# Worst Thing You Have Ever Seen At A Pet Shop?



## BRolls (Jan 27, 2012)

I don't know if this topic already has been posted but I did a search and didn't see anything so here it goes.
I have seen a lot of things at lfs that were just shocking, but I would say the worst ever was probably a 30y/o pacu, really huge, I mean gigantic. Easily 2 and a half feet long and probably weighed 25 pounds or more. It was put in a 55 gallon tank and just left as an attraction for the shop. I felt so bad. At that point he just needs to be set free. At that point I figured that nobody but real aquariums with 10000+ gallon tanks should ever keep a pacu. Let me know what you guys have seen.


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## S14Swap240sx (Jan 3, 2011)

id say oscars are the most common.. in terribly small tanks in which they cant even turn around in with serious hole in the head, and for sale at ridiculous prices.. we adopted one from petco for the 75g and its doing great, showing strong signs of recovery in just two weeks.. wish i had room for em all especially at a 5 dollar donation towards homeless animals. not 150 dollars for a lfs trying to profit on a badly kept unhealthy fish.


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## SavageHunter (Dec 9, 2011)

African cichlids at a lfs whose bellies were so hollow that the bellie of the fish almost touched the spine. Other fish with severe fin rot and blind and all of these fish were for sale.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

Not really sure what the point of this topic is or why its in the lake malawi section (especially since you are talking about a pacu). The majority of fish stores are just trying to make money so they hire cheap labor who just wants to make minimum wage and not make sure every single fish is living under ideal conditions.


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## BRolls (Jan 27, 2012)

GaFishMan1181 said:


> Not really sure what the point of this topic is or why its in the lake malawi section (especially since you are talking about a pacu). The majority of fish stores are just trying to make money so they hire cheap labor who just wants to make minimum wage and not make sure every single fish is living under ideal conditions.


 How could you not know what the topic is about, The name of it is Worst Thing You Have Seen At A Pet Shop?, and I said let me know what you have seen. I posted it here because this specific forum has the most topics and replys. Thought I would ask people about the bad fish they have seen at a pet shop because I have had such bad luck at lfs that I wanted to know if others had the same problems. Plus its a topic that I don't think anyone has touched on before. I guess I could have put it in general discussion but not as many people would have posted on it. Also Just to clear up, The point of this topic is to share the worst fish and/or tanks you have seen at a fish store.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

Topic isnt relevant to this section and I don't see how this will help anyone.


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## BRolls (Jan 27, 2012)

GaFishMan1181 said:


> Topic isnt relevant to this section and I don't see how this will help anyone.


 True, but it can include Malawi cichlids, because in most pet shops, the cichlids get the most neglect. This topic wasn't really intended on helping any person. It was simply to talk about how bad cichlids are treated in stores. Instead of trying to bring this topic down, why don't you just tell what your worst fish experience was in a pet shop?


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## BRolls (Jan 27, 2012)

UPDATE: Ok lets try this again, Tell me about the worst Malawi cichlids you have ever seen in a pet shop. Ill go first, in a chain store famous for having a despicable fish section, There were about 5 Africans laying on the bottom motionless, gasping for breath. I really wanted to get them out but I didn't have the tank for them.


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

None, my LFS takes great care of his Cichlids.

opcorn:


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## BRolls (Jan 27, 2012)

Sub-Mariner said:


> None, my LFS takes great care of his Cichlids.
> 
> opcorn:


 Good to hear, I cant even find a good store by me, The people don't even know anything, They have to look in a manual every time I ask them a question. I just say, forget it lol


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

Yeah Im lucky. Hes about 10mins from my house and specializes in salt water and Cichlids. You should see his Cichlid show tank, best colored males *** seen!! :drooling:


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## a.wiatrowski (Jan 29, 2010)

Im in California, every store seems to have something terrible going on. One store I know has a 3 foot Red Tail Cat in about 14 inches of water. Poor thing never moves


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## ndblaikie (Oct 12, 2011)

A now closed LFS store telling someone that it was OK to keep a Copadichromis borleyi in saltwater marine reef tank, as it was closely related to the chromis (saltwater species) and that Lake Malawi was saltwater and they live in saltwater!

hmmm, wonder why it closed!


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

I've seen all kinds of neglect and disease. But one of the dumbest things I heard...... a lady was looking for advise on what she could keep with her angels and the clerk told her "they were "CICHLIDS" and that they would kill everything in her tank"!


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## D*N*R (Jul 27, 2011)

In grand rapids mich. good and bad . Vipets very good but the more they feed their fish the less profit its just a fact everywhere. SO i figure they will fatten up at home. Elsewhere i see dead fish being eaten(just looks bad) and ich allover


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

There's an FS other side of town that keeps flowerhorns in divided tanks that are so small the fish can only fit diagonally...

Heartbreaking scene at a closer store where a poor fish had got through the top of the UG filter tube and was stuck in the tube fighting the current..


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## riarocks (Oct 5, 2010)

BRolls said:


> GaFishMan1181 said:
> 
> 
> > Not really sure what the point of this topic is or why its in the lake malawi section (especially since you are talking about a pacu). The majority of fish stores are just trying to make money so they hire cheap labor who just wants to make minimum wage and not make sure every single fish is living under ideal conditions.
> ...


I'm wondering, BRolls from NY, are you on Long Island? I just recently found an amazing fish store that take great care of their animals! I have had a lot of trouble finding a humane and knowledgeable fish store since I've moved here from VT. I know how you feel about feeling like nobody knows what they are talking about; it took me a few months of talking to idiots to finally find an awesome store where the people working there have a passion for their fish. LET ME KNOW!


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

a betta in a tank with many other fish, he practicaly had no more fins... poor little guy  I almost bought him to save him from his misery. At the same shop, a tank with 5 dead fish just being eaten by the others, and many tanks wth one or 2 dead fish.... I mean ok dead fish, at least, remove them from the tank please?


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

I am lucky and all the LFS's that I have been to for the most part take great care of their stock. I do see on occasion the big fish shoehorned into a tank. The worst I have seen was a elephant nose (Gnathonemus petersii) in a 15 gallon tank with what seemed like a million neon tetra's ( Paracheirodon innesi.) The poor thing had no place to hide and was running into the walls of the tank trying to get away from all that stimuli. We bought it and put it in our 90TL planted. I think it went crazy since it was eating brine shrimp out of my hand from day one.


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## mamospreng (Apr 26, 2011)

My petco always has dead cichlids there are dead fish in almost every tank it kills me.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

spotmonster said:


> I've seen all kinds of neglect and disease. But one of the dumbest things I heard...... a lady was looking for advise on what she could keep with her angels and the clerk told her "they were "CICHLIDS" and that they would kill everything in her tank"!


Not sure I follow this. They are cichlids and will eat anything they can get in their mouths. They might have been a little clearer, but on the whole they were on the right track.


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## DIAMOND_CICHLIDS (Sep 22, 2011)

Hummm, i have a few experiences not all where the fish were badly taken care of but just of people not knowing stuff...

When we first got into the hobby we asked why a fish was vibrating and shaking... The guy answer Oh it's their trip, the like to swim in the current! :lol: So we got back home thinking our fish was happily swimming in current... lol

The other day i called a shop to ask if they had any colorful peacoks or haps and the guy said Oh yeah i have an amazing peacok haplochromis..... :roll: lol Anyone ever kept those?

I have been sold a red empress which was supposed to be a taiwan reef and a steveni imperial as a red empress...

I did see one bad thing... The way the girl was trying to catch the fish, squeezing them in the front glass with the net, how she was throwing them, she was not careful at all.. We told her, we thing the fish are supposed to be alive when we live the store! Some were going on the floor and she'd do nothing about it.... When we left the store, i said to the guy usually in charge of the fish section, Do not let that girl near fish again..

These are all stores in montreal...


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## chadott (Mar 4, 2012)

Being that this doesn't involve malawi cichlids...or cichlids at all, I hope I don't get scolded... 

The worst treatment I think I have seen wasn't in an LFS, or even a chain pet store, but in outdoor gear stores. Every time I stop at a Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops to look around, I find myself mesmerized in front of their display tanks. I realize the whole point is to show off BIG specimens of sport fish, but some of them are in pretty sad shape. Many of them are obviously blind (probably from old age) and usually you can spot some form of disease on many of them.

I think it is a pretty cool idea, don't get me wrong! But I wish they would use smaller, younger, healthier specimens and change them out on a regular basis to keep their stock fresh. That would make a better display than a bunch of crippled old big fish!


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## FishFlake (Mar 7, 2010)

The 2 LFS near me actually take good care of their fish, but their selection is very limited. I haven't seen anything really bad, but one cool thing was when the 2' lungfish that lives at the LFS escaped overnight and was found at the other end of the store when they opened in the morning. After he did it a second time they started securing the lid of its tank.


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## chagoi (Dec 29, 2010)

People asking for advise.


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## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

Other than dead fish, I visited a store recently that easily had 50 c. moorii swimming in a 10 gallon tank. Felt so bad for them, there was no where for them to move for. It would have been impossible to ask for a specific fish. Reminded me of a feeder tank.


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## kenko (Jan 19, 2012)

chadott said:


> I think it is a pretty cool idea, don't get me wrong! But I wish they would use smaller, younger, healthier specimens and change them out on a regular basis to keep their stock fresh. That would make a better display than a bunch of crippled old big fish!


I believe that the fish are caught somewhat locally, and their intent is to show off the lunkers from the region. At the BPS and Cabela's near me, the largemouth average 16-18" and largest probably top off at 4 pounds or so - a good size for this area.

Just found the BPS link...
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... 13_07-_-na


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## mark0420 (Sep 1, 2011)

a now closed LFS told someone they had to buy a new filter for their aquarium every 2-3 weeks because not only it is bad for the fish but also harmful to humans. OMG SCAM!!!!

My LFS is excellent always has really good prices for tanks keeps mainly 40g+ has very nice SW and FW tanks with cichlids and has about 25 different cichlids. it used to be called manhattan aquarium company now its sunflower pets if your ever in the area plus most people know what they are talking about and if they dont (min wage) they will ask the owner. great business


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## Maxell (Mar 15, 2012)

All things that share in this thread are very interesting, I like this idea of starting this 
thread about the worst thing that happened in different places.


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## Maxell (Mar 15, 2012)

Maxell said:


> All things that share in this thread are very interesting, I like this idea of starting this
> thread about the worst thing that happened in different places.


San Diego Boot Camp


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## dbao123 (Mar 10, 2012)

well the worst thing i've ever seen at a pet shop had nothing to do with fish but gerbils. this was like over 15 years ago when i was a kid. i went to the pets store to buy a gerbil and i remember that the store owners had them in a tank. there was like over a hundred of them in the tank all on top of each other. i didn't think anything was wrong with it at the time but i also remember the worker at the store offering to sell me a pregnant gerbil. i guess they didn't want anymore lol.


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## marvo (Nov 24, 2010)

game fish for sale


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## derrick (Feb 5, 2012)

Mixed mbuna tank all adults price reduced to 11.99 each many appeared to have taberculosos when I mentioned it to a staff member I kinnda avoided the topic and me for the rest of my visit


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## Malawidude5710 (Feb 12, 2012)

Worst thing I have seen is when my LFS (petsmart sadly) had 4 5" oscars in a 10 gallon tank covered in ick and they couldn't move a inch.


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