LFS staff should know more

[Brian_Indiana]

The ones in my town are pretty lame.
One that calls all African cichlid a peacock
One that misspells common names all the time (red TIAL catfish, electric blue ALLY, and fronts)
One that is too disgusting to even enter
One that used to be awesome but has become pathetic and always has dead fish in their tanks

 

[_Jessica_]

very true very true some basic knowledge should be required like saw max size so people dont go around buying tsn assuming they are going to stay like the ones they have at he store.

The tag for TSN at my store says the max size is 12"...I crossed it out and wrote "BIG". Most of the tags are pretty accurate, they just list max size and aggression level, but some of them I've edited myself.


I agree that people that work with fish should have a basic understanding of fish temperament, compatibility, and size, and setting up, cycling, and maintaining aquariums. There needs to be some coursework for this. The employee should look up fish profiles online or in books of the species they get in to the store...at least to give basic care information. Some people have a theory that some stores don't give out information so the fish will die and they come back to replace them. I think this is a bad way to look at things...I love selling for example Chocolate Ghost Knives, because I can upsell things like bloodworms and ghost houses. Not to mention, you want to keep people in the hobby to buy your tanks and new filters and whatever-if their fish keep dying, they aren't going to upgrade. Explaining regular water changes, keeps them coming in to buy conditioner and other things. I'm always a bit bothered by the lack of information offered by some stores...you ask for a fish, it is bagged and handed to you. They could be selling quite a bit more stuff (and improving the lives of the fish) if the employees were more informed. I will say most shops will explain what supplies you need when you buy an animal...a guinea pig, or a gecko...why not the same with fish?

Okay..I'm done with my essay now .

 

[Planetnicolas]

The tag for TSN at my store says the max size is 12"...I crossed it out and wrote "BIG". Most of the tags are pretty accurate, they just list max size and aggression level, but some of them I've edited myself.


I agree that people that work with fish should have a basic understanding of fish temperament, compatibility, and size, and setting up, cycling, and maintaining aquariums. There needs to be some coursework for this. The employee should look up fish profiles online or in books of the species they get in to the store...at least to give basic care information. Some people have a theory that some stores don't give out information so the fish will die and they come back to replace them. I think this is a bad way to look at things...I love selling for example Chocolate Ghost Knives, because I can upsell things like bloodworms and ghost houses. Not to mention, you want to keep people in the hobby to buy your tanks and new filters and whatever-if their fish keep dying, they aren't going to upgrade. Explaining regular water changes, keeps them coming in to buy conditioner and other things. I'm always a bit bothered by the lack of information offered by some stores...you ask for a fish, it is bagged and handed to you. They could be selling quite a bit more stuff (and improving the lives of the fish) if the employees were more informed. I will say most shops will explain what supplies you need when you buy an animal...a guinea pig, or a gecko...why not the same with fish?

Okay..I'm done with my essay now .

yeah the stores tweak the tags a bit to make all fish no matter what size available to a person with a small tank like jack dempsey 20 gallons or oscar 40 gallons. this is at persmart the funny thing is they have completely different things listed online.

 

[_Jessica_]

yeah the stores tweak the tags a bit to make all fish no matter what size available to a person with a small tank like jack dempsey 20 gallons or oscar 40 gallons. this is at persmart the funny thing is they have completely different things listed online.

The ones I have really aren't too bad...I don't know who makes them, I will have to check tomorrow. Some of the aggression levels are off...like saying pictus cats are green (they are really more "yellow"), Blue Rams yellow where they are more peaceful. The TSN one is the worst one I've found though. The Arowana, Pacu, Clown Knife, ID sharks have accurate (if a little too big) sizes on them.

Petsmart, Petco, and Walmart's tags are usually terrible, especially when they list tank size.

 

[Dark Jester]

yeah the stores tweak the tags a bit to make all fish no matter what size available to a person with a small tank like jack dempsey 20 gallons or oscar 40 gallons. this is at persmart the funny thing is they have completely different things listed online.

Petsmart, Petco, and Walmart's tags are usually terrible, especially when they list tank size.

Petsmart is the worst of the shops in my area for bad labels. I got some Jack Dempsey from them and as mentioned, the recommended tank size was 20g. My male is only half grown a couple months later, and is already getting too big for just a 20g. He's still got another 4 or 5 inches to grow.

 

[Planetnicolas]

Walmart near me hasn't sold fish for years I dont think

 

[mike dunagan]

If you want quality fish people at your shop, then agree to start paying more for your fish. TOday people do not want to pay a lot, but they demand the best people to work for small wages to tell them all about them. The internet has made it possible for us to find and share the information so the pet stores can keep prices low. Be thankful... our hobby could cost even more.

 

[creepyoldguy]

If you want quality fish people at your shop, then agree to start paying more for your fish. TOday people do not want to pay a lot, but they demand the best people to work for small wages to tell them all about them. The internet has made it possible for us to find and share the information so the pet stores can keep prices low. Be thankful... our hobby could cost even more.

I strongly agree with your statement. I've not been keeping fish for too long, but I've gained a lot of knowledge from this site, some which is quite specific and some which is general. I was in the hospital last year and asked the dr how he remembered all the information, he said it's impossible to remember everything, but it is possible to know where to get the information. Although we are not doctors here, I have to agree the statement he made fits life in general pretty well. Before buying a fish, do as much research on it as you can, that way you can go to your lfs, pick the fish out and not ask questions, which more often than not, will save you from the bs they like to tell. Likewise, if you see a fish that you like, but are not 100% sure that it will work in your situation, go research it, come back later and buy the fish if the situation is capable. Some good ones that I've heard are "those black id sharks shouldnt get any bigger than what they are (around 14"), I mean really, they sell them at Petsmart!". Those Florida gars get 10ft long and the Alligator gar record is 23ft and 400+lbs. Quite recently, I was looking at stocking up my 150 and was looking for some bottom dwellers when I came across "Freshwater Moray Eel". Which, I don't know much about, but could tell that it was some type of moray eel, but didn't think they were true freshwater fish. So, I asked the lfs worker for the species name, went home did some research and found that they are not true freshwater eels. Saved me some money and a dead eel down the road.

 

[Planetnicolas]

hmmm I wouldent like paying more for my fishies but as somone pointed out they could use the knowledge to make more sales. and im not talking about private small stores im talking about the big store petco petsmart I feel like the owner could spare some money to have happier customers that in turn will buy more food fish tanks filters media and so forth. but I guess the fish industry is not a pet industry its more of a decor industry you get fish and replace them when the die