Upsetting

[Rusty Gilbert]

Ok some Im at my one of my lfs and Im just browsing the fish section minding my own business when this woman goes over to one of the workers and said her son or something wants some cool aggressive fish. So Im still minding my own just being a little curious to see what she gives her. I think the woman said she had a 30g tank. But she ended up walking out w 2 butterkoferi, 2 red belly pacus, an oscar, tiger barb and a catfish.

Now I only have a 55g and I have some oscars and big fish but I have the intentions of upgrading and will be soon. So I said to the woman those fish get pretty big that tank isnt gonna house them for long at all. She Im sure theyll be fine. I said no they wont be a pacu can easily take up half the tank. She decided not to listen.

But what Im getting at is there are certain fish I believe shouldnt be sold to someone with no experience and so on. (particulary in this case a pacu and butti) There should be a way of varifying that you have tank standards and some knowledge before they are sold like an action figure bc she jus wanted to make the kid happy which is understandable but now almost certainly those fish are in a bad scenario.

Just felt like sharing this hearing your thoughts.

 

[Sab_Fan]

what is there to say? that situation is the worst . . . you did what I would do (and have done), which is to try to tell the customer what they are in for . . . sometimes they listen, more often they don't

were you in a big-brand store, or just a regular LFS? not to deliberately knock the big stores, but I'd be really surprised if any of the private LFS in my area would let someone do something so stupid . . .

 

[jack frost]

you have to look at it from LFS point of view. They need to make money so if they seel her these fish

1. they die
2. they actually get to live and grow out to where the kid gets into fish keeping and the parent comes back and buys more stuff including a tanl and stand
3. and this goes back to number 1 theylose the fish and come back to LFS the LFS explains tank cycling etc.... and possibly sells them more stuff which might even include a bigger tank/set up.

 

[classic-chassis]

I have to agree with the above, they are a business like it or not. It just sucks because they're dealing in animals.
I wonder what is going through the mind of the staff when they're approached by a fish keeper who tells them they're doing something they shouldn't, (i'm not say it's wrong.),
probably along the lines of "Oh for **** sake here we go again, it's only a fish!"

 

[Rusty Gilbert]

I mean I completely understand that it is a business but Id prefer if they made the fish more expensive maybe so it pays them back and they dont have to sell as many but thats jus my opinion. I just think there should be a way to fix this they are living animals not just experimental toys

 

[smartlove_518]

you have to look at it from LFS point of view. They need to make money so if they seel her these fish

1. they die
2. they actually get to live and grow out to where the kid gets into fish keeping and the parent comes back and buys more stuff including a tanl and stand
3. and this goes back to number 1 theylose the fish and come back to LFS the LFS explains tank cycling etc.... and possibly sells them more stuff which might even include a bigger tank/set up.

this is what i always say when someone posts about lfs. after all they need to run their business too. some of the lfs actually take steps not to sell their fish to people who cant house them properly but i dont think all do that. when you see such a thing all you can do is tell the person that he/she is making a wrong choice, if they listen then goos or else you did your bit.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

I mean I completely understand that it is a business but Id prefer if they made the fish more expensive maybe so it pays them back and they dont have to sell as many but thats jus my opinion. I just think there should be a way to fix this they are living animals not just experimental toys

If they made common fish like those more expensive, no one would buy them and it wouldn't be worth selling them at those prices. Surely there is a market for oscars, pacus, etc. , whether or not some of the buyers are equipped to buy them is a separate issue, but the market controls the prices

 

[Catlady]

Poor fish :-(

 

[aggrofishkeeper]

A LFS is not going to steer someone from doing something they want to do, after all business is business and the light bills don't pay themselves, hell I bet you if you walked into your LFS and said you have a 75g tank and you wanted to raise a Arowana the worker would probably just suggest that's a little small but if you insisted he was going to get you the Arowana...

With that being said you did what you could, not everyone is educated about this hobby and most people who want to have water pets don't care to do a little research before making a commitment like this. This is why most pet stores you walk into you see a tank full of huge Pacus and Oscars and Arowanas.

 

[jack frost]

I mean I completely understand that it is a business but Id prefer if they made the fish more expensive maybe so it pays them back and they dont have to sell as many but thats jus my opinion. I just think there should be a way to fix this they are living animals not just experimental toys

so in other words you want a small business to go outta business and the customer go to wal-mart or petsmart and buy it any way????

What youre saying doenst make sense you can't stop stupid people from being stupid. Stupidity will always find it's way thats how I too make a living.

The best you can hope for is that they relize their error when the fish gets big and they buy another tank. To be perfectly honest thats how I got into the hobby and I am willing to be there are a great number of people who are the same.