Pet store people

[daisygirlmhb]

i don't know a whole lot about taking care of fish, so when i go to the pet store i'll ask the people how to take care of the fish and how many fish i can have. it makes me wonder if the people at the pet stores even know what there talking about? i went to a pet store and asked them how many Platys i can have in a 3 gal, and they'll say 4. i went to another pet store down the street and asked the same question and they said 5-6. are they trustworthy, or are they just making things up?

 

[tom91970]

Second store will make more cash selling you six fish than the first store if they only sell four. Research before you go to a store...don't count on staff to always know what they're talking about.

 

[ZackLanduyt]

4 platys in a 3 gallon will be a little overstocked as well, they get to be about 2 inches long, I would maybe put 2 in there and that is a bit of a stretch, 4 will require a good bit of maintenence

 

[misterking]

I wouldn't put platies in a 3 gallon full stop. A single betta is the only thing that'd work long term.

As already said, a lot of fish store employees are just trying to make a quickl sale and profit. Do your own research before you buy anything and don't trust a thing fish stores say, it's better to be wary than make a purchase and regret it when it doesn't work out.

This forum's a good place to start your research.

 

[bassbonediva]

I wouldn't put ANY platies in a 3gal. Platies are fairly active fish that breed constantly, so they need space, not only for themselves, but for any potential babies. I have two female platies and a female swordtail in my 55gal right now and will be adding a male swordtail as soon as I can find one I like (just lost my beautiful pineapple swordtail male). I honestly wouldn't have platies in anything less than a 10gal and even that is pushing it.

Like tom said, research the fish you are interested in before you buy them. NEVER rely on your LFS, LPS or Petsmart/Petco to give you a straight answer on stocking because they are in the business of selling you fish, regardless of what is best for the fish. Also, if they have you overstock your tank on their recommendation and the fish die, you come back and buy more fish, so they make even more money. Whether it's coming onto a forum like this one or just googling on the internet, RESEARCH is your best friend. I saw that my LFS had horseface loaches and fell in love with them...instead of buying one right then and there like I wanted to, I went home and did a lot of research on them because I knew nothing about them. Ended up I could definitely fit one into the stocking plan for my 55gal, but if I had a smaller tank, I probably wouldn't have been able to get one (they get to be 8" long). I wonder how many people bought one of those loaches thinking "Awww! Look how cute and little they are (was about 2.5" when I bought him)!" and will be horribly surprised when that cute "little" loach gets to be almost as big as their tank.

 

[littletankbigworld]

Exactly what bassbonediva said.
I would return all your fish to the store and cycle your fish tank without any fish in it. Then, I would purchase a nice betta and add him/her to the tank. A single betta or a single snail or a couple shrimp would be the only things that could live happily in such a small tank. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Bruno]

I bought fish from petsmart 2 times and I am done. First time I got platy's. They are great fish but the staff at the store did not tell me I had males and females and the problem of babies all the time is just annoying.

Second time I bought 1 clown loach. Turns out you should have several and if you take care of them properly they can get to be 12" long... hmmm, sticker at the store said 6". Great. Maybe I can cook them for dinner if they get that big. Just kidding.

Long story short. I travel almost 1 hr each way to go to the good fish shop, mom and pop operation been in bussiness since the 80's and they know what they are doing.

 

[tom91970]

...the problem of babies all the time is just annoying.

That's what my mother said.

 

[Bruno]

Very funny... only in the home we do not have a large animal like Princess(our Pleco) that eats them)

 

[Jwoody]

i had the same problem! i think that the people at the store just tell you what you want to hear so they can just make the sale, i really dislike going to stores like petsmart and petco, i always go to small individually owned pet stores because they are usually opened out of interest in fish so they actually know what they are talking about. and they want you to come back and buy from their store so they will give you good advice

 

[littletankbigworld]

That's exactly how it is, Jwoody. That's why it's very important to do a lot of research beforehand.

 

[OrangeCones]

I have a 'mom/pop' local fish store near me that gives horrid advice. It pays to do your own research.

 

[achase]

I have never had really good luck with pet store staff. I have only found one pet store that seems to have a good knowledge of fish and they aren't local (couple hours away). But I still always do my own research before hand just in case.

Once I had someone try to tell me that all Puffers are saltwater and that they all get HUGE and must be kept in tanks over 100 gallons. Which is totally untrue....I mean there are some Puffers that get huge and require saltwater but there are many that are brackish and freshwater.

 

[OrangeCones]

Once I had someone try to tell me that all Puffers are saltwater and that they all get HUGE and must be kept in tanks over 100 gallons. Which is totally untrue....I mean there are some Puffers that get huge and require saltwater but there are many that are brackish and freshwater.

The LFS near me keeps their Carinotetraodon travancoricus (dwarf freshwater puffers) in highly brackish water (1.02). They are even labeled as 'freshwater puffers.'

 

[achase]

Interesting.....it's a common misconception that DP's are brackish rather than freshwater puffers. I know that they can survive for a while in brackish water but really how hard it is to put them in freshwater!?!

 

[OrangeCones]

I bought 3 from them years ago. I kept them in the same water they were in at the store, and did 20% water changes (using only freshwater) daily until they were back to fresh. I tried to explain to the owner that they were freshwater, and he just shrugged and said 'whatever.'

 

[achase]

That's a good method of converting them back to freshwater. Aren't they just the best!!
"whatever" seems to be common with ignorant pet store owners.
I just don't understand.....it isn't that hard to research and then put the fish in the properly environment.

 

[OrangeCones]

Yea, my puffers rock. They learned to eat anything too. I've kept them alone and with other 'community' fish with no issues. They even bred in a tank with guppies and platies. At first it was only snails and frozen bloodworms (or live blackworms), but they soon learned to eat the flakes and pellets that were being fed to the others. I think they just didn't want to be left out!

 

[achase]

That's awesome! Baby DP's are extra cute.
Interesting that your DP's ate such a variety but then again in my experience DP's are pigs.....hungry all the time! Lol!

 

[Linda]

I always take what pet store clerks say with a grain of salt. Doing your own research is the key. What I've started doing, so that the clerks don't start asking me questions (like do you know how to acclimate your new fish to your tank? - which is so darn annoying!). is to act like I know exactly what I am doing and what I want. This works for me. No advice from them is much better than bad advice.