Unbelievable...

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pomacanthus13 http:///t/393470/unbelievable#post_3500679
Well today I needed some filter media and rather than going to my usual LFS I decided to go to *****. So I got the stuff I needed and I went and took a look at there pitiful fish section and well, I was shocked. The first thing I see is that every tank is completely coated with algae, with considerable waste build up in the bottom of the tanks and EVERY fish was sick or very close to death. They had a total of about 15 living fish, and about 20 or so just floating in the tank including an adult emperor angel ;( Next I see this young guy testing salinity, apparently it was low because he starts shoveling salt right into a tank containing fish! Then the young guy walks into the back and comes out with several new fish still in the shipping bags. I went over and took a look while he went and helped catch some freshwater fish for a customer. I see several damsels, a few clowns, a flame angel and in the last bag, a tiny (about 1") bursa trigger. There was no way I was going to let be another causality in one of there cesspool tanks so I bought the little bursa. I sent a scathing complaint to the customer service department of the store, telling them that the conditions in those tanks was completely unacceptable. So hopefully, something changes. Needless to say I'm NEVER going to purchase anything from there that was actually in one of the tanks. So sad....

I hope you purchased the trigger right from the shipping bag, and not waited for them to put it into one of their poison tanks. You might offer some much needed advice, obviously the worker had no idea what he were doing. SW tanks are kind of rare compared to the FW tanks that people keep.
I went into a nice petshop that I go to all the time. In the front of the store they had a 10g nano tank with a seahorse and a clownfish...and about 5 aptasia growing happily on a rock.
I told the lady at the counter that the seahorse could be stung and die from the aptasia ...not to menion the clown fish was not a good tank mate. She honsetly didn't know and thanked me, as I left, she was attending to the situation. The seahorse was for sale for $99.00, that's quite a loss.
Sometimes it isn't that people don't care, they just don't know any better. Young kids with a first time job, could use a little help from those who know.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by LITTLEDYNAM1TE http:///t/393470/unbelievable#post_3500696
There website info seems ok though
Littledynam1te: I never heard of ***** having a website that explains a HOW TO on saltwater tanks and fish keeping....off to google and see for myself.
LOL...I found it...and we are not allowed to post from other sites...but oh boy would I like to. Serouisly???? It's just an ad and the "info" is useless, now I understand why they can't keep fish alive. Changing the rules from freshwater of 1 inch to 2 inches for a SW fish is laughable, and that's just the beginning.
 

gemmy

Active Member
And now that ***** needs one more fish for its death tanks. The best thing to do when you see this happening is to not purchase anything from the retailer. I mean ANYTHING not a thing. The only way for things to change is for people to stop shopping there and the whole chain. This will cause them to take action and correct the issue.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by morgan175 http:///t/393470/unbelievable#post_3500776
hey flower they hand you a 1 page pamphlet on how to keep saltwater all you need to know.
Well personally I have never purchased SW fish from *****...not because I saw some deplorable conditions, but because I like online fish with a 14 day guarantee. If ***** is handing out useful booklets...why are they so unable to keep the fish alive? I have heard nothing but bad stuff from those who purchase their fish from them.
To be honest a one page pamplet could not contain enough info to do much good...a book on just the basics.... is a BOOK. To tell you that you should have SG at 1.024 to 1.026...does explain how to maintain it..not a word is mentioned about top off, or why you should not use tap water. To tell you your clownfish needs a 30g tank does not tell you he can't be placed in a tank with seahorses. To say a clownfish would bond with an anemone, does not explain that a tube anemone is not the right one.
So think about it...all you need to know...seriously?
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I think that the thing we can take away from this is that it is up to the hobbyist to become educated and make the right decisions for their aquatic pets. If you have any common sense at all, you will understand that you are not a black belt after reading a book on karate.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
What Seth said.
The ugly truth is this: We can complain. We can write letters. We can (and should) boycott. But it will take a bigger portion of the population to complain before they'll sit up and listen. We are the "serious" hobbyists, and the truth is we're a small percentage of the average fish-owning population. Our voice isn't big enough on our own to facilitate any major changes.
You want to really get them to take notice? Take photos and videos of the animals in the store you're talking about. Put them online on a dedicated website. Include a forum and invite others to post photographic proof of fish mishandling. Point out problems, and offer positive solutions. Publish guides for common fishcare, and bio-profiles of the fish most commonly found in these stores. Take the website and go social with it. Get your friends to "like" it. Tweet and get re-tweets linking your site to a twitter. Get OTHER people involved....people not normally involved with the aquarium hobby, but friends and family who you should ask to share with THEIR friends and family. You grow a network of individuals big enough, and they may pay attention.
Just thinkin' out loud here. I try and avoid *****/petsmart/etc and stick to the local mom & pop fish stores. MOST of them know more about the hobby, anyway.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
You mean like this one?
http://*****.pissedconsumer.com/*****-sucks-20111029271381.html
I know we can't post links to competitors, but this is against competitors and is not selling anything :()
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
FWIW I can't help buy buy my salt from *****, they charge 65 a bucket for reef crystals and the LFS charges 80
I buy lots of stuff from the LFS and don't mind paying higher prices because of the knowledge this particular one has. But the salt is just too much difference, I could buy some frags for the price difference
 

noobzilla

Member
The ***** around here is awful as well. I've looked at a couple fish there, but always have them do a salinity test before I make them chase a fish around. They usually have it so high that the hydrometer just points up. I've offered to bring in my refractometer, but they don't think it would give an accurate test. I don't think they'd know how to use it if I did. I've never bought livestock from them, however usually they have dead fish in fresh and saltwater. I got into an argument with the store manager a couple weeks ago and haven't gone back since. they lost my business entirely.
 
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