Working At A Pet Store

[sharkbaitwoohaha]

hi. i work for a chain (similar to those in the US) in the uk and the majority of staff dont care. but in our shop we love it. theres me and about 5 others with good fish knowledge and we get better everyday. i refuse to sell fish bowls cos its stupid and often get my head bitten off when we reccomend the fishless cycling. we refuse to sell fish and tanks at the same time no matter how small. its a good effort on ur part i think but we could still do better, like scrapping selling very small bowls and such. we do sell oscars but they are more like store pets than just there to make a quick buck.
it does upset me that some people dont care and i try to be as graphic as poss when explaining reasons why fish should not be overcrowded. its people who care who try their best to stop idiots who keep oscars in a 1g for example who are really helping despite what the rest of the company may do. better to be fighting from the inside for better care at least you know that some of the fish have a high quality of life and i put myself on the line for it. management also in my shop will happily refuse sales if they believe the attitude of the customer is not right and the company encourage it

 

[MHunt]

I have found that the quality of fish shop near me is almost proportional to it's size, and if it is part of a garden centre or not.

I have one garden center near me that has a large fish section, usually a handful of people staffing it, and the quality of the fish is poor to attrocious. White spot, dead fish, I got a couple of fantails from there, who introduced fish lice to my other goldfish! Who is now fine by the way after picking the little pests off with tweezers!

Another similar store is better in terms of the quality of the fish, although I nearly came away with three discus that were looking very stressed in a tiny display tank!

That said i have a few places near me that are fantastic. One very small shop with maybe 40 tanks, selling a varity of smallish community tropicals and fancy goldfish. And a larger store but again focusing entirely on fish. The difference is remarkable. The shop owners have time to talk to you, give advice, and are not afraid to discourage you from not buying certain fish for a given tank (Hence why i now have cockatoo chichlids and not angels with my tasty neons!)

I never shop at one particular place, one place is very good for tank equipment and foods, while the fish are better at another shop etc.

If you are in the UK there is a trade association OATA (Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association) who have guidelines for the keeping, selling, housing and transportation of ornamental fish. With other guidelines from the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) sellers have legal obligations to comply with regarding the sales of ornamental fish; sellers are fully entitled to refuse sales. I am sure there must be an equivalent in the US... ...it maybe worth making your boss aware of these bodies. I belive they can impose large fines if the sellers are found to be neglegent!

Is it possible to make an anonymous complaints about the conditions in a particular store, ie my friends with the fish lice, or do you think i'm wasting my time in the long run?