FishProfiles.com Message Forums

<begin rant]
Now, I wouldn't exactly call myself the most warm hearted person in the world. Some may call me a little too cold or indifferent, but what I saw today really bugged me.

I went to check out one of the local chain stores, and was appalled at the conditions in which they kept their tanks.

Every single tank they had was waaaaaay overstocked, we're talking by at least double of what the maximum should be. They had algae growing, fish which were struggling, fish which were dead, and fish which were very obviously diseased. They also had many a tank with at least 6 different species in it, most of which should not have been together. Rather than putting 6 different types of similar species fish together, they would put a whole mix in each. The worst tank of the lot was the one with tetras, red tailed sharks, platys, angels, corys...and green puffers. These poor little guys were hardly living, and just barely surviving at the surface. So what did they do? Put them on sale for 2.88 each. If they didn't grow to almost 7", and I had a brackish tank, I would have tried to salvage them.

The plants they had weren't much better either. All of the plants looked sickly, all were labelled 'tropical potted' (I asked the guy about them, he had no idea what the real names were), and just about all of them had nice big patches of BGA.

As cheap as the hardware prices are, and as little as stuff like that normally affects me (I see sally struthers wandering around in her commercials and what not and am prompted to go get a snack), I handed my supplies to the clerk and walked out.

Hmmm...must be getting soft in my old age.

</end]


[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-07 20:50][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by Callatya 2004-07-07 20:54][/span]

A good rant, but don't be surprised if the moderators close or erase your post.. Can't name specific stores in here.. Peace, and welcome to the site !

The Amazon Nut...

There we go. Saved 'em the trouble.

thats nice.

a waste of time reading it though.

if chain stores went by the maximum capisityu of the tank, they would have 5 fish per 10 gallon, and would have to add about 200 more tanks. ANyways, the fish they could get are sick, and that is why they are dieing.... and who cares that there is algae growing in the tank?

Godburger, I have seen some pretty terrible conditions myself at a "certain place that happens to sell fish". Like you said above; dead fish in every tank, nasty looking tank water, etc. The algae is not necessarily an issue but the other conditions are. It make me sad to see such a thing but all we can do is just not buy from that place. If people quit buying from them, perhaps they would decide to take better care...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Huh...then replying means you must have a lot of time to waste.

I understand that stores have space limitations and must overstock tanks. But they also tend to have high output/powered filters to help counteract this. Not a penguin 170 on a 55 gal tank, and an airstone. Yes, the fish they could get could be sick and that could be why they are dying. But once they die, they should be taken out of the tank...not left to accumulate in numbers. As for algae, I don't care if there is some algae. However, when you have difficulty seeing into the tank b/c the glass is coated in it...

i understand how you feel... it makes me so mad when I go into some places and their tanks are so nasty you can't even see the fish... and when you go places and there are only a pile of bones left in the back corner... gross! I won't buy from those places... not going to support their business.

-Beth

Frankly, if the store is going to show that little responsibility... Why sell fish at all? I can't imagine any normal consumer walking in - taking a look - and actually buying the fish! Those who are just starting to stock would want healthy fish to up their odds as fishkeepers - while those who already have fish wouldn't want to risk disease.... Tanks in the condition you speak of definitely would NOT promote sales!
Maybe, in a case such as this having a talk and visual inspection with the manager might help.... Certainly wouldn't hurt! (After all, the manager might not have an understanding of fish requirements - but he/she should understand the loss of the almighty dollar by loss of inventory through death - and loss of sales simply by the neglect!)

[span class="edited"][Edited by dreamweaver8891 2004-07-09 18:39][/span]

To thine own self be true...

I understand how u feel. There are many horrible fish shops in my area. Of the ones i have have visited on numerous occasions, 3 are HORRIBLE 1 is acceptable and 1 is amazing. You can attack stocking and knowledge, but it really isnt fair to attack algae. People come on these boards all the time seeking advise for algae. Even the experienced hobbyist is the victim of algae problems from time to time. Not much you can do other than not give that store your business.

Really? My chain LFS has almost no fish in any of their tanks. For some odd reason they are always out of fish.

The chain pet store I work at has...

no algae
large sumps under each set of 12 tanks
only a bit overstocked when we get fish in and in the feeder tank
compatible fish in the tanks
plants in fairly good condition tho I may be the only one who can identify more than anacharis

The main problem we have is a lot of the fish have ich when we get them. A few days after the shipment (Friday) and that's mostly cleared up too.

The conditions in the tanks, etc. mostly depend on who is in charge of the aquatics department and how well they know their fish.

><>