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Just blowin' off some steam ~ Why can't lfs clerks say "I don't know, but I'll find out for you." ]:| All the more reason to read, study, ask others (not the clerks) like the many pros in this forum BEFORE buying. Just brought home 4 white clouds. Didn't know anything about them but liked them when I saw them in the store, thought they would make nice little schooling accent fish. Asked the clerk "are they tetras?" and got an emphatic "Yes." Well, they're wonderful little minnows, but happen to need water at least 5 degrees lower than all others in the tank. They seem fine, but I don't want to chance their little lives, so taking them back...

LIVE, learn, learn, learn, don't believe everything you hear... Common sense stuff, but I'm way over 50 now and still finding things out the hard way...



[span class="edited"][Edited by June 2004-09-01 18:20][/span]

I'm honestly not surprised that the clerk thought that they were tetras. After all, they do have a neon or glowlight body shape. For about the first two years of my aquaria experience, I too thought that they were some type of tetra .

But, anyhow, you made some excellent points. As Ronald Reagan once said, "Trust, but verify." It is always a good idea to get a second (or third, or fourth, or nth) opinion about anything, not just fishkeeping.

I'm glad you decided to take them back when you realized they might not be happiest in your current setup. That was very good of you.

Joe Potato


Edit: Forgot to close an italics tag...

[span class="edited"][Edited by Joe Potato 2004-09-01 18:37][/span]

You're going to be told barbs and rasboras are tetras too. They're all just lumped together as small schooling fish that are generally peaceful...:%)

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Sometimes people don't want to admit that they don't know something. I believe it's an ego thing, but everybody I've asked has denied it.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

THe trick is find LFS stores that are reliable. In my experience, chain stores are a definite no,no for many reasons. Go out and find those 1 or 2 LFS that keep you going back. Also helps is to do research before, like you said, purchasing. That is essential.

I've emailed a LFS about some fishes and twice responded with "I don't know" or "no idea".



[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-09-01 19:08][/span]

That's funny: I just got back from a pet store where they had a tank of white clouds labelled "white cloud tetras." I often find a few fish mislabelled at all but the best stores, but this place is at about 50% accuracy. Needless to say, I left without buying anything.

Lfs clerks and doctors! grrrrrr... I'd rather have them say "I don't know" than give me bad information.

Yep, when I took these back today, the clerks (different ones) said "well, they're like tetras" "they're good fish" and I'm like, "they're not like tetras, they need a lot cooler water and dead fish and unhappy fish are not good fish" They did the trade willingly and 2 of the 9 rummies were dead when I got home straightaway. It was the end of the day and they were restocking tanks and throwing the bags of new fish around like sacks of beans... between their attitude and their ego I'm determined to drive an hour or buy online from a breeder from now on, it'll be worth the extra trouble and money (and I'm not rich). They said they'd buy from me if I bred but I wouldn't trade them a minnow for a million bucks. Thanks for letting me ]:| , I feel better now.

[span class="edited"][Edited by June 2004-09-02 01:06][/span]

if you are daring enough, turn the tables. tell them your full grown pacu, which resides in a 15gal tank with a large pleco, is lonely, and you want to get him a "little buddy." something like a neon or mosquito fish. if they agree with you- run quickly.