FISH4LIFE;1305845; said:
oh boy.. See I wouldnt mind if they did if EVERY petsmart had enough knowledge to sell them to people who can take care of them. Its not just petsmart that has people who dont have knowledge of things, of course we get our lfs with people who dont know what they are talking about. I just feel strongly against petsmart because your every day joe shmo goes in there and sees a "cool looking" fish and since its affordable or because someone who works there tells them that it would get along in their 10g tank, they buy them. For some reason in my head, I feel bichirs, and other fish that need more than basic feeder fish knowledge are less likely to go home with inexperienced fish keepers from a specific fish store. It may just be in my head, but thats why I feel so strongly against places like petsmart who sell those kinds of fish. I have worked at petco a while ago. We got fish from the same suppliers. They have whats called an "aquatics specialist" which to become one, you need to read a book. Even with that, its a book. No tests to take to become one. I think because I have such a soft spot now for fish that just by reading a book and because you can name a few types of cichlids doesnt make you an aquatics specialist. I just feel bad. I mean the situation goes both ways dont get me wrong. A moron with a 20g can go into a good fish store and buy an arrow or a red tail cat. I think my point is to me, it just seems less likely to have a fish go home with an unfit keeper. Maybe if the pecos and petsmarts had more training and better knowledge which includes asking certain questions, for example "how big is your tank?" "what do you currently have in your tank?" "how long has your tank been up and running?" "what is your favorite type of fish?" I mean answers like "uhh 20g tank thats been up for one week with 25 goldfish, and Id like to get those fish that are spotted greenish" thats a dead giveaway this individual has little knowledge of keeping things like bichirs. Essentially I think it all comes down to the battle against dumb people who wanna buy more advanced, if you will, fish. Blahh makes me sick thinkin about the poor fish stuck in small tanks that arent being taken care of properly. Neverending battle huh?
