Is my water OK to return a fish?

[Charlotte2001]

Hi.
I recently bought a rainbow shark that the guy should my betta would be OK with, he was wrong. The guy at store said I can return it as long as my water is OK. Do you think he will take it? This is my water.

 

[FallenPepper]

Should be good

 

[Essjay]

Does the nitrite tester show a hint of purple or is that just the photo? If it does, do a water change then catch the fish. Your ammonia and nitrate tests look fine, they can't object on those two.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

They look good to me.

 

[Waterstrider]

Also that’s a pretty terrible combination in general. How big is the tank?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I agree, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!

 

[JuiceBox52]

Yikes. Definitely not a good match. My last visit to the pet store I overheard an employee telling a customer that EVERY fish is compatible with any other kind in a 30 gallon tank.

 

[Retired Viking]

A good way to end up with a dead fish, most of the employees at my LFS do not have a clue, only the owner is knowledgeable when it comes to fish

 

[JuiceBox52]

For sure. Last time I was supposed to hurry but I ended up helping the guy choose his fish and corrected the employees (the manager.. yikes) advice

 

[seangee]

I won't tell anyone if you put a little de-chlorinated tap water in a jar and take that along to be tested - well he did give you bad advice.

Seriously you should take water in a separate jar - even if it is from your tank. There is no point in testing the water from the bag that you pt the fish in as that will always have ammonia - even if it only in there for 10 minutes.

 

[Charlotte2001]

Thanks everyone, he took the skark back, phew. My betta is extremely happy with his tetra fish mates

 

[utahfish]

What does your water being ok have to do with returning a live fish? I guess if all your fish had ich or worms or something that would be an issue but its not like if your tank had high nitrates and they took the fish back it would transfer the nitrates??? Seems fishy. I would have just said hey dont talk to me about water until you figure out a rainbow shark shouldnt be with a beta. LFS people can be the worst. Glad they took the fish back.

 

[JuiceBox52]

It usually is for returning dead fish or sick fish they check the water quality to make sure that you were not the cause of death or disease

 

[Waterstrider]

Lol, bad water. That wouldn’t be the cause of a sharks aggression.
If you need future help with matching fish feel free to ask. In a large tank sharks can have tank mates, but they tend towards either sturdy semi agr3ssive guys or quick schoolers.

 

[Colin_T]

What does your water being ok have to do with returning a live fish? ...

The shop is making sure the fish are in good water (no ammonia or nitrite and a low nitrate). The shop doesn't want fish that have been put in or kept in tanks with high levels of ammonia or nitrite because it damages the fish, and the stress of moving the fish after it has been poisoned by ammonia or nitrite, could kill it.

The shop is just covering its butt so you don't return a sick or near dead fish.