LFS Listening to customers?????
- Thread starter cmartin
- Start date
Our LFS seems pretty smart in when it comes to what to do with fish and all that good stuff that goes with getting fish.....and this one girl she actually said we could go check out 2 other places ( that we have already been to)...and she seemed pretty knowledgeable about the cichlids they had..
spirals
i will eat you in your sleep
Petsmart has care guides on almost every group of fish and some specifics, whether we have the room or our printer is working is another matter. Also keep in mind the amounts of research and variances of opinion that arise on a single species or type of fish (just look at this forum for example!) Every animal is unique, and every animal keeper has their own ideas on what is acceptable. So while pet stores can offer you basic information on keeping a type of animal, it is up the animal keeper to be responsible to fill in the gaps and take the time to become well educated on what is now their pet. Every section of the store also has a good selection of books, magazines, etc. and other lfs's also seem to have a book section as well. Quite frankly, if you are too lazy (obviously not referring to ppl addicted to this site who are obviously not) to walk over to a book section or do some online research yourself, I'm not sure if you should be in the care of an animal and have its well-being and life depend on you.
The problem arises when you walk into your LFS and "See the most amazing fish", but you don't know much about it.
Then what do you do? You could rummage through the shelves of books trying to find some info - or you ask the staff.
I - for one - don't want to have to do all of the research myself - digging through book after book while standing in the store.
They know the types of fish they order - just provide the info on the ones they carry. As long as the advice is correct it really does not have to be extremely detailed. But knowing whether it should be kept alone, in pairs, in schools, what temps., food, size, aggression, etc. should not be difficult to provide. Wouldn't they have to know those things in order to care of the fish in the store???????
I can't believe that we can walk into a garden store and find out everything there is to know about growing a certain plant - and it is all on a tiny little plastic sheet stuck in the dirt. But when you go to the LFS all you get is FW, SW, BW - and sometimes that is not right.
Sorry - ranting again.
Then what do you do? You could rummage through the shelves of books trying to find some info - or you ask the staff.
I - for one - don't want to have to do all of the research myself - digging through book after book while standing in the store.
They know the types of fish they order - just provide the info on the ones they carry. As long as the advice is correct it really does not have to be extremely detailed. But knowing whether it should be kept alone, in pairs, in schools, what temps., food, size, aggression, etc. should not be difficult to provide. Wouldn't they have to know those things in order to care of the fish in the store???????
I can't believe that we can walk into a garden store and find out everything there is to know about growing a certain plant - and it is all on a tiny little plastic sheet stuck in the dirt. But when you go to the LFS all you get is FW, SW, BW - and sometimes that is not right.
Sorry - ranting again.
someone said it... lol. i notice alot of trash being talked on LFS when people don't know anything... but no one seems to grab a book or do their own research. i'm new to SW tanks, so i've been asking all over about what i should do to get my tank going, etc... i've heard sooo many different things from different stores and different people... and it's not to say that they don't exactly know what they're talking about, i think everyone has different ways of doing things... i learned more from reading all the books i have and going online. i then take all the info and based on that, i decided what i think is best and will work well for me...
Great job cmartin! It would be great to have information like this avalible in the stores. The Petsmart and Petco, even the LFS near me don't have many books etc. nearby and most of petco's and petsmart's tags are wrong. Luckily, the LFS near me is very knowledgeable and are very easy to deal with.
I think the experts on here should come up with a list of 5 - 10 questions for us to all use at our LFS to evaluate the level of competence! :O) What do you all think? Any suggested questions?
LFS= Local Fish Store (I had to ask about the L too, I wasn't sure if they were Licensed... lol).
LFS= Local Fish Store (I had to ask about the L too, I wasn't sure if they were Licensed... lol).
I am not sure that a 'generic' test would work.
In my case, the person who as very knowledgable in one area comletely blew in another. They did not know the fish or confused it with something else and the results would have been terrible.
I wanted a Black Ghost Knifefish so I did some research online - but not as much as I should have.....
Then when I stopped into my LFS to pick up some supplies, there they were - BGK - 6 of them in a tank with absolutely no where to hide or get away from the lights.
I asked one of the staff members how often they had them in stock - rarely...OK - so if I want one....it needs to be soon.
My research told me that they are NOT a schooling fish - in fact they are extremely aggressive towards their own species - and sometimes they even make exceptions to that rule and will include anyone who will fit into their mouth. I also knew the size, feeding, etc. for them.
I told the staff member that I wanted to buy one and was told that they should NEVER be kept alone - in pairs or more was a MUST.
I decided to listen to all of the advice I had been given on this forum and all of the articles on the Internet.
I bought ONE and brought him home (no idea if it is a him or a her....but somehow the label "him" just stuck).
He was very stressed from being in a tank for 2 weeks with no place to hide - no way to get away from the lights (they are nocturnal and very shy). His tail was chewed off by the other BGK - they had no way to get away from each other either. The only saving factor was that they were only about 3 inches long at the time - their mouths were not big enough to do too much damage.
Since that time he has regrown his tail - almost just a bit more to go - and grown considerably. He now comes out of his cave when I go to the tank - seems like he recognizes my voice. He has not been the least bit aggressive with his tank mates, but then again, he has been well fed - I see to that.
Shadow (that's his name) is thriving now, but if I had bought 2 or more like I had been told, I am sure that I would not have the happy 'community' that I have now. These fish are very personable once they get to know you, but will hide the moment someone else approaches the tank.
They are not "just dumb fish" and advice like I recieved is just not right. Whether confused or poorly informed - fish like the BGK simply cannot be kept in 'schools'.
Sorry or ranting yet again....but this topic really gets under my skin.
In my case, the person who as very knowledgable in one area comletely blew in another. They did not know the fish or confused it with something else and the results would have been terrible.
I wanted a Black Ghost Knifefish so I did some research online - but not as much as I should have.....
Then when I stopped into my LFS to pick up some supplies, there they were - BGK - 6 of them in a tank with absolutely no where to hide or get away from the lights.
I asked one of the staff members how often they had them in stock - rarely...OK - so if I want one....it needs to be soon.
My research told me that they are NOT a schooling fish - in fact they are extremely aggressive towards their own species - and sometimes they even make exceptions to that rule and will include anyone who will fit into their mouth. I also knew the size, feeding, etc. for them.
I told the staff member that I wanted to buy one and was told that they should NEVER be kept alone - in pairs or more was a MUST.
I decided to listen to all of the advice I had been given on this forum and all of the articles on the Internet.
I bought ONE and brought him home (no idea if it is a him or a her....but somehow the label "him" just stuck).
He was very stressed from being in a tank for 2 weeks with no place to hide - no way to get away from the lights (they are nocturnal and very shy). His tail was chewed off by the other BGK - they had no way to get away from each other either. The only saving factor was that they were only about 3 inches long at the time - their mouths were not big enough to do too much damage.
Since that time he has regrown his tail - almost just a bit more to go - and grown considerably. He now comes out of his cave when I go to the tank - seems like he recognizes my voice. He has not been the least bit aggressive with his tank mates, but then again, he has been well fed - I see to that.
Shadow (that's his name) is thriving now, but if I had bought 2 or more like I had been told, I am sure that I would not have the happy 'community' that I have now. These fish are very personable once they get to know you, but will hide the moment someone else approaches the tank.
They are not "just dumb fish" and advice like I recieved is just not right. Whether confused or poorly informed - fish like the BGK simply cannot be kept in 'schools'.
Sorry or ranting yet again....but this topic really gets under my skin.
