Anyone else cringe at fish when at lfs?

[RMS18]

do you give them advice? tell them what theyre doing wrong? give them the correct information and educate them on how to take care of the fish?

If your referring to me no I do not. He knows I have been in this hobby for about 8 months, I have made comments before like theres a dead fish in that tank, or why does that clown look like it has sunburn etc. And I get o really I'll have to take that fish out response. I have made sure there was a nice Google review left but other than that it's not my place to tell him how to run his store.

 

[Dtackett]

but as a hobbyist it is your place to educate them. it doesn't matter if you've been in the hobby 8 months or 80 years. he doesn't have to take your advice but I feel its our responsibility to educate people as best as we can. if I go into any lfs and something is wrong I tell them how to fix it, most of the time they say well we do this instead and I point out that its obviously not working. ive even walked our local petco regional manager through one of his stores and explained what was wrong with the saltwater section and how to fix it. he told them to do exactly what I said after he looked at the loss from losing fish vs the cost of proper care and treatment. then he offered me a job. turned it down because it didn't pay enough but it goes to show that you can make a difference by educating people. I don't know everything, hell I don't know much but I know enough to help.

 

[joshkirkland83]

but as a hobbyist it is your place to educate them. it doesn't matter if you've been in the hobby 8 months or 80 years. he doesn't have to take your advice but I feel its our responsibility to educate people as best as we can. if I go into any lfs and something is wrong I tell them how to fix it, most of the time they say well we do this instead and I point out that its obviously not working. ive even walked our local petco regional manager through one of his stores and explained what was wrong with the saltwater section and how to fix it. he told them to do exactly what I said after he looked at the loss from losing fish vs the cost of proper care and treatment. then he offered me a job. turned it down because it didn't pay enough but it goes to show that you can make a difference by educating people. I don't know everything, hell I don't know much but I know enough to help.

Agree, if you get told "no" 100 times but 1 store listens and tries your suggestions its unmeasurable how many fish and corals you have saved.

 

[leftymike7]

Having been in the hobby for only 1 year I don't see how an lfs can properly quarantine each fish. I purchased a teeny tiny royal gramma 3 weeks ago from a local guy who runs a great shop. This fish is in my 20 gallon quarantine tank by itself for 6 weeks or so being treated with certain meds and water changes twice a week. I purchased it for 25 bucks. If they had to do this for each and every fish the royal gramma would have cost 300 bucks or so(you get the idea if you have a clue about running a retail business). He gives me the option of ordering fish and picking them up before going into his system, even giving a decent discount.

 

[Dtackett]

Having been in the hobby for only 1 year I don't see how an lfs can properly quarantine each fish. I purchased a teeny tiny royal gramma 3 weeks ago from a local guy who runs a great shop. This fish is in my 20 gallon quarantine tank by itself for 6 weeks or so being treated with certain meds and water changes twice a week. I purchased it for 25 bucks. If they had to do this for each and every fish the royal gramma would have cost 300 bucks or so(you get the idea if you have a clue about running a retail business). He gives me the option of ordering fish and picking them up before going into his system, even giving a decent discount.

not really. we have an lfs out here who not only QT his fish but also his coral with a separate tank for new coral and dipped coral. now, its not a 6 week QT, its closer to 1 week with treatments and dips but he sells very healthy fish and he sells them for fair prices. True Perc clowns for 17 bucks. cant really beat that with a stick.

 

[leftymike7]

not really. we have an lfs out here who not only QT his fish but also his coral with a separate tank for new coral and dipped coral. now, its not a 6 week QT, its closer to 1 week with treatments and dips but he sells very healthy fish and he sells them for fair prices. True Perc clowns for 17 bucks. cant really beat that with a stick.

So they get in 50 fish 50 coral and all have separate systems so that nothing mixes together? Impressive

 

[leftymike7]

I walk into my local Petco a few times a month to purchase some dog stuff and always check out the saltwater fish tanks. Sometimes it has been horrific, fish loaded with ick, some on the verge of death(I have emailed their corporate offices on a few occasions, have always received a response and the managers name to follow up with), and on many instances I have been suprised at how good everything looked.

 

[Brian Kim]

I think basically any lfs i walk into in ny my girlfriend is mortified, it really is upsetting the massive volume of fish that come in and out of these stores, theres always that one or 5 that are either sick or dont make it nd the owners are so used to just throwing them out it really really is upsetting

Tell me about it, we could really use better FS here in NY. Unfortunately, due to higher rent and overall operational cost they are limited to small sq.ft. stores with basically no room for QT tanks.
My buddy owns a FS here in Queens and it's always heartbreaking when we walk in the store in the morning to find several dead fish.

 

[Brian Kim]

I walk into my local Petco a few times a month to purchase some dog stuff and always check out the saltwater fish tanks. Sometimes it has been horrific, fish loaded with ick, some on the verge of death(I have emailed their corporate offices on a few occasions, have always received a response and the managers name to follow up with), and on many instances I have been suprised at how good everything looked.

Petco stopped selling saltwater fish around my area, not sure if that applies to other cities

 

[leftymike7]

Petco stopped selling saltwater fish around my area, not sure if that applies to other cities

Petsmart, which is a mile away from Petco here sells no saltwater livestock, just freshwater, they do stock supplies(which is smart based on the attention needed to saltwater livestock care).