I broke all the rules

Yeah... it is all about the mindset of the people involved here. Customers that are just grabbing the fish for a tank with no though have been led to believe that they are JUST fish. Because the fish cannot whine and make noises when it is ill they think it has no ability to feel pain. There is no interaction between the person and the fish. (Little do they know that you CAN train fish to eat out of your hand). As for the store employees that is another issue. Often we are frequently served by staff that are given a close to minimum wage job and because such they don't care because they feel they are not paid enough to care. That goes down to their work ethic too but that is a whole other rant.

I am spoiled by my LFS... they have a 72hour guarentee, they chat with most of the customers about their tanks and inhabitants, have a sign in the store that states they will not sell ANY pet to a minor without a parent or guardian present, order what I specifically want and also by sex and guarantee that as well. And the manager is probably one of the most knowledgeable in the fish industry in the whole city.
 
I used to be one of those people who would just buy fish to have them..but that was maybe 4 yrs ago before i even delved deeper into the world of fishes. That's why i've got a billion tanks running lol. (figurative speech) Now i can't stand it when i go to any pet stores and i see people making random combinations of fishes with minimal tank sizes.. i cringe. oh some of them knew the basic ideas but not much more and it sucks because the way they handle the fish are also atrocious. they just scoop, look at them for a while on their hand, then dump. ugh. people people!

I know one of the stores that i've gone to here in the inland empire in cali has closed down.. but then it wouldn't be a question why. i've seen the conditions of their tanks and their fish looked miserable with concave bellies. I think there may only be one or two lfs here in my area where i feel that the owners have adequate knowledge of their fish.
 
Que said:
Where do people get this stuff from?

Q
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I don't know but it drives me crazy. I was looking at frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp at Petco on Sunday I heard a worker *****ing to the other fish workers about how a guy tried to buy some clown fish for his freshwater tank saying they adapt. I also overheard a woman saying "I want some goldfish, but I need to buy the really small ones this time so they won't die."

Then the best thing I heard all day was when a little kid tried to put his hand in a fish tank and the dad told him to stop. The kid said "cause the water will hurt me?" and the dad said "No, you might hurt the fish." I swear he was the only responsible parent in the store.

steve p said:
Yes now were talking, i would like to shake that guy by the hand and the old couple by the throat:grinyes:

Steve
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Yeah I thought that was awesome. They have some super fishy smart people working there, I always get an earfull of questions about my setup and tons of advice.
 
if it helps, here in montana today, in the news paper a lady has been sentenced to not have pets of any kind, and the order says including fish until 2011, because of cruelty to animals
 
I am just glad there are people out there like you at fishie stores. Too many times have I walked into fish stores where all they care about is how much you are gonna spend and pretty much will tell you anything to get you to buy something.
 
Thank you for the kind words everyone. It helps. I just hope someday attitudes will change towards our fishy friends and they can be protected and valued just as much as our four-legged friends.
 
Here's a few stories for fellow fishy workers (and really everyone on these forums).
1) Mom and her 4 year old kid come into the store and want to buy a fish tank. They had bought a 5G fish tank 2 weeks ago and wanted fish to put in it.
mom- "So my son would really like one of these buggy eyed goldfish, they'll be ok right?"
me- "actually they would get a bit too big for that tank, I would recommend some of the smaller tropical fish, or perhaps a betta for that particular tank"
mom-"oh...but he really wants the goldfish, so we'll just take our chances"
As I'm getting ready to snap (I'd already have 6 of these "i'll take the chance, and be me, i mean, my fish who has no opinion in the matter of its life!" customers in the 30 minutes) the little boy turns to his mom and goes "no mom, its too small, and i want my fish to be happy"
I wanted to cry and give that little kid a hug, instead I sent him home with a gorgeous male betta for the tank.

2)Random customer walks in and wants to get some neons, I do my normal "how big is the tank, what type of fish, how long has it been set up, etc" and instead of the normal "omg i don't care just give me the fish) the customer actually thanked me! I was literally shocked into a speechless state as she told me she was so happy that someone asked her these questions, because she didn't want to take home a fish that would hurt the ones she had.

So next time you have that *&$*%ing customer who wants that Pacu for their 10G tank and won't take no for an answer, just try to remember all the good customers who really do care about the fish and appreciate the fact that some of us are out to help and not just to sell. (Same applies to customers and lfs workers, we don't all suck i promise :) )
 
Very cool Spirals! You need to transfer to a store near me. I wish the folks in this area cared as much as you!
 
And the little kid deserves a hug!
 
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