I toss my bigger plecos in my pond. Saying "it isnt my fault, they lied to me is a cop out" I say do research before you buy a fish. But I guess most people arnt as responsible as I am..
People at petsmart.
- Thread starter Manafel
- Start date
This was when i first got my tank and I knew nothing they did not want to take it back. Now it's getting bigger.
Yeah I do research now but when I first started I knew that fish only grew as big as your tank, just needed fed, filtered, and cleaned every once in a while and no one at th fish store made the effort to educate me differently. Now I know a lot more and I don't hold myself responsible at all for any mistake made in the first week of starting this hobby. Granted I got lucky though and didn't end with any fish like a common pleco that would outgrow my tanks
I doubt many people care. Look how many huge fish are listed on Craigslist when they outgrow the 10, 20, 29 gallon tanks. Then the people just run out and get the same fish, only as a small baby, to start the cycle again.
I was in Petco and the employee I was waiting for actually gave a **** and explained to this family that the brand new tank in their arms needed to cycle before adding the fish they wanted to buy. He made total sense and didn't lecture or make them look like jerks. But after Petco, I went to the LFS in the next shopping center for what Petco doesn't sell and ran into the same family and they gave me this stupid, sheepish smile because they recognized me and were there to circumvent the guy's advice. They probably loaded up their Sponge Bob 3 gallon tank with plecos and goldfish.
And when I first started in the hobby, I didn't have a smart phone but now I can double check facts (if the fish are correctly IDed or I can ID them if they're not) before purchasing. Yay smart phones!
I was in Petco and the employee I was waiting for actually gave a **** and explained to this family that the brand new tank in their arms needed to cycle before adding the fish they wanted to buy. He made total sense and didn't lecture or make them look like jerks. But after Petco, I went to the LFS in the next shopping center for what Petco doesn't sell and ran into the same family and they gave me this stupid, sheepish smile because they recognized me and were there to circumvent the guy's advice. They probably loaded up their Sponge Bob 3 gallon tank with plecos and goldfish.
And when I first started in the hobby, I didn't have a smart phone but now I can double check facts (if the fish are correctly IDed or I can ID them if they're not) before purchasing. Yay smart phones!
I got a pleco when it was very small because I knew nothing at first and they said it would be fine in my tank. Now I need to find it a new home. I been doing about 50% water changes a week with prime, that's how I keep the fish healthy.
StarSapphire22
Senior Member and Goldie Enthusiast
I went into Petco a couple weeks ago and there was a mom with her two kids looking at goldfish. Comets to be exact. Me, keeping goldfish, and looking at the snails in the next tank over, started up small talk.
"What kind of setup do you have?" I asked, after explaining that I kept fancy goldfish (to a look of bewilderment....non-fishkeepers never understand why some one would keep a bunch of "12 cent fish", lol). She respnded with "a 2 gallon bowl". I asked if she had kept goldfish before, and she said they had bought one from walmart that died yesterday after 2 months. The kids ran off to mess around the store and while they were away, I took advantage of kid-free time and explained stunting and why goldies need large tanks and filters. Knowing the kids would be devastated if they went home without a fish, the mom and I compromised on a betta. Still not an ideal setup, but she did water changes every other day at least, and bought betta pellets, and was seriously contemplating upgrading to a filtered 10 or 20 gallon at some point in the future if her 6-ish year old kids ever actually got more into fish when they were older.
You may not be able to make them completely see your side, and that betta may not be going into the hilton of fish homes, but it's much better off than a goldfish, and everyone got what they wanted. That mom acted like I freaking saved her life, too. I think when you actually have experience keeping that particular fish, and when it's a conversation versus a lecture, people are wayyyyyy more likely to listen to you. The Petco fish employee just sat around too, until she noticed I was leading the mom to the betta's and pointing out things to make them happy.
"What kind of setup do you have?" I asked, after explaining that I kept fancy goldfish (to a look of bewilderment....non-fishkeepers never understand why some one would keep a bunch of "12 cent fish", lol). She respnded with "a 2 gallon bowl". I asked if she had kept goldfish before, and she said they had bought one from walmart that died yesterday after 2 months. The kids ran off to mess around the store and while they were away, I took advantage of kid-free time and explained stunting and why goldies need large tanks and filters. Knowing the kids would be devastated if they went home without a fish, the mom and I compromised on a betta. Still not an ideal setup, but she did water changes every other day at least, and bought betta pellets, and was seriously contemplating upgrading to a filtered 10 or 20 gallon at some point in the future if her 6-ish year old kids ever actually got more into fish when they were older.
You may not be able to make them completely see your side, and that betta may not be going into the hilton of fish homes, but it's much better off than a goldfish, and everyone got what they wanted. That mom acted like I freaking saved her life, too. I think when you actually have experience keeping that particular fish, and when it's a conversation versus a lecture, people are wayyyyyy more likely to listen to you. The Petco fish employee just sat around too, until she noticed I was leading the mom to the betta's and pointing out things to make them happy.
It really disgusts me how some parents will buy their brats practice pets so they can kill or grow tired of and give away a variety of pets, working their way up to a puppy. Probably from a puppy mill to top it off.
The kids get tired of their goldfish in a bowl, so it's left to die and then a hamster or turtle is next in line. The turtle will probably go right in the fish bowl.
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The kids get tired of their goldfish in a bowl, so it's left to die and then a hamster or turtle is next in line. The turtle will probably go right in the fish bowl.
Sent from my PC36100 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
