Fish rescue rainbow shark

[Colin_T]

Please don't be too hard on the stores for not buying fish back.

Why?
They sell the fish and take our money. They don't always get it right and customers pay the price with fish that breed or kill or grow too big.

If a shop sells a fish to a customer, and the fish gets too big or reproduces like crazy, the shop should take the fish back if the customer doesn't want them.

We used to buy fish back from customers and never had an issue with new diseases being introduced into our tanks. The diseases are already in the shop and the importers and wholesaler's aquariums. If a customer had an oversized fish we couldn't take, we told them it's too big for our tanks. But we also suggested (or called) a couple of other shops and tried to find a home for that fish.

We didn't carry some fish because they got too big. eg: Black sharks and salmontail catfish. We didn't get them in because they get huge and customers always needed to get rid of theirs because they outgrew the tank. But most other fishes that didn't get bigger than 10-12 inches, we would take them and either add them to the display tanks or put them up for sale.

We also used to advise customers on how big certain fish got and whether they were agro mongrels that would kill everything they were kept with. We told customers about common livebearers breeding prolifically and that they would probably have a lot of young fish in the near future. We said if the fish were similar sized to the ones we sell in the shop, we would take them (assuming they were healthy and not deformed).

We got all our bristlenose catfish and most of our African Rift Lake cichlids and Central American cichlids from local breeders. They were usually bigger and better quality than the stuff coming from the importers/ wholesalers.

There's no reason for pet shops to refuse to take average aquarium fishes. I'm not talk tank busters like redtail catfish or black pacu. But if a shop sells those fish, they should accept those fish back if the owner no longer wants them or can't care for them any more.

 

[itiwhetu]

Why?
They sell the fish and take our money. They don't always get it right and customers pay the price with fish that breed or kill or grow too big.

If a shop sells a fish to a customer, and the fish gets too big or reproduces like crazy, the shop should take the fish back if the customer doesn't want them.

We used to buy fish back from customers and never had an issue with new diseases being introduced into our tanks. The diseases are already in the shop and the importers and wholesaler's aquariums. If a customer had an oversized fish we couldn't take, we told them it's too big for our tanks. But we also suggested (or called) a couple of other shops and tried to find a home for that fish.

We didn't carry some fish because they got too big. eg: Black sharks and salmontail catfish. We didn't get them in because they get huge and customers always needed to get rid of theirs because they outgrew the tank. But most other fishes that didn't get bigger than 10-12 inches, we would take them and either add them to the display tanks or put them up for sale.

We also used to advise customers on how big certain fish got and whether they were agro mongrels that would kill everything they were kept with. We told customers about common livebearers breeding prolifically and that they would probably have a lot of young fish in the near future. We said if the fish were similar sized to the ones we sell in the shop, we would take them (assuming they were healthy and not deformed).

We got all our bristlenose catfish and most of our African Rift Lake cichlids and Central American cichlids from local breeders. They were usually bigger and better quality than the stuff coming from the importers/ wholesalers.

There's no reason for pet shops to refuse to take average aquarium fishes. I'm not talk tank busters like redtail catfish or black pacu. But if a shop sells those fish, they should accept those fish back if the owner no longer wants them or can't care for them any more.

If I sold, you the fish, I would buy it back. If I did not sell you the fish, I would try to find a home for it. Simple. I am not going to buy back a fish that I didn't sell in the first place.

 

[Naughts]

We didn't carry some fish

This is the policy I would like to see adopted universally - it's easy to avoid routinely stocking tank busters that are going to cause problems for 99.9% of owners. If a regular customer with a big tank wants, say a shoal of clown loach, they could do a special order.
My preferred fish shop don't carry tank busters, and they don't trade balloon fish, hybrids, GM fish, dyed fish etc. It's one of the reasons I like them so much.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Why?
They sell the fish and take our money. They don't always get it right and customers pay the price with fish that breed or kill or grow too big.

If a shop sells a fish to a customer, and the fish gets too big or reproduces like crazy, the shop should take the fish back if the customer doesn't want them.

We used to buy fish back from customers and never had an issue with new diseases being introduced into our tanks. The diseases are already in the shop and the importers and wholesaler's aquariums. If a customer had an oversized fish we couldn't take, we told them it's too big for our tanks. But we also suggested (or called) a couple of other shops and tried to find a home for that fish.

We didn't carry some fish because they got too big. eg: Black sharks and salmontail catfish. We didn't get them in because they get huge and customers always needed to get rid of theirs because they outgrew the tank. But most other fishes that didn't get bigger than 10-12 inches, we would take them and either add them to the display tanks or put them up for sale.

We also used to advise customers on how big certain fish got and whether they were agro mongrels that would kill everything they were kept with. We told customers about common livebearers breeding prolifically and that they would probably have a lot of young fish in the near future. We said if the fish were similar sized to the ones we sell in the shop, we would take them (assuming they were healthy and not deformed).

We got all our bristlenose catfish and most of our African Rift Lake cichlids and Central American cichlids from local breeders. They were usually bigger and better quality than the stuff coming from the importers/ wholesalers.

There's no reason for pet shops to refuse to take average aquarium fishes. I'm not talk tank busters like redtail catfish or black pacu. But if a shop sells those fish, they should accept those fish back if the owner no longer wants them or can't care for them any more.

Sorry I disagree Colin.
An LFS is a commercial company that sells fish on a commercial basis and I think they don't have to buy fish that gets too big or unwanted. I think it is the repsonsibility of customers to get the right info (from the LFS but definitely from elsewhere) befote buying fish.

Also : How often do we have members that "will upgrade or rehome fish later" (after they're grown). Next to the fact that I think that is a weird idea I don't think we can ask thr LFS to get the fish back then. Is that called premeditation in English.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Sorry I disagree Slap.
An LFS is a commercial company that sells fish on a commercial basis and I think they don't have to buy fish that gets too big or unwanted. I think it is the repsonsibility of customers to get the right info (from the LFS but definitely from elsewhere) befote buying fish.

Also : How often do we have members that "will upgrade or rehome fish later" (after they're grown). Next to the fact that I think that is a weird idea I don't think we can ask thr LFS to get the fish back then. Is that called premeditation in English.

Hey, I thought I was "Slap"??

 

[DoubleDutch]

Hey, I thought I was "Slap"??

Hahaha sorry Slap. My mistake hahaha.
I thought it strange I had to disagree with YOU.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Hahaha sorry Slap. My mistake hahaha.
I thought it strange I had to disagree with YOU.

Had to mess with you DD, no big whoop...and nothing wrong with disagreeing, the world would be a bore without it

 

[DoubleDutch]

Had to mess with you DD, no big whoop...and nothing wrong with disagreeing, the world would be a bore without it

Bore ? Peaceful you mean.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Got some snaps of the corydoras now that they're settled in QT and coloured up again, poor loves! DEFINITELY at least two species - the larger one is not only much bigger than the other two, and coloured up differently from them. The two smaller ones might even be different species from each other, I don't have enough knowledge to ID any of em! Hoping @DoubleDutch @Naughts @Byron and @GaryE can help me out here!


Fish one - has a heck of a snout!

Facing the camera

I'll put the others in another comment due to photo limit

 

[Slaphppy7]

@DoubleDutch , now what do you think with these new pics?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Fish two and three. Certainly looking much better than they did when they arrived, poor things. How they looked after being transported here, before going into QT tank:

After a couple of days in QT, with lots of fresh clean water and live foods - they love mosquito larvae!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Fish two and three. Certainly looking much better than they did when they arrived, poor things. How they looked after being transported here, before going into QT tank:
View attachment 165840



After a couple of days in QT, with lots of fresh clean water and live foods - they love mosquito larvae!
View attachment 165830View attachment 165831View attachment 165832View attachment 165833View attachment 165834View attachment 165835View attachment 165836View attachment 165837View attachment 165838View attachment 165839

Colored up nicely!

 

[Colin_T]

Sorry I disagree Colin.
An LFS is a commercial company that sells fish on a commercial basis and I think they don't have to buy fish that gets too big or unwanted. I think it is the responsibility of customers to get the right info (from the LFS but definitely from elsewhere) before buying fish.

It's up to the shops to provide good and accurate information about fish they sell. I used to do it and it wasn't hard at all.

If they don't want to take back fish that have grown too big, then they shouldn't sell fish that get big. Likewise if they don't want to take back livebearers because they have produced hundreds of young, they shouldn't sell gravid females.

Shops have no valid arguments to refuse to take unwanted fish (assuming the fish is healthy). If the shop supplies the fish and the customer dies, the shop should take the fish back if nobody else wants them.

If a shop sells baby clown loaches, the shop should tell the customers how big the loaches get and how big the tank needs to be. If a shop doesn't tell the customer that, the shop should take the fish back if they get too big and the customer doesn't want them.

The shops have a duty of care to take unwanted fishes otherwise people dump the fish in the local creek. Then the government gets all upset about it and blames every fish keeper out there. Shops need to get off their backsides and inform their customers about things instead of just giving them a bunch of incompatible fishes and taking their money.

I rarely had any fish brought back to me by my customers because I informed them about fish size and what would be ok in their tanks. We had lots of young fish that were bred by the customers but very few of the original fish we sold got brought back. It's not hard to do and shops need to look at better training for their staff, and providing good information to their customers.

Good customer service, good information, and honesty will keep customers coming back. You give a customer bs and they won't come back. Shops need to accept responsibility for their staff and the advice they give. If they can't do the job, then get someone who can.

 

[DoubleDutch]

It's up to the shops to provide good and accurate information about fish they sell. I used to do it and it wasn't hard at all.

If they don't want to take back fish that have grown too big, then they shouldn't sell fish that get big. Likewise if they don't want to take back livebearers because they have produced hundreds of young, they shouldn't sell gravid females.

Shops have no valid arguments to refuse to take unwanted fish (assuming the fish is healthy). If the shop supplies the fish and the customer dies, the shop should take the fish back if nobody else wants them.

If a shop sells baby clown loaches, the shop should tell the customers how big the loaches get and how big the tank needs to be. If a shop doesn't tell the customer that, the shop should take the fish back if they get too big and the customer doesn't want them.

The shops have a duty of care to take unwanted fishes otherwise people dump the fish in the local creek. Then the government gets all upset about it and blames every fish keeper out there. Shops need to get off their backsides and inform their customers about things instead of just giving them a bunch of incompatible fishes and taking their money.

I rarely had any fish brought back to me by my customers because I informed them about fish size and what would be ok in their tanks. We had lots of young fish that were bred by the customers but very few of the original fish we sold got brought back. It's not hard to do and shops need to look at better training for their staff, and providing good information to their customers.

Good customer service, good information, and honesty will keep customers coming back. You give a customer bs and they won't come back. Shops need to accept responsibility for their staff and the advice they give. If they can't do the job, then get someone who can.

Of course it is, but the customer itself has a great reponsibility in that as well.

Not taking fish back doesn't tell anything about service or info (not) being given.

Even on this forum we frequently have (new) members complaining cause LFS don't want to sell the fish the constumer wants. To be honest I am amazed that the general agreement here and on other forums is that that is a shame and the members should speak to the manager. So even with good employees and decent info this occures.

To be honest : An LFS isn't responsible for the irresponsable behaviour of a customer in my opinion.

 

[DoubleDutch]

@DoubleDutch , now what do you think with these new pics?

Not leucomelas.

Those dreadful spotted ones grrrrrr