Dumb things you've overheard customers say at the LFS
- Thread starter TANGBOY5000
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astronaut
New member
this doesnt have to do really with this thread, but while i was at the hardware store getting plumbing supplies for my tank, the lady helping me asked what it was for and i told her, so she sais that her brother-in-law had given her a tank with angels, "a bunch" of clownfish, and some other stuff. she hadnt done a water change in 6 months, and when she did, it was with water from OB, a very polluted area of San Diego. I just laughed and said good job.
Randall_James
Premium Member
LOL tarter sauce anyone?DeeOooGee said:
I heard a John Kerry quote is a LFS once, does that count?
i was in my lfs with my brother talking to the owner and a lady walks in looking around for about 20mins then asks the owner if he actualy knows anything about FISH
shes later laying on the wet ground looking at a clown fish
another lady came into the shop about an hour later and sticks her finger in the lion fish tank the lion fish bit her on the finger and she started laughing and then did it again
shes later laying on the wet ground looking at a clown fish
another lady came into the shop about an hour later and sticks her finger in the lion fish tank the lion fish bit her on the finger and she started laughing and then did it again
my absolute favorite i have ever seen
I was at petsmart, which only sells freshwater fish.
This guy and his girlfriend come in and they are obviously just starting dating they arent holding hands or anything.
He starts showing off
He said "I dont want to brag but I kept fish for a long time and would consider myself an expert."
I got interested thinking wow I might be able to learn something
Then the girl says oh ok tell me about these.
She points to goldfish
He says "Well those are fresh water and they are the best mannered fish they eat everything you give them and you never have to clean their tank."
She then points to clown loaches and asked about them to which he replies, "Those are saltwater you can tell by the beautiful colors. They are very hard to keep but they stay small."
It continued like this for a bit
After about 5 minutes my friend turns to them and says you realize all of these tanks are connected right?
They guy is like "Yeah, so."
Shes like so its all freshwater its not possible to have salt mixed with fresh.
The guy says no way come here to his girlfriend and asked a salesperson. To which they are told "They are all freshwater. Have you ever kept fish?"
I just cant believe some people are so idiotic
I was at petsmart, which only sells freshwater fish.
This guy and his girlfriend come in and they are obviously just starting dating they arent holding hands or anything.
He starts showing off
He said "I dont want to brag but I kept fish for a long time and would consider myself an expert."
I got interested thinking wow I might be able to learn something
Then the girl says oh ok tell me about these.
She points to goldfish
He says "Well those are fresh water and they are the best mannered fish they eat everything you give them and you never have to clean their tank."
She then points to clown loaches and asked about them to which he replies, "Those are saltwater you can tell by the beautiful colors. They are very hard to keep but they stay small."
It continued like this for a bit
After about 5 minutes my friend turns to them and says you realize all of these tanks are connected right?
They guy is like "Yeah, so."
Shes like so its all freshwater its not possible to have salt mixed with fresh.
The guy says no way come here to his girlfriend and asked a salesperson. To which they are told "They are all freshwater. Have you ever kept fish?"
I just cant believe some people are so idiotic
Ok, i know this is a marine fish forum but I thought I would add this here anyway.
At the pet shop I work at, a customer was looking to buy a 9-1/2 inch Red Devil/Midas Cichlid. I asked him the usual questions (size tank/tankmates/how long set up, etc...). He told me he would keep it in his 29 gallon with 4 "full grown" oscars. :mad2: :mad2:
I told him that aquarium was way to small for even one oscar and I would refuse to sell the Midas to him. I explained to him how not only was the tank to small physically to hold those fish (for the salt onlys on here- think groupers size-wise and temperment- wise)
but also about the huge bioloads they caused and the large territories they needed, etc. He insisted they were ok though since they "told him they were happy." 
I was so mad at his point I walked away to breakdown some boxes back in storage to let off some steam.
At the pet shop I work at, a customer was looking to buy a 9-1/2 inch Red Devil/Midas Cichlid. I asked him the usual questions (size tank/tankmates/how long set up, etc...). He told me he would keep it in his 29 gallon with 4 "full grown" oscars. :mad2: :mad2:
I told him that aquarium was way to small for even one oscar and I would refuse to sell the Midas to him. I explained to him how not only was the tank to small physically to hold those fish (for the salt onlys on here- think groupers size-wise and temperment- wise)
but also about the huge bioloads they caused and the large territories they needed, etc. He insisted they were ok though since they "told him they were happy." I was so mad at his point I walked away to breakdown some boxes back in storage to let off some steam.
Al G Blenny
New member
"I heard a John Kerry quote is a LFS once, does that count?"
Was that the voting for before voting against one? :lol:
Hippity Hop Flipity Flop.
One time a guy was in a LFS I used to work at. He wanted a "nemo" for his parents tank. I asked him if his parents had a saltwater tank. For all of you LFS emplyees you know when you can just tell a customer doesn't know what the heck you are talking about but they give you the right answers to your questions just to get the fish. I just knew the guy didn't know if his parents had a saltwater tank. Anyway I can't not sell him a "nemo" just because I think he is lying. He buys it and about 5 hours later comes back with it in a bag. He decides he wants his money back. I ask him why and he says his parents didn't want the fish. I ask him if it was in the bag this whole time. He says no. I tell him we don't normally give refunds on fish. "You can't just rent a fish. I asked you many times if you were sure you want this fish before you bought it." He gets upset so I tell him to wait a minute and I'll see what I can do. I go to start aclimating the fish back to our tanks and when I put a little of his water into the tank I see swirls. The salt and fresh water mixing. I ask him if he was sure that he never put this in his tank. Of course he lies and says that he didn't. I tell him what happend with the water and ask him how long the clown was in the tank. He just gets more upset and leaves. I still don't know how long the clown was in fresh water but I'm sure it didn't have any parasites after that freshwater dip.
Was that the voting for before voting against one? :lol:
Hippity Hop Flipity Flop.
One time a guy was in a LFS I used to work at. He wanted a "nemo" for his parents tank. I asked him if his parents had a saltwater tank. For all of you LFS emplyees you know when you can just tell a customer doesn't know what the heck you are talking about but they give you the right answers to your questions just to get the fish. I just knew the guy didn't know if his parents had a saltwater tank. Anyway I can't not sell him a "nemo" just because I think he is lying. He buys it and about 5 hours later comes back with it in a bag. He decides he wants his money back. I ask him why and he says his parents didn't want the fish. I ask him if it was in the bag this whole time. He says no. I tell him we don't normally give refunds on fish. "You can't just rent a fish. I asked you many times if you were sure you want this fish before you bought it." He gets upset so I tell him to wait a minute and I'll see what I can do. I go to start aclimating the fish back to our tanks and when I put a little of his water into the tank I see swirls. The salt and fresh water mixing. I ask him if he was sure that he never put this in his tank. Of course he lies and says that he didn't. I tell him what happend with the water and ask him how long the clown was in the tank. He just gets more upset and leaves. I still don't know how long the clown was in fresh water but I'm sure it didn't have any parasites after that freshwater dip.
RedevanceUK
New member
We recently went to a lfs & were browsing around the marine area, when we saw an unusual fish, curious as to what it was as the tank had no labels & we are NEW to marines I asked the assistant "What fish is that ?" my reply "That's a marine fish madam, you need to have a SALT water tank to keep those" well duh !!! and here I was in the marine section under a huge sign which saud marine....I felt so enlightened, much to the amusement of my other half.:rolleye1:
Al G Blenny
New member
One time a guy wanted to buy a saltwater fish for his freshwater tank. The guy was obviously intoxicated. I told him that I couldn't sell him the fish. He told me it wasn't any of my business what he did with the fish and he started getting belligerent. After a little explaining of how I have to make sure the animals are going to good homes he decides to get in my face and start chest butting me. I told him if he didn't leave I would have to call the police. Of course he said go ahead. I went to the store manager and told her what was happening. She of course called the police for me. When I returned to the area and I told him the police were coming, he yelled a little longer and then left. The police arived and took a report. About ten minutes after they left the guy returned along with about ten of his relatives, friends, gang members or whatever they were. They started circling the area I was. I thought they were going to kick my ***. Right then the same policemen walked in. They kicked the guys out and arrested the drunk for public intoxication. They said they waited in the car to see if he showed up again and of course he did. Boy was I happy to see the police.
I was at my LFS the other day, waiting for some help with the corals. And t his lady (looked like the type to have 50 cats at home) asked if a tang could live with her Goldfish. Owner said no, they are saltwater fish, she then pointed to and asked the same qustion for each fish in the same tank. He tried to tell her a few times that everything on the left side is salt, and the right is fresh. He was showing me a few frags he just got in, and she came over and said she wanted some of those "plants" pointing to the corals. Sometimes I feel bad for that guy, he gets the dumbest people in there.
petergillett
New member
Off topic a bit... but something for the LFS guys.
As all of us ask the same dumb questions when we start, why not put a fact sheet together. None of us will part with $50 for a book before we buy our first livestock, so a couple of sheets of basic info that you give away for free would be great.
Also, and I've seen this in numerous stores, before you get into the hobby it's very difficult to know what fish/coral is which! You look at a tank with about 5 different bits of livestock in it, and a list of prices written on the glass, with absolutely no idea which price is for which item. We then drag the assistant over and work our way round asking "what is that", "how much is it", etc.! I suggested to my LFS to make a little "badge" for each item they sell, put a picture of the livestock and price (and a bit of info if enough space) and stick it above any tank that has that item in it!
Maybe you do this in the US, but I've not seen it in the UK!
It would then free your time up to deal with the really stupid people!
As all of us ask the same dumb questions when we start, why not put a fact sheet together. None of us will part with $50 for a book before we buy our first livestock, so a couple of sheets of basic info that you give away for free would be great.
Also, and I've seen this in numerous stores, before you get into the hobby it's very difficult to know what fish/coral is which! You look at a tank with about 5 different bits of livestock in it, and a list of prices written on the glass, with absolutely no idea which price is for which item. We then drag the assistant over and work our way round asking "what is that", "how much is it", etc.! I suggested to my LFS to make a little "badge" for each item they sell, put a picture of the livestock and price (and a bit of info if enough space) and stick it above any tank that has that item in it!
Maybe you do this in the US, but I've not seen it in the UK!
It would then free your time up to deal with the really stupid people!
petergillett
New member
With all the talks about Finding Nemo, I was glad I had the fish before the film - it allowed the smug "Yeah, got one them. And one of them" whilst watching or talking about it!
There was a LFS that put together a Nemo tank a while back. Can't find the link, was very cool. Think it was sort of accepting that you'll never hear the end of it!
There was a LFS that put together a Nemo tank a while back. Can't find the link, was very cool. Think it was sort of accepting that you'll never hear the end of it!
xnikki118x
New member
This is too funny. 
Rikko
New member
petergillett said:
They still won't read it. If they care about the hobby they'll do some reading, else they have this idiot notion that they need to "guess and test" EVERYTHING rather than attempt education.
I can tout books all day long and they won't buy them. I can send them home with URLs written on a slip of paper - the ones I've asked later have NEVER, EVER "had a chance to check it yet".
petergillett
New member
I would have read it! I wasn't going to part with money (read fish, coral, cool stuff!) for a book (read boring, can do this later when stuff goes wrong).
URLs means having to do something. I'm on a computer 9-5 everyday, self employed, can read the net all day if I want, but had never looked up anything to do with fish until I started my last tank, even then, only started when I was having difficulties.
I would have really welcomed a 10 most frequently asked questions, how to get started, what will go wrong if you don't stop for a moment.
Noobs are like children with no parents, no schools, and money in there hands! Nobody teaches them about fish. Most go to the shop, buy something and are left on their own. We all won a goldfish in the past, so it must be easy.
Not knocking anyone here, but there are far too many LFSs with no morals. It takes time to find one that actual stops you and tells you whats going wrong. I felt this [ ] big when I got a telling off in my 3rd store. Problem is, when store 1 and store 2 have let you do what you like, it's very easy to think that store 3 is just "being awkward"!!
URLs means having to do something. I'm on a computer 9-5 everyday, self employed, can read the net all day if I want, but had never looked up anything to do with fish until I started my last tank, even then, only started when I was having difficulties.
I would have really welcomed a 10 most frequently asked questions, how to get started, what will go wrong if you don't stop for a moment.
Noobs are like children with no parents, no schools, and money in there hands! Nobody teaches them about fish. Most go to the shop, buy something and are left on their own. We all won a goldfish in the past, so it must be easy.
Not knocking anyone here, but there are far too many LFSs with no morals. It takes time to find one that actual stops you and tells you whats going wrong. I felt this [ ] big when I got a telling off in my 3rd store. Problem is, when store 1 and store 2 have let you do what you like, it's very easy to think that store 3 is just "being awkward"!!
acropora1981
New member
I dont think all newbies are like that. I did my first marine at 16, and I researched 6 months before buying anything. I had already read The Reef Aquarium cover to cover before I even got my hands wet.
petergillett
New member
I wasn't meaning to insult all noobs, but a large proportion just dive in as can be seen from the comments on this thread!
