Nov
29
Fish stores?
ByWhy do people always see a whole bunch of fish grouped togeather in a fish store? I’ve seen answers that always talk about certain fish being able to live with others, and some that can’t. So why would a fish store go and put a whole bunch of fish in the same tank, that you shouldn’t keep in your tank at home togeather? I don’t understand this. How come it will work for them and not me?
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5 Comments
November 29th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
in the smaller tanks, fish that are compatibe, at least are young and share the same water balance, are generally kept in the same tank.
the larger tanks will contain other fish that may not be compatible, but its large enough space where the aggression may be lower.
also, most fish are in the pet stores for a short amount of time, meaning they’re barely able to get to know their environment before they are sold, so they don’t have time to dominate over “their territory”
plus… with the amount of people in and out of the store, and with the net always going in and out of the tanks, they don’t have time to pay attention to their possible enemies.
however, when you take them home and they adapt to their envoironment, that is when they take on their natural instincts.
November 30th, 2010 at 12:19 am
look online petsmart and walmart are usualy really good fish stores
November 30th, 2010 at 12:37 am
thats a good question i know for a fact that gold fish and tropial fishes shouldnt be put in the same tank
November 30th, 2010 at 12:50 am
I understand you frustration. the reason in short is because of time. A fish store is set up to move fish. So any fish that can be together for short periods can be put together while they are all young and dizzy from just getting off the truck. you on the other hand will have them in your home tank where they can grow and mature and establish territories and such and it may not be the greatest idea for you. It is true that the fish store should be leading by example but the combination of workers that don’t know any better and available space cause stores to make big no-nos for the sake of display.
November 30th, 2010 at 1:17 am
Sheila,
Most everyone here has given accurate points on target. I’m just going to give my personal input. You’ll see many times improper stocking and compatibility in fish stores. You’ll even see painted fish and fish that are monsters being sold without proper advice. Unfortunately, it’s most times about profit. The best thing I can say is look up any fish you are considering buying before hand, and try to buy from privately owned stores as well.
Many times the privately owned stores are going to give you better advice. As a person who is owning his or her own business, it’s only in their best interest to guide you. How many repeat sales could they expect to get if they sell you fish you can’t care for properly? Chain stores themselves probably have more then one department and don’t consider trained people as vital as they can turn a profit from other areas.
As the gentleman said too, great answer I think, it’s temporary in terms of overstocking and the continual flow of fish in and out of those sale tanks does provide temporary relief. I’d imagine if you see those conditions being prolonged say past a month or so, you’d start to see aggression and space in a tank become a more serious issue, however a chain store doesn’t always have the manpower and knowledge to cope with this properly. Odds are in a private store, you won’t see neglect going on and who would buy from any store where you see dead fish not being taken out.