone at the pet store... I helped a family that was trying to buy a fish tank with a lot of fish at the same time, first time for them. With no idea of cycling the tank first, etc. The Petco way was packing everything already ( fish included )... The mom engaged in a conversation with me, and after 20 minutes they were so appreciative of the advise, they canceled the purchase of the fish (Petco guy not happy at all ) at least for that day.
I even email them the nitrogen cycle document and gave them the link to this forum...felt soooo good.

Yeah sometimes you can do good, but in my experience people are not receptive when the sales person starts arguing and giving opposite information. Been there .

 

[steez]

I was sitting and watching a man with his wife buy a 20g tank one day.. while the store rep was trying to catch the fish for him he asked me if I have any fish tanks. I told him what I had and casually asked what he was getting. He was buying an Oscar to put in a 20g starter kit.

I told him there was three problems with what was going on.

1. You listened to the store rep
2. You don't have a cycled tank
3. Oscar's need 75g alone (full grown)

I advised him on a 55g tank I saw on CL earlier that morning, so he ended up ditching the entire sale. He left with knowledge of cycling and most likely getting himself a 55g tank w/ lid & light + stand for 75$.

I felt pretty good, but the Petsmart employee was a little ticked.

 

[Viperchaos]

I work in a LFS,
And its hard to keep track of who comes and goes. Luckily for me having the memory of a elephant helps me remember what tank they have and whats in it.
People dont think things through before they try and systimaticly lie to you. e.g Young chap walks in i sell him a 35 Elite Marina, Comes back in a couple of days wanting to buy a school of 8 blue fin tetra!!!
I asked him the usual questions (see if i could catch him out), size tank, heated or not , filter size/media, other fish??
He didnt lie , which was appreciated.
And i refused sale , at that point he went walking off swearing saying he knows what hes doing.
They were a bad batch of blues in the end anyway so im glad i didnt. :/

 

[ashleynicole]

I work in a LFS,
And its hard to keep track of who comes and goes. Luckily for me having the memory of a elephant helps me remember what tank they have and whats in it.
People dont think things through before they try and systimaticly lie to you. e.g Young chap walks in i sell him a 35 Elite Marina, Comes back in a couple of days wanting to buy a school of 8 blue fin tetra!!!
I asked him the usual questions (see if i could catch him out), size tank, heated or not , filter size/media, other fish??
He didnt lie , which was appreciated.
And i refused sale , at that point he went walking off swearing saying he knows what hes doing.
They were a bad batch of blues in the end anyway so im glad i didnt. :/

I don't understand why you refused to sell him tetras? Why are 8 tetras too much for a 35gallon? Maybe he was going to do a fish in cycle?

 

[jetajockey]

If I were running a LFS and a customer was talking other customers out of sales then I would ask them to stop, if they refused then I would ban them from my store. I would also seriously reconsider the employment of any workers that were refusing sales on the grounds that have been presented so far in the thread.

I know people mean well and all that but a customer has a right to get what they want to a certain extent.

 

[ashleynicole]

If I were running a LFS and a customer was talking other customers out of sales then I would ask them to stop, if they refused then I would ban them from my store. I would also seriously reconsider the employment of any workers that were refusing sales on the grounds that have been presented so far in the thread.

I know people mean well and all that but a customer has a right to get what they want to a certain extent.

Exactly.

 

[Viperchaos]

I don't understand why you refused to sell him tetras? Why are 8 tetras too much for a 35gallon? Maybe he was going to do a fish in cycle?

35 litres equal to 8 gal i think,
these tetras are 3.5" long :/

 

[Viperchaos]

If I were running a LFS and a customer was talking other customers out of sales then I would ask them to stop, if they refused then I would ban them from my store. I would also seriously reconsider the employment of any workers that were refusing sales on the grounds that have been presented so far in the thread.

I know people mean well and all that but a customer has a right to get what they want to a certain extent.

As previously explained i would not begin to question someone if they were to come up with clear solid information.
Jetajockey if you would sell 8, 3.5" blue fin tetra in a uncycled 9 gallon/35 litre tank. then i will leave you to deal with animal protection as we follow strict rules.

Fine if he wanted to lie to me then he could of but he didnt. How would it have looked to my manager if i just handed the fish over no questions asked?
Im in it for the fish not the money.

 

[jetajockey]

As previously explained i would not begin to question someone if they were to come up with clear solid information.
Jetajockey if you would sell 8, 3.5" blue fin tetra in a uncycled 9 gallon/35 litre tank. then i will leave you to deal with animal protection as we follow strict rules.

Fine if he wanted to lie to me then he could of but he didnt. How would it have looked to my manager if i just handed the fish over no questions asked?
Im in it for the fish not the money.

I don't know of any blue tetras that are 3.5" to begin with unless you are talking about congos. You aren't selling fish to a fish tank, you are selling them to a person. You can make it known that you think that those fish really don't belong in that size tank, and strongly advise against it even, or point them at some larger tanks they can purchase, or more compatible fish.

As far as cycling goes, why not give the guy some basic information on tank cycling and maybe some seeded media from the tanks there? That'd speed things along.

And no, 8 3.5" fish whatever they may be are not the best thing for a 9 gallon tank, but it's not an instant death situation, and definitely not something worthy of calling animal control.

My biggest concern in this thread is that while meaning well it seems like people get a bit overzealous in their attempts to help others in what they consider 'proper' fish care, when there are many ways to do things and our own is not necessarily the only 'proper' one.

If you owned a LPS, sure, force people to bring in water samples before you let them have your fish, do a home tour if they buy a dog, or make them bring the cage they are keeping that prospective pet bird in, but personally it's not for me, I am just one to inform people the best I can and let them be responsible for their own actions.

I'm just showing you the other side of the issue, it's not always just some customer with some absurd stocking plans.

 

[richardh]

A good lfs can offer good advice. I liked the look of a couple golden algae eaters and was on the verge of buying them, to control the algae in my tank. When the assistant asked what size tank they were going in (17g) he then advised they can get quite large and sold me some otos instead. Helpful, but not to the point of condescending.

 

[Viperchaos]

I don't know of any blue tetras that are 3.5" to begin with unless you are talking about congos.

Blue Fin tetra have a dominant Red strip over a blue sail like Dorsal, and a fork caudal.
They arent congo simply because they arent similar in anyway. I will try and find out latin name for you from stock catalogue.
And where i work we dont believe in the " tank you dont have" suggestion. Theres nothing more annoying than being told that the solution is to splash more cash and hastly being pointed towards the largest & most expensive tank in the shop.
Were all up for selling our stock but we care about fishs' well being, so a fish enduced cycle isnt an option. Sure modern tropicals are bred to endure harsh captivity conditions, but it doesnt mean we force them through into such conditions.

And so yeah even top fishkeepers suffer ammonia spikes, whitespot, fin rot... but i have no control over that.
Basically it seems like your challenging/insulting my ability to give advice.
By saying you would basically fire me if i worked for you!

 

[jetajockey]

And where i work we dont believe in the " tank you dont have" suggestion. Theres nothing more annoying than being told that the solution is to splash more cash and hastly being pointed towards the largest & most expensive tank in the shop.

Really? You don't believe in selling someone a proper tank for the fish they want? I didn't say just point them at the biggest/expensive tank, but give them an actual recommendation on what you'd put the fish in. In a LFS that sells tanks, I'd think there'd be an effort to sell some of them, especially when they are needed in a situation.

Were all up for selling our stock but we care about fishs' well being, so a fish enduced cycle isnt an option. Sure modern tropicals are bred to endure harsh captivity conditions, but it doesnt mean we force them through into such conditions.

This is my point, not everyone fishless cycles, heck the vast majority of fishkeepers don't fishless cycle, and you can in fact safely and easily fish-in cycle a tank without harming a single fish if you do it correctly.

But that's not the way that your shop does it I'm guessing? There's nothing wrong with fishless cycling, but it's not the only humane way to do it.

And so yeah even top fishkeepers suffer ammonia spikes, whitespot, fin rot... but i have no control over that.
Basically it seems like your challenging/insulting my ability to give advice.
By saying you would basically fire me if i worked for you!

I'm not trying to insult you, but yes I am challenging some of the things said in this thread because they are just not realistic. And if you were an employee of mine I would say the same thing I'm saying now, I wouldn't fire you over it but I would teach you other alternatives to show to customers rather than just the door.

 

[Alumentum]

This reminds me of the time someone told me the baby atlantic blue tang I saw in the store would do just fine in a 29 gallon fish tank...