So I figured, as a bit of fun ... we could just lump all the silly and dumb things chain pet store workers say in one thread. (If you previously worked for those places, this isn't targeted at you, obviously.)
I'll start with this, as I returned a dead betta this morning:
"The heater in your tank probably didn't help. Betta fish are cold water fish and really don't like heat at all. Would you like a betta care sheet?"
I, of course, diplomatically declined her 'care sheet' and left the store.
Where I shop I don't have that problem but REALLY?COLDWATER FISH?!WTF!scuse my language peeps but thats just mental!what a numpty that person is!
I'm not a violent person, but I legitimately wanted to smack her. The fiance could tell and gave me that "don't do it" look. I could see maybe if I lived in, oh say, Arizona ... where the ambient temperature of everything is 90+ degrees ...
But I live in Maine. For the last week, it's not gotten above 65. I'm not leaving my fish in a tank of 65 degree water.
My first boy, Fabio, was being poisoned for his first week with me. I was new to fishkeeping in the area and knew nothing about water conditions, heaters, gallons, or any of that. My instincts were pretty good and I had chosen a 2.5 gallon tank for him and acclimated him, tested for pH only because I did not know about other water conditions, and yet I was having problems.
Fabio was having spastic movements when he moved at all but mostly laid at the bottom of his tank breathing heavily. I called up the local PetSmart and asked to speak with the "Fish Care EXPERT" and the woman on the phone told me, "Oh, that's what bettas do. They don't really do much, so that's normal behavior" and when I told her that no, I KNOW something is wrong she said "No. All of our fish are taken care of and any problems you are having are probably because he was born with a problem. If you think your fish is sick and he dies, as long as you bring your receipt within the 2 week time frame we'll give you your money back."
I knew something was wrong when all she spoke about was the 2 week policy after that and asked if there is something different in the local water than in other places and if I maybe have to put something in it to fix the problem, again not knowing about water conditioner differences (my bottle only cured chlorine) or ammonia/nitrite. She responded with "No, all water conditioners are the same. We can test the water for you but if you can't fix it with the conditioner you have, your fish is probably just acting the way it should or has an internal problem that we did not cause. If he dies and you return him with your receipt within 2 weeks, you can get your money back or exchange him for a new fish."
the guy at my local PetCo said that SBD was a goldfish disease. 8V
generally, though, the guys at PetLover's don't tell me falsehoods about bettas. :B
Technically speaking he wasn't incorrect with that, however it is not ONLY a goldfish disease, some fish types, as with everything are more prone to these problems than others!In a way I feel sorry for the staff, it isn't them that are wrong, it is the people who train them with the wrong answers!
"You know, Teddy (supervisor) is saying he's getting tired of seeing you. Wanted me to tell you that we won't have Marimo for another month, but I wouldn't believe him."
"Wow...Bettas are so cuter than I thought. Like a dog that can't lick you all the time. I want one..."
"Panty-hose test? Never heard of that before."
"Well, a vase can be heated too! You sure you don't want another betta? Come on...I know you want one."
here's one
Q: my betta is sick. A: buy some betta/mela/primafix.
i probably saved a betta from that. the employee said melafix would helf biting/finrot. i got that person aside after employee was out of ear sight and found some AQ salt for them.they still got the melafix in the end but they'll do 7-10 days of AQ salt first before they'll panic. i told them of the dangers of ___fix.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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