The pains of dealing with liars in the fish keeping *Vent ahead*

I dunno know if it like this where any of the rest of you live. There are some real weirdos in our fish keeping community. Some people tell white lies about what size there tank is or what they are keeping. What really bugs me is people who lie about what they are selling.
??? One lady was trying to sell red x blue(male) zebras saying that some of the females are blue. The only way that is even possible is if the male is another types of zebra possibly a cobalt zebra. Hybrid...hello.
Then another person saying that their fish is wild caught or first generation...when clearly they aren't or in our case we sold the people the fish to begin with & know what they have, but saw a post of them selling their fish and saying they are F1s. He wants WAY too much $$$ for his fish & set ups. 2 55 gallon & a 33g and over 100 African cichlids. This is the guy I trusted to keep my blue haps properly. Ever since I got my male back he has had a problem with his swim bladder...parasites. I am treating him again but for longer this time. We are mad b/c we wanted them for breeding but the male isn't strong enough and has passed on something to the last batch of fry we had to cull. :'( We lost around 50-60 fry.
We want these fish to breed so we need to have a pure true strain to begin with so we don't sell hybrids to others.
When we open our own fish breedery/store so we can provide well taken care of fish for cheaper then our lfs and still make a profit to keep the fish happy & healthy. You won't see 40 betta in cups in our store ever. Maybe a few in 3-5g tank here & there.
I just wish people who are dishonest would stay out of the pet business. Using animals to hurt others and make a profit is wrong.

 

Vent away, Allie!

 

Vent away, Allie!

Thanks...this is why I like animals to people. They aren't complicated. Feed me, take care of me and pay attention to me...that's all they want. But people, just want... who knows what people want?
I am a simple honest person, sometimes too honest with people. I just wish everyone else could be too. Especially when it comes to pets.

 

Yea, sadly there are plenty of liars and cheats in fish keeping.. and not just the chain stores.

If we get to open a Betta store one day, our customers are going to know the facts and our Bettas will be kept properly. Wouldn't it be great if all fish stores were run by fish lovers?

 

YES!!!!!

And the sad thing is, these chain stores that feed people lies are taking over because of cheap prices for sick fish, when the people who actually care struggle because they have more money involved to keep their fish healthy. it drives me nuts!

 

Oh Allie, I wish liars and cheats were only found in fishkeeping but the 'me me mine mine' mentality that breeds that kind of behavior is prevalent everywhere.. I encountered it several times while driving home from work today!

 

It's a sad fact of life....People do cheat and lie......I'm sorry you are having to deal with this....Feel free to vent all you want!

 

I understand your frustration Allie. I was looking for a queen arabesque pleco online and one of the stores that said that they carried them had a picture posted next to the discription. The picture was of a spotted pleco. Ummmm, hello, queen arabesque plecos are striped!!! I am very cautious when ordering online because there are so many dishonest people out there. I guess all that we can do is hope that Karma comes back around to give them what they deserve!

 

Oh Allie, I wish liars and cheats were only found in fishkeeping but the 'me me mine mine' mentality that breeds that kind of behavior is prevalent everywhere.. I encountered it several times while driving home from work today!

It's ridiculous really. These people have been in my home and have bought my fish. Who can you trust out there? ???
We take the time to breed our fish, make sure they are healthy...spend money to make them grow up strong. Make them people friendly or try to depending on the species. Then people buy them say they have a large enough tank. Have too many fish and stunt their growth which can also stunt other important parts to keep em healthy for their actual life span. I don't know what the guy thought taking my blue hap pair jamming them in a 55 gallon with 40 Mbuna which beat the tar out of them. He was beaten up when we got him back and has been really off since. He flys around the tank when he sleeps...it's like he has no gravity when he sleeps. He freaks me out.
He may not make it this time and he is only 2 years old. :-\
I am really mad since I found out how many fish he had in those tanks. Yes some over crowding in an MalawI cichlid tank but 50 in a 55g?

 

It's a sad fact of life....People do cheat and lie......I'm sorry you are having to deal with this....Feel free to vent all you want!

 

There's a local fish breeder that I shop by whenever I need new stock.. an old Chinese guy, who only sells to fishkeepers by referral.. he doesn't entertain 'walk-in' business because of the kind of people you're talking about.. all fishkeepers make mistakes and have fatalities when they're starting out, but the ones who're in it because they love fish, try to learn and get it right over time, the others who think of fish as ornaments and easily replaced, are who you're talking about in this post.. He sells only by referral to fishkeepers who're serious about doing the right thing by their fish.

For the benefit of the fish you're breeding for sale, you'll have to decide if you're into breeding and selling for profit, or because you love your fish and want them to go with fishkeepers who'll try to do the best possible job keeping them happy and healthy.

 

that is exactly why I wanted to get into breeding myself, the stores here are big time liars, not to mention the one store where we used to trust has the sickest fish I have ever seen, and will not buy from again! when we get into saltwater, I def will be looking at aquabid, or a local breeder (well as local as I can find) prob the healthiest fish we have bought in a long time was the labs we bought from Dino, and the peacocks, and then the cynatilapia afra haI reefs I bought from the next state over on aquabid and that aquabid transaction took me really straining to even consider it.

I feel your pain! I am looking forward into going saltwater in one of our tanks, but the buying of the fish will be an almost all online thing, if I cannot find local breeders. I know a little about saltwater, and one of the stores we went into had what I thought was a beautiful reef, and was telling us how to set one up "their way" and then when I got home and was reading a book it mentioned one of the types of worms you don't want in your tank, and I remember all of those reefs at that store having them in there...

I will never buy from petsmart again! I am having to sell all the fish I bought from petsmart, I finally found someone who just wants cichlids for their tank to look good that will take them.


I do agree about the animals! they are easier to deal with than people!

 

Being a step up from most folks here on the level of fishkeeping, I hope that does not sound too bad, Ross and I have found this to be very true.
Some of the VERY expensive fish we have bought in the past have NOT been what they were advertises as.
We actually have started a list of folks we will no longer do business with.
We will be posting this list in the fishhouse for the locals to see as well.
This has been both local people and people online.

We have experienced nationally known importers selling fish with incurable diseases, fish that were supposed pure strains throwing fish that were NOT the same as the adults, receiving orders from nationally known importers and have 70% of it dead within weeks ( on average we have less than 5 dead fish a week, with over 1000 fish in the fishhouse, which is a .005% loss a week.) to just name a few things that come to mind.

BUT, there are also a lot of good fish folks out there.
You just have to look a little harder to find them.

Thanks for the plug, Steveangelia!!

 

Maybe we should form a network of "Honest Fishlore Fish Stores"

Really, I haven't cared much for the stores here but do have hopes for this new store we recently found. We have found some trustworthy breeders through the aquarium society and Dino knows good fish people out here.

 

Maybe we should form a network of "Honest Fishlore Fish Stores"

Really, I haven't cared much for the stores here but do have hopes for this new store we recently found. We have found some trustworthy breeders through the aquarium society and Dino knows good fish people out here.

Our Aquarium society IS the problem. It's where we met all the weirdos amd few real people. It makes me sick that people are using a club supposed to be used by fish keepers for learning and what not to tell and lies. okey:

 

We have experienced nationally known importers selling fish with incurable diseases, fish that were supposed pure strains throwing fish that were NOT the same as the adults, receiving orders from nationally known importers and have 70% of it dead within weeks ( on average we have less than 5 dead fish a week, with over 1000 fish in the fishhouse, which is a .005% loss a week.) to just name a few things that come to mind.

Are you serious? I would be livid.

 

That stinks!

Our Aquarium society IS the problem. It's where we met all the weirdos amd few real people. It makes me sick that people are using a club supposed to be used by fish keepers for learning and what not to tell and lies. okey:

 

There are SEVERAL people in the clubs we belong to, that I will not buy fish from, no matter how cheap.
Cause how much money do you save on a fish that's dead in a week and has brought who knows what into your systems.

 

Yea, that's for sure.

 

No prob Dino.

I am just so discouraged by the local fishstores! Its heartbreaking to me to have a fish die, even w/ as many as I have. So for me to get some at a store and them die w/ in a couple days I just can't go through that. I guess that explains my ocd w/ waterchanges, and testing. I have named every adult cichlid I have, and my betta. If I could tell the 50+ fry apart I would name them too they are all my pets the same as my cat. I learned one thing really fast, never never buy from a mixed african tank no matter where the mixed tank is! That was where all of my sick fish came from. Not to mention a local store that is supose to have the most upstanding rep that I wouldn't buy fish from no matter how cheap or pretty they are.

I actually saw a new one just a county up into ky today, I am just waiting on another to disapoint me. If I hadn't been going to a hair appt I would have stopped to peek in the windows (they open this sat) I will def be there to see what they have.