LFS bad advice

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Wulfy

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Feb 5, 2003
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Adelaide, South Australia
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How about another sticky thread listing all the bad
advice that LFS (Local Fish Store) has given you in
the past just to make a sale.

To kick off some of my bad experiences so far;

* Recommending a water softening (GH) resin kit and filter baggy to lower the hardness of water.
This is wrong because fish dont like TDS (Total Disolved solids) and resin replaces Magnesium and Calcium with
twice the Sodium Ions thus increasing the TDS even
though the GH apparently drops on a test kit.

* Selling plants that do not keep well in 30 degrees
celsius (hot) tank after being specifically asked about it.
I guess this is my fault, I should have researched
the species before I buy.

* Being advised that its ok to keep Guramis with Discus.
Not a good idea since Guramis are sickly buggers
and deseases will spread to your Discus.
I luckily sought other advice before I commited.
No doubt there will be a lot of other horror stories
about incompatible stock advice.

* Ive heard this horror story in the shop yesterday
from an upset begginer customer. A young father
with 2 young doughters. He bought some neons
to keep with his goldfish (!). Store advised its ok (!).
The Goldfish ate all the neons. Result disenchanted
n00b aquarist and 2 traumatised children.
 
Wow...I've had some bad experiences with LFS (keeping a Betta in the barb tank and one in the gourami tank, etc.), but that is downright ignorant of them...goldfish and neons, you said??? BTW, don't feel bad about not researching the plants, you have learned a valuable lesson for the future, and hopefully will find some hardy plants for your tank!

P.S. This place somehow manages to sell discus without large quantities of returns with misinformation at that new low???
 
Originally posted by Wulfy
How about another sticky thread listing all the bad
advice that LFS (Local Fish Store) has given you in
the past........... A young father
with 2 young doughters. He bought some neons
to keep with his goldfish (!). Store advised its ok (!).
The Goldfish ate all the neons. Result disenchanted
n00b aquarist and 2 traumatised children.
Click to expand...
At least a lesson in the "food chain" was given.... :D
 
The #1 piece of bullspit advice is:

A fish will only grow as large as their environment lets them, honey. You can put that pleco into a 10 gallon tank, easily....

What big one are you talking about? Oh, that one? Oh, he's 25 years old and has ALWAYS lived in a 300 gallon tank.... if you keep this little one in a 10 gallon he'll never get that size....

(Overheard at the lfs I now frequent before it was bought out by a responsible fishkeeper.... that pleco is still in that 300 gallon tank, btw, 10 years after that conversation...)
 
" There's nothing wrong with the orandas, they always look like that when they come in, the ammonia in the bags burns their skin, but its normal and it doesn't mean they're sick. Yes they'll be fine in your new tank." (which they bought at the same time)

also heard at the same lfs

"The pH in the tanks can swing from 7 to 9 from day to day but thats ok - it doesn't harm the fish"

This shop makes a big deal of testing their water publicly, but it seems to be just so much posturing because they don't know diddly squat about pH or its effects.

The staff at this shop appear to take great pride in their ignorance.

:(

There's a saying in this art of the world

"you can't educate pork you can only cure it!!"
 
Take Action - Speak Up

this isn't a flame to anyone, and I have experienced both sides of the fence in these situations (I used to work at a good LFS and now work as a professional aquarist)

Has anyone ever spoken up and challenged such bad advice on the spot? I've done this a couple of times at the local walmart (its kinda fun actually).

If your not willing to challenge verbally why not carry a few little cards with www.aquariacentral.com written on them, and slip it to the customer with a subtle suggestion that they do more research.

What good is the knowlege and information if we keep it locked up and then grumble about it later to friend who already have the same knowlege. The customer obviously isn't going to benefit, and the lfs clerk isn't going to learn the "right way"

just my 2 cents
 
Sharyl,
That's a great idea...I am making a Wal-Mart trip on Tuesday, so I will be sure to tell people if they are getting bad advice!!!
 
I actually do that already. I visit our two lfs's (after re-evaluating the other one, it's not the hell-hole that it was when it first opened... so I might consider buying a fish there later on if the tanks continue to look good...), and always am ready to give out free (and sometimes unwanted) advice about fish, first piece being this website. It feels good to help, even though I'm not getting paid for it or anything.....
 
I have tried to educate at this lfs but as I say the staff there actually seem to think they know what they are doing and they've got certificates to prove it (but they are issued by the shop so what a are they worth??) They seem to think I'm just some kind of mad person (you know the look????)

I have also tried the other tack of giving the customer an internet address but they seem to think that the people in the shop know best....... sigh
 
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