I mostly spend like a 1/2 hour examaning a fish before I buy
lfs folks think Im
theyre mostly right but I have noticed things on fish after looking for awhile that caused me not to buy
I couldn't figure out how i had missed it befor while i was checking him out in the tank , when i got him home and in my tank i figured it out. He faces his good eye toward you at all times so he can see you, but that puts the injured eye out of view. I almost forgot the best part. I was trying my best to maintain a civil temperment so i was speaking with him in a simi normal tone of voice ( i just wanted him to know that he had been caught). I told him what concerned me most was putting a fish in my tank that was currently sick and spreading it. (although its obviouse that the original infection is gone). The guy procedes to tell me that the fish is doing so well that he even thinks his eye is growing back. Now i don't have a heavy background in biology or zoology but im pretty sure that eyes don't just grow back. On the happy side, the little guy has a good appetite and is fitting in pretty well with his fellow tank members.
Casey Norris I've run into the same attitude from fish store employees, getting treated like I don't know anything because I'm a woman. I was chatting with one of the new guys at the pet store and I mentioned that I'm going to set up a 180 and he just looked at me funny and said, "What does a girl like you need with a tank that big? Just stick to the small fish."
The employees that have worked at the pet store awhile run into the back when I come in the store. They have accused me of being "too picky" about the fish I buy.
I have also been accused of being too picky, I generally tell them that it is because I don't like buying crap so on second thought never mind, I will take my business elsewhere.
On the otherhand I have no problem catching the specific fish that I want if they don't want to spend 30 minutes chasing one particular eel in a tankful, or reaching in and hand catching my own takay if the employee tries to use a net.
That guy was definitely pulling a scam.
My camera is on the blink, but here is a pic that is almost ok. Im pretty proud of the little guy he is very pretty (ok so pretty isnt the word for a cichlid, he is tough looking). He is the bigger of the two, with the red and blue.
Ya he is a bit skinny also, but he is eating well. The tanks that they were in were way too small for cichlids. You should see the poor puffers that they keep, they barely have any fins left from fighting. Seeing as he only has one good eye its hard to properly fend for himself.
OH don't get me started with women and hardware stores!!
I went to home depot for a section of PVC pipe. The pipe was up on a rack 20ft in the air and it was 9ft long. After several trips up to the cashier to call someone ever to help me get the pipe down and cut it to size (which took 30 minutes with no luck)I finally started walking around looking for any stray associate. I ran into a older man helping a couple with a water heater. I waited until he was done talking and he proceded to walk past me. I stopped him and told him about what I wanted and pointed to the PVC pipe on the rack. He said to me "we usually let our customers handle that." and walked off.
After that I just walked out. I had enough. I was also 17 at the time and bearly 107 pounds. How in the heck could I get the pipe and cut it myself?
I wrote coperate a stern letter and they gave me a $25 gift certificate for the store, which I didn't believe, was hardly fair considering what they put me through.
Sorry to hear you got screwed like that Casey, some people are only in it for the money. Like a bunch of other people have said, check the collection cup before bagging. I always let my customers see what they are getting before it gets bagged and I make sure it is healthy, I even stopped a sale because someone I work with didn't do that and made her return half a dozen fish back into their respective tanks. I have also had people try to get me to give them fish with a missing eye or a tail. I hope he heals up nicely but his eye won't grow back. It has been 3 months and the tail on my Orange Chromide has just grown back. I got him for free from a LFS because he came in crippled. Don't worry, most LFS aren't like that so you will give you business to a much better store (with much better fish).
The peacock is pretty nice looking though, I have to say.
