Argh! P@h Refused To Sell Me A Betta

[tibby25731]

ARGH! I feel like screaming!
I wanted to buy a betta for my brother who I am going to visit this weekend. The sotre I got my Baby from is too far away and closes early, so i couldn't go there. The store I bought Neptune from had some bettas, but two were very sick looking and the third one looked like he may have finrot, despite being active. So I went to Pets at Home.
I found a betta who looked well and active, and asked to buy him. This is where the trouble started. The lad asked me about the tank he was going into and whether it had been running for a week with a filter. I said no, I am buying him for my brother, who has some mature filter media that we will set the tank up with at the weekend, and in the meantime I will keep him in a large bowl with no filter. However, I will do 100% water changes every day to keep the ammonia down. The kid looked at me and said, no, it is store policy, we can't sell unless you have been running a filter for a week. So he went off to get the manager.
The manager parroted all this back at me, by which time steam was coming out of my ears. I asked him what exactly he thought running a filter in a new tank for one week was going to achieve. He said that bacteria would start to grow. I am so sorry for all this, i need to get it off my chest! ARGH! I asked him where these bacteria were going to come from, and what they were going to eat, to which he replied, you add some stress zyme or cycle. So I asked him what good dead warm bacteria would be to a tank. And then pointed out they have a diagram of the cycle that clearly shows ammonia and asked him where the ammonia was going to come from for these bacteria to eat in week 1. he couldn't answer, obviously. So instead he told me he had a city and guilds in fishkeeping. i laughed. Oh dear. I think I may be banned from that shop now It is a good job i don't buy fish from there. And I have decided to never shop there again unless I have a fishy emergency and it is the only way to save my fish (as they are close and open until 8pm).

Rant over. I know the betta would be happier filtered, but for a few days with daily water changes he would have been fine! And the worst thing is, some chavs wanted one of the bettas and were gonna keep him in a community with danios, tetras and guppies. AND THEY LET THEM BUY ONE! I know, I know, I should have just lied to the kid who was gonna sell him.... but some stupid part of me refused

And I know it is not the shop staffs fault that they get crap training. And I know there is precious little I can do to change things. (Though I am considering a one woman protest outside there one weekend!!) But I am just sooooooooo furious right now. And so sorry for the betta who will be sold no doubt to some idiot

Anyway, i don't wanna start a p@h debate. But some sympathy would be nice

 

[fry_lover]

Hi

 

[lilfishie]

i can't believe they wouldn't sell you a betta because you had no filter, stupid people, although at least for once they seem to care for the fish in one way although not by selling to the chavs

 

[tibby25731]

I know, it is just so frustrating that they seem to be trying to do the right thing - but getting it wrong!
I would be very interested to know more about this city and Guilds in fishkeeping

the chav woman kept referring to danios as danos.
GRRRRRRR
I am 3 sambucas down and my face still looks like thunder!

 

[russ1979]

I for 1 wont be going back to p@H I went in their and seen some really nice guppies and the price said 5 male guppies for a 10pound so i said to the girl I'll take 5. She then asked me how long my tank was setup and i told her 1 day and she said "we can't sell you them cause your tank must be running a couple months. I told her "I had cloned the tank of my big tank and everything was fine" she then went and spoke to her manager who told her this was alright. She then got me to right down my name and address, postcode date of birth. Then she told me that they would only sell me 1 male guppy for every 3 female i bought. so i told her that for me to get 5 male guppies for a 10 pounds i would have to buy 15 females and she said yes. What a joke i only went in to by a couple of guppies anybody would of thought i was buying a couple of rottweilers I know refer them as the pet police what a joke

 

[tibby25731]

It is annoying to know they have policies in place to protect the fish but they are not protecting them
I wish there was something I could do to change things. Apart from boycotting the store that is! I would love to make a difference.

 

[constantine03]

That's so dumb. I'm sorry. I'd be livid and would've gotten the store manager and district managers info to complain!

 

[Netty]

Awwww Tibby.......that'll teach you for being honest How many sambucas is it now then

 

[pixiesandfairies]

There is something you can do! Tell me more......... I have resently started working in my lfs and it is company policey not to sell fish to an unfiltered tank as most people say they will do daily water changes, when you know they won`t! If you had come to me i would have said no as that is what i have been trained and i really want to be a good nice person when selling fish, i would have said to you to cycle the tank with liquid ammonia from boots. Also i have note been told of any reasons why you should not house Betta with the fish you said. Explain to me what i should do please? Thankyou!

 

[tibby25731]

thanks everyone. And i have lost track od sambucas now. Lucky I am used to using sambuca for medicinal purposes
Pixies, I told them the tank would only be filtered for a few days - after that he was going to live in a filtered tank with cloned filter media. I don't think they knew what i was talking about
Tetras and danios can both be nippy and nibble the bettas fins. Guppies, with their fancy tails, cause confusion for bettas and the betta may attack them thinking they are other male bettas. Some people successfully keep bettas as a community fish but it is not reccommended. Best tankmates, if any - as bettas are notoriously individual - are african dwarf frogs, cories or otos.

I feel a tiny bit better now
I HAVE TO STOP TELLING THE TRUTH!

 

[pixiesandfairies]

That is madness to have an offer and then make you buy lots of females! I would recomend that if you wanted to breed you would be best with 4 -6 females, But if you didn`t want to breed them you shouldn`t have to buy females. I know about cloning a tank and do it everytime i set up a tank. Thanks for all the information!

 

[newfishy]

if they were intentionaly making the males cheap but forcing you to buy females also I would wonder what they were charging for females.

 

[modaz]

tibby,........ring them up tomorrow and ask how long do you have to run your tank for before you can add guppies and i bet you the answer will be 1 week as well its standard practice for them to say this every time, they are atm doing the ban the bowl for bettas and goldfish without filters but they continue to sell the bettas out of tanks with danios and black widows in.

I get in a load of goldfish every 2 weeks and sell the lot due to our local P&H refusing to sell goldfish to the customers, our fish have got a returns policy on them for 7 days if they happen to die without any questions asked and the customers always return to say their fish are doing great even after P&H policies, most of them take their water samples in and they say the tanks are not ready for them, they come to us and the tanks are cycled by our testings and all is well.


baffles me completely

 

[russ1979]

That is madness to have an offer and then make you buy lots of females! I would recomend that if you wanted to breed you would be best with 4 -6 females, But if you didn`t want to breed them you shouldn`t have to buy females. I know about cloning a tank and do it everytime i set up a tank. Thanks for all the information!

I didn,t want any females cause they would breed and over run my tank but they said if i didn,t have females the males would fight and kill each other.

if they were intentionaly making the males cheap but forcing you to buy females also I would wonder what they were charging for females.

2 pouinds each the males were 2.50 so in other words i would have spent an extra 30 quid in order to get my 5 males

 

[tibby25731]

Daz, I know they are doing 3 months on the guppies at the mo. because i bought a few off them a while back. never buying from there again anyway, the shop was empty but there were so many tnaks with floaters today, much more than is acceptable. And yeah, they had the bettas in with black widows, or neons, or danios. Stupid! I have mentioned to the staff before that this is bad but they have not made any changes. I will stick to my other LFS which at least has divided (but small) tanks for their bettas. if only I could get to them this week - I just wanted to surprise my brother. he bought a betta the other week and it died overnight, he was gutted Ah well. You live and learn. i am a little calmer now!