Beware-Never Again

[purpleangel]

When I 1st got into the the hobby of fish about 10 years ago the only store I ever went to was "x" Aquariaum. I only dealt with the store manager because I could tell the younger help didn't have enough experience. I've always had community fish until a few months ago. Got bored with them so I now have the Cichlids. Manager has moved on so I started getting help from a couple of the other managers.

After getting advise from all of you I knew some of my fish were not compatable and I needed to make some decisions. I called and spoke with the manager and started asking him ?'s about fish I had purchased.

Long story short-They put ALL of their Africian Cichlids(mixed,Mbuna,Haps etc) in the same tanks, except the one's from SA.

Needless to say I'll never buy Cichlids from them again

P.S. He still said that I could keep all of my fish together because they would grow up together. Never said 1 thing about them outgrowing my 55 tank.

[Blueiz]

Thats typical of pet stores. Most are looking to make a sale, and they could care less what effect it has on your tank, or you..

[cam191919]

ya, u gotta reaserch so when they do tell you that stuff, you can annoy them by doing the smart thing

[inkyjenn]

its good to hear though that you took it upon yourself to research your fish and ask questions. unfortunately, most places, especially the bigger chain stores, dont give out the most reliable information.

also, ive found that by being decisive about what i want from the get go helps me spend less :)

[Riiz]

Its the typical thing at chain stores and even non-chain stores with less than honest or knowledgeable staff. But there are a few people out there that really care, just rare.

If i'm out looking at fish for ideas, I never make an impulse buy until I can properly find out about diet, cause I've learned the hardway too many times after the fact. And some chains will make up the craziest names for fish, and when pressed for diet or care, are at a loss.

[Coler]

In fairness, keeping 'em all in one tank at the store is one thing versus keeping them for life in a tank.

What fish do you have that you are worried it will outgrow your 55 ? I didn't see any in your list that would concern me in terms of size...

If they have nice fish don't write 'em off as an option for what you want to buy now that you know what you're looking for :)

[Ozymandias]

ya been to the jacks in Richmond IN most of them are just trying to make a sale. by this point thay know to leave me alone.

[jm1212]

thats why i usually just tell them what i want and i don't ask questions.

sadly, uninformed "hobbyists" that often go to those stores are more likely to believe a person that is "paid to give information" rather than some 16 year old kid (*sigh*)

[Coler]

Guys...Thank goodness that there is plenty of research material available for anyone trying to make a start in the hobby etc.

[jm1212]

uh...edit time out...give me a break i'm doing other stuff too :D

continue:

to be honest, i HATE getting into fights with LFS employees. usually i just chime in and say something like, "oh, you're getting pacu? man they are awesome, but they get huge! i saw some at the Shedd Aquarium yesterday, and they had to be 3½ feet long!" or "i had an oscar a when i was a little. he got to at least a foot long, but we had to get rid of him becuase we didnt have the time to take care of the 75 gallon tank he would have needed." at that point, the people buying the fish usually reconsider their purchases, or ask something like, "is he REALLY going to get that big?" and the LFS worker usually tries to be sly with the sale and says "they only grow to the size of their tank." then the person looks to me and i say "ehh, that called stunting...its not the most pleasant thing. your ten gallon would probably be better off with a dwarf gourami and some neons. dwarf gouramis have all of the same personality as oscars, but they only get to about 3 inches long rather than the 12 an oscar will get to." "hobbyists" usually want to cram in as many fish as they can, so they usually take the six neons and the dwarf gourami over the one oscar.

sometimes though, they start by attacking me. then all bets are off.

the best one was when i was with my aunt and we were getting fish for my cousin's 20H that we had fishless cycled using ammoina and media from my tank (only had my 20H at the time). everything was good for about a week and we stopped at an LFS to get some fish to surprise him with (i knew what he wanted, he had a list that he gave to me for "approval" :D). my aunt and cousin were "new" to the hobby so to speak but they both had done plenty of reading and research on fishless cycles, filters, water changes, chemicals, etc.

so we walked up to the fish dept., and asked the woman working there to get us a couple of fish. she asked if there was anything in the tank, and i said no.

she said, you have to cycle the tank with some of these starter fish (pointed to mollies and platies). i told her that we had already cycled the tank. she asked how, and i told her that we added media etc. and everything has been good for a week. maybe she just didnt understand the fishless cycle, but she told me i was dead wrong and that all of the fish i would have gotten would die. so i explained the entire fishless cycle, and we kinda went back and forth (mind you she is just repeating the same stuff over and over) and she finally gave up and said:

"i am obviously not the expert here"

i maintined me cool the entire time, but right here, i would have made a subtle snap back, but held my tongue and let her storm off.

i told my aunt, "i wanted to say 'obviously not' (ok, i usually have a better one, but this isnt the high school lunch room) but i tried so hard not to"
and she said, " yeah, i was waiting for you to finally snap back with something like that just to get her to shut up. i dont know what her problem was."

if you have made it this far, good job! thus ends my rant...

[Ozymandias]

have had some times like that was actually offered a job, by doing that with some one there who actually new what thay where talking about, at jacks but couldn't take it becuase i was leveing for home in a month. might take the offer up if it is still avalble when i get back. so if any one goes to the Jacks Aquarium s and pets in Richmond IN i might be working there next semester. of course i will steer you to a low tech planted tank so beware :)

[Rbishop]

good story, jm1212!

[purpleangel]

Hello Coler

Someone on the form advised me not to keep the NIMBOCHROMIS VENUSTUS that get 11 inches and the RED EMPRESS would get 9 inches. Plus I was told neither are compatable with my other fish. I really like the colors of the RED EMPRESS but if it has to go I want to do what is best for the fish.

[inkyjenn]

it makes me sad sometimes seeing the screamingly obvious n00b getting raped at the fish store. i saw one little old lady buying jug after jug after jug of special water from petsmart for her 29 gallon tank. she was grumbling about the weight and the price. i walked over and asked her why she didnt just buy some dechlorinator. she told me the guy in the fish section said that her water wouldnt work. i talked her into buying the api master freshwater kit and a bottle of prime. she was so amazed and greatful for not having to lug huge jugs of water up a flight of stairs any more.

[jm1212]

good story, jm1212!
i was saving it for a rainy day, but hey.