# i had to laugh.



## chellibear (Oct 6, 2009)

so i've had convicts many times in the past, including two breeding pairs of pinks i got rid of because they continued to produce as many babies as could fit in the tank. 

when i recently went to walmart and was browsing the fish section, i couldnt help but notice 4 small female convicts in the bottom tank. the sign read 'parrot fish' with some rediculous price. 
i politely let one of the people know that these were NOT parrot fish and looked nothing like them. they kindly corrected me informing me how they were told that these were baby parrot fish and that's what they MUST be.

i suppose i must be wrong. :wink:


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Of course you are wrong, didn't you know that Walmart is on the leading edge of ornamental aquaculture. These same people have oscars listed as good community fish suitable for a 20g tank.


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

Lol, the "I work here therefore I know more than you" syndrome.

What annoys me most is when I sell good quality african cichlids to a store only to have them re-label them as something other than what I sold them as, because they are unfamiliar with the species I'm selling and presume to know the real name of the fish with the stripes like that. That happened once and I stopped selling to that lfs.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Yeah I have had that happen to. I took a nice batch of Cyno. afra Jalo Reef in to a store and two days later they were labled as red top zebras. I commented that I had brought them in and since I bought the parents from well known online retailer (a site sponsor by the way) they were Jalo Reef afras and are very different (in so many ways from zebra complex fish). The "manager" informed me that it was impossible to be afras as they are illegal to own in the US and I was obviously duped, and they were really red top zebras. WTF!?! I was unable to respond for a few minutes.

I went home, got my Konings 4th add. book, and the list of Fish and Game cannot own list (plus the CITES list) went back to the store, loudly (but calmly) proved him wrong, demamnded my fish back and haven't looked back. :dancing:

Over the top-Yes, do I feel much better-Yes, and maybe I opened his eys a bit or at least called him on it. That store has since gone under..gee wonder why.
LOL


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

well you all will be happy to know that as an employee of wal-mart i can inform you that they are IDIOTS. I have taken it apon my self several times to correcting names bios and info on several walmart tanks in Fort Morgan, CO. I recently took a computer based learning module (or CBL) that they make us do for the aquatics section and holy pleco poop!!! water changes once every 1-3 months, plecos grow to only 3-5 inches, community tropical fish do not need to be held in a tank with a heater, and we DO NOT inform or correct a customer if they attempt to purchase a fish for a tank that is not sutable for its life span! I almost quit the day i took that.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

ben1988 said:


> I recently took a computer based learning module (or CBL) that they make us do for the aquatics section and holy pleco poop!!! water changes once every 1-3 months, plecos grow to only 3-5 inches, community tropical fish do not need to be held in a tank with a heater, and we DO NOT inform or correct a customer if they attempt to purchase a fish for a tank that is not sutable for its life span! I almost quit the day i took that.


Thank you for that insight Ben1988. I actually now feel a bit bad about what I thought of the intelegnce of the actual employees. I had always figured they just didn't bother to learn the correct info. Now to finds out that they are actually being taught the wrong stuff...on purpose!

If only there was something we as hobbyists could do, on a larger sacle to help out the stores educate their employees correctly.


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## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

Not to digress, but *chellibear*, You should go back to your walmart and sell hundreds of baby convicts as _parrot fish_ to them and RAKE IT IN!! :lol: :lol:

Ha! You could retire by supplying them with "parrot fish" into your golden years and sale around the world!! :lol:


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## chellibear (Oct 6, 2009)

hahaha, i considered it for a split second. 

i mean honestly, they were labled as ''parrot fish, these fish are community fish blah blah blah".

i'd absolutely adore watching them try to stop my male convicts from eating every 'community' fish in the store. :roll:

on the other hand, when i first started keeping fish i bought a pacu from walmart that had a tag that said 'grows to 6 inches". needless to say, he was rehomed after he hit about 10" -.- i guess that's what happens when you buy fish from walmart.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Oh don't get me started on box stores and Pacus! Grrrrr.


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## chellibear (Oct 6, 2009)

haha. but why?! they only grow six inches!


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

chellibear said:


> haha. but why?! they only grow six inches!


Right, only because thats how big they get before they die horribly in a 10g tank.


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## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

Wait a minute, wait a minute... *ben1988*'s Walmart Computer Course on fishkeeping story is frightening...

Isn't that deliberately giving the customer false information to increase profit? That's something you'd see on 20/20 or 60 Minutes...


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

i was told that the module has not been updated since its conception and thats why the info is not as correct as it should be!

I tried to talk to my store manager but he just waived me off as a nussence. so this is why i just change the info on the tanks every time in there and know better and if not i look it up on the ol' blackberry.


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## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

wow.... Well, I guess its always the same ol' story... Big Box stores have there purpose, but don't rely on them for ALL your needs... I'd say "go to your LFS for fishkeeping needs", but there are morons there too sometimes.. :?

Hopefully, decency will move someone to educate themselves when considering taking the responsibility of looknig after a pet...


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

ben1988 said:


> thats why the info is not as correct as it should be!


When was that stuff ever correct?

True, 20-30 years ago heaters were not that common and we didn't know as much about the benefits of weekly water changes, but the only fish available were goldfish and mollies/guppies.


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

its just irritating since they update the other modules on a yearly bases.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Perhaps you should offer (to corporate, your manager seems like a shmo) to do the update using well backed up information. I bet a bunch of us on here would help out with back up info to make your case.

You will have to sopin it to show they would increase business and customer loyalty (I know- what am I saying?!?, this is Walmart), but it work to some extent with Petco (or was it Petsmart?) In atleast getting the tank labels updated and some more training on "cichlid vs tropical community" training in employee handout and stuff.


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

i have been thinking about doing that and really need to sit down and do up a presentation


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## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

Yeah, I went on a rant a month or so ago about how in the UK, the "Big-box-petstore" employees were also trained on a regular basis, but the aquarium trade is also overseen by OATA (ornamental aquatic trade association), but in Northamerica, that's not quite the standard..

All the LFS managers at the stores I visited while there were highly qualified... That's something that will always stay in my mind. But, the conclusion of that thread a while back is that the grass is always greener on the other side...


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

MalawiLover said:


> The "manager" informed me that it was impossible to be afras as they are illegal to own in the US


 :lol:

I guess this makes me a blackmarket breeder..


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## chris777 (Jun 27, 2008)

why_spyder said:


> MalawiLover said:
> 
> 
> > The "manager" informed me that it was impossible to be afras as they are illegal to own in the US
> ...


No kidding, You and me both, and i'm pretty sure quite a few others :lol:


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

why_spyder said:


> MalawiLover said:
> 
> 
> > The "manager" informed me that it was impossible to be afras as they are illegal to own in the US
> ...


Yep, I always figured you for a Pablo Escobar type :lol:

DW


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## actionyak (Mar 16, 2004)

It's pretty sad, but misinformation is not limited only to the big box stores. I was in my very pricey, well established lfs just a couple of weeks ago. A gentleman was there looking at cichlids and getting information from one of the younger employees. I overheard him telling him that all the cichlids along this wall (as he points to the ubiquitous "mixed african" tank, a tank of male peacocks, a tank of haps, and a tank of south americans) can go together just fine. When asked how big they get, the reply was a point at the large male peacock.

After the employee moved on, I spoke with the customer about cichlids a little, and pointed him to this site, specifically the cookie cutters in the library. Hopefully he found his way here and got some good info!

I've also never encountered a lfs that is familiar with fishless cycling. I suppose they would prefer to sell you cycle fish.


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