Who's responsible for making sure a hobbyist can care for the animal?

[blue63104]

Perhaps we should extend this thread to having children as well.
I'm sure there is someone or some group out there that could govern all the responsibility of ownership/guardianship of every living creature so the individual can always place the blame on "them." Someone once said "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you need." Of course it is the responsibility of the hobbiest to know what they are buying and what they can care for. The lfs' are there for "guidance" only.

 

[rfd515]

For every 1 LFS employee that gives bad advice, there are 5 giving good advice that the customer will not follow anyways.

Work a day in an LFS and you will understand.

 

[WellArmedLamb]

Anyone who spends a penny on something that they haven't made the time or effort to understand gets exactly what they deserve.

 

[ctenophors rule]

ah men well armed lamb( thats a cool user name)

maybe in mo, rfd515, but here in florida, that ratio can be inverted. though the edition of me may have tipped it slightly. lol

(why don't they make an arrogance smiley?)

 

[Rangereefer]

The responsibility for any pet always lies with the person seeking to acquire said pet. If I am a pet store employee and you come to me and ask me questions regarding a pet I should give you well informed advice. But ultimately it is not my responsibility to say "No that Tang can't be purchased with that 20L." Just because someone walks up with two items that look like they may go together doesn't mean you should make an assumption and refuse the sale. Now if I came in and said "Can I keep this Dory-fish in this fish bowl?" Then yeah it's my place to say No and educate them that it isn't a doryfish it's a blue/hippo/regal tang and that it needs a very large aquarium.

 

[ctenophors rule]

rangereefer, while it may not be your right to refuse the sale,y ou could ask "do you have a tank at home already" and if yes, what size, if no, where is the hippo going?

you can talk to your customers, right. lol

(here i am posting tired, hope this doesn't bite me ion the anal oriface, or anywhere around it for that matter....strike that, i don't want to be bit anywhere.)

 

[gooyferret]

To say that the LFS have to get certified to sell "product" is just ridiculous! To say the LFS and employess should know everything about the hobby, supplies, and livestock would be nice but will never happen.

Ctenophors is right and to be honest thats all a LFS can do. Although if that LFS refuses to sell that fish to someone, the customer may just go somewhere else.

The biggest problem I have with this thread is what is called responsibility! This has nothing to do with the LFS, but the person buying the fish/item. When are people going to take responsibility for their own actions? There are so many lawsuits just because of someones own stupidity! And the pathetic part is sometimes they win the lawsuit.

If you go to Mcdonalds and order a Quarter pounder with cheese, and your alergic to cheese and you die. That is not Mcdonalds fault its your own! Same thing with the LFS, they are not responsible in the decisions we make.

Personally I dont wanna pay $100+ for a yellow tang or clownfish. But thats what would happen if you wanted LFS to get certified or educated on livestock/equipment. Then you would go buy your fish and everything online cheaper, and put the LFS out of bussiness.

Some LFS care, some dont.. I have had many different experiences with LFS, somedays its a great store to shop and tons of experience. Sometimes the same store can be a horrible experience.

In the end its up to US to make the difference, and be responsible!

 

[reefboarder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15292634#post15292634 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WellArmedLamb
Anyone who spends a penny on something that they haven't made the time or effort to understand gets exactly what they deserve.

I agree 100% I wouldnt dream of making a purchase (Especially in the saltwater hobby) without first finding out about that particular animal. And relying on the lfs to always have the answers doesnt count as research!!

 

[lilalove]

I hardly ever trust anything an LFS employee says. I try super hard to avoid impulse buys (so far so good). I keep a stocking list and try to stick to it. If I find something I like I've never heard of, I go home, research it, and if it's gone by the time I get back....I ask for another to be ordered. Plain and simple. I do agree that some LFS's are better than others as far as advice goes. But even within the same LFS, the employees are very different. I went into one by me recently and saw a nice Squamosa clam I liked. I already have 3 clams, so I decided to buy it. The guy asked me about my lighting and set up, just to make sure it was appropriate. I appreciated that and was not insulted in the least. Same store, different trip, I saw a nice squarespot anthias male. These have long been on my stocking list and I was just waiting for my tank to mature a bit more. I asked the employee (different than the first) if they ever got females for the squarespot. His reply was "Huh? How do you tell the difference?" I said...."ummm nevermind." And walked out.