Biggest lies my LFS told me

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)
--
www.NetMax.tk

NetMax wrote:
Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)

"Bettas are more comfortable in small bowls."

Pointing to healthy, green Radican swordplant (Echinodorus spp.) "This
is really a houseplant." Points to pale, sad-looking Spathophylum spp.
"This is a true swordplant and will grow well submerged."

And don't forget "Neons and angels make great tankmates."
(True...sometimes).

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

NetMax wrote:

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red.
Does anyone have any favourites?

On several occasions I've been in my local mega pet shop, and overheard
the clerk giving the usual BS about bettas living in puddles in the
wild, and that they prefer tiny bowls. After the clerk moved on to
misinform some other poor soul, I told those customers what bettas
really live in (rice paddys) and that they will thrive and be gorgeous
in larger (e.g. 3 gallons or more) filtered and heated tanks.

I also showed them the Eclipse 3 gallon tanks as ideal starters for a
single betta. In one case I actually 'made the sale'.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)
--
www.NetMax.tk

"These are dwarf ____ (fill in the species) and
won't get larger than ____ (some very small size
that's much smaller than the actual mature size)."

Gail

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 22:00:03 -0400, "NetMax"
wrote:

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)


I miss all this good stuff. I wonder if I should listen while they
are talking.

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".


"Bettas don't need a heater, they like their bowl/tank around 68 degrees
(F)." -Pet(not so)Smart

This one wasn't really said, but...
On the 'information' tag at Walmart - Pacu: Max size 10 inches

--
Mar

Then we get, "Of cause the plants will grow sir, they need a lot of water"

and [hair rises on bassetts neck, as he prepairs to bite someone]

Oscars will only eat, when there hungry, and the little fishes will move out
the way.
Bassett


"Elaine T" wrote in message
...
NetMax wrote:
Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

I remember overhearing :
"Goldfish can live in a bowl because they are air breathers",

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)

"Bettas are more comfortable in small bowls."

Pointing to healthy, green Radican swordplant (Echinodorus spp.) "This is
really a houseplant." Points to pale, sad-looking Spathophylum spp. "This
is a true swordplant and will grow well submerged."

And don't forget "Neons and angels make great tankmates."
(True...sometimes).

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 22:00:03 -0400, "NetMax"
wrote:

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red. Does
anyone have any favourites?

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)
Oscars are perfectly fine in a community tank as these people have
told you. The size of Oscars in the stores is usually around 1 1/2
inches or so. These Oscars can be put into any community tank you want
to, as long as you don't have itsy-bitsy neons or other extremely
small fish. Of course, the Oscars will be 4-5 inches in a few short
months, so then in the vast majority of community tank situations they
or other fish will have to be moved somewhere else. This is probably
the type of info which LFS kids are not giving their customers. The
times that I've owned Oscars I've always put them in the community
tank with my other fish and never had any problems with it -- the
first months! I had plans made to do something else with them or the
other fish when the Oscars got larger.

-Derek

Elaine T wrote:
NetMax wrote:

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red.
Does anyone have any favourites?

I was 9 years old when a crooked fish dealer tried to sell me an oranda
and he claimed that it was a lionhead, which is a similar looking but
much more expensive fish. When I pointed out that lionheads don't have
dorsal fins, he got very nervous and stammered 'Well, um, it's just a
different variety'. I told him 'yeah, right'.

- Logic316



"In this country, we have three ways to secure our freedom. The ballot
box, the jury box, and if those don't work, the cartridge box."
-- Senator Steve Symms, Idaho -

"Derek W. Benson" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 22:00:03 -0400, "NetMax"
wrote:

Between all of us, we have probably visited 100s of petshops, perhaps
1000s of times, and overheard comments which made our ears go red.
Does
anyone have any favourites?

- and of course the perennial classic:
"Oscars are fine in a community tank".

;~)
Oscars are perfectly fine in a community tank as these people have
told you. The size of Oscars in the stores is usually around 1 1/2
inches or so. These Oscars can be put into any community tank you want
to, as long as you don't have itsy-bitsy neons or other extremely
small fish. Of course, the Oscars will be 4-5 inches in a few short
months, so then in the vast majority of community tank situations they
or other fish will have to be moved somewhere else. This is probably
the type of info which LFS kids are not giving their customers. The
times that I've owned Oscars I've always put them in the community
tank with my other fish and never had any problems with it -- the
first months! I had plans made to do something else with them or the
other fish when the Oscars got larger.

-Derek

Using a community tank as a grow out tank can be a little risky at the
best of times, and requires some skill (which the average hobbyist would
lack, not including any posters here of course ;~). Especially with
Oscars as they seem to have a very good instinct when it comes to eating.
If it fits, try, and having carefully watched their technique, it is
admirable. They open their gill plates, extend their mouths out (almost
to their front profile) and pump the water out of their gills while
giving a little push with their tailfin. They effectively 'vacuum' the
space directly in front of their mouth (and this happens very quickly).
I've seen them swallow fish without occupying the same space the victim
was in.

Going back to "if it fits, try", if it doesn't fit, they will *still*
try. It's not uncommon for an Oscar to take a day or two to grind an
oversize victim to fit down their throat. During that time, they swim
very defensively with a chunk of dead (or live) food hanging out of their
mouths, but as long as their respiration is not affected, this doesn't
seem to bother them (unless it's a pleco, which is where I get involved
with needlenose pliers to twist it out). There is a reason Oscars and
plecos can share the same rivers, Oscars who try to eat plecos often
starve to death with a pleco hooked in their mouths (their dorsal and
pectoral rays become a 3 prong fish-hook). Sometimes the pleco will
eradicate themselves (if they can) when they think the Oscar has had
enough or is weak enough to let him escape. Sometimes they die together,
so as a defence mechanism, it's not perfect, but it's better than any
other fish which is small enough for an Oscar to think it can eat.
--
www.NetMax.tk