View Full Version : False advertising of Eclipse tanks
Hi Everyone....
I was out yesterday at my lfs and I was looking at Eclipse tanks. I happened to glance up at the 5 or 6 gallon (not sure which) and noticed that on the box there is a picture of the tank set up with about 25 fish in it!!!!!! Rosy barbs, tiger barbs...etc.
I pity any poor person who gets that tank for Christmas and decides he/she wants to stock it like it shows on the box!!!!:(
goldfries
12-23-2002, 9:22 AM
well as you know, marketing and advertising are always based on people's lack of knowledge (ignorance). and also marketing and advertising are always based on what draws attention.
it is obvious that they do that to attract, but how the buyer goes about in this hobby is another totally different issue where the company cannot be blamed.
JamisonBWolsh
12-23-2002, 9:26 AM
I agree. You cant sue them for that. Why? Because its possible to have so many fish...if its for a day or so... so I dont think you can sue them for that...
But check what this company claims on their product!
http://miraclebeam.com/aqualas.asp
whethor its true or not..
Jeremy S
12-23-2002, 9:35 AM
Jamison, your link doesn’t work.
JamisonBWolsh
12-23-2002, 9:39 AM
Originally posted by Jeremy S
Jamison, your link doesn’t work.
I think its the companies website. could be down?
wetmanNY
12-23-2002, 10:35 AM
On the box of rice there's a picture of a steaming bowl of rice --with a sprig of parsley. The parsley is not included. "Serving suggestion" might be a good phrase to add to the Eclipse packaging.
Erynn
12-23-2002, 12:02 PM
You guys are all right....hahahaha......it was just something I noticed while I was out and around yesterday. Serving suggestion would be a good idea for that box though! Anyway, wasn't trying to open a can of worms.....just something I had never noticed before and I found it sort of amusing!
dwayne
12-23-2002, 1:21 PM
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shopping/fish%5Ffood%5F%5F%5Faccess%5F/tropical%5Ffish%5Fflakes%5F%5F%5Fpellet/products/product%5F20514.shtml
This is absurd!! Talk about overfeeding your fish. And they claim they won't cloud your water - but what about killing your fish by overfeeding them? Feeding 4 times a day - outrageous!
125gJoe
12-23-2002, 2:37 PM
Originally posted by Erynn
I happened to glance up at the 5 or 6 gallon (not sure which) and noticed that on the box there is a picture of the tank set up with about 25 fish in it...
I think it's wrong to advertize like that.. What's worse, some would try and have that many fish in the tank..:(
wetmanNY
12-23-2002, 3:17 PM
...gazing at the dealer's tank of feeder goldfish milling around: "Wish my tank could look like that!"
pinballqueen
12-23-2002, 3:22 PM
My lfs owner said that the advertising on those little tanks is what keeps him in business....People refuse to listen to him when he tells them that won't work, and after he's argued with them until he's blue in the face, they buy a million fish anyhow....The customer is always right, I suppose....(I know he doesn't try to talk anyone INTO anything, most of the times I've seen him, he's been trying to talk people OUT of stupid purchases, and they don't listen. I guess when someone wants to spend money, they want to spend money and that's it....)
JamisonBWolsh
12-23-2002, 3:38 PM
Originally posted by pinballqueen
My lfs owner said that the advertising on those little tanks is what keeps him in business....People refuse to listen to him when he tells them that won't work, and after he's argued with them until he's blue in the face, they buy a million fish anyhow....The customer is always right, I suppose....(I know he doesn't try to talk anyone INTO anything, most of the times I've seen him, he's been trying to talk people OUT of stupid purchases, and they don't listen. I guess when someone wants to spend money, they want to spend money and that's it....)
The problem with a tank is if you have the correct ammount of fish in it sometimes it looks deserted and THATS the problem. In a 60 Gallon tank, you can have 2 oscars, better yet..only 1. Imagine the 60 gallon tank with a 2 inch oscar and thats it? People dont like that and they think they should always see MANY fish. So they overcrowd the tank and when a few die, they will just go back to the store and buy the fish again for .99 cents and then the cruel circle repeats itself. Probably about 90 percent (a guess?) of the fishkeepers out there arent as devoted to their fish as we are and just dont care.
pinballqueen
12-23-2002, 3:51 PM
This is true...that's why I have always kept a "rotating stock" in my aquariums.... I buy fish that will make the tank look stocked and maintain a size/number limit, then as the fish get too big/aggressive/too many, I trade them in on smaller specimens. My tank never looks empty, and I am doing the lfs a service by trading the fish back to him at a very sellable size for the same breed, just a small one again. I get a kick out of raising them, and then seeing them go into a big tank (I have an agreement with the lfs owner that he won't sell any of my fish to anyone with smaller than a 55 gallon, since that's what they are used to. Many of mine go into his not for sale tank, Alcatraz because they are too mean or big to put back out for sale). I also never have a huge overcrowding problem for more than a week or so, probably because I don't have quite as much time to get attached and can pretty easily part with them when they outgrow my home....
Then again, my passion is RAISING the fish from a baby until it's an adult, or nearly so. Most people would probably be a little more hesitant to get rid of something that they saw grow up....I think it comes from being around dog breeders for so long, I like to see them go to happy homes...
tim watson
12-23-2002, 4:37 PM
This isnt really to bo with false advertising, but when i purchased my first tank(10g),i cycled it with some neon tetras(all died),which were suggested by the owner of the store. when they all died i went back to the shop, and asked what else i could use. he told me that 6 little yellow tetras, and two rainbow sharks would be good...the tetras all died except 2, which i still have today. after that tank had cycled, i went to get more fish, 2 bala sharks and a clown loach...the were ALL SUGESTED by the OWNER OF THE STORE!one of the rainbow sharks was attacking the other, so i took the evil one back. at this point my tank was grossly overstocked..DUH!
anyways ... god example of a store just trying to make money off you:mad:
pinballqueen
12-23-2002, 4:47 PM
I guess I'm one of the fortunate few to have a good, honest lfs that cares about the placement of the pets they have to sell. Most folks have a story similar to yours, tim. Sorry to say that the owner of any business is usually in it to make money, not for the safety and well-being of the consumer or the product. He doesn't care what you do with the fish once it leaves the store, just so long as it leaves the store....
tim watson
12-23-2002, 4:52 PM
Money making is about making the customers happy. this does not make me happy.
Pathetic .
pinballqueen
12-23-2002, 4:56 PM
Originally posted by tim watson
Money making is about making the customers happy. this does not make me happy.
Pathetic .
I agree. However, most newcomers would just go back and keep the cycle of "my fish died, I wannanotherplzthx" going. It's really sad.
JamisonBWolsh
12-23-2002, 5:49 PM
Originally posted by tim watson
Money making is about making the customers happy. this does not make me happy.
Pathetic .
Since when does money making and making the customers happy coincide? Yes.. in the olden days, that was the case. When mom and pop stores catered to each individual customer and treated them friendly each Time. Today, however, with LARGE businesses and GREED, this concept has gone out the door. If you stopped shoping at such and such place...well there is a hundred other poeple waiting to come in the doors for the good deals.
Clownloach458
12-23-2002, 9:03 PM
hmm yes, i notice that on filter cartriges i buy for mine, it shows like 5 goruamies and all kinda f stuff, my 5 gallon only has a molly and rtbs(temporary, only about 2 inches)
crazyj
12-24-2002, 6:06 AM
The problem with advertising like this is that you will get a new person into the hobby and they willl try to stock the tank like it shows on the box. They keep losing fish so they give the hobby up. The LFS and the companys should remmber that if the person that buys this tank has good luck then they are more then likely be buying bigger tanks ,more fish ect. which in turns means more profit for them and in turns promotes the hooby further.
thanks CrazyJ:)