Being a clownfish, could it be worse?

I feel your pain Nathan.
I had a lady come in the LFS I help at one Sat.She was looking at the saltwater fish,so I asked if I could help.She prompt told me that she wanted a couple of smaller but not tiny blue fish for her tank.So I went through the normal questions to understand her set up.Tank size,reef or FOWLR,cycled or not.Then showed her what had in blue fish.
She picked out one yellow tail damsel and blue damsel.
About 2 hours later we get a phone call.Both this ladies damsels had died and she was beyond pissed.So the owner had her bring in a water sample so we could check it.Her water looked good except for the salinity read 0 on the refractometer.She said she had put 4 TABLESPOONS of TABLESALT in the tank and thought that would be good for a saltwater tank.
 
wow. some people are just really really uneducated and make extremely poor decisions. really sad that people like that compromise the lives of animals with little to no care
 
Stories like that upset me. You remember a few weeks back when we had the "Pet vs. Hobby" thread? I said more of a hobby, since I don't get super attached to my fish like I do my cats and dogs. Although, all of my fish still have names. But still, they are living creatures that deserve a chance at the best life possible, which is no different than what a cat or a dog deserves.

Too many people look at fish as throwaways. A lot of saltwater fish are expensive, and the $500 angel is probably not being purchased by someone who has put four spoonfuls of Morton's into their tank, but if clownfish were a bit more expensive, say $50 apiece instead of $15 apiece, do you think this would change things?

I know there's always some idiot with more money than he needs that will have no problem spending it on whatever, but do you think the fish being higher priced would cut back on a lot of the bozos that buy, say, 10 clownfish to give away as favors at their kid's birthday party?

Just asking, I know it's a double edged sword, as there would be A LOT of responsible hobbyists that would not be able to afford fish (like I would have paid $50 a fish for a clownfish! Yeah right!).

I just wish there was a good solution to this ignorance, but there really isn't. Having people that know what they're talking about ask questions and try to teach (like Nathan did with that woman) is the best we can do, and unfortunately, 99% of people like that woman probably don't have a Nathan standing around giving them advice.
 
+1 Biff...One thing being a police officer has taught me is "common sense is not so common", most people just don't have it, and ignorance is bliss.
 
+1 Biff...One thing being a police officer has taught me is "common sense is not so common", most people just don't have it, and ignorance is bliss.

I bet you love the people that call 911 to report that McDonalds is out of chicken nuggets or Burger King ran out of iced tea!
 
I def. have to agree that LFS's are only out to make $$$. I've called around asking for prices for a 30" Sundial and 30" Sunpod and they've obviously jacked the prices up. Thank god for Custom Marine Creations and an owner who watches out for us Hobbyists!
 
I feel your pain Nathan.
I had a lady come in the LFS I help at one Sat.She was looking at the saltwater fish,so I asked if I could help.She prompt told me that she wanted a couple of smaller but not tiny blue fish for her tank.So I went through the normal questions to understand her set up.Tank size,reef or FOWLR,cycled or not.Then showed her what had in blue fish.
She picked out one yellow tail damsel and blue damsel.
About 2 hours later we get a phone call.Both this ladies damsels had died and she was beyond pissed.So the owner had her bring in a water sample so we could check it.Her water looked good except for the salinity read 0 on the refractometer.She said she had put 4 TABLESPOONS of TABLESALT in the tank and thought that would be good for a saltwater tank.

This Nathan's ghost, as I just killed myself after reading that. :frustrat:
 
I def. have to agree that LFS's are only out to make $$$. I've called around asking for prices for a 30" Sundial and 30" Sunpod and they've obviously jacked the prices up. Thank god for Custom Marine Creations and an owner who watches out for us Hobbyists!

thank you very much sir. You're too kind.

Prices are no doubt rising... Current is in a bit of a bind. They don't have the money to ship lights in from China, after having them produced. My supplier got their last shipment of lights from one of their competitors!

I have a 36" sundial shipping out from a supplier in New Jersey tomorrow morning... literally every supplier I called was out of almost all current fixtures.

The 72" sundial I shipped to ZOOT was one of two.... it's insane.
 
Back
Top