What the most inaccurate thing the pet store has told you?

[NeonTetra1]

What's the most inaccurate thing a pet store employee has told you?

Mine is by doing a 60% water change (not even gravel vacuuming) you get rid of all the beneficial bacteria.

 

[Geoff]

Set up your tank, let it run for 24 hours, and then it'll be ready for fish.

Not one word about cycling.

 

[jackywacky]

I had a 20 gallon and wanted an Oscar… “oh it’ll be great! You can have it for its whole life too!”

 

[Kribensis27]

"You'll need at least a 5 gallon for him..." It was a goldfish.

 

[StarGirl]

That a ghost knife was a community fish. It cleared half my fish in one night. Went back to the store the next day.

Edit.....also this was 20 years ago when I didnt have internet.

 

[BigManAquatics]

They don't tell me much, i don't let them. Unless i ask what they been feeding certain fish.

 

[Littlebudda]

I once had a super aggressive Oscar (had to get rid of him once he started drawing blood) when I traded him for a good price I advised that he needed to be in a tank with fish at least his own size or he would eat them. They proceeded to tell me they were the ones with the experience (I was probably 20 so only had my own tank for 7or 8 years 5 of those with this fish) and that if it didn’t fit in his mouth they would be fine. And put him in with a group of American cichlids all no bigger than 3/4 his size. Admittedly it was a large display tank that they kept monster fish in to resell. Came in 2 days later and as I walked in noticed 2 or 3 fish that were alive but looked like they had swum through a tank of outboard motors. Oscar had proceeded to destroy everything in the tank probably 20 fish all marked in the over $100 class (30 years ago). The 3 left were all that survived the 48hrs, to his credit Oscar looked pretty good all things considered not sure they would have got there couple of 1000 dollars back they lost.

 

[jaysurf7]

Was told that you should AWLAYS add aquarium salt after every water change because it helps gil function and adds electrolytes. Haven't done that in years now i just use it very sparingly at certain times for certain reasons.

 

[DrogJustDrog]

I never ask pet store employees for advice, though I have been lucky to encounter fairly knowledgeable ones at my local big chain stores (one who knew my cousin's stocking of one molly, one glotetra, and a betta was a little silly)

I did however have someone at an LFS tell me the "one ich per gallon" rule.

 

[86 ssinit]

How about a thread of accurate things told by pet store employees! Yeah yeah I get it! There’d not be one post .

 

[NeonTetra1]

How about a thread of accurate things told by pet store employees! Yeah yeah I get it! There’d not be one post .

Yea...if you did an accurate thing of LOCAL fish store employees, there would probably be some answers!! Or, "all the things you want to tell PetSmart/Petco employees"!

 

[KingOscar]

"Can I help you?"

Just kidding... mostly.

 

[MarkEau]

How about a thread of accurate things told by pet store employees! Yeah yeah I get it! There’d not be one post .

I have heard a lot of poor information in pet stores and I still run into that in some chain stores. I worked in an independently owned aquarium store until recently and my two-coworkers and I took our jobs and our own tanks seriously. But I'm still learning even after 42 years in the hobby. Some the things I've learned from our regular customers have definitely improved my own understanding of the hobby.

The absolute worst advice or inaccurate thing I've ever encountered was when starting my second aquarium, a 5 gallon, because I was young and clueless and had to save up my allowance for such things. I was told a trio of angelfish should be okay in my tank if I changed 10% of the water every week. Need I add that this did not turn out well?

 

[Angiessa]

Asked if they would be willing to give me some filter media out of one of their cycled tanks to jumpstart a new setup. "We don't do that...but if you have a gallon jug, I can give you some of the water."