I think a there are a lot of issues in people choosing the wrong fish. Impulse buying being just one of them. Shopping with other people (children, BF/GF, SOs) These other people Don't care, don't do the research, and don't get attached when the fish either dies or has to be rehomed because of inadequate housing. The LFS doesn't care and normally won't take the fish back leaving it to the aquarist to try and rehome it in a tank that is big enough which is rare and the fish usually dies in the interim or it leaves the now informed aquarist spending hundreds if not thousands on proper housing for their fish. I only allow my kids to shop online for fish that way we all can research the fish first. Inevitably they always want clown loaches. I do too but I don't have a tank for them so the answer unfortunately has to be no. The only time my kids get in a pet store of any kind is to buy stuff for the animals that we already have. They can look at the fish but they get that we aren't there for fish. I make sure I stop there first which means that we definitely can't get anything. All lfs will sell you things you don't want, and don't need. It isn't just petsmart or other big box pet stores. I have gotten very good fish at petsmart. I have also been given really bad advice,( and seen very sickly fish) which I was able to correct I like to test the employees. Ok I screw with them. But I am only able to do that because I did my research before I went in there. Informed purchases are key! If you lived in a tiny studio apartment you wouldn't go buy an Irish wolfhound just because they are smaller as a puppy would you? The same needs to be applied to fish.