Funny A Day In The Life Of An Lfs Associate

I've worked in the fish biz for about 3 years now in the fish room and at the register and in doing so, I've come across some odd, silly, and just downright "what were you thinking?!" pet retail situations that I have felt the need to share with the world for some time. In posting these stories, I do not intend to offend anyone who may be in these situations or have personally been in the same situations I'm going to describe. I understand this is a beginner forum, and we, myself included, all make mistakes. I also do not intend to identify anyone in these stories. Secondly, I wish to disclose that the situations I choose to share are bias to how I feel aquatic animals (and all animals) should be cared for; Some situations may not have been as bad as I felt they were. Lastly, I'm only three years in, and still have MUCH to learn. My projections of these situations are based on the information I currently know, and is therefore limited and may be subject to error.

Further disclaimer: I am an LFS associate, I am tasked with educating and recommending the necessary products for consumers looking to set up or maintain an aquarium. I do this to the best of my ability and I sincerely care about the health of our customers tanks. But I am also human, and I can only take so many unfortunate scenarios before I feel the need to post them for the world to see…

In no particular order what-so-ever, let the storytelling commence!

What Stocking Issues??:
A customer came into my checkout line and during the transaction, had asked to put 'teacup stingrays' (freshwater rays) on our request list. After doing so and talking with them, they eluded that they were intending to put the ray into a tank with established African cichlids. I mentioned the difference in natural water quality between the two species and that it may spell trouble in compatibility, and they said "I have a sand bottom though, and the water is the same any way you spin it"… It's not actually, but okay. They actually verbatum said "I have a sand bottom, and fish come from the same water anyway, rivers, oceans, lakes, it's all the same" or something to that effect, I was under the impression they didn't understand PH or salinity that well...Either way, rays with cichlids is a bad idea due to aggression, but...they come from different habitats altogether as well...

I'm trying to warn you...
A customer came into my checkout line and handed me a 5 Gallon glo-fish tank kit, and 2 bags of fish. 1 bag with 2 firemouth meeki, and another bag with 2 very young (pre-orange coloration) oscars. I said "Oh, I have one of these guys in my 75G" referring to the oscars as they handed them to me. Putting 2 and 2 together, I asked them if those 4 fish were going into the 5G kit, the customer said yes...so I asked them if they knew how big these fish are going to get, they said no. So I told them about 8-10in, hoping they would change their mind and choose another type of fish, but they seemed undeterred, shrugged, and said 'cool'...I typed the names of the fish in the comments section of their receipt...hoping they would see it and look the fish up online when they got home....It's likely the individual didn't say anything to the associate who caught his fish for them (the associate probably assumed the fish were going home to a cichlid tank) and/or, he probably shopped for the tank after having the fish bagged...None of our associates would knowingly let a customer put 4 large cichlids into a 5G...

Please stick with your mom, in freshwater:
A customer came up to me in our saltwater section, they looked considerably young (maybe 12ish) and asked me "How well would this jellyfish do in a small, like, nano aquarium?"...(I had heard a lot that day, and my reaction to them was...a mixture of shock, confusion, the thought crossed my mind that someone was playing a joke on me...)…I told her it wouldn’t work in a small aquarium...It just bothered me because I knew the child was there looking for a 'first fish' option, know's very little about fish, but is going to wonder into salt to ask me about Jellyfish??? Please, go look at the platies and livebearers for now, I can't even keep jellyfish, let alone the 12 year old newbie, and you want to put it in a bedside tank??? child...

We want a perfect tank, for super cheap, without listening to anything you say!
A couple came into the freshwater section and informed me that they had a brand new 30G tank (aquarium kit) and were looking to stock african cichlids. I immediately ran them through the nitrite cycle. As soon as I mentioned ammonia, the one customers eye’s glazed over. I saw it, but I kept going with my explanation, after explaining everything, that same customer says “but, all we need to add is the chemicals that came with the tank right?”…like, Yes…but no, just listen to me…Anyway, I STRESSED that they should only buy 1 fish (told them maybe two) AND BB + water conditioner. They were pretty persistent in buying more fish, and unfortunately, I'm not aloud to refuse sales. They asked "what if we buy 3, can we buy 3?" and I remember saying "you can, you really shouldn't (insert explanation about overstocking early and spike in ammonia), as it's very risky, but I can't tell you no, its your tank." Needless to say, they left with 4 fish (and came back the same day to replace one that had already passed, AND bought another when they replaced said dead one x.x.) So they had 5 cichlids in their 1 day old 30G tank and refused to purchase the other additives that I'd spent 45 minutes explaining to them was necessary (besides the point, each customer gets as much time as they need). Needless to say, they returned the next day with all 5 fish dead, but no receipt so there was nothing we could do for them in means of replacement. You know...my manager got on ME over that sale because after talking with the customers, they told my manager that they didn’t add water conditioner to the tank….When I explained what it was to them the day prior AND I explained what it did. (They told me the tank was running and that they'd added the water conditioner that came with the tank, so, I'm betting the ammonia spike is what went wrong anyway but regardless...). I got in minimal trouble for a failed sale that failed because of the customers ignorance….Just so frustrating. I handed them the bottle, handed it to them….it’s not my fault they didn’t buy it, refused to listen, and killed $50 worth of African cichlids..

Darla's tank.
I had a customer come into the freshwater section with her (maybe 2) yr old daughter and asked me where we keep our 'nemo' fish. I brought her to our saltwater section and showed her our percula clowns. They then say they don't have a saltwater tank, and are looking for the freshwater 'nemo' fish. I informed her there was no such thing, to which they replied "well, there has to be SOME freshwater fish in this store that looks similar to a 'nemo' fish, right?" We brought the child to every freshwater tank with orange/red/white fish (goldfish/livebearers) and each one the child cried about how the fish 'wasn't nemo'. Some parents are just ridiculous. The word is 'No'. and they'll have to learn it sooner or later..that fish just doesn't exist! and I can't give our saltwater fish a magic potion to turn them freshwater. just silly.

The last minute tank set up.
A customer came in about a half hour before we closed (If you're in before close time, we help you with a smile, but goodness I've been here 9 hours (some employees 11) and I'd LOVE to go home at a decent time after close). They had gone to the fair and were inspired to set up a goldfish tank for their children. The lady that was with them went to the front with a 5G tank kit to purchase it (I didn't even see her) and the man was in the fish room and asked me for 2 medium sized goldfish. He then asked me what size tank I would recommend, and I then explained my situation where I have 2 goldfish in a 45G that has gotten too small for them. He looked at me in disbelief a bit and asked me if a 5G tank was much to small for them at their current size. I told him it was, and that a 10G would be okay for now but that they'd definitely outgrow that in the near future (I was hoping he'd consider an even larger size... Bless his (and my manager's) heart. He calls his wife, who had already purchased the tank and was packing it into the car and tells her to bring it back into the store to exchange it. I then ran up to my manager and asked her to do an exchange (now 10+min after close), of course we did it, and all was well. (at least as far as I know, fingers crossed)

The easiest-to-take-care-of tank
A customer came in looking for a tank for their 3 year old. They asked for 'the smallest, easiest to take care of tank'. First I recommended a tank kit, but they weren't looking at spending more than 50$ on the set up. I asked if they wanted/had planned on adding a filter to the tank, they'd said no (filter or heater). I explained to them what happens in sitting water, and that a filter would be better just to keep the water moving, they purchased an air pump and a small under gravel filter. Of coarse they wanted to add fish right away as well, (which, in this kind of a system, I guess it doesn't matter much, as the tank usually isn't big enough to support a bio-colony large enough to sustain multiple fish for longer periods of time anyway, or the tank doesn't have a chance to cycle before the ammonia spikes too high and a w/c needs done after 3 days) anyway, I explained that the best option for them (out of the 200 tanks that we have to choose from) were the white cloud MM or possibly a male guppy or M/F betta fish. They asked about goldfish...for their 'easiest to care for', less than 1G, no filter having tank...But that’s the easy way….lol (the easy way, would’ve been a 10G set up with a filter for $60, but if they want to put a bowl of stagnant fish water in their 3yr olds room for $15, be my guest…x.x it’s all about what the customer wants…)

These are just some examples of the hardest-to-guide scenarios that I've had to work with as an LFS associate. I sincerely hope nobody takes offence to any of the scenario's presented, and I hope others can empathize with me. With this post, I kind-of wanted to highlight the misconceptions that're out there regarding fish. The biggest one that I deal with is that most people believe you can put a fish, in a bowl of water, and it'll survive just fine. Many people looking to set up aquariums Actually believe this...It's up to us as LFS associates to change those misconceptions, rather than perpetuate them. Having an aquarium is much like a chemistry lesson. If one isn't interested in understanding or learning Basic chemistry, than one should not have a fish tank....lol.

 

I work at a pet store that sells fish( I know it isn’t the same because of the customer base) and I’m the “fish guy” who teaches all the employees about aquatics ecosystems. I have been in some very similar situations to some of these all the time and half of the time they don’t even listen to my advice. The other day I sold a betta to a women and luckily she bought a 5 gallon filtered setup but decided not to buy a gravel vacum or a heater. I’ve learned that you can try to educate the people all you want but some people just won’t change. Thank you for the post it was entertaining while kinda sad to read.

 

Well, Where I work, we also sell exotic mammals and other animals. So...there are many more examples I could go into, but this is a 'fish' forum, and I didn't want to go too in depth. Whenever a customer calls about a fish that's died in their care after only a few days, and that fish type is doing GREAT in our stocking tanks...Granted this could be due to transport which is what our guarantee basically covers, but it's almost always due to negligence and that's what is sad about it imo.

I cannot stand the customers who come and and expect a ready made tank to show off to their family by next week. Cant stand those types. It is a process, and if you're not down with the process, set up a hamster cage. lol

I just recently sold a crown tail betta that had been sitting on the shelf for about a week (7 days, perfectly healthy), looking fine. Customer called and asked if they'd be able to return it 2 days after purchasing it because it was 'sick' (the nerve of some people...) and swimming upside down... I don't know how people manage sometimes...

You know, and while on the phone with her I was like "well, if he's not dead yet, aren't you interested in treating him?" I started recommending trying to feed peas or water changes. This lady wanted no part of it, just wanted her money back. Like....ugh.

 

Some people can't learn.

 

My best customer story is
A lady comes into the store, waiving a bag with a dead betta in it. She told me I sold her a bad betta because as soon as she took it home it stated blowing bubbles in her tank, so it must of had a cold so even when she gave it Niquel cold meds it still died.

 

Some people can't learn.

Agreed.
It’s annoying to me that most people just don’t understand the care and work it takes to care and maintain a healthy tank environment. The thought that fish are easy pets is something I struggle to overcome every day I work.

My best customer story is
A lady comes into the store, waiving a bag with a dead betta in it. She told me I sold her a bad betta because as soon as she took it home it stated blowing bubbles in her tank, so it must of had a cold so even when she gave it Niquel cold meds it still died.

She actually put cough syrup in the water

 

These stories are great, you should definitely post more!

Also I actually bought a petsmart betta recently. It was the saddest one there, and the water was super dirty and full of crud at the bottom. It literally died before I got home.

The next day I took it back and the guy was giving me grief about it like it was soooo unlikely that it died like that. I mean, yeah it's a little odd that it happened to die on my short trip home, but is it really that surprising considering the 1/2 cup of sewage water they keep them in for god knows how long at a time?

 

My best customer story is
A lady comes into the store, waiving a bag with a dead betta in it. She told me I sold her a bad betta because as soon as she took it home it stated blowing bubbles in her tank, so it must of had a cold so even when she gave it Niquel cold meds it still died.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm :nailbiting_O

 

maybe it was just sleeping

that's what nyquil does to me

 

With that nyquil story, I hope you refused her replacement/credit considering she killed that fish........lol
Gosh, that is so sad too, like....betta's don't usually get into a tank and immediately start building a bubble nest like...she must've been doing SOMETHING right in terms of the tank quality. It's too bad she was totally ill-informed on fish behavior....ugh. lol.

My least favorite question to answer, is how to get rid of algae....because nobody gets it. I hate when people call pleco 'algae eaters' anymore...they're not algae eaters really at all....and they're not going to 'solve' your algae problem, so quit questioning me and turn your tank light off. xD.

 

I had a woman ask me if she could keep a “Dory fish in a bowl”. Lol

 

It's a reasonable question if you don't know a thing about fish. That's why you ask fish people at the store!

Of course we all know that most times they disregard the answer

 

this is why I won't work at a fish or pet store lol

 

My least favorite question is how many goldfish can I have in a bowl. I then respond they truely thrive in ponds or extremely large aquariums, and are one of the messiest fish their are.

 

I'm screaming at this thread. Many mistakes are made by ill-informed newbies with all the right intentions, but I can't believe someone is stupid enough to put NyQuil in a fishtank. How do they drive to the pet store? Make themselves breakfast? Work a job and get the money for the fish??? We've all made normal mistakes but that one makes me want to punch someone.

Also, OP cracked me up with "the word is no"

 

I wish you worked at our local petstore! After failing at starting a tank, we went in to talk to the store's supposed "fish expert" and I feel like I knew more about things from a little online reading over a couple days than she did. I got more helpful info from one of their "non-expert" employees. Mostly I just wish we had a real fish store around here!

 

I wish you worked at our local petstore! After failing at starting a tank, we went in to talk to the store's supposed "fish expert" and I feel like I knew more about things from a little online reading over a couple days than she did. I got more helpful info from one of their "non-expert" employees. Mostly I just wish we had a real fish store around here!

I see the same thing in my area, we have chain stores, a good LFS, and a bad LFS. The bad one literally bullied me out of buying a water testing kit when I was first starting out. I'm here trying to give you $40 but you'd rather argue with the stuff I read online saying I need one. I just took my money elsewhere after that. Nice work instilling loyalty in your customer base!

I'm hoping to open my own LFS someday. The Midwest is a desert for healthy fish.

Edit: just for clarity, he wasn't trying to suggest a different option. I tried to buy the API master kit and he was claiming I didn't need anything to test for ammonia when doing my first fish-in cycle. Never again.

 

I do not work at a fish store however I do frequent the petsmart next door to my job when I need to kill time. One day I went in and a guy was looking in the medium size angelfish tank which also sizes medium size common plecos. They sell the angels for 12.99 and the plecos for 8.99. The guy was throwing a hissy fit because he wanted the angels for 8.99 and "what's the difference. They're just fish. It's all the same" I just had to walk out and leave before I got in trouble cause I was fixing to go off.

 

Edit: just for , he wasn't trying to suggest a different option. I tried to buy the API master kit and he was claiming I didn't need anything to test for when doing my first fish-in cycle. Never again.

Sound like he was just trying to stop you from paying more than double what Amazon charges! 40 bucks? Sheesh

 

I see the same thing in my area, we have chain stores, a good LFS, and a bad LFS. The bad one literally bullied me out of buying a water testing kit when I was first starting out. I'm here trying to give you $40 but you'd rather argue with the stuff I read online saying I need one. I just took my money elsewhere after that. Nice work instilling loyalty in your customer base!

I'm hoping to open my own LFS someday. The Midwest is a desert for healthy fish.

Edit: just for clarity, he wasn't trying to suggest a different option. I tried to buy the API master kit and he was claiming I didn't need anything to test for ammonia when doing my first fish-in cycle. Never again.

I feel your pain for the midwest! We've got some fish-only places in MI somewhere, but they're generally at least an hour drive away. No idea if they're any good. There was a nice LFS in my hometown, but I don't think it's still there anymore.

 

Sound like he was just trying to stop you from paying more than double what Amazon charges! 40 bucks? Sheesh

That's what I paid at Petco anyway. I was also a freshman in college who had agreed to rescue a Betta fish who had been used as an animal behavior lab in my biology class, so I was in a jam at the time and needed something right away. Quite a welcome to the hobby, lol.

Most of the male fishkeepers I've met online or in person have been very respectful, but a few just don't take kindly to a young female who knows more than them. The good LFS in my area is run by a man who is extremely respectful and speaks to me as an equal, so he's the one who gets my business now.

Also, like I said, he wasn't trying to steer me towards test strips, a single ammonia test, or anything cheap. He was saying they don't even do water testing in the store so there was no need for anyone else to use one. You can't cure stupid.

 

I see the same thing in my area, we have chain stores, a good LFS, and a bad LFS. The bad one literally bullied me out of buying a water testing kit when I was first starting out. I'm here trying to give you $40 but you'd rather argue with the stuff I read online saying I need one. I just took my money elsewhere after that. Nice work instilling loyalty in your customer base!

I'm hoping to open my own LFS someday. The Midwest is a desert for healthy fish.

Edit: just for clarity, he wasn't trying to suggest a different option. I tried to buy the API master kit and he was claiming I didn't need anything to test for ammonia when doing my first fish-in cycle. Never again.

Oooo, wow that's no good. So test kits are a double edges sword where I work.....I don't force the test kits onto new tank owners (especially if it's a smaller tank and they're really new) because I know we sell them for $42 and most the time they look at me like I'm crazy (like I'm trying to be a total 'salesperson')...So...what I do when I know the tank owner is a brand new hobbist and is looking to buy the tank set up and fish....I tell them that it'd be better to wait at least a day to add fish, but if they don't want to wait, I explain the nitrite cycle. Literally say

"Okay, when you add fish, they create waste in the form of ammonia, too much ammonia and the fish suffocate. In their natural habitat there is 'good' bacteria' that 'eats' this ammonia and naturally makes it 'less toxic' but in your new tank, it hasn't established yet. It usually takes about 3-5 weeks to completely establish. If you add too many fish initially, there could be too much ammonia and...."
I explain 2 options: Buy and Add BB and fish to hasten the cycle; Or add fish slowly starting 1 at a time and monitor the tank carefully, if you see the fish at the top of the tank 'coughing', do a 20-40% water change....as much as I can put into their ear...

Here is where I mention the test kits, and that they're 110% helpful, last forever, accurate, a great investment, lets you know the health of your 'good bacteria' and your water quality, can help you diagnose fish ailments...all of the above...but it's $42 and unfortunately, I'll be fired if I mention it's halfprice online. BUT...I also tell customers that it is possible to cycle a tank without a test kit....I guess that's where I'm the bad guy. But I definitely stress that it's helpful, and to go online and research ALL about the nitrite cycle. I at least put it in their ears that fish can 'suffocate' out of the blue for 'no apparent reason at all'.
Test kits are probably the hardest thing to sell, ESPECIALLY when the strips are right next to the good kits....I hate those test strips, and people fall for the gimmick every-time. Just because they're $10 cheaper.

NLindsey921, I've had similar things like that happen to me. We also get in fancy species of pleco along with the common species. So where 1 pleco is 2.99, another is $49.99. I've had customers question how 'expensive' our prices are for the same types of fish...They just don't understand fish like we do, it's okay. lol. I like pointing out the (L-069 for example) species label like "These guys are special, that's why" lol.

 

One time, I saw my now current betta Lemon suffering in one of those cups (actually at this store it think it was a delI container?) because I worked out a deal with the the manager to give me the fish, the supplies and I’ll heal him and bring him back. I went into the store *ahem* PetBalu *ahem* and they brought out their ‘fish expert’ to get me supplies. He gave me a 1 Gallon bowl, a pouch of gravel, the lowest quality food, and BettaFix. For fin rot.



Well, after 6 months when he was all better (I didn’t know anything about fish all this time), we called the store, they never answered. So we kept him. And if they call me back I’ll give them the $10 for the setup I threw out anyway.

 

This thread cracks me up, sad, but funny. I worked at a fish place for many years when I was younger, so I can relate to all of this. I also worked at a zoo. There were so many dumb questions and statements there too, my favorite: “ how do you keep the ostriches from flying out if there’s no roof?” I guess some people have zero general knowledge of animals.

 

My least favorite question is how many goldfish can I have in a bowl.

Several, if your .

 

Several, if your .

I can see the headline now, ‘125 Bowl build!’

 

I had a customer come into the freshwater section with her (maybe 2) yr old daughter and asked me where we keep our 'nemo' fish. I brought her to our saltwater section and showed her our percula clowns. They then say they don't have a saltwater tank, and are looking for the freshwater 'nemo' fish. I informed her there was no such thing, to which they replied "well, there has to be SOME freshwater fish in this store that looks similar to a 'nemo' fish, right?"

You didn't try selling them on a clown loach and a 100-gallon tank?

It's a good thing they didn't try going .

 

OH, I just wanted to add to my Easiest-to-take-care-of-tank story....I forgot the best part of that situation.....

I had also given them a bottle of prime, and told them that if they noticed the fish at the top of the water 'coughing' (I try not to use the phrase 'gasping for air'...lol) To do a water change on the 'tank', and to add this *prime*. and I talked it up, "It's a water conditioner so it takes the chlorine out and makes the water safe for fish, AND it detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, so if the tank does end up spiking at anypoint, this should help along with a water change". I thought they were set....I mean, in small enclosures, I'm always worried about the customer neglecting to do water changes, and ammonia spikes. That's my biggest issue, so I figured prime would be great...

I was the one who rang them out, guess what I didn't ring out.....the Prime...I'm not sure if they didn't buy it because I mentioned all the stuff about ammonia and made them think it wasn't necessary...I don't know if they realized...but they didn't buy any tap water dechlorinator....unless they stole it which I mean....I hope not but at the same time....maybe they did. Idek. but yeah, HANDED them the bottle, and they didn't take it. Its $4.50. like, c'mon.

 

Second story. A man came into the fish store with an air pump that was dripping water, the air pump was defective because he plugged it into the wall socket and as soon as he put the pump into the tank it blew a fuse!
I owned a LFS for 26 years, I have lots of dumb stories like that and I think no amount of training for some people is going to help!

 

I see the same thing in my area, we have chain stores, a good LFS, and a bad LFS. The bad one literally bullied me out of buying a water testing kit when I was first starting out. I'm here trying to give you $40 but you'd rather argue with the stuff I read online saying I need one. I just took my money elsewhere after that. Nice work instilling loyalty in your customer base!

I'm hoping to open my own LFS someday. The Midwest is a desert for healthy fish.

Edit: just for clarity, he wasn't trying to suggest a different option. I tried to buy the API master kit and he was claiming I didn't need anything to test for ammonia when doing my first fish-in cycle. Never again.

Same! Except I want to try to open a betta store. Which would sell tanks,heaters,filters,air pumps,plants,decor,snails,shrimp,food and medication. I would also ship bettas locally

 

First, the "Midwest" is a rather large region of the country to be making blanket statements about no healthy fish. Quite often an hour or two drive will get you to a good store. I can go to Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Metropolitan Detroit (a little further, like 3 hours) and find great fish stores with healthy stock. I also know of good places in downstate Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

Second, I have worked part time in a few stores, particularly one in Florida. A friend had a source of inexpensive, good size young (2") Oscars. People would come in and want to buy an Oscar, and he would tel them it needs a large tank. "It won't need that right away though, right?" So he would sell them a 29 gallon setup, and almost like clockwork, inside of two months they'd be back and buy a 55. He did not sell larger tanks, no normal retailer did back then; they were special order. But for every Oscar he sold, he made sure he had 55s available within a couple of months.

 

I can go to Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Metropolitan Detroit (a little further, like 3 hours) and find great fish stores with healthy stock. I also know of good places in downstate Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

Are there any other good fish stores but Preuss in Lansing? Our favorite restaurant is there and for dessert I get to browse Preuss But mostly I like to buy my fish at home (metro Detroit)

 

I only know of Preuss, but it's two hours to Lansing from my side of the state, so I've never looked for others. By the time I get out of Preuss, I don't have any money left anyway!

 

The interactions mentioned here are comical and sad at the same time. Agree, once I took the time to do some research and with the help of forums like this, have become more knowledgeable then most. But on occasion you will find some very knowledgeable and caring people working there. Ultimately, the LFS and its workers are salespeople in it for the $$'s.

ETNsilverstar Piaelliott
Have you visited:
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
Happened to stop in when I was setting up a tank for my son and his wife. Good selection, appeared to be well run.

 

ETNsilverstar Piaelliott
Have you visited:
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
Happened to stop in when I was setting up a tank for my son and his wife. Good selection, appeared to be well run.

No, but I was looking up local places the other day and added it to my list to check out. It's in the same town that a friend of mine lives in, so it's a bonus excuse to head down that way.

Anyone have other recommendations that are within an hour of Flint? Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, etc.? My fiance would go nuts if I wanted to go more than an hour away for "just fish" right now.

 

I've worked in the fish biz for about 3 years now in the fish room and at the register and in doing so, I've come across some odd, silly, and just downright "what were you thinking?!" pet retail situations that I have felt the need to share with the world for some time. In posting these stories, I do not intend to offend anyone who may be in these situations or have personally been in the same situations I'm going to describe. I understand this is a beginner forum, and we, myself included, all make mistakes. I also do not intend to identify anyone in these stories. Secondly, I wish to disclose that the situations I choose to share are bias to how I feel aquatic animals (and all animals) should be cared for; Some situations may not have been as bad as I felt they were. Lastly, I'm only three years in, and still have MUCH to learn. My projections of these situations are based on the information I currently know, and is therefore limited and may be subject to error.

Please stick with your mom, in freshwater:
A customer came up to me in our saltwater section, they looked considerably young (maybe 12ish) and asked me "How well would this jellyfish do in a small, like, nano aquarium?"...(I had heard a lot that day, and my reaction to them was...a mixture of shock, confusion, the thought crossed my mind that someone was playing a joke on me...)…I told her it wouldn’t work in a small aquarium...It just bothered me because I knew the child was there looking for a 'first fish' option, know's very little about fish, but is going to wonder into salt to ask me about Jellyfish??? Please, go look at the platies and livebearers for now, I can't even keep jellyfish, let alone the 12 year old newbie, and you want to put it in a bedside tank??? child...

OK, in this kid's defense, he may have been asking because he saw this Kickstarter and he was wondering if it was actually possible without paying $325:

There are a lot of companies out there selling live moon jellyfish for barren 3-5 gallon setups. I toyed with the idea of getting one for my mom after she fell in love with the jelly arch at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium...but after looking into them, it's better for all involved if we just drive the two hours to go there once a year

I have never been a pet store employee, but I am a farm kid who worked for a vet, so I have seen my share of stupid. I have also BEEN that stupid though :/

I just can't get the big chain store's insistence on selling ONLY common plecos. 80% of the people coming in there are going to want to try to set up something that is 20 gallon or less, and many of them want it because they've already run into algae issues caused by their setup's flaws. That's why I got one 20 years ago, for my 10 gallon overstocked guppy tank. Weirdly enough everything survived for another 5 years, but I put that down to fancy guppies actually being HARDY back in the day. I found this forum after killing my son's two guppies we got for a 2.5 hexagonal tank I found in the garage and got nostalgic over. I set it up, let it sit for 24hrs, and stocked it from our local Petco. Fish clung on for 2 weeks before the ammonia got too much.

In retrospect, I realize that the sale's associates gentle questions when I was getting the guppies were an attempt to plumb the depths of my ignorance...but never hit the bottom. I had had success before and guppies were EASY, right? ... Nitrogen cycle? Yah, I'm sure that's happened already...I just 'age' the water, right?

Thanks to all you associates who do your best to make fishkeeping a success for beginners, and all you here who are so very kind to the newbs...even us ancient newbs Our success with our betta owes everything to you all <3 (Although, frankly that store would have let me walk out and put him directly down the sewer--no chat with a fish expert at ALL -_-)

 

One time, I saw my now current betta Lemon suffering in one of those cups (actually at this store it think it was a delI container?) because I worked out a deal with the the manager to give me the fish, the supplies and I’ll heal him and bring him back. I went into the store *ahem* PetBalu *ahem* and they brought out their ‘fish expert’ to get me supplies. He gave me a 1 Gallon bowl, a pouch of gravel, the lowest quality food, and BettaFix. For fin rot.



Well, after 6 months when he was all better (I didn’t know anything about fish all this time), we called the store, they never answered. So we kept him. And if they call me back I’ll give them the $10 for the setup I threw out anyway.

Yeah I work at a petvalu that used to be a fish specialty store befor eit was bought out so we actually have things besides bettas, and a lot of our employees know about fish only because I’ve taufht them. But I do agree that the new build pet value’s bettas are horrible we have the same cups because even after trying to pursuade the manager to get larger things for them, I had to settle with 4 time a week water changes. But in new builds I’ve heard they would go 3 weeks without changing the betta water which is downright horrible. I don’t recommend new build petvalus for bettas because they basically are kept in sewage and the employees are taught nothing about fish
( I’ve been through petvalu training I know it’s all dogs and cats)

 

Yeah I work at a petvalu that used to be a fish specialty store befor eit was bought out so we actually have things besides bettas, and a lot of our employees know about fish only because I’ve taufht them. But I do agree that the new build pet value’s bettas are horrible we have the same cups because even after trying to pursuade the manager to get larger things for them, I had to settle with 4 time a week water changes. But in new builds I’ve heard they would go 3 weeks without changing the betta water which is downright horrible. I don’t recommend new build petvalus for bettas because they basically are kept in sewage and the employees are taught nothing about fish
( I’ve been through petvalu training I know it’s all dogs and cats)

They also have those airpumps stressing out the bettas constantly

 

Yeah I got the manager to not put them in the tanks to they aren’t constantly being hit with currant.

 

Yeah I got the manager to not put them in the tanks to they aren’t constantly being hit with currant.

Good for you! The bettas are probably thankful