This is something I have had bugging me for over 3 weeks along the same lines.....
I was over at "Pet Stupid" and was going to get fish to put in my 125 gal tank. I had done a fishless cycle and seeded it with sponges from my old tank. All my levels had been 0/0 and 10 for about a week and figured it was TIME for the fish. So me and the girlfriend go over and start looking at the selection. We made our choices and evidently there was a manager meeting just concluding as a bunch of them were all over the store, coming from (I guess) a confrence room. One stopped and asked me if I needed assistance. I whipped out the list of 30 small fish we had agreed on ( mostly different types of Tetras, some White Clouds etc...) The MANAGER asked what size tank I had and the current stocking level. I said "Just cycled new 125 gal tank, no fish yet...." and before I could finish she said, "Well we can only sell you 5 as this many will die if you try to get them all at once!" While I tried to explain a "fishless cycle" to her, she interupted and then went on to explain how I did not have "any clue" if I thought that I knew what I was doing. She tried to explain to me, as if I was a 5 year old ( I am 45 she was maybe 25-26 ) how you have to use CYCLE and add fish slowly and test the water every week or 2 and you can't house a Betta in that big a tank as it would stress it too much and frozen blood worms are not good for such small fish and never add live plants to a new aquarium and change 10% of the water once a month, any more than that will stress the fish and never use more than a 1/4 of the rec dose of plant fertilizer with small fish, the iron is bad for them.....and and and.....
To make a long story dull: I asked her for her name, thanked her for her advice (thinking I would write a nasty gram to the main office explainig the "right" way to educate their customers) and then saw "Rich" who has been a great source of info at the store ( and who thinks Aquaria Central is Heaven on Earth ) and showed him my list. He said "No Prob, be back in a sec! By the way, we just got those Corkscrew Vals you wanted!" She was flabergasted! She started to ask what he was doing and he told her that maybe she should go check the supply of dog food and leave his department to those who know what they are doing. He later told me "She means well but has absolutely no clue except for what they [Pet Stupid] tell her...."
The Moral of the story is there are a FEW good folks out there and ALOT of MORONS...and the morons always stand out like sore thumbs!
BTW _ALL_ 30 fish are still alive and doing well!
(climbing down off my soapbox)
I was over at "Pet Stupid" and was going to get fish to put in my 125 gal tank. I had done a fishless cycle and seeded it with sponges from my old tank. All my levels had been 0/0 and 10 for about a week and figured it was TIME for the fish. So me and the girlfriend go over and start looking at the selection. We made our choices and evidently there was a manager meeting just concluding as a bunch of them were all over the store, coming from (I guess) a confrence room. One stopped and asked me if I needed assistance. I whipped out the list of 30 small fish we had agreed on ( mostly different types of Tetras, some White Clouds etc...) The MANAGER asked what size tank I had and the current stocking level. I said "Just cycled new 125 gal tank, no fish yet...." and before I could finish she said, "Well we can only sell you 5 as this many will die if you try to get them all at once!" While I tried to explain a "fishless cycle" to her, she interupted and then went on to explain how I did not have "any clue" if I thought that I knew what I was doing. She tried to explain to me, as if I was a 5 year old ( I am 45 she was maybe 25-26 ) how you have to use CYCLE and add fish slowly and test the water every week or 2 and you can't house a Betta in that big a tank as it would stress it too much and frozen blood worms are not good for such small fish and never add live plants to a new aquarium and change 10% of the water once a month, any more than that will stress the fish and never use more than a 1/4 of the rec dose of plant fertilizer with small fish, the iron is bad for them.....and and and.....
To make a long story dull: I asked her for her name, thanked her for her advice (thinking I would write a nasty gram to the main office explainig the "right" way to educate their customers) and then saw "Rich" who has been a great source of info at the store ( and who thinks Aquaria Central is Heaven on Earth ) and showed him my list. He said "No Prob, be back in a sec! By the way, we just got those Corkscrew Vals you wanted!" She was flabergasted! She started to ask what he was doing and he told her that maybe she should go check the supply of dog food and leave his department to those who know what they are doing. He later told me "She means well but has absolutely no clue except for what they [Pet Stupid] tell her...."
The Moral of the story is there are a FEW good folks out there and ALOT of MORONS...and the morons always stand out like sore thumbs!
BTW _ALL_ 30 fish are still alive and doing well!
(climbing down off my soapbox)
