Fish you'd like to see less of...

[OohFeeshy]

Goldfish definately. At least I don't think shops should sell commons as aquarium fish. TBH, a lot of people (like me) think fancies are ugly. Plus they are more expensive. Also common plecs, clown loaches and silver sharks. You see silver sharks in nearly every pet shop... Why is it that shops only seem to sell inappropriate fish?

 

[WILDER]

I think lfs should put information on the tanks about the fish, also stating how big of a tank they need.

 

[GSD]

neons!they always hava about 3 tanks full of them,but id like to see them have afew more endlers and danios are impossible to get.

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

I only fish I'd like my LFS to stop stocking and selling are dyed fish. Poor things. It's so sad and upsetting to see something like little albino corys with bright green, lilac, and got pink tails.

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

i agree on the died the fish ad on the mixed chilids!!!

 

[dwarfgourami]

I don't mean they should *stop* selling plecos or even CAE's, but my nearest lfs has a few specimens of everything else (gouramis, tetras, livebearers, never more than one small tank) and then about half a dozen golden algae eater in every tank; you get the impression this is an essential and all other fish are optionals.
And you can tell from the questions on this and other fish forums that most beginners have somehow got the idea that you cannot run a tank without at least one largeish algae eater. I don't object to it because I think the fish are boring but because I know this attitude is going to cause suffering.

 

[George Farmer]

I'd like to see less dead fish - there's little excuse. The large pet-chain stores are the biggest culprits.

 

[GSD]

I'd like to see less dead fish - there's little excuse. The large pet-chain stores are the biggest culprits.

agree on that one

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I'd like to see less dead fish - there's little excuse. The large pet-chain stores are the biggest culprits.

agree on that one

True, i'd also like to see less dead fish but lfs's have to stock a heck of a lot of fish to make any money from them, so many fish end up in hugely overstocked tanks where deseases spread like wild fire...

 

[loafybones]

THOSE DAMN FANCY GOLDFISH!!!!!!! You know the ones with the bulgy eyes? They're just plain ugly!

I think the problem is though that some of the people at lfs's are more bothered about selling the fish and aren't really too bothered about whether they are going to a good home or not.

For example, clown loaches grow HUGE. Whe we got our first tank, we went to the lfs to buy fish. We saw some Clown Loaches and asked about them. The lad said that they are best kept in groups (TRUE) and assured us that we would be fine having 2 in our 63litre (SOOOOO FALSE)! Now the lad must have known that this wasn't true but let us take them anyway and that is what the problem is- arsey teenagers sending fish to their deaths just because they'd rather be spending their Saturday somewhere else!

By the way, I'm not generalising most of the staff at the lfs's round here are really good, it was just that one arsey teenager we have come across!!

 

[George Farmer]

but lfs's have to stock a heck of a lot of fish to make any money from them, so many fish end up in hugely overstocked tanks where deseases spread like wild fire...

Sounds like a reason but no excuse.

Shopkeepers should be responsible enough to stock at healthy levels - often centralised filtration is used so tanks appear physically overstocked but actual bio-filtration is ample. I understand that it may be virtually impossible to maintain all the tanks all the time especially during busy periods but when I see fish on sale that clearly have whitespot and are gasping at the surface - and are still doing so the next day after I have informed staff - well that makes me a little angry.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah those big fancy goldfish with huge bulging eyes are butt ugly! They are completly un-natural as well which i realy dislike...

 

[Paul_MTS]

seeing dead fish i put down to the staffing levels.

at work we usually have 2 member sof staff in there's 2 fish houses which you can't see the tanks from the main shop.

there maybe 1 or 2 dead uns aorund due to treating a tank etc but if we're busy with customer in the main shop then these dead fish would go un-noticed when a customer may stock them.

at another LFS i have barely ever seena dead fish there and i think this is because the fish house is out in the open and there's always staff going throough there and with what i usually see about 5 members of staff in they would would fine it hard pushed not to spot them!

although large chain stores are just crap!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

but lfs's have to stock a heck of a lot of fish to make any money from them, so many fish end up in hugely overstocked tanks where deseases spread like wild fire...

Sounds like a reason but no excuse.

Shopkeepers should be responsible enough to stock at healthy levels - often centralised filtration is used so tanks appear physically overstocked but actual bio-filtration is ample. I understand that it may be virtually impossible to maintain all the tanks all the time especially during busy periods but when I see fish on sale that clearly have whitespot and are gasping at the surface - and are still doing so the next day after I have informed staff - well that makes me a little angry.

Oh im not trying to make excuses for bad lfs behavior, but the truth is is that lfs's tried to stock tanks like they were keeping the fish themselves with lots of planting and well stocked, they'd simply go out of buisness because it'd cost so much and we wouldn't have anywhere to buy fish from at all. Sad isn't it?
I would definatly like to see less hybrid fish personally and completly "man made" fish as i don't agree with the morals of them...

 

[Torrean]

LFS sell commons as tank sellers. They hope that you are going to put him in a ten gallon and they hope like hell that he lives a long life.
3 inch common = $3.50 two years later 9 inch pleco needs a bigger tank. 29 gal $2-300 for whole set up. It's the same with all those small fish that get huge. They are tank sellers. 2 years later 18" common pleco needs a bigger tank. 55 gallon and all the crap that goes in it oh $4-500. Rough estimates. The only answer is to make it illegal and punishable by jail time to sell a fish into a tank that it cannot grow into.

EDIT: really think about it. Why doesn't every LFS stock ottos or rubbernose plecos if algae eaters are a necessity in every tank? BTW I like having an algae eater. True you do have to do more gravel vacs but it's kinda like your fish scrape all the algae off of everything and dump it in the gravel for you to vaccum out at your convenience.