Biggest lfs blunder

[Gooburz]

2 of my personal favorites were the following, 1 is in a link http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/332684-worst-fish-store-in-the-usa/ (These people were literally insane crazy, not even joking!) Kept like 4 sharks in a 300 gallon tub and 1 was over 4 feet long!

 

And the other was seeing a LFS putting Sea Horses in a tank that was circulating about 40x's is volume and said "It helps them swim better since they can't swim well, they like to ride the currents". I was just at a total loss of words and said to myself "There isn't enough alcohol for this conversation"

[ghostgr]

Went to a LFS in Flower Mound, Tx. I live in Mckinney, Tx. its about an hour drive. I called ahead of time to ensure they had a product/products for the nano tank I was wanting to start. Kid said yes they have it and said he'd even put it in the back for me just in case. I get there and he does his little computer thing and says they no longer have those items and they are discontinued. I ask if they can help me out since I called earlier and he said it was here and I live an hour away. Kid called his boss, comes back and says his manager didnt answer so he may still be asleep. I literally laughed out loud when he said this. I walked away quite pissed. Kid fails epically and his manager failed even harder for being lazy and lacking professionalism. I went to another store in Plano and since there I have been treated right and even got hooked up on a few things for free.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

2 of my personal favorites were the following, 1 is in a link http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/332684-worst-fish-store-in-the-usa/ (These people were literally insane crazy, not even joking!) Kept like 4 sharks in a 300 gallon tub and 1 was over 4 feet long!

 

And the other was seeing a LFS putting Sea Horses in a tank that was circulating about 40x's is volume and said "It helps them swim better since they can't swim well, they like to ride the currents". I was just at a total loss of words and said to myself "There isn't enough alcohol for this conversation"

I read that thread just now. Those people make me so angry.

[Gooburz]

I read that thread just now. Those people make me so angry.

 

To this day I have NEVER seen ANY business run like theirs, if you can even call that place a business. NOBODY wants anything to do with them, even the Baltimore Aquarium which is awesome made a statement and said they have no affiliation with them because they tried to say they supply them from time to time.

 

I literally have NO clue how they stay open and in "business".

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Probably because the say they are animal rights activists. The nut jobs like peta and other people would support them

[Tamberav]

I know this is supposed to be the worst things but I was surprised by a walmart employee last week. It was an older gentleman and he quizzed me about my tank, how long I had it, if it was tropical, ect. before selling me some 38 cent ghost shrimp. They were supposed to be treats for my mantis shrimp (secrets) but he said he put extras in the bag and asked me not to kill the extras. I felt sort of guilty after promising not to kill them so now they are living the life in my planted cherry shrimp tank

 

The LFS's here are kind of high priced but otherwise not too terrible. The Petco is bad but they don't often say anything at all to you. The only thing silly they ever told me was that if I put the fish in my tank, the ich would go away on its own.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

He sounds like a nice man. DO you by chance have a picture of your cherry shrimp?

[Pinner Reef]

That is to funny. Did it actually eat the dogs? That would be funny to see the people react. Especially if they were chihuahuas. I hate those little yappers

 

It didn't eat any Chihuahuas sadly. But it managed to pull a lil Boston Terrier into the pond. The look on the dog's face was absolutely priceless as it scrambled/fell out of the pond, eyes all wide as saucers completely confused as to WTF just happened.

 

We didn't help the situation any. Occasionally we would toss the thing crickets and after awhile the fish became so well trained he'd be able to snatch them within a second of them hitting the water. Then it figured out that the net would twang should a cricket hit it as it was falling so it began to blindly lunge whenever the net moved in the slightest.

 

Call me cruel but watching Frank scare small children was pretty damned amusing..

[Dr.Brain Coral]

I bet it was entertaining. Did the owner freack out that a giant fish was pulling there dog into the water haha

[Pinner Reef]

Nah, he was a friend and regular, he was laughing just as hard as we were. The dog was trusted enough to roam off leash and really liked the taste of the pond water. I saw the whole thing coming but I was elbow deep in a tank so I told the dog to get down. It was too late tho... I could see the thought form in its head... "Whoa a net! I wonder wha-" [sPLASH]

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Any more?

[tetraodon]

my LFS has an employee whose knowledge of fish stopped around 1989, his solution to any problem 1 remove all items, 2 bleach said items, 3 test PH, 4 dump chemicals in tank till it becomes a chemists nightmare, 5 continue to have problems

[metrokat]

The one store sold me a pair of b/w striped pistols assuring this noob that they would pair with a goby. They turned out to be notorious for being a predator. The other LFS is hands down the best store I can ever imagine being a patron of. They never sell you what you want unless you show knowledge about the critter or a willingness to learn. They have rookies who help you bag fish but they make sure your questions are answered by their experienced staff first. At any given time they have at least 10 staff members to assist customers. The prices of their dry goods are more than we pay online but they will special order almost anything for their customers.

[LynkUK]

Back in the UK when I had a Koi pond, I used one LFS in particular. I built up quite a good relationship with him - he helped me fabricate the pond walls, I even purchased the filtration system from him. His importer of Koi (all from Japan) use to cut him a good deal, which he would kindly pass onto me with any fish purchases. Anyway his [LFS] stock ponds were housed in a couple of white washed glass roof buildings....you have to remember this was the UK, so it made sense as it acted like a greenhouse - less of a heating bill in winter.

 

Well one day, I was standing in there looking at my latest purchase in the quarantine pond and there was this tapping on the glass above. Quickly the tapping got harder, and as we ran for cover, shards of glass started to fall all around, landing on us and in the ponds!!! A whirlwind had tracked across the gravel parking lot and had hit his store. We just looked at each other in disbelief!! Well, actually, the real disbelief came when we checked the pond and the 18" Taisho Sanahoku he had in quarantine for me was swimming erratically with a shard of glass in his left flank!!! /o\

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Wow glad no one was hurt

[hey]

Wow glad no one was hurt

 

except the fish...

[Halo_003]

Back in the UK when I had a Koi pond, I used one LFS in particular. I built up quite a good relationship with him - he helped me fabricate the pond walls, I even purchased the filtration system from him. His importer of Koi (all from Japan) use to cut him a good deal, which he would kindly pass onto me with any fish purchases. Anyway his [LFS] stock ponds were housed in a couple of white washed glass roof buildings....you have to remember this was the UK, so it made sense as it acted like a greenhouse - less of a heating bill in winter.

 

Well one day, I was standing in there looking at my latest purchase in the quarantine pond and there was this tapping on the glass above. Quickly the tapping got harder, and as we ran for cover, shards of glass started to fall all around, landing on us and in the ponds!!! A whirlwind had tracked across the gravel parking lot and had hit his store. We just looked at each other in disbelief!! Well, actually, the real disbelief came when we checked the pond and the 18" Taisho Sanahoku he had in quarantine for me was swimming erratically with a shard of glass in his left flank!!! /o\

Holy crap lol. That's crazy. Did the fish live through it? I imagine it was quite unhappy if it did.

[Cameron6796]

Wow how bad was the shop, that's really sad.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Any one else

[jolee0722]

The one store sold me a pair of b/w striped pistols assuring this noob that they would pair with a goby. They turned out to be notorious for being a predator. The other LFS is hands down the best store I can ever imagine being a patron of. They never sell you what you want unless you show knowledge about the critter or a willingness to learn. They have rookies who help you bag fish but they make sure your questions are answered by their experienced staff first. At any given time they have at least 10 staff members to assist customers. The prices of their dry goods are more than we pay online but they will special order almost anything for their customers.

Where is this LFS you speak of? I live in NJ and am looking for some good ones.

[LynkUK]

Holy crap lol. That's crazy. Did the fish live through it? I imagine it was quite unhappy if it did.

 

 

Wow how bad was the shop, that's really sad.

 

The Shop, he had back up and running the following afternoon...which was amazing, considering. He did close the business about 3 years later to concentrate solely on pond design and construction.

 

Interesting story about the fish. After the incident, he netted the fish and put her in an anesthetic dip. Once the fish was knocked out he proceeded to perform minor surgery and remove the glass. Applied antiseptic cream to the wound and back into the pond.

The wound healed very well, but left an impressive scar, so certainly not show quality. By that time I felt quite an attachment to her and proceeded with the purchase (at a reduced price ).

That fish had a death wish though. A couple of years later I returned home from work and found her at the bottom of two steps, covered in grit and dirt, about 12 feet from the pond!! There was no flapping, just some shallow gill movement. I returned her to the pond, but wasn't really optimistic of her chances - that evening she stayed on the bottom with clamped fins, and I wasn't sure how much the gills had dried out. There was no sign of water at the side of the pond or leading to where she laid, so she had been out quite a while. Next morning she was swimming about like nothing had happened! I had her for another 10 years, where she grew to just shy of 3 feet in length. She is still alive in a friends Koi pond, back in the UK.

 

So, all in all not a true LFS horror story...unless that includes falling glass and suicidal fish.

[farkwar]

Not a blunder, more of a funny.

 

I was buying some Hikari Mysis and Brine shrimp from the local store, Twins Aquarium in Stockton.

 

Open up the freezer, grabbed the food, then looked over at the shelf of the freezer door.

 

"I found Nemo".

 

Why a frozen clownfish was in there, have no idea.

 

If youre in the area, go by and look. I bet its still in there.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Not a blunder, more of a funny.

 

I was buying some Hikari Mysis and Brine shrimp from the local store, Twins Aquarium in Stockton.

 

Open up the freezer, grabbed the food, then looked over at the shelf of the freezer door.

 

"I found Nemo".

 

Why a frozen clownfish was in there, have no idea.

 

If youre in the area, go by and look. I bet its still in there.

Haha imagine the kids if they see that. "MOMMY NEMO IS DEAD!!!!!!"

 

The Shop, he had back up and running the following afternoon...which was amazing, considering. He did close the business about 3 years later to concentrate solely on pond design and construction.

 

Interesting story about the fish. After the incident, he netted the fish and put her in an anesthetic dip. Once the fish was knocked out he proceeded to perform minor surgery and remove the glass. Applied antiseptic cream to the wound and back into the pond.

The wound healed very well, but left an impressive scar, so certainly not show quality. By that time I felt quite an attachment to her and proceeded with the purchase (at a reduced price ).

That fish had a death wish though. A couple of years later I returned home from work and found her at the bottom of two steps, covered in grit and dirt, about 12 feet from the pond!! There was no flapping, just some shallow gill movement. I returned her to the pond, but wasn't really optimistic of her chances - that evening she stayed on the bottom with clamped fins, and I wasn't sure how much the gills had dried out. There was no sign of water at the side of the pond or leading to where she laid, so she had been out quite a while. Next morning she was swimming about like nothing had happened! I had her for another 10 years, where she grew to just shy of 3 feet in length. She is still alive in a friends Koi pond, back in the UK.

 

So, all in all not a true LFS horror story...unless that includes falling glass and suicidal fish.

Dang do you have any pics of this fish?

[Lynaea]

I hope this person doesn't get mad but I think this is crazy. Their LFS sold them a brand new tank and 'precycled water' straight out of their tanks to start it with. Luckily they also sold them some live rock.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/350689-what-is-this-algae-how-can-i-get-rid-of-it/

[sangheili]

Fish store owner tried to sell me a juvenile angelfish (forgot the species). I asked if it would a) nip at my clams grow too large for my tank (a Nuvo 24g) and 3) acclimate well.

 

He told me it would never touch the clams/corals, stay under 2-3", and this particular species is the best angelfish in the business for surviving transport stress.

 

I didn't really believe him so went home and looked up the fish,...

 

1) Lots of reports of it eating coral and clams

2) It gets over 6" long rather quickly

3) It is very difficult to acclimate as all are wild caught and can't deal with shipping stress

 

I expect this kind of stuff from employees, but from the owner of the store who previously spent 10 mins telling me his life story about how he knows everything and has spent 20+yrs in saltwater business...... sigh.