jen82

Today i went to a LFS that i had swore never to go to again because i wasnt happy about the quality fish they sold. However today driving past i stopped in to get some others things and decided to just look at the fish. I was horrified. There were bettas in tanks with horrible bitten tails, bala sharks that looked starved, RTBS that were so stressed they were trying to bite themselves, dead fish in almost every tank and otos eating alive a balloon molly. And the staff were just stood at the counter doing nothing. After complaining quite loudly to the manager who did not seem to bothered at all, I told him I would take this matter further. So anybody in the UK know who i may be able to complain to about this?

jen82

sorry for posting again but forgot that they also have a silver arowna in a tank he can hardly turn around in and a 2foot red tailed catfish in a tank so small his whiskers are squashed up the side of the tank.

Shawnie

you could try your local spca or call a local vet, animal control, fish n wild life, for other phone numbers to call about it.......but most times nothing will be done

for some reason animals such as fish, dont seem to get the attention of cruelty as dogs cats etc...I wish you well tho!!!

Fishies-for-me

I also would not buy anything else from them as to do so you are helping them to stay in business....not even if they have the best prices in town....better to pay more at a place that takes the time and expense to actually care for the critters in their care.

jen82

in uk we have the rspca (royal society for prevention of cruelty to animals) but think like you they may not care about fish. The lfs is in a garden centre so guessing its no good complaining to them either. I feel so bad for them. Wish i could have brought them all home. I will certainly take my money else where now. But how much of a difference can 1 person make.

Allie

Unfortunately, there are many lfs like that one all over the world. I would call that store and complain to the manager by phone. Explain to him how awful you thought the store was and why. Maybe he'll correct his employees. It wouldn't hurt to try.

jen82

I spoke to manager on the phone tonight and he gave me some reasons for the things i saw. He is new and apprantely inherited a complete mess. Before he arrived they did not even quartine new arrivals! As for Arowna and Catfish. They were rescues from people that had been prosecuted for cruelty to animals and no one will buy them and they cannot get bigger tanks. Im not sure whether to give this guy a chance or go to a higher authority. What would people here do.

pinkfloydpuffer

It's not acceptable to keep fish in those conditions. They could find someone to take the big fish off their hands, even if they have to give it away.

Slug

Rome wasn't built in a day, and QT can take weeks. If he is indeed new, give him a chance to turn things around. To the point you described it, it sounds almost to bad to save that shipment so theres really nothing he can do except start over on the next one.

sirdarksol

I totally agree with Slug.

You could take the matter further and offer to help the guy out. Either donate your time or see if he'll hire you as an occasional employee. A couple of hours a week could make a huge difference in the tanks (organizing fish, identifying ill fish to get them into hospital tanks, pulling dead fish from tanks, showing the other employees how to care for the fish).
Of course, this suggestion is coming from a guy who's got quite a bit of free time on his hands. I understand that not everyone can afford to do something like this.

At the very least, though, go back and visit the store periodically to see if you can see a difference in the way things are happening.
You might also be able to help find a place to move the arrowana and catfish to. It's not an easy task, and if the manager is focusing on getting the tanks okay, he may not have time to look around. Some e-mails to local aquariums may turn up helpful info.

Of course, offering to help in any way will help you determine if the manager is actually meaning to make changes, too.

Shawnie

I agree with slug...maybe you can even make some phone calls to fish and game or some aqautic zoo to see if they might take the big fish for him?

jen82

i would love a job with a lfs but sadly i have a job already. So will have to leave that side of it to him. As for the 2 big fish i rang 10 aquariams in the uk today. 6 said no immediately and 4 took the number for the lfs and will hopefully contact the manager. I will go back to this store and check up on it. Doubt i will purchase anything even supplies until i see an improvement.