LFS!!! Grrr!!

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Raker333

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
149
Location
Rowlett, Texas
My local LFS got in some baby Regal tangs (That is what they had them marked as)
They were selling them for $24 each (Seemed like a deal)
I know my tank is to small for a full size regal, yet when I asked the LFS guy what size tank do they need he asked me "What size tank do you have?" I told him a "new" 29 gal and he said that was fine!!
I told him I wanted to have some Clown fish in the tank later and he said it would be fine

I am seriously dissapointed with this LFS for saying such things just to make a sale.
They are the only LFS for many miles and seem to jack up the $$ because they know it
I mean come on... Nori for $29
You can get it from the Korean food market for $5

Sorry for the vent...
 
if you think thats bad... try talking to the people at petco. One guy told my friend when we were there that he had a horn shark in his 55 gallon along with a couple of anenomes. So, next time you think your place is bad, think of Deathco.. i mean Petco.
 
So true about Petco.

I swear mine only stocks “pretty fish” that mostly belong in 100+ gal systems and of course crams the 5 gal tanks with 15+ fish at a time! Mine even sells coral that they keep with NO lights :evil:
 
Wow! That's sad... and Sharks & anenome tank.... even worse....

$29. 00 Nori? Is it like a 100 lb box? ;) I would ship it to you from Fl. if that was the only place for you to get it.. that's crazy!
 
My friend and I just got back from Petco, ( made a trip after school ) and lets see...

they had 18 clownfish in a 10 gallon tank, the guys were pooring liquid chlorine into a tank with an anenome and a neon blue goby. My friend saw that and goes up to him and says " what the **** are you doing!" he said "Son, i'm a expert at this. I know what i'm doing. Now if your going to use that language please exit the store or i'll get an escort". THis got my friend, Dakota, mad so basically if you can imagine a 15 year old boy giving a 32 year old dumba *cough* a lecture and telling him up you can picture what was going on. So in the end my friend who gets so mad he cusses the guy out and gets our butts kicked outta the store. Great way to end a schoolday lol.

Now i know this is irresponsible and we should've handled it in a better way but when my friend and I see these so called "experts" doing stuff like that to fish tanks.. it gets up mad.
 
As many times as I've heard it, I think it is finally sinking in.

You MUST do your own research before going to any LFS.

It's sad that this happens everywhere...I have also heard ridiculous things said in LFS.

:?
 
It is also a sad shame that the message cannot be gotten through to the store employees because it is presented in a rude and objectionable manner.

No one will listen to any words of wisdom when they are presented in such a fashion. I would hope that you would see that as well and maybe the next time, you might actually be able to get someone to listen. You probably did more harm than good....but you already know that.
 
I wonder if Aquarists can have representation in ways that actually affect everyone, you know? You know how there are animal rights activists staging protests against department stores who sell whatever those interest groups thinks is against their belief?

We should stage something like that for Petco. I have never seen a petco that treated fish humanely. I am not even talking about some Wal Marts yet that have fresh water fish that are swimming in their graves.

In terms of asking questions to LFS employees, you know it's kinda like asking a Chevrolet Dealership Salesman "Is your Chevy Tahoe fuel efficient compared to others in its class?". Ofcourse you're gonna get a yes and then some.

Don't ask salesmen (LFS employees) questions relating to ethics and humanely-related questions. With that said, there are responsible LFSs out there. Rick's Fish and Pets in Frederick, MD, for example, is one. When I was there, buying an Orbit PC light, there was this guy who drives an Escalade asking information about the Blue Hippo Tang.

He said "I have a 75G tank and I want to know how much this Dori is". Rick went "No problem, for now, it's not for sale for you. But you can come back to me when you have 180G saltwater tank. Would you like some perculas instead". That's when I said "This guy is the person to ask, period".
 
One more item to note is that I have heard from many sources that very small baby hippo tangs do not do well at all in captivity and usually die. Hippos 2 - 3 inches usually do much better - and for that, you need a bigger tank. I'm sure the LFS failed to mention that as well.
 
Just so there is a little positive on this thread. I just went to a Petco in Balto. co. MD.
Now, aside from the fact they overstocked a few tanks (all retailers do this one). The guy who runs the department sounded like our advisors here. I even kinda quizzed him...He actually told me I couldn't have a fish due to the size of my tank (I already knew it) I was amazed...
So maybe just maybe there is a few good employees out there...
 
I am pretty sure there are. I would just guess that, due to the prevalent feedback from aquarists regarding Petco and Petsmart, that the change has to come from the actual store chain and not just the individuals.

I will give you a good person in Montgomery County, MD who works at Petsmart. He's a 14 year old kid named Kyle. He's underpaid, ofcourse, but he is the most knowledgeable in all of the store when it came to fish.

With that said, I only catch him a few days out of the week. And I don't pretty much go to petsmart anymore lately since I never catch him whenever I pass by to get some dog chow (and doing my routine pass at the fish dept looking for him). In the mean time, I get these hourly employees that have no idea about fish.

In sum, Petco and Petsmart just aren't in the business of humanely treating fish. Putting them in tanks and sorting them out and feeding them ain't just how you humanely treat fish. You indirectly affect the welfare of fish owned by beginner aquarists when you give them false, if not, senseless advise.

Yes, you are right. There are a few grains of good beans in the bucket. It just doesn't impact enough a change, however. They have to start hiring individuals who are experienced and knoweldgeable. Not just Joe somebody who was transferred from the Reptile dept to the Fish dept. They also need to correct their fish dept infrastructure. It's just wrong.
 
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