Favorite LFS "CUSTOMER" STORIES ...

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recently i was at a book store in portland, ME that had a very large, healthy oscar as a store pet. as i was admiring it a complete strange walked up to me and started talking to me, the conversation went as follows:

guy: those things are effing mean, they will take your finger clean off. (pointing at the fish)
me: is that so (i have learned that it is easier to just let people think you believe them, even when you know they are completely full of it)
guy: yeah, i fought them once (now i am starting to realize that this guys isn't quite "all-there")
me: really!? (again, humoring him)
guy: yeah them and pirahnas, smashed their effing skulls. like Bruce Li with fish. (:ROFL:)
me : wow, i used to have one as a pet, it wasn't very mean at all
guy: well these was wild ones in the rain forest, i spent three months in the rain forest, you know. (definitely full of BS)
me: cool, where 'bouts?
guy: in the rainforest, where these guys are from.... where are these guys from???
me: south america
guy: yeah south america, i spent three years in south america (notice how it's three years now)
me: wow, hey i have to go now, nice talking to you (he was starting to freak me out)
 
LOL so had two customers who think they know it all right. The guy doesn't use carbon (thats okay) I mention how without Zeolite or Carbon my Nitrates would be terrible. They're like what are your Nitrates at? I mention before I do waterchanges I have 10ppm running three filters. They then become confused thinking my Bio-filter isn't old because I have Nitrates in my tank?(mixing up Ammonia with Nitrates:screwy:)
 
I've had good luck with a number of customers lately.

I have one girl coming in about every other day to test her water while she re-cycles her tank with fish in it. She now understands the nitrogen cycle and is looking forward to not having to do almost daily water changes.

I have another one that is cycling their new 75g tank and will hopefully become a new member here.

A third one got her 60g hex aquarium out of the garage, cleaned it up and wanted to start it for her kids. After doing a fishless cycle, she left with six juvenile firemouths in her quest to get a mated pair and a couple of rubber-lipped plecos. She'll be returning four of the firemouths once two of them pair off.

I've only had one customer in the last week or so who was convinced he knew everything (including his ability to not do water changes, but simply top off evaporation). There are still quite a few who want to overcrowd their tanks, but not to the point of insanity.
 
I had an interesting woman come in last night. Immediately she started in about how she needed some new fish for her 29 gallon tank. Apparently a couple hers died. So, I try to figure out what's going on. It turns out she has this "Devil-Fish" that's terrorizing her other fish. It's picking at fins, chasing everything to the sides and up behind the filter intakes.

I'm thinking, ummm...yeah. You just told me that you lost 3 tetras, a snail, and all your other fish are scared. You must have put something semi-aggressive, or aggressive into the tank. It's probably not quite big enough to eat your tropical wonderland yet, but give it time. So, since she apparently bought this fiend from our store as well, I ask her to show me a fish that looks like the "Devil-Fish" in order to see how big of a tank she's going to need to get to house it. :grinno:

I almost hit the floor when she started jabbing her finger at the glass and literally yelling, "That's it! It's one of these guys right here! Devil-Fish, I'm telling you. These guys are monsters!" She was pointing at a tank of fan-tail guppies.
 
A few weeks ago at an lfs while i was getting my red devil, one of the workers who i've gotten to know pretty well was telling me a story about a different red devil that someone had bought from them and didn't know it was a freshwater fish....(idiot) they ended up putting the red devil in their saltwater tank and it killed every fish in the tank and then they brought it back to the store, still very alive and well even after being in a saltwater tank. true power of a red devil right there :headbang2
 
A few weeks ago at an lfs while i was getting my red devil, one of the workers who i've gotten to know pretty well was telling me a story about a different red devil that someone had bought from them and didn't know it was a freshwater fish....(idiot) they ended up putting the red devil in their saltwater tank and it killed every fish in the tank and then they brought it back to the store, still very alive and well even after being in a saltwater tank. true power of a red devil right there :headbang2
 
BrtnBoy449;4411230; said:
A few weeks ago at an lfs while i was getting my red devil, one of the workers who i've gotten to know pretty well was telling me a story about a different red devil that someone had bought from them and didn't know it was a freshwater fish....(idiot) they ended up putting the red devil in their saltwater tank and it killed every fish in the tank and then they brought it back to the store, still very alive and well even after being in a saltwater tank. true power of a red devil right there :headbang2
Click to expand...

Im having a hard time believing this one....funny story though. Reminds me of Snowflake, FuManchu, Porcupine, Nurse these fish were in a you may have guessed it 55gal:WHOA:
 
An un-acclimatized cichlid in saltwater will lose equilibrium and lay on its side between 30 seconds and 10 minutes after introduction. This may be different for a few varieties that are normally found in slightly brackish water or something, but I highly doubt a red devil could handle instant immersion into salt water, kill everything, and still be looking perky and well-fed.
 
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