Was I lied to by my LFS

[vetteguy53081]

Kind of disappointed right now. I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds at this fish store, friends with 2 of the managers and somewhat with the owner and I feel like they’re still just trying to sell me. First it started with a six line which they said would be great for a 29gal and my stocking list (all peaceful), NOT! It became very aggressive with everything. So got rid of that. Today I went in and saw they had a Dracula goby and of course I had to get that, ive been dying for a goby pistol combo. I was going to go with a tiger pistol because of the similar coloration and they’re known to pair up... they convince me to buy a bullseye pistol because “you got to get a high end pistol to match the high end goby”. Well I decided to just do some more digging on it to find out what seems that they normally don’t form a symbiotic relationship with gobies...
I don’t know what to do now. Stop going there? Purchase another pistol shrimp (can 2 live in peach in a small tank?) Get mad at them and try and get a refund? I don’t know guys, like I said very upset with them right now

You have 2 choices-
You can go elsewhere or you can obtain what you came for and not what is suggested unless you research first in which case you did.
I would kindly voice this concern with the manager himself and let him know you love coming to his store but you have purchased a couple of problem fish based on bad advise.
Sounds like he needs to provide more training which I did when I had my pet store once a month
I have friends in northern Wisconsin who just on Tuesday went to a petco in Green Bay for food and a small anemone for their clownfish. They clearly stated the clown was in a 35g hex tank and this store sold them a 20” carpet anemone!!!
Wow

 

[JosephM]

You have 2 choices-
You can go elsewhere or you can obtain what you came for and not what is suggested unless you research first in which case you did.
I would kindly voice this concern with the manager himself and let him know you love coming to his store but you have purchased a couple of problem fish based on bad advise.
Sounds like he needs to provide more training which I did when I had my pet store once a month

Yeah for sure. I’ll be calling them today and talk to the owner about the situation.

 

[G Santana]

I go to the only LFS left to me because he brings in stock. That's the ONLY REASON, I have seen and heard many questionable STUFF he has either said or does in his tanks.
I go because unlike 25 years ago when they were everywhere, now there are only a few.

Do your own leg work, this forum is probably more knowledgeable than most mom and pop LFS out there.

Use their knowledge to make you prepared to deal with LFS folks.
Then smile and walk away with your choice of stock or your money in your pocket

 

[JosephM]

I go to the only LFS left to me because he brings in stock. That's the ONLY REASON, I have seen and heard many questionable STUFF he has either said or does in his tanks.
I go because unlike 25 years ago when they were everywhere, now there are only a few.

Do your own leg work, this forum is probably more knowledgeable than most mom and pop LFS out there.

Use their knowledge to make you prepared to deal with LFS folks.
Then smile and walk away with your choice of stock or your money in your pocket

Yeah. I definitely feel you on this one. There’s just not much more choices out there. Gotta start living by the advice everyone has given me to do my own research and pull out my phone if they say I should get something else

 

[dank reefer]

Yeah. I definitely feel you on this one. There’s just not much more choices out there. Gotta start living by the advice everyone has given me to do my own research and pull out my phone if they say I should get something else

I pull out my phone all the time when I am the LFS just to check and see what they are saying is legit or not. Not sure what store it is that you go to, but there is one store I swore ill never go to again after hearing the sales team giving advice to a fairly new reefer some real bad advice (Similar to @vetteguy53081 carpet anemone).

 

[KyRo]

It's hard to tell, but they just might not have enough information. I've noticed most people in this hobby seem to be genuine.

Sometimes I will go into my LFS and ask them a question I already know the answer to just to see how they answer. That is always a good test and not once have they tried to steer me wrong even if it means making them money. For example I really wanted some Cardinals for my tank and they had about 6 new ones in their tank. They all didn't look very good and were all huddled in the corner. I asked if they recommend me getting 2 of them and he told me that he suggests I wait a few days and come back because apparently they don't ship well and half will most likely die so I would get the 2 that survived.

When I first started, I was also talked out of buying more expensive coral and to try out their cheapest ones just to get a good grasp on how to handle them. I go to 3-4 shops around my house and all of them usually steer me in the right direction.

 

[X-37B]

Many people just do not fully understand what it takes to keep a reef tank. New reefers tend to take the lfs advice. Some of the things I have heard just boggle the mind. Always remember they need to sell product in order to keep the doors open.
Thank god for this site for info, but you still need to do research on your own.
One lfs told me that new reefers are their best customers as they tend to not know what they are doing and kill alot of fish and corals which keeps our sales up. We also sell them all kinds of product to try and fix their systems.
Then we buy back their system for pennies and resell it.

I have always suggested that people who have a plan and stick to it will be the ones that stay in this hobby long term.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

For catching the shrimp try a bottle trap. Piece of shrimp in a bottle, then pull it out. Look it up. Last time I did this I I also sliced the cap of the bottle like a pizza and bent the slices inward. Shrimp goes in and can’t get out. Good luck. About the LFS, I’m sure they meant no harm. However they don’t know what their doing sometimes. I have one like this by me. Love the owner, but follow my own advice. Lol.

 

[JosephM]

For catching the shrimp try a bottle trap. Piece of shrimp in a bottle, then pull it out. Look it up. Last time I did this I I also sliced the cap of the bottle like a pizza and bent the slices inward. Shrimp goes in and can’t get out. Good luck. About the LFS, I’m sure they meant no harm. However they don’t know what their doing sometimes. I have one like this by me. Love the owner, but follow my own advice. Lol.

I think I’m going to try just a net first. I don’t know how well a bottle trap will work because this shrimp is huge. Like big enough where it’d be a tight fit through a completely open water bottle cap

 

[JosephM]

Good news guys. Just got off the phone and no argument needed he said they’ll let me exchange for a different one and give me credit for the leftover amount he said they’ve had them pair up before but I’d rather be sure with a Randall’s and the matching color

 

[hds4216]

Good news guys. Just got off the phone and no argument needed he said they’ll let me exchange for a different one and give me credit for the leftover amount he said they’ve had them pair up before but I’d rather be sure with a Randall’s and the matching color

Good news! And Randall's is definitely a much, much more solid bet.

 

[Salt Addiction]

On that note. Anybody have advice for catching a pistol shrimp

Yay! Something I can help with lol. I had a pistol wreaking havoc in my reef and found a pretty good solution for them.

Buy a mantis shrimp trap, these are about $15 on average and are made to catch mantis via a flip door set off by a lever on the inside. before putting it into your tank make sure its set right and all, then put the smelliest cube of frozen you can in it, making sure it is all the way on the end behind the trap flap, submerge just outside his home and boom.

If they are adventurous just wait a few minutes and be ready to reach in once he goes for it to close the trap. If hes nocturnal only and not very adventurous wait with a red flashlight and do the same. Trap is best placed with the opening along the rockwork right outside his den as they like to trace rockwork when exploring on their own.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Edit: This is the exact one I used: UltraLife X-Terminator Mantis Shrimp Trap

 

[Sabellafella]

A member on here shrimp and gob pair, took a screenshot off one of his videos @TUSI

 

[JosephM]

Yay! Something I can help with lol. I had a pistol wreaking havoc in my reef and found a pretty good solution for them.

Buy a mantis shrimp trap, these are about $15 on average and are made to catch mantis via a flip door set off by a lever on the inside. before putting it into your tank make sure its set right and all, then put the smelliest cube of frozen you can in it, making sure it is all the way on the end behind the trap flap, submerge just outside his home and boom.

If they are adventurous just wait a few minutes and be ready to reach in once he goes for it to close the trap. If hes nocturnal only and not very adventurous wait with a red flashlight and do the same. Trap is best placed with the opening along the rockwork right outside his den as they like to trace rockwork when exploring on their own.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Edit: This is the exact one I used: UltraLife X-Terminator Mantis Shrimp Trap

Thank you for the help! I caught him a whileee back basically same way you’re saying. I set a trap out and waited for him to come explore it and then caught him with a net

 

[Sabellafella]

I'm not into them but there's one to match to Dracula goby.

 

[JosephM]

I'm not into them but there's one to match to Dracula goby.

It’s a Randall’s shrimp. I’m done with fish for now. They keep dying or getting killed

 

[Salt Addiction]

It’s a Randall’s shrimp. I’m done with fish for now. They keep dying or getting killed

Just a question as we had the same issue. Where does your suppliers source your fish from?

We kept losing fish and I could not figure out what was different compared to 10 years ago, turns out the supply chains now are very different from what they used to be. Not sure about places outside the USA but I know this can be a factor. We have since switched where we buy our fish from and had no issues.

 

[dvgyfresh]

if you think they're lying and are as petty as I am, you ought to be super passive aggressive and ask them about a fish, then pull out your phone in their face and confirm on Google LOLLLL but that's just me.

I don’t see anything wrong with confirming information , maybe that’s why they hate me like last week I was about to buy a dragon wrasse (40gallon) employee told me it’s reef safe and should be fine in the tank , after googling I was like yea it’s not for me

 

[JosephM]

Just a question as we had the same issue. Where does your suppliers source your fish from?

We kept losing fish and I could not figure out what was different compared to 10 years ago, turns out the supply chains now are very different from what they used to be. Not sure about places outside the USA but I know this can be a factor. We have since switched where we buy our fish from and had no issues.

No clue, I don’t really ask those questions. But I figured out why they were getting killed. I have a hitchhiker gorilla crab I never found. I trust my LFS, they have quality fish for the most part

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

One of the biggest problems with this hobby is people don’t do there own research. How hard is it to google something. This may sound bad, but the person you should be mad at is you. They are a business and you hold the money. They are not going to do the work for you. I don’t think they are lying to you. But your tank is small, and fish will become aggressive because of space. It’s okay to go slow in this hobby, in fact it’s ideal.