Petstores make me MAD!

[Sonia]

You'd think that of all people, the fish guys in a petstore would help new fish owners!
My friend came to visit last weekend and she told me how sad she was that the Betta she purchased a couple weeks before died. I asked her a few questions and quickly enough I found out she never put water conditioner in her water. NEVER! She didn't even know it existed... the guy at the petstore just gave her the fish, the bowl and some food and said that was all she needed.
Also, my sister bought a 10 Gal. aquarium about a month ago (to be like her older sister...). The petstore guy set it up for her: one bloodfin tetra, 2 black neon tetras, one black lyretail molly and a common pleco (lonely fishies...). Then he told her she didn't need a water heater (most of those fish do), told her she didn't need to feed the pleco as he would eat what falls to the bottom, never mentioned water changes and didn't give her water conditioner. Now she's depressed because the molly and a neon died - the other ones were saved because I told her to go get dechlorinator right away. She's giving me her tank this weekend because she decided she doesn't like it (at LEAST I score a tank).
And these people went to 2 different pet stores!!! Now I totally blame them for not getting information on fish before purchasing them, but it would be nice if you could rely on your petstore to inform you. I just wish my sister/friend had told me about their planned purchase before doing it...
Anyways, I just needed to vent to people who care about fish and like me hate when others don't take care of them at all. Anyone else know fish unfriendly people?

 

[afilter]

Unfortunately it really depends where you go. The trick is to find a good LFS with good employees and then stick with it.

Even then it can change if they turnover employees. It really is hit and miss. A lot of people knock the big chain stores, myself included, but they can be good if they have knowledgable employees, but then again they tend to turn over staff more often. I think the biggest challenge with the big chain stores is they do not/ cannot train employees well enough. It is difficult to find employees to even show up for what they are being paid. Training is usually limited to bagging fish and cleaning tanks. if they bring some knowledge with them that is a bonus.

When checking out a new LFS I usually ask the staff some basic questions I already know or think I know the answer to and then evaluate the responses. Unfortunately the average public is not usually educated enough to know as was your sister's experience. They just assume the employee is an expert when in fact they may have no interest in fish, but were just told to staff that area.

That is why every chance I get I direct people here to AA. I feel for you as it can be very frustrating.

IME, the best LFS are usually the smaller ones that have been around for sometime and are owner operated. Sometimes they may look a bit rough, but the knowledge and quality of stock makes up for it.

 

[Menagerie]

I have to agree. Petstore employees are not well educated in the care of fish (and often other animals )

IME, the best LFS are usually the smaller ones that have been around for sometime and are owner operated. Sometimes they may look a bit rough, but the knowledge and quality of stock makes up for it.

When I was first trying to set up a tank for my husband a couple of years ago, I did all the research I could. I was looking for fun fish that stayed small. I was almost driven to tears at one LFS that was owner run. He was a fish SNOB. It was as though fish keeping was for the elite and already experienced. Needless to say, I walk out without his overpriced fish and found a different LFS. If my husband hadn't already had the Mbuna tank (giving me some knowledge), I would have given up and bought him clothes that Valentine's Day.

 

[afilter]

Yeah, unfortunately I have run into that as well. I guess when I made that statement I kind of had a store in downtown Milwaukee in mind that has been in business some 30 years. When you go in it is not much to look at. Kind of run down looking actually. There fish room is concrete floors with tons of tanks built on open wood frames. They have a 4000 gal shark tank that is actually concrete block. In general there entire staff which is only a handful of people and the owner are extremely knowledgeable. Anytime I get over to Milwaukee I try to stop.

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/articles/print/aquaexhibits.html



I guess my point was just because the place does not look so nice like many of the polished cookie cutter stores that exist you can find some real gems.

The LFS I go to in my hometown has a snob for an owner and I avoided the place for a long time, but know he has some real good employees and has grown to the point where they actually have a fishroom manager. You can tell they actually train the new employees. To this day I still avoid the owner.

In the end it is still hit and miss, that is why when you find a good one you need to show them your loyalty and stick with it even if you pay a buck or two more. I look at it as paying for the knowledge and service.

 

[Menagerie]

I guess my point was just because the place does not look so nice like many of the polished cookie cutter stores that exist you can find some real gems.

Absolutely!! The place I love is in the basement of a normal pet store. It always seems there is more and more light bulbs are burnt out when I go there. :?

 

[foma2000]

i have to say ive ben pritty lucky with my lfs. its the only one around so i was forced to go there at first. but the owner is a really nice guy. its a small store and its packed with fishtanks and the employies are very very knowlegable. i wouldn't go any where else. exspecialy the petsmart that just moved into town. ive heard some very very bad things about how they colect their fish.