Anybody work at an LFS? What are commonly asked questions?

[ehh]

Prepare to explain to people how a fish growing to fit the size of the tank is unhealthy(and cruel imo). You'll get that a lot.


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[Pazzoman]

So start...algae typically becomes an issue for a handful of reasons: too much light, excess nutrients, and poor flow. Instead of treating the symptoms, try find the cause.

-Will defiantly asked the customer questions like whats their stock, filtration method, feeding routine, water change routine and other husbandry questions before telling them a possible solution and if that solution requires any purchases from the store.

Ok. When I worked at a fish shop, first time owners always ask me why their fish is turning black.
-Ammonia Burns which can be solved by doing water changes every few days or just cycle the tank without adding any fish to the tank for a few weeks.

Hmm Ive never heard of this before, probably because I have never seen any of my fish under go the change of color. Only ammonia burn I remember is when I first got a stingray shipped to me and it had red marks underneath, told it was ammonia burn. I will defiantly have to look into it, and if they customer asks me this I will tell them to either test there water for ammonia or bring a water sample in for testing, but for now do a water change.

I managed a pet store for years (1989-2000), it was like being the fricken mayor. Seemed like everywhere I went people would be all "hey it's the fish guy!" Working the counter was like being a bartender, people would tell you way too much personal stuff.

Lmao, Im starting to feel like that already

Why do my fish keep dying? I feed them 4 times a day and change their water once a year.

Lmao, haven't been asked that yet, probably soon tho

The five minute thing about feeding is bad advice. I can toss a heaping handful of food in the tank and they'll pick it at for 5 minutes then I have a mess to clean up.
I used to tell people you want to feel as if you're not feeding them enough. It takes a long long time to starve a fish. If you notice they have have swollen bellies after feeding time, you can probably cut back a little bit.

I always tell customers its always best to underfeed than over feed, usually I tell them to take the time and place in little food, and observe to see them all eat. If they finish it than throw in some more, and than if they finish it all again repeat than stop. (More for customers who feed once a day) I personally continue to feed and repeat multiple times mainly because I have tangs and these things are eating machines.

Also the only filter media that needs to be changed is carbon and any other chemical filtration. Sponges can be replaced too but I just rinse them out.
Biomedia however should never really be replaced. You can keep the same biomedia for the life of the tank. I used to sell people bags of biomax and told them to put it somewhere in their filter and never touch it.

Yes, I always tell customers to never throw out the biomedia and rinse it in aquarium water if dirty. Sponges can be rinsed as often, and only replaced till the point they are really bad looking. Carbon if not mistaken should be changed every 2-3 months, I don't use it so I don't know lol

Prepare to explain to people how a pleco is pretty much the worst thing they can add to their aquarium.
Prepare to explain to people that completely draining then dish washing everything in the tank is a bad idea.
Prepare to explain to people that "over filtering" does not compensate for water changes.
I miss my good regulars but for the most part I don't miss working at a lfs.
I already talked customers out of getting the traditional common plecos (usually recommend alternates like albino bushy nose or even otocinclus) as they either ignore algae or only eat it when young than become more open to other foods as well as a huge bioload problem. Have already told people that it isn't necessary to do 100% water changes as it gives stress to the fish as well as a pain lol, have told them to stick with 25-30% water changes biweekly. I always tell customers when choosing a filter always get one that is bigger than the tank is. However, I still tell people to stick with the usual water change routine despite the size of the filter.

Also 1 inch per gallon is bad advise to any customers....many Oscar ended up in 5 or 10 gallons tank because most selling oscar size around 2~3 inches and staff saying it's fine to keep them in 10 gallons tank (same for Pacu).

This is surprisingly very tricky for me, of course fish like oscar I automatically recommend them in at least a 75 gallon tank. Also I tell customers who say "Wouldn't the fish stay smaller in a smaller tank," I tell them that the fish will continue to grow no matter what size the tank is, but will under go growth that is stunted and usually will succumb to internal disease as well as a very shortened life span.Also good thing we don't sell pacus lol. My problem is people with smaller tanks, like how many fish would you put in a 10 gallon tank and at what size? At our store mollies, platys and guppies are very popular.


Thanks everyone for the information, keep them coming lol! Also would like to cover tank issues, like green water that I think I covered pretty well any other tank conditions often seen with beginners?

 

[FMA4ME]

Hats off to ya man!! Recently I started talking to this lady in the Wal-Mart fish section. She was trying to buy medication for her fish. She seemed enthusiastic about her fish, but when she went on to tell me how she "cares" for them, I was dumbfounded and didn't know where to begin.