Biggest lfs blunder

[reefernanoman]

LOL. I would have felt guilty though.

[aviator300]

I had a LFS sell me some "red mushrooms" for 14$ and when I got home realized they had sent me a cluster of Acans. Best LFS blunder ever.

 

I also had another LFS recommend a cleaner wrasse for my 16 gallon tank w/ only one fish in it. Thank god for Liveaquaria...

and of course you took the cluster of Acans back and advised them of their blunder just like you would want them to do if they accidently gave you a couple mushrooms for 80 or 90 dollars if you were expecting Acans right??

[reefernanoman]

and of course you took the cluster of Acans back and advised them of their blunder just like you would want them to do if they accidently gave you a couple mushrooms for 80 or 90 dollars if you were expecting Acans right??

It's like the day at the drive through at Del Taco many years ago: I had ordered like two $1 tacos and they were giving me a whole bag of food with like 5 combos. I could have taken them, but I told the cashier it wasn't mine.

[Deleted User 8]

I was at a bank drive thru once cashing my $300 paycheck and I was given over $7000. I promptly drove around to the parking lot and went inside with the wad of cash. It was a deposit from another drive thru customer they they sent to me instead. He got my $300 instead of a his deposit receipt. The cashier was very thankful that I came in with the cash.

 

OK, to stay on topic. I was at a LFS just yesterday and there was a 10 year old kid (I had asked mom how old he was) who was dead set on getting a snowflake eel. The LFS monkey was going on about how easy they are to take care of and how they make the perfect first fish. The kid and no one else in the family had ever had a fish tank before--not even a beta. Of course I could not keep quiet and I called BS right there in front of the LFS sales guy. Who, to his credit, said that it sounded like I knew more about it than he did and promptly turned heel, walked away, and went back to the counter and his iPhone.

 

Mom said they were going to go home and do more research about it.

 

The 10 year old kid was pissed. Wish I would have took a picture of the stink-eye he gave me as mom dragged him out of there.

 

Buzz

[Dr.Brain Coral]

As sheriff of the eel police I thank you for doing that.

[Catie]

This one is at least half my own fault. I was picking up some random snails and hermits to play CUC and future meals for a new tank. Since I was picking up a couple other things, I gestured at the tank and told the nice girl at Petco to grab two hermits and seven snails for me, preferably the ones on sale. Then I went to pick up some other stuff while she picked out my goodies. I paid and left without too much worry about the shells in the bag. Got home and it turned out I didn't get a single snail, all hermits with different types of shells. Worked out for me price wise, but still need to go get some snails.

 

I was in my LFS (which I really like, they're awesome) and their dog came running up to me with a tug toy. I told him no, I couldn't play tug in the middle of a fish store, and the owner was so relieved. I guess lots of customers think it's okay to play tug with a big, powerful lab right next to the tanks full of fancy clown fish. o.o

 

And I've lost count of the number of times I've called b.s. on employees at the big box stores. Whether it's keeping male and female bettas together, oscars going in 10g tanks, or water quality, I can't keep my mouth shut. I actually pulled out my membership card for the Internation Betta Congress once when I got into a spat with an employee over whether or not bettas need heaters. You know you're an aquarium addict when you actually have credentials to flash around in the middle of a pet store!

[frankdr]

... their dog came running up to me with a tug toy. I told him no, I couldn't play tug in the middle of a fish store, and the owner was so relieved.

This didn't happen to be the place in North Forth Worth would it? I didn't see your location in your profile, but we have a store over here with the same kind of friendly, big dog..

[Tamberav]

This one is at least half my own fault. I was picking up some random snails and hermits to play CUC and future meals for a new tank. Since I was picking up a couple other things, I gestured at the tank and told the nice girl at Petco to grab two hermits and seven snails for me, preferably the ones on sale. Then I went to pick up some other stuff while she picked out my goodies. I paid and left without too much worry about the shells in the bag. Got home and it turned out I didn't get a single snail, all hermits with different types of shells. Worked out for me price wise, but still need to go get some snails.

 

I was in my LFS (which I really like, they're awesome) and their dog came running up to me with a tug toy. I told him no, I couldn't play tug in the middle of a fish store, and the owner was so relieved. I guess lots of customers think it's okay to play tug with a big, powerful lab right next to the tanks full of fancy clown fish. o.o

 

And I've lost count of the number of times I've called b.s. on employees at the big box stores. Whether it's keeping male and female bettas together, oscars going in 10g tanks, or water quality, I can't keep my mouth shut. I actually pulled out my membership card for the Internation Betta Congress once when I got into a spat with an employee over whether or not bettas need heaters. You know you're an aquarium addict when you actually have credentials to flash around in the middle of a pet store!

 

Well... At least you didn't get empty shells. I have had that happen before and for $3 each for a stinking snail... I was not happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Catie]

This didn't happen to be the place in North Forth Worth would it? I didn't see your location in your profile, but we have a store over here with the same kind of friendly, big dog..

 

Nope, this is in south central New Hampshire. Super cute shop called Aquatic Creations that is managed by a big chocolate lab type dog. He seems to think all of these people that come in are just his best friends dropping by to visit him. I wouldn't be surprised to find out there are a lot of LFS that are managed by labs.

[joy13]

This didn't happen to be the place in North Forth Worth would it? I didn't see your location in your profile, but we have a store over here with the same kind of friendly, big dog..

LOL I was thinking Nemos in Charlotte NC.

[tess&ellie]

A long time employee at Petco she worked in the fish area and had a saltwater tank herself, Told my husband and myself she was almost certain that Clownfish were invertebrates

[Chris!]

 

I paid 3.99 for my yellow clown goby pair a few years back.... still weren't misrang as FW fish tho... buy one get one free and $1. off their reg. price of 4.99 at Petco long before we had an LFS in the area.

 

 

My LFS biggest blunder was not honoring my $75 store credit towards a tank I needed quickly after my old one split a seam.... Everything I bought from an LFS was purchased through there for atleast 4, maybe 5 years.... Its been well over a year since I set foot in that dump. I've since purchased several thousand dollars in coral and a new 150g starphire tank I woulda ordered through there waiting to be filled say that was a pretty big screw up

[reefernanoman]

I took my dog to my buddy's LFS and she pissed on the carpet, since the owner(who is my friend) had his male puppy there. I felt bad, but he told me that his dog had pissed all over the store already. I still felt bad LOL.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

 

A long time employee at Petco she worked in the fish area and had a saltwater tank herself, Told my husband and myself she was almost certain that Clownfish were invertebrates

Haha well theres the majority of petco employees for ya

[reefernanoman]

Back in the 90's I used to go to this LFS located in the San Fernando Valley(the suburbs of Los Angele southern Cali). This place had a huge shark tank. I don't know how many gallons the tank was, but it must have been more than 2000 gallons. It was an amazing tank with huge fish also. Well, I moved out of the area, then came back in 2013 and the place where the LFS was before was turned into a pottery shop! Remember the 1992 Northridge earthquake? Well my mom told me that sadly it pretty much obliterated all the tanks inside the LFS

[hey]

I paid 3.99 for my yellow clown goby pair a few years back.... still weren't misrang as FW fish tho... buy one get one free and $1. off their reg. price of 4.99 at Petco long before we had an LFS in the area.

 

 

My LFS biggest blunder was not honoring my $75 store credit towards a tank I needed quickly after my old one split a seam.... Everything I bought from an LFS was purchased through there for atleast 4, maybe 5 years.... Its been well over a year since I set foot in that dump. I've since purchased several thousand dollars in coral and a new 150g starphire tank I woulda ordered through there waiting to be filled say that was a pretty big screw up

 

Spite can be a great motivation to spend more money of corals lol.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Back in the 90's I used to go to this LFS located in the San Fernando Valley(the suburbs of Los Angele southern Cali). This place had a huge shark tank. I don't know how many gallons the tank was, but it must have been more than 2000 gallons. It was an amazing tank with huge fish also. Well, I moved out of the area, then came back in 2013 and the place where the LFS was before was turned into a pottery shop! Remember the 1992 Northridge earthquake? Well my mom told me that sadly it pretty much obliterated all the tanks inside the LFS

That sucks

[reefernanoman]

That sucks

I know! It was so sad. That store was awesome too! I remember going in there at the time to look at the trigger fish(back then I only had a 20G FW but well kept tank). I used to put my finger inside the tanks(I was a kid LOL), but I stopped doing it because one of the triggers almost bit my finger! It made a loud noise with its mouth when it tried to bite me and it scared the heck out of me.

[lobster876]

My lfs sells hippo damsels which are small hippo tangs advirtized as damsels and on the tank it says perfect for nano/ pico tanks

[TFish77]

My lfs sells hippo damsels which are small hippo tangs advirtized as damsels and on the tank it says perfect for nano/ pico tanks

 

Yeah you didn't know that?!?! Hippo damsels (lol) are all the rage now. Great for cycling tanks as well.

 

All kidding aside if this is true its very sad. I wish local LFS' had to become "salt water certified" or something before even beginning to sell livestock.

[Paandemonium]

Now, I work with about a bagillion stores and the ones that I like I'll occasionally take trips to and visit/ hangout. Miami has so many LFS' that you're always at most 15 minutes from a shop but I'll go out to town to check some out eventually, here is my list

 

1. When I was a noob someone sold me a really nice green zoa rock(spoiler alert the zoas were majano anemones) the store owner's kid knew what he was selling me and didnt say anything because he was going out that night and needed the commission cash, I was like 12...

 

2. One of the LFS' new salesmen sold me a $60 acro under the wrong name for $20 solely because he wasnt paying attention to what was written on the glass...

 

3. I once heard an LFS owner tell a customer that a TINY BABY Bowser polyp would be a great addition to his tank...he was buying the tank that same day

 

4. My local petco sold me a really nice Bellus female for $6 because it was a blue damsel

 

5. "anemone trained clownfish"

 

6. "bagged and ready to go" sale. A store near me actually bagged a bunch of fish and put them on sale already in the bag... it wasnt just little fish. I went there and there was a freaking passer angel in a bag for at least four hours(for no reason????)

 

7. My first LFS sold me not one, not two, but three crappy leaky Biocubes, then she got mad at me when I returned it. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

 

8. Went in to buy some tanks from the LFS and the owner priced them as follows "I'll take $800 or $700 and a rainbow chalice, like a rainbow crush "

Me "do you know how much rainbow chalice frags cost?"

Him "yeah, that was before, they're worthless now"

Yeah, okay

 

9. I asked if they could test my water and they broke out an API test kit

 

From a stores perspective(this is my experiences as well as some of my customer's experiences)

 

1. I've had people walk in and steal master scoly's in cups and pockets

 

2. We had a lady throw a complete tantrum because no one wanted to sell her a fire urchin we had. Once we sold it to her she ended up picking it up with her hand and she said she would sue us. Thankfully her husband was level headed.

 

3. Whenever someone asks for a blue ring octopus everyone rolls their eyes, trust me

 

4. After 45 minutes with a customer, and most of the stuff bagged the customer realized that he didnt have any cash on him. He said he would come back giggling...

 

5. Theres a customer that calls every day for at least 25 minutes and hasnt bought anything... its been like this for about six months. He also contacts general staff, myself and the shop owner for prices on livestock

 

6. We had two customers that REALLY wanted the last purple tang, one punched the other one and I was alone at the shop(the boys were getting lunch) so I just watched them go at it

[Hammerstone]

At an old pet store I used to work, I had asked about their water source, my boss had said ot was pure ground water that went through filtration. Not 2 weeks later i was doing my ususal 50% water changes, no one else did em. The same boss told me not to change so much water, I asked why he said id drown the fish, then said it was because the water was untreated town water . He still wonders why we loose fish. Plus his idea of maintaining a salt water tank is to bleach anytjing with algae on it, and only change the water 20% every 2 months, mind you this 55 is stocked full of 2-3 dozen damsels, several pair of clown and at least 3 fish that are 6inches or larger. If you ever need an example of how NOT to run a pet store go to that store

how stupid, drown a fish?

[Hammerstone]

I had a person at a LFS drop a fish on the ground and bitch when I didn't want it anymore and wanted to pick out another one. This was a long time ago, I don't remember what fish it was but must have been fresh water back then. I've only been in the salt water hobby for about a year and a half so far. But I couldn't believe that.