Misleading Labels at PetSmart, LFS etc.

[Blue Lobster]

Large Balas are not 6 inches long, so why label them as such? Same with Pictus Catfish, angels and Cichlids.

In most pet stores Balas are labeled as follows

Small=2-3 inches
Medium=3-4 inches
Large=5-6 inches

This fish will grow to 10+ inches, so where did this scale come from?

I understand that most fish sold will not hit full size but this is so misleading.


Anyone else notice this?

 

[OoHeatheroO]

They are selling by the size the fish currently is. So, you would pay more for an adult parrot cichlid then you would for a baby, for example.

 

[Raechal]

They are selling by the size the fish currently is. So, you would pay more for an adult parrot cichlid then you would for a baby, for example.

He means on the label underneath the fish it will say "Max size=5 inches" when in reality the fish can easily hit the 8 inch mark in the aquarium.

 

[abstract]

They are selling by the size the fish currently is. So, you would pay more for an adult parrot cichlid then you would for a baby, for example.

He means on the label underneath the fish it will say "Max size=5 inches" when in reality the fish can easily hit the 8 inch mark in the aquarium.

no, i think heather is right...they are selling the fish by the size they currently are - i'm sure they do not mention the max size anywhere so people ASSUME that the "large" variety is as big as they get

 

[rdd1952]

I visit the petsmart near where I work on a regular basis (going in about 15 minutes) and their labels are generally very accurate. I know the clown loach labeled correctly at 12". I haven't really paid attention to bala sharks but will look at the labels on those and also the plecos while I'm there.

 

[rdd1952]

just got back from Petsmart and their labels are fine. Below is a list of what their labels list as maximum size:

bala sharks = 13"
clown loachs = 11"
red belly pacus = 22"
plecos = 18"
ghost knife = 40"

I guess you could argue a couple of those (maybe plecos get to 24") but all in all, their pretty accurate.

 

[parker313]

I visit the petsmart near where I work on a regular basis (going in about 15 minutes) and their labels are generally very accurate. I know the clown loach labeled correctly at 12". I haven't really paid attention to bala sharks but will look at the labels on those and also the plecos while I'm there.

Ditto.

They sell the angelfish the same way - by small, med or large but then on the info tag, they have the same MAX size for all of them.

 

[LoachLover]

At Petsmart here it says that clown loaches get a max of 6 inches


try doubling that and you have it

 

[Paul_MTS]

at seapets there labels are rubbish and pointless, they may aswell just write the names and leacve it at that.

on puffers they put- "fin nippers" needs to be changed to "fish nippers"!!
any from plecs to red tail cats get- "grows large" very vague and almost pointless!!

Haven't been to Pets@Home for a while so can't remeber them.

at work we just put the names, if someones buying a big/specialist fish we let them know about it.

I think the best labels i'ved seen were at Shotgate Aquatics, very detailed with correct info....bullseye!!

In most pet stores Balas are labeled as follows

Small=2-3 inches
Medium=3-4 inches
Large=5-6 inches

this is how we define each size aswell, they make the scale by what they can get hold of. at work if we get full grown/sub adult fish in they may go up as XL, XXL depending what other specimens of that fish we have in!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

it is still a bit misleading to label fish that way... how many times have we fielded this:

oh, i can't have a large angel fish in my 10g? well, what if i got one of the small ones i saw in my lfs? i know they have them; they're only about an inch and it says right there on the tank "small angelfish"

i like the policy your lfs has, paul. its a shame that more places don't have a staff knowledgeable enough to implement it.

 

[Raechal]

They are selling by the size the fish currently is. So, you would pay more for an adult parrot cichlid then you would for a baby, for example.

He means on the label underneath the fish it will say "Max size=5 inches" when in reality the fish can easily hit the 8 inch mark in the aquarium.

no, i think heather is right...they are selling the fish by the size they currently are - i'm sure they do not mention the max size anywhere so people ASSUME that the "large" variety is as big as they get

Well at my petsmart they have the labels underneath the tanks that give the common and latin name, then how big their maximum size will be. I believe it said clown loaches are 6" and oscars are like 7" or something weird like that.

 

[vantgE]

I have too say when I first bought my fish i would have been fooled by this, I bought my cichlids expceting them to stay the same size, and thought the different sized angels were different breeds

 

[Beta 93]

just got back from Petsmart and their labels are fine. Below is a list of what their labels list as maximum size:

bala sharks = 13"
clown loachs = 11"
red belly pacus = 22"
plecos = 18"
ghost knife = 40"

I guess you could argue a couple of those (maybe plecos get to 24") but all in all, their pretty accurate.

thats what mine said here also

they really need to clean the dead fish out though...

 

[nc_nutcase]

Although I much prefer to support the individually owned quality stores, Pet Smarts seem to do their best at being a quality fish store. I'm sure their employee turn over rate is pretty quick, and spending 6 weeks educating an employee that will work there 7 weeks is... it's just not good business...

Usually the manager knows their stuff and just sort of employees other people to 'do the dirty work'. At least that's what I've seen around Charlotte, NC. (Note, and Rdd and I shop different Pets Smarts in the same city, lol).

Regarding labeling as small, medium and large... part of this is simply... the term "large" justifies larger price tags. Which is somewhat just (higher prices for larger fish), as if the LFS has to house a 2 inch Oscar for a week to sell it... the overhead on that one fish is small... where it will take a lot longer to sell a 10 inch Oscar, and it eats a lot more... therefore costs the LFS more to make this larger fish available... I know I gae the 'extreme' example, but I hope ya get the point....

 

[Javentule]

All Petsmarts should be using the same tags which read pretty accurately (except in the case of my ornate bichir ). They list current size in parenthsis (SM, MD, LG etc) because you wouldn't want to keep Large Oscars with Small Oscars, and you wouldn't want to spend the same price for a Small Oscar as you would a Large Oscar, etc. ALSO, someone might have a 20 gallon and REALLY WANT an Oscar, so they could get away with getting a Small Oscar and then upgrade their tank in a couple months.

Clown Loaches at Petsmart are listed as 11 - 12 inches (I can't remember which). Like I said, they're pretty accurate. Oscars are listed as 12 inches, but all the employees I know are sure to inform their customer that they can easily get up to 20, and that the inch per gallon rule does not apply because of their temperments. Goes to show you that good employees are invaluable. Unfortunately, I know from experience, that lots of Pet Store do a crumby job of keeping the really good employees around.