Just went to a lfs I have never been to before and it seemed fairly good until I see this 1 tank, about the bottom was just jam packed what was was selling as kuhli loaches but they was brown not black and yellow and the top was full of endlers guppies, I felt so bad for the loaches they had just a tiny pieces of plastic pipe, here's a pic.
Most over stocked tank i have ever seen.
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severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
They're black kuhli loaches, Pangio oblonga. They actually look like they have quite a few pieces of pipe to hide in there. I realize that you're looking at a lot of fish there, but remember that first of all, this is a temporary situation for them; and second, that there is almost certainly a large filtration system that you aren't seeing. The only thing that bugs me about this photo is that I see tiger endlers (gup/endler cross) in the same tank with endlers. Now the strains are all mixed up and IMO that is not a good thing.
The picture doesn't do justice to how cramped it is, I bet not even half of them could touch the glass bottom, there must have been 100+ in what must have been 50 liter ( 10 USG ) at the most and yes the filtration may be awsome but if you could survive buried by other people would that make it ok? I don't care if it's a day or a month I think it's wrong and it's a shame because the rest of the shop seemed pretty good, maybe someone messed up the order or something but it could have been dealt with better IMO.
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
10 gallons would be closer to 40 liter.
To be fair, I keep a large group of kuhli loaches in a tank that is probably around 160 liters (40 US gallons) and they do the same thing- laying all over each other a lot of the time, and sometimes it even looks like they are tying themselves in knots. That's just what they do. The argument that overstocking a tank is akin to people being able to survive while buried by other people is an argument that I see on this site all the time (although, usually in the form of overstocking = locking people in a closet) and is a false analogy- fish and people are too different to even make the comparison.
The way I see it, the store just can't win most of the time. Stock heavily, knowing that it's on a temporary basis, and people complain about how overstocked the tanks are. Stock less heavily, and people complain that the selection sucks.
Maybe your rite but it just seemed wrong that they wouldn't even be able to rest if they needed to. And I agree about shops not being able to win but me personally would rather see a change in variety when they order rather than cramming everything in. Thanks for your input it is appreciated 
tamtam
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've seen worse sadly. I do think it's a bit crummy too that all there seems to be is some pipes in that tank with a bunch of fish. At least my local store keeps substrate and a couple plants. Though I can also see the issues of trying to catch fish around this stuff too. I've also seen them have to remove everything from a tank to catch a fish for a customer. Sadly there hands are tied in many ways. Much like Severum Mamma said. You just can't keep everyone happy and in the end this is a business.
I think the pet store industry has a lot of flaws and some are slowly getting better. The local stores around here don't keep dogs and cats anymore which to me is a big step up. Keeping 2 or 3 border collie puppies in a 3x4 box is horrible and just creates so many issues. Improvements are coming slowly and I hope this follows through in other areas.
I do think it's a bit crummy too that all there seems to be is some pipes in that tank with a bunch of fish. At least my local store keeps substrate and a couple plants. Though I can also see the issues of trying to catch fish around this stuff too. I've also seen them have to remove everything from a tank to catch a fish for a customer. Sadly there hands are tied in many ways. Much like Severum Mamma said. You just can't keep everyone happy and in the end this is a business.I think the pet store industry has a lot of flaws and some are slowly getting better. The local stores around here don't keep dogs and cats anymore which to me is a big step up. Keeping 2 or 3 border collie puppies in a 3x4 box is horrible and just creates so many issues. Improvements are coming slowly and I hope this follows through in other areas.
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