zeuss zoso
New member
Mine said Moorish Idols were easy to care for.
Part Time LFS employees UGH
- Thread starter wds21921
- Start date
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
my 'best' was the LFS near my UG college, which it was the only one in 50 miles, but they sold "rescue" corals and exotic yellow carpet anemones (aka badly bleached green carpets). Really all the store sold was ferrets but ol'well. Once I spoke up about some of the livestock to a 'new' customer about what not to get and I think one of the part time guys heard me... so I got the cold shoulder after that. It is a shame there isnt some independent alliance of marine stores that looks after keeping the quality of merchants at acceptible levels.
zeuss zoso
New member
I am most likely going to open an LFS eventually and I want the ways to do it to be opinionated and not all one set way.
ex:
Well, if you want a FOWLR get a canister filter, and some powerheads. If you are getting an LPS reef get a smaller sump and some good flow. If you want to do SPS get a big sump, skimmer and a fuge, as well as a wavemaking device and a lot of flow.
Not just, canister filter is good.
I would also have it be a sponsor of RC and N-R because on these sites the people are continuous customers, not the kind that walks into a store, buys 500 dollars worth of stuff, gives up and goes to ebay. I am 15 and I think I am smarter than some of them.
Sheesh.
ex:
Well, if you want a FOWLR get a canister filter, and some powerheads. If you are getting an LPS reef get a smaller sump and some good flow. If you want to do SPS get a big sump, skimmer and a fuge, as well as a wavemaking device and a lot of flow.
Not just, canister filter is good.
I would also have it be a sponsor of RC and N-R because on these sites the people are continuous customers, not the kind that walks into a store, buys 500 dollars worth of stuff, gives up and goes to ebay. I am 15 and I think I am smarter than some of them.
Sheesh.
turretdr
I want to play a game
The problem with any LFS feeding guppies or any fresh water fish to a lion or any other marine live fish eater is that it is not their natural food by any stretch of the imagination. Nowhere in the world will you find a saltwater fish swim into a fresh stream looking for food. They do not eat them in the wild and we as responsible hobbyist should do everything possible to replicate nature to the best of our ability in our little false ocean.
Shoestring Reefer
New member
turretdr - :thumbsup: Saltwater fish should eat saltwater fish, they shouldn't eat freshwater fish.
worlds under
New member
I work at a lfs and it is verry hard to know everything about all animals we carry. I do look up everything that we get in, but I found that the best source of information is from our coustomers that have experince with those origanisms. sometimes something strikes me so hard that i take it home to try to take better care of it at my home so the next time I can give first hand experince with said organism.
I can also tell you that finding part time employies Is almost Impossable. I do like to have time off for my family.
I will ask people inquiring for a job about the nitrate cycle and if their like huu. I tell them "sorry we are not hireing people un experinced". If they get it correct I ask them how long have they kept a aquarium and how many do they own. the more the better.
good for him that he told those folks that these orginisms took special care. even tho he did not know how to care for them himself.
I would do the samething except, I admit that I don't know how to keep them. for example linkia stars, I don't know what they eat or the best conditions for them. I will tell the coustomers that i have only kept one for 9 months and it died. other coustomers have had better sucess so its a gamble and you must have had your tank set up for 1 year or more or I won't sell it to you.
as for feeding live food we won't do it because it cost more. judging your coustomers is important. He could have at least asked if they wanted to see it eat before he fed it. experienced coustomers ask to see their fish eat before they buy them and I for one don't blame them. I also can't be held responsable for others in the store that don't want to see it if someone is intrested.
I know that when I tell people that I will not sell them something that they will jest go to pet-hell or hell-co and buy it, but I sleep better at night.
I can also tell you that finding part time employies Is almost Impossable. I do like to have time off for my family.
I will ask people inquiring for a job about the nitrate cycle and if their like huu. I tell them "sorry we are not hireing people un experinced". If they get it correct I ask them how long have they kept a aquarium and how many do they own. the more the better.
good for him that he told those folks that these orginisms took special care. even tho he did not know how to care for them himself.
I would do the samething except, I admit that I don't know how to keep them. for example linkia stars, I don't know what they eat or the best conditions for them. I will tell the coustomers that i have only kept one for 9 months and it died. other coustomers have had better sucess so its a gamble and you must have had your tank set up for 1 year or more or I won't sell it to you.
as for feeding live food we won't do it because it cost more. judging your coustomers is important. He could have at least asked if they wanted to see it eat before he fed it. experienced coustomers ask to see their fish eat before they buy them and I for one don't blame them. I also can't be held responsable for others in the store that don't want to see it if someone is intrested.
I know that when I tell people that I will not sell them something that they will jest go to pet-hell or hell-co and buy it, but I sleep better at night.
RicksReefs
New member
ahhh, but sometimes a store gets them even if they don't want them. my store buys direct and we sometimes get nudi's as filler pieces even when we don't order them.
Ah yes, I forgot about the typical transship overages and errors. That used to happen to me as well and I remember 1 shipment that had both a plebius BF and a beaked leatherjacket (orange spotted filefish).
That particular trend in the industry is indeed unfortunate and I know it's hard for a small LFS to make itself important enough to an exporter to put a full stop on that practice. It is possible though....-Jim
That particular trend in the industry is indeed unfortunate and I know it's hard for a small LFS to make itself important enough to an exporter to put a full stop on that practice. It is possible though....-Jim
Monti
New member
I think I'll start a thread called "Hobbyists who walk into an LFS and expect all employees to be PhD Marine Biologists...UGH!" No seriously, you get alot of idiots working at lfs. I know, I've worked in them for about 10 years. I agree with those that applaud the guy for steering them away from hard to keep species. Even if he was wrong about the nudis. I too have steered customers away from an animal with a simplified answer. Did you expect the employee to give a full rundown on the longterm proper care of each animal a customer points to and goes "Oooh thats pretty what is that?" Alot of customers don't even have a sufficient understanding of the basics of fishkeeping (FW,not just reef) and many of those just don't care. Trying to explain the intricacies of keeping discus to someone who doesn't know the difference between a guppy and a golden angel is just dumb. The sounds that come out of your mouth will be akin to an adult talking to a kid in a Peanuts cartoon (Bwah wah wah, wah wah). I do my best to continually educate myself properly so I can educate my customers properly. Shame on any lfs employee who does not do the same. However, expecting every employee to be a fish genius is unfortunately unrealistic. Learning takes time, and experience is the best teacher. Working at a (good) fish store is the best place to learn how to keep fish... you are constanly surrounded by fish... and other people who are experienced or are having experiences with fish! I started out knowing nothing about fish (i was the reptile guy). I probably made some mistakes. Never intentionally, I always have and always will admit when I don't know something for sure. Here's the point to this rant. The list of marine biologists (or for that matter highly experienced fishkeepers) that are willing to work for $8.50 an hour dealing with people bringing back dead plecos in a ziploc asking you to test the water in the baggie for the 4th time is rather short. The list of kids who love fish and aquariums who want to learn more about them by working with them is far longer. Yes there are certainly idiots and liars at lfs. There are in every walk of life. However, try to calm the crap down every time a kid at an lfs gets something wrong. Help the learning process, don't just hate on it.
And for crying out loud, do you never watch nature programs? Do you know what they show alot of? Things eating other things! Know why? Its exciting! Its nature! Although screaming like a girl while watching is certainly unprofessional and uncalled for.
And yes you shouldn't feed guppies to lionfish longterm, but it works great to get a feeding response until you can switch them over to frozen (unless you can afford to feed them damsels!)
And for crying out loud, do you never watch nature programs? Do you know what they show alot of? Things eating other things! Know why? Its exciting! Its nature! Although screaming like a girl while watching is certainly unprofessional and uncalled for.
And yes you shouldn't feed guppies to lionfish longterm, but it works great to get a feeding response until you can switch them over to frozen (unless you can afford to feed them damsels!)
wds21921
New member
My original point was about misinformation. The reactions afterwards only solidified my opinion.
No, I don't think it's reasonable to expect LFS employees to be Marine Biologists but I would appreciate some truth. If you don't know something that's fine, admit it.
If that person can't give me the information there are more than enough resources on the web that will.
I think the cost savings and hobbyists who would stay in the hobby, rather than get frustrated because they can't perform magic, would increase and also bode well for the animals and hobbyists/hobby in general.
I appreciate your comments more than some others Monti.
No, I don't think it's reasonable to expect LFS employees to be Marine Biologists but I would appreciate some truth. If you don't know something that's fine, admit it.
If that person can't give me the information there are more than enough resources on the web that will.
I think the cost savings and hobbyists who would stay in the hobby, rather than get frustrated because they can't perform magic, would increase and also bode well for the animals and hobbyists/hobby in general.
I appreciate your comments more than some others Monti.
I work at a LFS and the people working there don't know what they are talking about. Some of them think they are knowledgeable when it comes to FW but they don't know what they are talking about when it comes to saltwater. The manager and owner know some but whenever I suggest we do something a certain way they shut it down because they think they know more just because I'm 18 and they have been doing this there whole lives. But ok to show you they don't know what they are doing they ordered 3 2' nurse sharks and put them in a 210 gallon. They are cramped and nobody is going to buy them. 1) people dont have a tank big enough 2) people cringe when I tell them the price of some fish they point to because nobody has any idea what any of the fish are yet have a SW tank idk how they do it and these fish are on sale for $200 because $40 is too much for a fish for them when that is a common price for a lot of the fish so most of them end up with damsels. As customers we shouldn't expect any of the employees at a store to know anything about a topic and we ourselves should research the topic before we go out and start buying things for our tanks. People should find out what can get along with what what is hard to keep and what size things get and what size tanks animals need and what food they need to be fed. We should replicate the natural habitat of the animals as best we can. When I go to a LFS I don't ask many questions because I am constantly researching things online and in books so for the most part I am going to know more than someone who is just working the job for a couple months/years to make some money. Now this is just genrealization and there are many good LFS employees who are very knowledgeable but by this time I know who to talk to and I also get some info from customers who come in because the expeirenced ones know a lot.
I agree and further, noone can know everything about everything. I give major points to anyone who admits they don't know the answer and more points for looking it up WITH a customer. Most stores have computers and I'm constantly bringing customers behind the counter so we can look up info together. Sometimes the customers feel it's an imposition but I let them know that I should be able to answer these questions about anything I sell and we can both learn the answer together. Often I can turn someone on to a specific forum catering to their tastes that they didn't know existed. -Jim
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8306961#post8306961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Here's a good case in point. Ordered the flatworm eating nudi's and got sent these guys by mistake in one order.
NEVER have I orderred those, yet I've seem to have had hundreds of those go thru the doors at my last job. In fact, we had them on our "black list" we sent to every exporter :lol:
RicksReefs
New member
true. they'll stop shipping to you altogether...
