It's amazing how rough and uninformed some petshop workers can be!

I've been wanting a Bristlenose for a little while and the tank is now set up and waiting, but my LFS is out of stock and I can't get fish posted due to being rural. My mum and sister were going to visit a friend out of town so I asked them to check for a Bristlenose at the pet shop there.

So they went there and they looked in all the tanks and there was one Bristlenose (labelled as "Plecostomus", I'd told them it probably would be and to just look for a catfish with white spots ) So they told the woman at the counter that they wanted it and she asked what type of tank it was going into and when they told her she said that it can't because it's a cold water fish........ Anyway they argued the point for a bit but then gave up and asked the other staff member to catch it. She apparantly spent about 30 minutes squishing the net around nearly squashing the fish against the glass until she finally caught it, she then proceeded to quickly yank the net up sending the fish flying through the air and onto the floor. After a minute or so of her trying to pull it off the floor the other woman came over roughly pulled it off the floor then chucked it back in the tank and said "You don't want that one, we'll have more in next week" so they just said "No thanks" and walked out....

 

Good lord...where was this if you don't mind me asking? Was it a chain? O_o

Good lord...where was this if you don't mind me asking? Was it a chain? O_o

Not sure on the name, but it's the only pet shop in Kaitaia ( )

I am sure all specialised shops have trouble finding knowledgeable staff, especially on the low wages they can afford to offer and in such a small town too. I would be contacting the owner (hopefully one of the women involved was not an owner) and explaining, nicely, what had happened and your concern the staff had not been trained in the correct procedure for catching fish. I would suggest too they get a book describing the basic needs of most fish sold there so they can look up information regarding individual requirements.

If the reaction you get is not satisfactory then I would shop elsewhere.

Well put.

The last owner was quite helpful and knowledgeable, unfortunately she sold the shop and retired. I'll have to find out who owns it now...

Hi everyone, just thought I would point out that I am in charge of the fish department at this store now. We are at the vet clinic on Empire Street. Rest assured the fish are in good hands! I have had over 8 years experience and at my last position at Animal Antics in Tauranga I was responsible for 200 tanks. I have also been president of the Bay Fish and Reptile Club in Tauranga, am a qualified Vet Nurse, and have a Certificate in Finfish Culture from Mahurangi Tech. I have made a couple of changes and am working on growing the hobby in the Far North.

Regarding the incident in the original post, this must have happened either with the old owner or just after the takeover. I have worked there for the last 3 months and we have not had any plecos for sale at all, and the bristlenoses we had were stock that came along with the store.

I am working on bringing the rest of the staff up to speed, but if you happen to be in-store and I'm not there or the others aren't able to solve your problem, ask them nicely to give me a call or leave your details. I'm only too happy to help! We can indeed have fish shipped from the major suppliers, and have a good range of aquatic plants. I can source most things that you might be after

Come in and check it out, you won't be disappointed

Yeah, I can see someone saying "I want to speak to the BigBossPants please".

Could there have been confusion with a Borneo sucker they do have white spots but even so they are still tropical ( low tropical 22-24ish) though animates would have you belive otherwise 

 Good to see - was always fond of Animal Antics and they were great with clean tanks, advice etc (got my first ever fish and Hara cats from there)!

Yeah, I can see someone saying "I want to speak to the BigBossPants please".

I'd love to see the looks on their faces! They had a good giggle when I logged in today. I'm typically known as "The Mad Fish Lady"  

Could there have been confusion with a Borneo sucker they do have white spots but even so they are still tropical ( low tropical 22-24ish) though animates would have you belive otherwise 

Turns out the fish was a borneo sucker, and was labelled as such, and has on the label a temperature range of 18-24 degrees. I was given a very different sequence of events... And as far as the staff knew the customer left smiling, and were quite upset and confused to hear about this feedback. Remember there are 2 sides to every story...

Even I have trouble catching Borneos, they are a difficult fish to handle as they DON'T want to come off the glass. I usually gently scoot them to the top lip of the tank and nudge them back into the net (hope that makes sense). 

 Good to see - was always fond of Animal Antics and they were great with clean tanks, advice etc (got my first ever fish and Hara cats from there)!

I remember talking to you about your Killi tank! Thank you for your kind words, now the great service is in the Far North  I'm also considering doing in-home tank maintenance as I was in Tauranga if there is enough demand for it.

At present I am in store Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday  

Borneos are hard to catch its suprizeing how far the can jump out of a net if they get stuck on the floor though slipping a piace of paper under them works great 

Edited November 10, 201510 yr by Benjansss

Ahh that's a clever trick, I'll have to remember that one! They are slippery devils