Irresponsible fish owners

I don't know about many of you, but whenever I'm at petco to buy food or salt cheap (the only thing petco is good for as far as aquatics go IMO), or even at the LFS, I here a lot of people who have no idea what they are doing. They just want a pretty decoration, so they decide to throw in a fish tank and never learn about cycling, stocking, water changes, minimum tank sizes, compatibility, and the list goes on. One LFS of mine has a classroom of sorts and does education every Saturday, but seeing so many fish die due to irresponsible owners irritates me. Is this widespread, or is this just in my area? I'm not suggesting that anyone on 3reef is irresponsible. If you were you wouldn't be on here.

 

I would have to say that's every where. I only deal with one LFS and that's it due to the staff the others keep.

 

It's everywhere brother. I used to be one of those irresponsible fish owners. My LFS just sold me stuff and I kept coming back (this was back in 1994). One of the big reasons that I did this again was to prove to myself I could do it right. So I can count myself as both a sinner and a saint with the hobby. It really depends on who you surround yourself with. This time around I surrounded myself with you guys and gals as well as some very competent individuals at a few different LFSs.

So don't get too frustrated over it. It isn't stupidity that drives this force....just ignorance. And there is a huge difference between the two.

 

I don't think of it as stupidity. However, it does really bother me that so many fish die because of it. I too use to be one when I started with freshwater. IMO, most of us start that way. Then, if it captivates you and you want to learn, thats when you become a good responsible fish owner. Very few start out by doing research on how to maintain a fish tank and being patient waiting until they are fully competent. What really bothers me is the LFSs disregard for quality of life and life for the fish in order to make a few extra bucks.

 

A guy I work with is the type that super glues anemones in place relentlessly, only tests if something dies and keeps (and replaces) pretty blue stars.

I have found I just can't talk to him about the hobby.

 

I made this thread out of frustration to be honest. I can't stand ignorance that results in the death of animals. I wanted to see if it was a widespread problem or just me.

 

as much as i can agree with being irritated by the irresponsible owners, i cant help but feel like a lot of the responsibility should be placed on the sellers. I have about 9 lfs in my general area and out of these 9 the only time ive witnessed legit/honest information has been from two of those places. Nothing gets to me more then when i hear sellers giving bad/improper info just to make a buck or simply out of complete ignorance. Its like why do you sell fish and work in a fish store if you know NOTHING about them.

 

it is an everywhere occurrence...an epidemic of sorts unfortunately!

 

Thats exactly how I feel as well Dsilowka3. Its not the people's fault that the people they trust to give them the necessary education, fail to do that.

 

I see the problem as more of being the employees at said business's. Heck, I did a lot wrong at first and stuff died because of it. But I was only doing what I thought was the right thing - following the advice of the LFS. Had a book too (saltwater aquarium for dummies vol 2 - do not get this book). If it wasn't for me stumbling apon this site a ways back, I would have been driven from the hobby.
Don't get me wrong, there are some people who view pets as an item, and only an item. But I for one would like to believe that they make up a very small percentage of the people that struggle through this hobby