[kingdave]

I thought it might be fun to start a thread for all of us to relate all of the absurd things we have been told by well meaning, yet uninformed employees at the LFS. I'll start:

I had scoped out a particular LFS while I was cycling my tank. I was searching for a good source for mbuna. After seeing the mbuna stock never change at this particular store, week after week, I asked an employee (the owner actually) when they get their shipments of mbuna. The employee told me that since it was Spring, they hadn't gotten a shipment recently because the folks that collect the fish from the wild like to go in the summer when the weather is nice to catch "the cool looking ones". The store sells $4.95 yellow labs and other common mbuna... certainly not wild caught! I got the impression that this guy didn't now that the vast majority of fish in his store are captive bred.

 

[secrest]

Thats awesome, gotta love it.

I recently moved to Appleton, Wisconsin from Salt Lake City and figured I would go take a look at the LFS here in town (yep the only one in town, besides petco and petsmart). Now the LFS's that I had been to in Utah were amazing...wild caught, great color, no mixed tanks, all separated by scientific name....so I guess I was a little spoiled....So anyway....I walk into this LFS here in Appleton and there are three tanks with cichlids all mixed :-? One has mixed juvies, another mixed mbuna, and another mixed haps and peacocks....

Ends up I see a little male Red Empress in the bunch and figure I may as well snag him...he was only 6 bucks...so I ask the guy working there to grab him for me.

Now I get scared, he looks to me and says while pointing to the mbuna tank..."this tank has the same exact fish and their cheaper I would highly recommend you just get this one, its the same fish only brighter" and points to a red top zebra

I immediately walked out.....guess I'll be doing all my fish shopping online now

 

[CichlidAndrew]

I dont have any great stories but I had a guy positive that there were no gobies in lake Tanganyika.:-?

 

[secrest]

There are:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... php?cat=10

 

[sickchild]

I had a guy try to sell me "naturally occuring" AER fry imported from lake malawi. And then he told me that all Aulonocara Jacobfreibergi are "ruby red eurekas". :lol: :lol: :lol: This guy is still a bit confused these days...

 

[Darkside]

There are:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... php?cat=10

That isn't a goby, that's a cichlid. Are there gobies in lake Tanganyika? I'm not so sure...

 

[diavids]

Enjoying this thread. Though i'll add a recent happening to me. I was looking at some catfish which quite appealed to me, I knew from looking at them they had to be a synodontis of some kind. After 20 min of waiting I finally found someone to help me, well he insisted they were pepper cory's, just like these in this other tank he told me. okay pepper cory's grey, right.... these cats to start were brown striped. "So how many do you want he asked, 4/6"... since I knew they had to get much larger than cory's I took two home at the price of pepper cory's. Went to planet catfish and they are Synodontis brichardi. Its a bit dishearting, this store used to be my favourite for selection, and knowable staff. Before I asked about the catfish I mentioned that I'm thinking about setting up a 10 gal tank with maybe a betta, but wondered if he had any suggestions, well he waves his arm about and says, anything here would work as long as they don't get too big. Gee, that was very helpful, I feel sorry for anyone new into fish. i don't think I'll be going back there, I slipped on something greasy on their floor a few weeks ago, while the clerk saw me slip, he did not come to my aid, Of course I was more worried about the fish I was carrying more than myself. dianne

 

[darkenedkaven]

I was new to the hobby, and had to return an aggressive convict. The lady offered me to get another fish. There were no more convicts, she said the assorted african will get along with my convict because cichlids all get along with each other usually.

I recently bought a tank and stuck the newest one in a 55 gallon and bought more mbunas that he'd get along with.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I'll allow this thread to continue as long as no names of local fish stores are named.

 

[Jeepguy]

I am in SC, and my LFS is great. he normally deals in marine tanks, but is very knowledgable on fresh. Plus it is a cool place to hang out, except when he tries to sell me on a reef tank. Been there done that.

 

[Joels fish]

Once many years ago I was at my LFS and I offered to donate some Firemouth fry to them to get them off my hands . The lady who was working that day told me that "we don't accept fish from our customers because we can get them cheaper ." I once again stated to her,thinking that she misunderstood my intentions, that they would be a donation and I was not trying to sell them to which she said " sorry I can get them cheaper than that."
If anyone out there knows where I can find fish cheaper than free , please let me know! :lol:
The irony of this story is that this is the same LFS that a few months later was gladly accepting my fry for store credit , and later paying cash for them. After that I made it a point to bring in my fish on the days she was working!

 

[jd_7655]

I bought a Frontosa from a LFS in my area and when I got it home it had a messed up swim bladder. I paid $100 for the fish so I went back to the store and the manager wouldn't give me my money back or another fish. I hadn't even taken it out of the bag when I noticed something was wronge.

So about a month later I went back to that same store just to have a look around. I noticed a tank full of juvinal Tropheus Moorii red rainbows with no price on it. So I asked an employee how much are these he said "I don't know I'll go check" well he comes back and says "I can't find the boss so I'll sell you them for $1 each". There were 20 of them in the tank I said "I'll take them all". I got a whole colony for $20.

They were realy nice fish too not wild but defently high quality. Talk about karma I was realy ticked about the Frontosa. Normaly I wouldn't do that to someone but that guy had it coming.

 

[CichlidAndrew]

20 tropheus for $20. WOW

 

[Afishionado]

Sweet! Can't help wondering if the person got fired for it (although that's not your problem - up to them to train their employees better and mark prices on tanks).

 

[darkenedkaven]

I wish I could get a deal like that!

 

[jd_7655]

Yeah the kid was only about 16 or so he may have gotten fired but I'm sure he found another job. I was more ticked at the management and I Know they took a loss on that one.

Looking back on it man was I nervous when the kid was cashing me out. I thought someone was gonna show up and stop the transaction. When I got out of there I was doing cartwheels on the way home I was so happy.

 

[darkenedkaven]

I feel bad if the kid did get fired. For assuming a price. But I'm glad you got revenge. How much do each cost around there exactly?

 

[jd_7655]

I don't know depending on the type of Tropheus I've seen them go for anywhere between $10 and $25 each. I saw some red rainbows a few months ago selling for $20 each. Wether or not thats a fair price I don't know I havne't been in the hobby for a while.

Yeah I felt bad for the kid but I'm sure it wasnt his last job. The store ended up closeing shortly after so he would have been out of a job anyways.

Normaly I wouldn't do that to anyone but when I took the front back to the store still in the bag and the manager tells me I'm SOL I took it a bit personal.

When I went back and found the Troupheus I was actualy there planning something a bit more sinister. I'm not going to say what because I don't want to give anyone ideas.

 

[hollyfish2000]

One of my LFS has very few employees who know anything about Africans and their tanks are always incorrectly marked. I saw a cutie Sunshine peacock one day and told the young employee that I wanted "that sunshine peacock there." He caught it and was writing up the amount to charge and he said something like "I think this is a demonsoni." I assured him it was a peacock. He shook his head and insisted it was a demonsoni and charged me like $19. OK, I tried. I was very happy with my $19 peacock . . . (Should have been more like $39-$49)

I've been pretty lucky with LFS advice, But here there was the time a LFS told me:.

clown loaches would work in my 30 gallon
green euchlides (sp) would work in my 30 gallon (they can get to be something like 10" long. I had no plans to upgrade)
I only had to do a 25 percent water change once a month
Otos will eat BBA

 

[TheeMon]

does this count as a "tale" ?

my lfs doesnt care about fish at all, and there 16yr old employees just repeat everything theyve been told, for instance this one kid there has a bunch of johnaniis and yellow labs in a 20long and trys to tell EVERYONE its ok. SO when i walk in and buy stuff, i usually browse first because you never know what your going to find. i always help people, almost as if i work there, i even know where the items are(and better then the employees) its kinda sad. btw there "cure all" is jungle's lifeguard. no mater whats wrong they push this med on you. the owner knows me, knows what i do, and has offered me a job a few times(min. wage though), he knows i breed fish and there quality(i post them on the lfs bulliten board) BUT he wont buy any off me because and i quote " im afraid of getting diseases in my tanks" even though they allready do.

i would love to open up a pet store...