ATTN: LFS employees

[Rewd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10582467#post10582467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kmf507
Something needs to bring in people who don't know anything about the hobby, that's how the hobby grows. At one point or another, all of us knew nothing. Someone who walks in because their kid wants to see "Nemo" is no less likely to do research than anyone else. No matter how you get to the hobby, you are either a person who wants to treat animals with respect (and does research) or you aren't.

I agree with you. As much as I hate hearing "look it's nemo!!" 600 times a day I can't even guess how many families I've gotten in to the hobby cause the kid wanted a "nemofish". A lot of them are decent, responsible people as well and might even be lurking these boards now since I give the RC URL to every single new Saltwater customer I deal with.

 

[NewKid630]

"As Im cleaning a saltwater tank:
Man: you should add some oscars to that tank.
Other Lady with him: are they saltwater?
Man: Yes they are, and really mellow too."

I didn't know you worked in a pet store..

 

[NewKid630]

"One time a lady asked me if she could put 3 clowns in the goldfish bowl. I really wanted to respond, would you want to be trapped in a bathroom with 2 others and only breathe carbon monoxide?"

Over the top a bit? lol

but it's ok for you to keep a Clown Trigger in a 3' long tank.. lol

 

[Darkstar04]

I overheard somebody complaining about the LFS employees not knowing what they were doing because there weren't any "algae eater fish" (the freshwater variety) in a new saltwater tank the store had set up that was going through the green hair algae stage.

 

[SDhky]

newkid you killed 4 dragon eels

 

[SDhky]

"I didn't know you worked in a pet store.."
Its not like I told you my biography or anything, quit stalking me, Im reporting you before You find my house

 

[oysterxfast5]

Well that gave me somthign to do for the last hour. very funny.

 

[Sarcophyton874]

LoL I remember when I worked for an LFS people always use to ask me: "Umm..do you work here?" We were allowed to wear our regular street close but, come on, my hand is in the tank scrubbing algae. I just wanted to say "Nah..I don't really work here. I just like cleaning fish poo..."

 

[JmLee]

I was at this LFS a few years ago in phoenix and i watched some rich kids walk out with a fish tank, stand, canopy, lights, gravel and a puffer and lion fish all at the same time.

 

[boviac]

I have really enjoyed reading these and sharing these storeis. Slightly OT out of the LFS world but I've got a few from my experience that are hilarious to me. While working in Yosemite NP:

How long is a one-day pass good for?

Asked at the entrance to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoaias: Why did they put the Giant Sequoia's so far from the parking lot?

Person: Is that white stuff on the top of the mountains snow?
Me: Yes.
Person: But it's July.
Me: Yes.

Person leaving park: Is that all there is to see, the rocks, the trees, the water?
Me: Did you visit the Valley, sir?
Person: What Valley?
Me: ah... yes, there's rocks, trees, water, and animals but they're a little harder to see. Next time try to visit Yosemite Valley too.
Person: Pfft... and drove off.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Customer approaches me while I'm engaged in draining a display tank to replace the substrate.

Me: Hi there. How are you today?
Customer: Ok, I guess -- have a little ick in my tank, though. Thought I'd do a few water changes to try to get rid of it.
Me: (Thinking this a not very aggressive response to ick, but whatever). Yes, I guess water changes can help ick.
Customer: What are you doing, anyway?
Me: I'm replacing the substrate in this tank.
Customer: The what?
Me: Substrate. Y'know -- sand, gravel, the stuff on the bottom.
Customer: Oh. Why?
Me: Well, after a few years the grains get coated with organics, biofilm, and phosphorus compounds, and it loses its capacity to buffer the pH.
Customer: Maybe I should do that in my tank.
Me: Maybe. How long has the system been running?
Customer: Oh, about 3 or 4 years.
Me: Yes, then, but don't change all the substrate at once -- that's really a shock to the system itself, as well as to the livestock.
Customer: The what?
Me: Livestock. Y'know, fish and invertebrates.
Customer: Oh, I don't have any of that in my tank.
Me: (recalling the earlier comment about ick, and wondering if I really missed something) Ummm...you said there was ick in the tank.
Customer: Yeah. Its all over the rocks.
Me: (A bit perplexed) Ah...you can actually see it on the rocks? Wow.
Customer: Yeah, its everywhere. Big slimy sheets of it.
Me: (Slowly getting the picture) Wait -- is it purplish in color, and easy to brush off the rocks, really slimy?
Customer: Yep.
Me: That's not ick -- that's cyanobacteria.
(The rest of the story involves said customer purchasing 40 lbs. of substrate after expecting me to sell him 2 10 lb. bags at the price of the 20 lb. bags that were out of stock. He returns in 20 minutes to exchange the substrate for a different, more expensive type and demands that I exchange it even-up. He threw a big tantrum at the counter, and I now wish that I had belittled him for being 4 years into the hobby and not having so much as a clue. I also wish I had asked what happened to all his livestock over the course of 4 years. Well, maybe I'd rather not know.)

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Oops, double post.

 

[seapug]

Have any of you LFS employees ever considered making a Dori & Nemo info sheet to hand out to all parents and children that walk into your store? Perhaps something to explain what kind of fish they are and what kind of care they require before you have to answer the same &%**# questions for the 5 millionth time? Maybe even setting up a DORI and NEMO display tank in a completely separate, sound-proofed room with a barrier between the kids and the tank to prevent the inevitable BANGING on the tank (funny how they always seem to have missed that part of the movie). I'm all for encouraging childrens' curiosity, but I can barely stand it when I'm browsing my local stores. I'd go NUTS looking hearing it all day long.

 

[melev]

Something like this?
[nemo]

 

[aznlmpulse]

not too crazy about that article. (no offense) Given it was the partially condensed crash course into saltwater, but a couple misleading statements and leads, like....

-4" dsb. doesn't break it down further into requirements for diff. types and corresponding depths. Why mention this at all to a newb?

-stating "unlike freshwater tanks, saltwater tanks need time to cycle." - freshwater tanks need some time to cycle as well.

I was really unsure as to who the article was directed to. Some parts of it made it clear that it was towards the newb parent with the annoying kid, but mentioning testing for Alk being very important threw me off again.

If I had made a flier for a reefshop, all I'd say is...

are you ready to drop 200-300 dollars? Are you ready to stare at a tank filled with only water, sand and rocks for the next few weeks while your kid bugs you every day about the damn clown fish?


sorry for bustin your chops melev. I love your tanks btw.

sorry for the OT.

 

[JJ21]

bump

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10600538#post10600538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aznlmpulse
are you ready to drop 200-300 dollars?

Try $2000-$3000. The skimmer alone will cost $300.

 

[aznlmpulse]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10603159#post10603159 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LobsterOfJustice
Try $2000-$3000. The skimmer alone will cost $300.

Well, assuming a parent would default to a 10g setup with the bare min. to placate their kids.

you know. stock filter, NO lights, rocks (if that), a few fake plants, and 1 or two clowns.

you get the idea....

:rolleye1:

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10600538#post10600538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aznlmpulse
not too crazy about that article. (no offense) Given it was the partially condensed crash course into saltwater, but a couple misleading statements and leads, like....

-4" dsb. doesn't break it down further into requirements for diff. types and corresponding depths. Why mention this at all to a newb?

-stating "unlike freshwater tanks, saltwater tanks need time to cycle." - freshwater tanks need some time to cycle as well.

I was really unsure as to who the article was directed to. Some parts of it made it clear that it was towards the newb parent with the annoying kid, but mentioning testing for Alk being very important threw me off again.

If I had made a flier for a reefshop, all I'd say is...

are you ready to drop 200-300 dollars? Are you ready to stare at a tank filled with only water, sand and rocks for the next few weeks while your kid bugs you every day about the damn clown fish?


sorry for bustin your chops melev. I love your tanks btw.

sorry for the OT.

No worries. It gives a basic overview and was written years ago when Finding Nemo was barely out of the theaters. We had a lot of "Nemo" threads here on RC, and used that article to give the many visitors & potential hobbyists a clue as to what they were getting themselves into.

When I wrote it, I was hoping to keep someone's attention span about as long as it takes to drink a cup of coffee. If they liked what they read, hopefully they'd do more research on the various points.

I've never had a freshwater system, so I don't have any inkling what they need. That could be corrected. The alkalinity measurement is a great way to keep pH where it needs to be.

The LFS owner near me tells people that they can expect to spend a couple of thousand dollars easily just setting up a simple tank, and makes sure they realize this is an expensive hobby. I think some people actually get in because of that, believe it or not. Almost like it's a challenge that they should accept.

I know of a few LFS that decided to print out that article to hand out to their customers.

 

[ScubaDiver93]

i have good 1! I was at the LFS today and a couple walked in. The woman was lookin at a coral tank and points to a pink sea cucumber. She asks her husbund wat it was and he said wow wat a cool anemone, no its a caterpillar. I was thinkin wut an idiot.