How To Tell If Your Lfs Actually Knows What They Are Doing?

Whenever I go to a LFS it is really interesting to me to watch them roll out the basic questions about keeping fish. The not always accurate "1 inch per gallon" rule, telling people bettas can be kept in small 1 gallon bowls without a heater or filter, ect.

What is your go-to question to find out if someone working at a lfs actually knows what they are talking about? I've discovered that asking about platy sexing is the best method for finding out whether or not someone knows about fish. I was thinking about upgrading my 5 gal betta tank to a 10 gallon because of the dollar per inch sale that was going on at Petco, but when I asked about filters that won't blow around a betta, he seemed shocked that I was getting this 10 gallon for a betta and said that I shouldn't bother with a filter or the heater in my cart. Then, out of curiosity and the looks this guy was giving me for thinking about getting a 10 gallon tank for an apparently lowly betta, I asked him if I got platies for the 10 gallon instead, how many females does he have? He told me that he didn't know how to tell the difference. But it's probably my fault for assuming someone who works at Petco to know anything about fish, even if he's in the fish section.

What is your go-to question to ask someone to find out if they actually know something about fish? I think the platy sexing question is a good starter, and I'm willing to admit that I am pretty proud of myself for thinking it up on the spot. He just wouldn't leave me alone about the betta in a 10 gallon.

 

I usually just rely on myself and have everything worked out ahead of time.

 

Whenever I go to a LFS it is really interesting to me to watch them roll out the basic questions about keeping fish. The not always accurate "1 inch per gallon" rule, telling people bettas can be kept in small 1 gallon bowls without a heater or filter, ect.

What is your go-to question to find out if someone working at a lfs actually knows what they are talking about? I've discovered that asking about platy sexing is the best method for finding out whether or not someone knows about fish. I was thinking about upgrading my 5 gal betta tank to a 10 gallon because of the dollar per inch sale that was going on at Petco, but when I asked about filters that won't blow around a betta, he seemed shocked that I was getting this 10 gallon for a betta and said that I shouldn't bother with a filter or the heater in my cart. Then, out of curiosity and the looks this guy was giving me for thinking about getting a 10 gallon tank for an apparently lowly betta, I asked him if I got platies for the 10 gallon instead, how many females does he have? He told me that he didn't know how to tell the difference. But it's probably my fault for assuming someone who works at Petco to know anything about fish, even if he's in the fish section.

What is your go-to question to ask someone to find out if they actually know something about fish? I think the platy sexing question is a good starter, and I'm willing to admit that I am pretty proud of myself for thinking it up on the spot. He just wouldn't leave me alone about the betta in a 10 gallon.

Personally, I do not expect the employees at Petco to know anything more than how to put the fish into the bag. From what I have heard, they are given very little training to do anything beyond that. If an employee actually knows about fish-keeping in one of these stores, it wasn't from any training they received from management.
Actually, I have never bought fish from Petco, Petsmart, Walmart... as I feel that they are ( as corporate, "big box" sellers of fish) overall irresponsible ( there may be stores that are an exception) with the care of their aquatic animals. Of course, they will not change because I don't buy there... but they may change their practices if their bottom-line begins to suffer from many people who protest their inadequate training of their employees and handling of live fish by closing their wallets.
I do buy from some LFS, but I do my own research on the fish I want, their care, compatibility with other fish, etc...
So, to make a long story short, I already know all the answers before I go to my LFS.

 

I usually also by the health of the fish.

 

Whenever I go to a LFS it is really interesting to me to watch them roll out the basic questions about keeping fish. The not always accurate "1 inch per gallon" rule, telling people bettas can be kept in small 1 gallon bowls without a heater or filter, ect.

What is your go-to question to find out if someone working at a lfs actually knows what they are talking about? I've discovered that asking about platy sexing is the best method for finding out whether or not someone knows about fish. I was thinking about upgrading my 5 gal betta tank to a 10 gallon because of the dollar per inch sale that was going on at Petco, but when I asked about filters that won't blow around a betta, he seemed shocked that I was getting this 10 gallon for a betta and said that I shouldn't bother with a filter or the heater in my cart. Then, out of curiosity and the looks this guy was giving me for thinking about getting a 10 gallon tank for an apparently lowly betta, I asked him if I got platies for the 10 gallon instead, how many females does he have? He told me that he didn't know how to tell the difference. But it's probably my fault for assuming someone who works at Petco to know anything about fish, even if he's in the fish section.

What is your go-to question to ask someone to find out if they actually know something about fish? I think the platy sexing question is a good starter, and I'm willing to admit that I am pretty proud of myself for thinking it up on the spot. He just wouldn't leave me alone about the betta in a 10 gallon.

I ask them if I can keep a common goldfish in a fishbowl..or ask if you can keep an arowana in a 5 gallon tank

 

I agree with Bettaponic and Discusluv. I do my own research and decide what's going to happen in the store before even walking into the store. My son and I make a list and a contingency plan if they don't have what we are looking to buy. I even have him do his own research on individual fish parameters and compatibility, so that we don't get misinformed and make an impulse buy. I generally don't follow any advice from Petco or Petsmart employees. If they give me misinformation I nod and smile. If they ask about my current tank, all I say is that it's an established tank. As far as the LFS goes, mine has some very excellent and knowledgeable employees and them some not so knowledgeable ones that are as bad as Petco and Petsmart. Bottom line is, there is really no need to test their knowledge provided you do your own research in advance and never buy fish or equipment on impulse without first understanding what you're getting into.

If that guy had asked me what the 10 gallon tank was going to be used for, I would have politely told him I hadn't decided and would wait for it to cycle before making a decision.

That said, it's really good to find one of the good LFS employees and become friendly with him or her, so that you have someone you can trust to bounce ideas off of from time to time.

I hope your betta is enjoying its new home, Rachel!

 

I have helped inform/train the fish person at my local Petco, the mom&pop pet store in town (the nearest petco is 42 minutes away, the nearest other pet store is about an hour away unless I speed then it is 50minutes) has gone down a bit in their fish section (not only are they not able to cycle their tanks after moving, I know hard process to do but they had filter media from the previous place which they moved everything from to where they are now, they don't really give any good advice for the fish themselves, though they will steer people away from some fish with other fish). So I would say I can trust a little of what the petco person knows considering I'm taking it from here or other websites that are reputable to him to give him some knowledge or some knowledge to the people that are there (people still assume I work there which is fine by me, if I can steer someone away from getting larger growing fish for a ten gallon I feel some small accomplishment and the stock isn't too terrible - they will treat as soon as they see something and place a hold/not for sale sign on the tank until it has gone from the fish).

 

I simply ask if they work there, if they answer yes I don't trust them.

 

You have to be respectful of the poor devil working there. I've spoken with people who were reprimanded for helping customers - they had been instructed about what to share and had overstepped the lines by knowing more than the manager. Experience that, and no matter what you know, one inch per gallon will do as advice. You may have kids to feed.

I learned years ago to accept advice from owner operated stores - if the fish looked like the person was competent to give advice. I have seen some LFS set ups that were horror shows, but a well appointed, clean local store is likely to have good advice.

Usually, I ask myself how much I want an unfamiliar fish. Then I walk out, go home and research it. If it works, I return and buy. I like to go back a week later, and use the store as part of the quarantine, actually.

I really don't like to depend on others for fish advice, I am an experienced aquarist, so I have a huge advantage. If I were new, nothing anyone here said to me would go unchecked, and the same for stores. Take what is offered as a starting point. I always cross reference information - it takes 10 minutes and it can save you hours of trouble.

 

I don't expect a minimum wage employee of a chain store to know anything. I have far more experience so it's my responsibility to know what I am buying, and how to assess health. It would be easy to quiz them and make them feel stupid every trip. I would get no joy from that. The real answer is I know not to go there in the first place. Quality sources are worth the effort.

 

I know not to trust the advice of anyone in a lfs, and to always research research research. I just feel bad for people who are going into a lfs and are setting themselves up for disaster by people claiming to know everything about fish but they really don't. This guy was just resilient for some reason about this misinformation, I had one question on what filters were calming (I went with aqueon quietflow 10 by the way, aqueon's not my first choice but I had some filters for it that I have recently acquired from a friend for it) and he just started spewing stupidity. I didn't have the heart to let him know that his whole life is a lie, so I just casually implied that I know way more about fishkeeping than he does.

I just feel bad for the first time aquarist, being in that position once before as a child when the owner sold my mom essentially one of every tetra in a 2 gallon tank, it was appalling and disastrous as one might imagine. It makes me sick to hear children cry "nemo! nemo!" in the fish department knowing that with those cries lead to fish deaths in most of the cases, but maybe I'm just a cynic. I overhear people asking "fresh or saltwater?" while pouring over their often ill-informed and broad pamphlets, making a huge expense and taking on pets without literally any research, and to ask those equally ill-informed employees advice on how to save the lives of their doomed fish.

Sorry guys, looking back at this post it was more of a rant and less of a question that may or may not have been fueled by vodka tonics.

 

The new lady they hired at my local pet store dosen't know a thing. I said I was eyeballing the Kribs. They had iridescent sharks in there as well and she mentioned that she loved the sharks. She had 6 of them at home. I no longer trust a thing she's gonna say. The ladies there know me and know that I know fish. I *almost* always research first.

 

Just started 7 months ago. I have learned to watch and listen and of course do my research. My phone search has stopped me from making the wrong impulse buy. I have approx. 6 LFS near me. Only 2 I trust so far (they are mom and pop stores) As mentioned I also check the facts here. I just bought some ghost shrimp. And I had a conversation with the fish attendant, he seemed nice and was somewhat knowledgeable. I thought not bad. But as I was just browsing, I could not help but overhear what he was trying to sell someone. Not good. In this short time keeping wet pets, I try to be prepared before I go. No impulse buys.

 

I normally just ask a stocking question that I know the aswner to ex: "how many blood parrots in a 30g" and this actuslly happened once they answered "6 or 7 is perfect" .... I walked out the store and didnt buy a single thing, if they can't answer my question right then I avoid there store, if they have so little knowledge my guess is the fish are neglected as well and they don't care for them and just in it for the money.

Surprisingly yesterday I went to a LFS about a 25 min ride from my house , and it was just positive vibes , the young employee I would roughly say mid 20s new about the hobby , he new how to sex kribs , he new how to sex black skirts , he new how to sex acaras ect.. He told me he'll only sell me the shoaling fish if I buy 6+ I was completely shocked. Now I no all of these things already but hearing it from a young employee was something I've never experiences and I go to many many LFS. He also told me do you have a QT tank , he said our fish are normally QT for about 3 weeks before we bring them up , but you never know with the stress from traveling ect.. it could cause ich so we always recommend to QT at home for signs of that, he talked to me about the nitrogen cycle ect.. I already have 8 aquariums so I no enough obviously not everything the hobby is huge and I still have much to learn but I new everything he was talking about but didn't want to tell him and just let him go on and on, so finally told him at the end just letting you know I have 8 tanks , I breed fish ect.. but I'm super happy you know your stuff where's your boss , he brought me to his boss and I told his boss "this young man is great , he knows some stuff and he is letting the clients know which is fantastic, don't lose him cause you gained me as a customer from now on".. Also on the plus side didn't see a single dead fish , fish didn't seem scared , no signs of illness or stress , tanks where nicely decorated and not over stocked.. all in all fantastic LFS and glad I went.

 

I actually "rescued" a betta from Petsmart 2 months ago after I swore to myself I would not buy fish there. The staff was dead set against me putting him in a 10 gallon, as if I were making some huge mistake. Multiple warnings from multiple employees. "He won't do well in such a large tank" "You're making a big mistake, get a smaller tank, even 5 gallons is pushing it". I asked them to elaborate, but no one could justify their stance with anything other than "They just do better in smaller tanks". I actually took the time to explain to them how much experience I have, how many expert fishkeepers keep bettas in far larger tanks than 10 gallons even. That as long as the tank is not too tall, and the current gentle, etc etc etc. I told them everything I know about keeping bettas. They seemed to believe me as I went on and on, so I think my time was well spent. I have heard so many crazy things from Petsmart fish employees, this example is the very least of them, but I've already shared those stories in other threads...

 

I simply ask if they work there, if they answer yes I don't trust them.

There's just two problems with that. If they say they do work here, apparently they are not trustworth. If they say are don't work there, they are either lying (would you trust someone who lies) but they actually work there or...they stole someone's work clothes.

 

Research is your only weapon...Unless you go to a fish store that is reputable and known for it quality fish as well as knowledge. If they ask you what your current stock, gallons and filtration system is and you tell them you know it's a good store with good employees.

 

I know exactly what I'm doing 99% of the time, I get in, get my fish, and get out. On the rare occasion I go to a new LFS, I always ask 'I just finished cycling a 10 gallon. What do you recommend I put in it?'. I was once told 'yeah, 3 or 4 convicts would be cool',

 

I don't really bother with trying to pin some wrong answers on a worker. They may not be passionate about working in that section. It's just a job. The whole store might just be some random job to them, they may not even like any animals. IMO it's still the customer's responsibility to take care of any pet they end up buying. Bring it home, raise it, research how to make its life good and comfortable, etc. I don't blame a pet store worker if I couldn't bother to do that for my pet.

An example would be me. I know a little more than I did before. I would love working with the fish section and do my best to keep them nice and healthy, continuing to grow my knowledge about them. But if you come to me and ask me all these kinds of questions, and I didn't answer to your satisfaction but that's your measure of how I or the store think of the fish, then you'd be wrong about it.

At the same time, if I were to handle the cat or dog section that day, knowing very little about cats or dogs, and someone came in to do the same thing about cats and dogs, they might get the wrong impression, too. I work there, yes. But am I more expert than someone who may have been doing this hobby for years or even have a special attention to certain kinds of fish that I wouldn't know about? Again this is why I don't treat a store or employee as the measure of how much I might like that store for its products and prices.

 

I have investigated by question and purchase Petsmart, Petco, 2 walmarts, a local mom/pop shop and Meijers (a big box store).

I guess I got lucky in the Petco because the fish guy there knows his fish lol. I didn't ask a serious question until after he showed me his tanks, two 55 gallon beauties. He did steer me from keeping platys with my swords as I want to breed the swords, he told me if I bred them, the mom and pop would buy them as petco has conracts and can't. I'm working on cementing that relationship so he will give me a call when something I want comes in so I don't have to drive 35mins there just to see lol.

The guy at Meijers was well informed also, he pointed out the temp problem with two fish I was going to get and knew lots about plants.

All of the stores have stood by return policies and dead fish policies.

 

I trust my 2 lfs for fish quality and healthiness, and nothing else. If I want expert advice on a weird question I would ask someone here - or better yet, I have hands. I can Google.

It's embarrassing for both of us when big chain store reps try to help.

I was googling antibiotic right at PetSmart, and this girl really wanted to help so I made a bad decision and let her in on the symptoms, treatment options, antibiotic etc.

This girl was so out of her depth - embarrassed - and had to say something, and I was kind of embarrassed for assuming she'd know.

She recommended a water change.

I thanked her.


I mean... we all expect too much from chain store emplyees, and even lfs sometimes. They are part-time kids who aren't paid for proper training. Working at PetSmart isn't their career choice, and they won't be there for long.

You wouldn't expect the mustard recipe form a McDonalds employee.

 

I don't ask for advice from any fish store. I come here where I can get a bunch of answers to compare (and possibly help from people who actually own/breed the fish!). Then from there I can research and make an informed decision.

I judge fish stores by their health of fish more than anything else. I'll chat up the employees sometimes, but I don't really expect them to know anything, especially in a chain store. The chain store workers don't always know about the fish. Heck, some that work there don't even like animals!

But I'm always impressed if I buy a feeder goldfish and they ask me if my tank is big enough for it and they get excited when I tell them I have a pond. It's a start, anyway.