disappointing visit to my LFS

[impur]

I have only 1 LFS and the other place is walmart where i won't buy fish from. Well i took my 3 small silver-tipped sharks and sold them to the lady at the LFS because i knew i wouldn't be able to give them the right home when they matured. They are still there, labeled shadow-finned sharks, and are covered in ich. I feel bad for em. When i brought them to the lady, she didn't acclimate them and just dumped my water in with hers. Now i know my water is fine because my parameters are all checked and my current fish are very healthy. I have always read and been told this is a no no. You must acclimate them to the temp and the water which is what i do. So i purchased an ammonio test kit as i was out of mine. $9.75 for the thing. Walmart sells em for $3.25.

Then today i stopped in, this is when i saw the silver-tips with ich. A lady was buying some cichlids. In this tank they have cichlids from both lakes. I listened as she explained what ones she wanted. Not only was she getting some from each lake, but she was buying the tank, filter, etc at the same time. This lady hadn't even set up the tank (a 10 gallon mind you) and they were selling her the fish. I couldn't take it and said its not right, explained a little to them. The guy working there kept saying i was wrong, so i left. Very disappointing. Guess i will continue to drive to Eugene an hour away for quality. Its worth it in my book.

 

[Mollymomma]

That's awful.. I'm pretty new to fish keeping ( just over a year) and it just saddens me to see & hear of the horrors these people, with the lack of knowledge inflict on not only the fish (the worse) and the newbie's that really depend on what the store employs tell them.. I'm sorry you have to travel so far for quality but you are congratulated for doing so

 

[ang7880]

Hi... sorry about your visit! I have a similar complaint. My choices for fishies are between Petco, Petsmart and little place called Aquatic Designs... Well, I'm happy to go to Petsmart... Aquatic Designs is a bit out of my way... and Petco, well they sometimes have a bigger variety of fish, but the quality is horrible. Their tanks are constantly filthy! Dead fish just lying in the tanks all of the time...the one main girl in aquatics just says, "Oh, excuse the dead fish 'n nasty tanks...I haven't been here in a couple of days." I've seriously been thinking about writing a letter of complaint to Petco's corporate office... I don't know how the other Petcos look, but my local Petco is . Anywho... just had to vent about that.

Ang

edit: I must be tired... I can't spell tonight.

 

[finatic]

I am so thankful for my LFS. I live in a city and just have to walk across a grass field to get there! I am on first name basis with people there and they really care about their fish. I have bought all my fish there with the exception of a peppermint pleco I bought from CM. They are very knowledgeable and fish keepers themselves at home. Laurie was very helpful to me when I first started as to what varieties I could mix well. Now I go in for odd balls and always end up there for a while just talking fish with them. I wish everyone had such a great place to go. Three cheers for my LFS I am a lucky girl.

Finatic

 

[steve-0]

im luck ymost the lfs here ar epretty good. Walmart isnt bad because the lady there knows a little, Petcetera is great except all their fish are juvenille and small

 

[Alia]

It not only varies from store to store, but you might get a good feeling from a place one trip, and the next time you are apalled! I find that to be the case at all the options that are open to me.

I was just in a Petco yesterday and I was thinking it was nice that they didn't keep ALL of their bettas in small glass bowls -- some were in regular size tanks with other fish, and some were in larger containers.

I think so much depends on the people they hire and how they are trained. Are they just unleashed on the tanks, or are they taught something a little more than how to net a fish and put it in a bag? I feel that the smaller shops have a better chance of getting good people because hobbyists might be drawn to work there, but even in the smaller shops I have seen clueless attendants. It's a shame.

 

[Jamnog]

thats terrible did i tell you that when i was buying my irridescant they took the fish bag to be tied up in the hospital tank thu infecting the bag with about four diseases? its a shame they dont know much about fish.

 

[DMK]

I heard but don't know if this is true or not, but you must be licenced to net fish in an LFS is this try?

I have the same problem with my 2 pet stores (don't know what they are called don't care what there are called) niether of them are able to hold fish niether should be allowed to hold fish. The same as above is the same in both mine, dirty tanks, dead fish, diseased fish, no idea what they are doing. Gives me the hump to think this goes on. If there other pets were in such bad condition then the would have animal rights and what not knocking on there doors but fish! nah that's ok let them suffer. Drives me mad sometimes.

 

[gadazobe]

I agree with everything said above - a lot of pet shop don't consider fish as living creatures and treat them terribly. With that said, I must applaud my lfs - they're great. Just a word of warning to you all, don't name names and be careful what you write. I wouldn't want anyone to be sued for libel.

 

[DMK]

With all of the above said though can the LFS really be blamed? I say the folks that supply the fish to these shops should check the tank conditions before they allow them to sell there fish. And if the tanks are not up to scratch then refusal to supply should be what's on order. This way the LFS will take action and sort there tanks out. The LFS don't want empty tanks nor do they want to abandone them as it has cost them money to setup. I have just come back from my local LFS after buying a new tube. I had a look at the fish and was shocked as to what i saw. The algue growth is shocking, i have less facial hair. the glass, heater, airlines and UGF tubes are covered in it. The fish are gasping for breath and yesterday was the day for delivery. Why would the supplier allow this to happen? Why would He/She deliver to these kind of tanks.

This is something that really gets my hump.

 

[impur]

i also talked to the owner lady asking if and how much she could order a Red Terror (Festae) for (thinking for my 135 i plan to purchase). She said its actually a Red Devil. I told her I believe she is mistaken but she insisted its the same fish just from a different lake.

Festae.....from CichidScene

Red Devil labiatus....

Red Devil midas.....

The lady is definately nice, but that only goes so far.

 

[Tanked]

I am in that lucky category and thankful for it. I have about 20 LFS' all within a 30 minute drive from me. most of them are horrible but I have 3 that really stand out. there tanks are crystal clear. I've never seen a dead fish and they will not sell there fish if they are sick. they will hold them, treat them and then call you when the fish is healthy again. and just yesterday I found one by my office that had a very small assortment of fish, but had plants out the wahzoo. I'll be going back there in the near future. need more plants for my work tank