MissMTS

Okay guys, here's one for the books:

I was at this LFS by my house where I have gotten tons of great advice and really trust a lot of the workers there.

There is this one guy who is totally obnoxious though and always talks to me like I am an idiot. I can't stand it when he's there. Anyways, I was looking at the African Cichlids and of course he was the only one free to come and help me.

I was picking out the fish that I wanted and he suggested some Frontosas and large Haps for my 70 gallon mbuna tank. I told him "no thank you" and explained that those fish get to big for my tank (besides the fact that you can't mix tangs with mbuna). He asked me what I have in the tank and I told him yellow labs. He then proceeded to tell me that yellow labs get at least 3 feet long in the wild. When I tried to correct him his response was "Oh my gosh lady! Haven't you ever been to SeaWorld?"

That is by far the worst thing I have ever heard.......

COBettaCouple

Sea World?! LOL.. Yea, he's got to do some learning.. I feel for people who don't know that he's so ignorant.

Alessa

OMG, that is hillarious and sad... i agree with coBetta, seriously, I feel bad for those people too..

MissMTS

I know, its the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I can't believe that they put up with him at this place where everyone is so knowledgable. He talks to the customers like they don't have brains when he actually the stupid one Some of the guys that work there go and collect plecos in South America or collect cichlids in Africa. I have never come across a store with so many informed and educated employees and I can't believe that they tollerate this guy. If you don't know the answer, just go and find someone who does......Don't just make stuff up!!!

leafgirl115

OMG that is funny!

With me its not the worst thing some one sai dbut did... No doubt this guy knew nothing about fish...

I was looking at some nice Platies and desided to get 4. So I whent and found this Manager that I like at the LFS, But he said he had to go help move a shipment of fish in so he got this other guy to help me...

I then told the man what platies I wanted in the tank. This guy could not even catch them! He was like o they are realy fast. I even told him to let me get the poor things after they were half scared to death. He insited he catch them.. When he finaly cought one and tried to put it in the bag the fish jumped out... Then the next time he cought one he some how lost the water in the back and the poor fish was stuck to the plastic. I had to run in and push the bag under the water for the poor thing. This man was horible and I have not gone back to that LFS since then.

zambize

"Yes, you can have more than 1 shark in the same tank."

Z

Angelika

I got this wonderful advice from Petco when I first got my 12 gallon, it was an unexpected gift from a friend for my son, and it came with a catfish, tiger barb, a silver fish - name unknown, 2 gouramis, and 3 platys - yup!..what can I say...

And me not knowing a thing didnt know a thing about this small tank with a lot of fish in it... and I didnt know why the silver fish died, so I took the water into the store and told them what was in the 12 GALLON TANK, and they tested my water and said.... oh you look fine, your ammonia and nitrites arent too high....should be fine just go home and do a 25% water change ... after I then lost both gouramis, I went back and they told me, oh its your tiger barb being aggresive to the other fish, so bring him in and sign a release form and just remove him from the tank............. then they sold me 6 glo fish (STILL IN MY 12 GALLON TANK, 4 died that night).............. and when I went back with water in hand.... they said, mmmmmmmmmmm, maybe you need to do another water change, your levels dont look too bad though...... then they sold me the angel fish................and yup knowing I only had a 12 gallon tank....

then I thought.... OMG there must be a community somewhere online... and lo and behold here I am...

and I have not lost any more fish since being on here.....and I have a slightly larger tank to house these fish while I am searching craigslist for a reasonable priced 55+ gall.

fishchick

How bout a pet store being out of rocks for two weeks straight! They never seem to have any fish either , so I have decided never to go back !

COBettaCouple

Sounds like a LFS south of us.

fish_lover

Just because someone works at a pet store doesn't mean they know about fish. They just want to sell the fish, get their paycheck, and go home. Be careful when buying fish!

Devon

I hate PetCo, but unfortunately there are times I have to go there (as the family-owned shop sadly doesn't always carry the equipment I need.) There are a couple of guys at my nearby PetCo that keep fish and know what they're talking about... one of them sold me the 6.6 gallon for a betta and told me it was pretty much the ideal tank... and he's right. But there have been others that just gave bad advice or obviously didn't know what they're talking about. The main problem that I have though, is going in there and seeing so many bettas in all those horrible little cups... the way they treat their animals is just despicable.

Recently I discovered an LFS in Seattle, appropriately named "The Fish Store." Their tanks are gorgeous and all their fish look so healthy! They keep each and every male betta in his own section of a heated, filtered tank, and have a much better selection. I went in there the other day for some sturdy plants to help break up the current from the BioWheel in my 6.6 gallon, and also for a pair of Black Neons that I'm hoping (cross your fingers!) my betta will get along with okay. The lady asked me a number of questions about my setup and was so knowledgeable; she made recommendations on the types of plants and how many Neons to get... what a great place, I will never buy my fish anywhere else.

Blub

Tetras are some of the worst Betta tankmates in the world. Not only is a 6.6gal to small for them (They need at least a 15gal to accomodate 6 - the minimum number you could get!) but they can't resist nipping betta fins - especially when they are in small numbers. Please for the sake of all the fish - either get a tank big enough to house a whole school, or take them back!

Alessa

Thanks hatchet

Devon

Misled again!

Blub

Try a school of Black neons in your 30gal! They would fit. I'd get a few more Bars, though.

crystalclear

OOOH, good thread

I didn't know anything about fish. I went to the wrong place to find out, unfortunately. I explained my situation, that I had inherited a 20 gal, etc.

The clerk told me that I could buy a loach to take care of my snails, period. When I asked if he would get along with my other fish, he said, "Oh, they aren't agressive, they are just labeled semi-agressive because they can hold their own in a tank." That loach also infected my tank with ick. I took him back to the store and there were only 2 loaches left, out of 5, and they both had ick. Thankfully my platy fry were all OK. He also sold me a common pleco for my 20 gal tank...

When I called the pet store to ask how to treat ick, the "fish expert" told me that I could use a full dose of a copper- based ick treatment for my loach.

I brought them a water sample. My Nitrate level was 3, ammonia 1. He told me to leave it alone and do a water change in a month, because the levels ''were heading in the right direction.''

These poor fish have gone through so much in the span of 2 weeks. Thankfully, I've only lost one and I'm learning as much as I can from fishlore. Too bad I have so much store credit from things i've returned; otherwise, I'd never shop there again. I've spread the word to everyone I know about never shopping there. I found a much better store, locally owned, with a much more knowledgable staff. The clerk's advice saved my tank.

Alessa

omg... regular fish stores shouldnt be allowed to sell common plecos... its like going to a pet store and leaving with a bear cub...

Amanda

"The pleco's size will be reflected by the size of the tank. If you have it in a small tank - then the pleco will stay small." OOOOKKKKK