stupid chain stores

[fishlover88]

im not gonna lie i would be super excited if i sent my gf to the store and she brought be home a catfish. Granted the debauwi catfish would last about 5 minutes in my tank, but i would be more than happy to set up a small tank for them. Was it petco? i dont go in there at all. and ive not seen them at petsmart.

 

[Jahosacat]

What I do now is have write out's about my animals (including the cat and the rats). For fish its just a card that says "10G tank, Sunset Coral Dwarf, Male guppy, Neon Tetra, Molly Hybrid, Oto" so that if he ever has to make an emergency run he can grab that and point to it in the store (lol)

What a great idea! I think I'll remember it.

I was in one of my fav LFS and one of the young employees was helping a couple who said they were just setting up their tank didn't know the difference between male and female guppies. After that same employee argued with me about something that I had done a lot of research about I decided to walk out of the store when he was there.

There are bad stores and there are good stores. There are knowledgeable employees and there are ones who don't give a hoot. It's up to us to learn the difference - or be prepared to deal with some new, fun, finny friends.

 

[Dwarf Puffers]

He wasn't boiling with rage at the store, he was just laughing about his wife getting the wrong fish, lighten up...

 

[silentskream]

i keep labels and "emergency info" for all my pets on index cards.

for my fish, i write their pet name (or all of the pet names if i have multiples of the same variety, or nothing if i have too many of the same variety, lol), and then their common name, and then for the cichlids i write the scientific name then i get my baby sister (she's 9) to draw pictures of the kind of fish that the card is talking about whenever she comes to visit.

this is a fun way to get her involved, and i know that if i'm out of town she can get on the phone and tell me which one is sick.

i also have a "quick reference" on the inside of one of the fishtanks doors. this is a bunch of photos of common problems that happen if i'm away for a while, so she can see it and recognize it and tell me what it is
(i also do this with her because the grown ups in my family are much less absorbent of the knowledge i try to give them. LOL)