Was I lied to by my LFS

JosephM · Feb 10, 2021

Kind of disappointed right now. I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds at this fish store, friends with 2 of the managers and somewhat with the owner and I feel like they’re still just trying to sell me. First it started with a six line which they said would be great for a 29gal and my stocking list (all peaceful), NOT! It became very aggressive with everything. So got rid of that. Today I went in and saw they had a Dracula goby and of course I had to get that, ive been dying for a goby pistol combo. I was going to go with a tiger pistol because of the similar coloration and they’re known to pair up... they convince me to buy a bullseye pistol because “you got to get a high end pistol to match the high end goby”. Well I decided to just do some more digging on it to find out what seems that they normally don’t form a symbiotic relationship with gobies...
I don’t know what to do now. Stop going there? Purchase another pistol shrimp (can 2 live in peach in a small tank?) Get mad at them and try and get a refund? I don’t know guys, like I said very upset with them right now

Tamberav · Feb 10, 2021

They probably don't know any better and are just stating false information they think is true. I would just return the pistol.

JosephM · Feb 10, 2021

Tamberav said:
They probably don't know any better.

One of them has been in the hobby 20+ years with many tanks of his own... I guess it’s not a popular shrimp so you could be right

haitian_reefer · Feb 10, 2021

Do not buy the bulleyes pistol shrimp. I made that mistake myself and just recently banished it to the sump. Sounds like your LFS doesn't know what they're talking about. I'm a fan of supporting your local business, but just don't take their advice.

Tamberav · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
One of them has been in the hobby 20+ years with many tanks of his own... I guess it’s not a popular shrimp so you could be right

I mean my LFS has been around forever but still can't ID fish right sometimes and such.

A lot of times LFS are not sitting on forums researching and just spewing out what they knew 20 years ago. Some of which is out-dated.

IDK I just never ask any questions about livestock at a fish store.

DaddyFish · Feb 11, 2021

Pretty sure I know which LFS you're referring to. So I have to say... Ya think!!!
It took me about two months from absolute newbie to outrun their knowledge of fish species.

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

haitian_reefer said:
Do not buy the bulleyes pistol shrimp. I made that mistake myself and just recently banished it to the sump. Sounds like your LFS doesn't know what they're talking about. I'm a fan of supporting your local business, but just don't take their advice.

Well I did buy it

I can go back Friday should I call and ask to speak to the owner to get a refund or store credit? Any advice on catching them?

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

DaddyFish said:
Pretty sure I know which LFS you're referring to. So I have to say... Ya think!!!
It took me about two months from absolute newbie to outrun their knowledge of fish species.

Yeah it’s horrible. Kind of getting fed up with them but nowhere close to me can outcompete their selection of fish

greetl01 · Feb 11, 2021

If you've bought tons of stuff from them then you obviously like their selection, so you might now want to go to another store. If I were you, i'd get out my feelings and assume they are going to either lie or don't know what they're talking about and just do my research BEFORE I go.

haitian_reefer · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
Well I did buy it I can go back Friday should I call and ask to speak to the owner to get a refund or store credit? Any advice on catching them?

If you can catch then I would return it. Good luck catching it LOL. They're pretty fast critters.

DaddyFish · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
Yeah it’s horrible. Kind of getting fed up with them but nowhere close to me can outcompete their selection of fish

We're in each others back yard. PM me with the name so we can compare notes.

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

haitian_reefer said:
If you can catch then I would return it. Good luck catching it LOL. They're pretty fast critters.

Im thinking net in front of his hole and some long tweezers to ease him out?

hds4216 · Feb 11, 2021

I recommend a candy cane pistol, Alpheus randalli. It's the natural symbiotic species for your goby, and they're smaller and more colorful than tiger pistols.

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

greetl01 said:
If you've bought tons of stuff from them then you obviously like their selection, so you might now want to go to another store. If I were you, i'd get out my feelings and assume they are going to either lie or don't know what they're talking about and just do my research BEFORE I go.

Yeah I just... I don’t know. Nothing around me compares to them with fish selection. Maybe I’ll just do what you said, do my research before I go and take their advice as a grain of salt.

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

hds4216 said:
I recommend a candy cane pistol, Alpheus randalli. It's the natural symbiotic species for your goby, and they're smaller and more colorful than tiger pistols.

I haven’t seen them carry those. How would a Randall’s do? They’re similar color patterns

haitian_reefer · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
I haven’t seen them carry those. How would a Randall’s do? They’re similar color patterns

You'll love a Randall... They're much smaller and definitely pair with gobies.

greetl01 · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
Yeah I just... I don’t know. Nothing around me compares to them with fish selection. Maybe I’ll just do what you said, do my research before I go and take their advice as a grain of salt.

if you think they're lying and are as petty as I am, you ought to be super passive aggressive and ask them about a fish, then pull out your phone in their face and confirm on Google LOLLLL but that's just me.

JosephM · Feb 11, 2021

haitian_reefer said:
You'll love a Randall... They're much smaller and definitely pair with gobies.

Yeah. I’ve seen them carry Randall’s, tiger, and blue-legged, and obviously bulls eye. Stuck between Randall’s and tiger but it’d be pretty to have them pair up and have same color pattern. But if their natural partner is a candy cane might hold off for that.

haitian_reefer · Feb 11, 2021

JosephM said:
Yeah. I’ve seen them carry Randall’s, tiger, and blue-legged, and obviously bulls eye. Stuck between Randall’s and tiger but it’d be pretty to have them pair up and have same color pattern. But if their natural partner is a candy cane might hold off for that.

Get a Randall and don't look back. The Tiger makes too big of a mess for my liking. You can get a Yasha Goby to match ;-)