Why do people buy fish without knowing enough about them?

[Darth Scohin]

I had someone ask for Pacu and they almost got it until I told them the growth rate....Why do they some are uninformed I've begun to be disenchanted by many of my LFS (one said Silver Aro can get 6ft!, I told her I'd pay to see that) or others that have return/traded pacu yet sell them in a few tanks down at 2"...It's a buisness and they know that

 

[bmwtwin2]

i can't stand it when people buy fish and don't know anything about em it devistates me. i got given a 14 inch red tail cat his head was bigger in proportion to his body and he had serious problems breathing they said he was about 5 year old but obviously he should have been alot longer he died last week becuase of these problems but i'm always rescuing fish and i can't stand to see a big fish in a small tank

 

[Chicklette]

I think everyone needs to research before buying and know what their getting. They see a cheap fish so they get it knowing nothing about them. I think oscars are the most abused. And of course their are stores that will do anything to make a buck and give horrible advice to make $10.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Store owners of LFS are more concern with $ rather than the hobby

 

[JC_P]

impulse

I agree, some people are impulsive and don't care too much to spend their money without first considering all likely consequences.

 

[eatingleg4peanut]

cuz day so perty

 

[Mudslinger14]

I never impulse buy.

I do my research for months and months. So far, I've been planning a stingray tank for about 4 months now and I haven't even thought about buying any because I know I don't have the resources necessary and I actually think about the happiness of my fish instead of the joys of keeping them.

 

[BODYDUB]

People just buy fish just because they look nice. But it's both the consumers and the sellers fault.....

 

[rnocera]

While the numbers aren't as bad, it's even worse in the reptile trade in percentage of animals sold to guaranteed death/miserable existence. When I worked for a pet store, I'd say 9 out of every 10 turtles I sold was going to be kept in an aquarium less than half the size it needed, and would only ever be fed feeder goldfish. Lizards are awful, too- people don't believe you when you tell them that a 10" iguana will outgrow a 20 gallon aquarium in two or three months, and that it will die a horrible death without UV light. When you tell them something they don't like, they insist that their friends have told them otherwise, or they read it on the internet. Today people are more informed, but there's probably more wrong information out there than ever before, too.

 

[Inglorious]

This doesn't just apply to fish unfortunately. Anyone who has dealt with dog rescues has heard these same stories too. People just buy their kids whatever cute pet they want without any thought. That and Walmart really needs to stop selling oscars for $6.99. People see these fish housed in the little 10gals that the stores have and think that it's an acceptable size for a permanent home.