big al's(innes) list of dead fish for october!

[az]

it was huge, just sw/marine was a page and half long!

:shock:

[darkdep]

Wha?  Where'd you see this list?

[az]

at big al's ofcrse!

[darkdep]

They post a list of dead fish?  That seems...well...stupid...

[Jim]

lol did they really?

[Nerine]

err why would they post their dead fish?? I know we keep ours 'hidden'

[az]

they didnt post it!

nm!

[Marc]

I'm not sure I like this post as there is no way to prove the original statement and without proof .....

Also, not having ever worked in the industry I have no way of knowing if "1 1/2 pages" is a lot.  I would expect that the page length would grow with volume of fish brought in and I don't know how many fish were brought in.

I do know that fish, especially s/w fish, don't care to be shipped and placed in a new tank with different water than the one they were used to so some mortality is to be expected.  Once again never having worked in the industry I don't know what a normal level of mortality is.

Marc

[Julie]

peep....especially since alot of fish are caught using cyanide.

Julie

[Mettle]

I'm not sure I like this post as there is no way to prove the original statement and without proof .....

Also, not having ever worked in the industry I have no way of knowing if "1 1/2 pages" is a lot.  I would expect that the page length would grow with volume of fish brought in and I don't know how many fish were brought in.

I do know that fish, especially s/w fish, don't care to be shipped and placed in a new tank with different water than the one they were used to so some mortality is to be expected.  Once again never having worked in the industry I don't know what a normal level of mortality is.

Marc

I completely agree. Anyone who has not worked in the pet industry can only have a vague idea of what goes on. That's especially true for mortality rates in a fish department.

From my understanding, Big Al's also gets a lot of wild caught specimens. Now - whether you agree with this or not, and examine what fish you have in your tanks before you make any judgement calls - wildcaught fish are often loaded with diease and parasites. This in the end causes a higher die off and general tank mortaility rate by the time the fish reach the shops. It's just how it goes.

Plus. I don't think something like this should be posted on the forums as it was, especially with no real proof. It's a little bit harsh... Let people decide for themselves what store they want to shop at without attempting to prejudice them. If someone asks for an opinion on stores in Ottawa then you can let your true feelings fly. But to me this post is nothing more than a flame.

But that's just my lil' opinion.

[squeeker]

You'd be surprised how many fish are lost in a month.  When you have literally thousands (or tens of thousands) of fish, it happens, it's a large number to the hobbiest, but it's to be expected when working with that volume of fish.  Sometimes we get a batch in completely dead.  Sometimes they come in diseased, and then the disease spreads through algae scrubbers or nets or fish jumping to adjacant tanks.  It's not comparable to a home tank, where stock is reasonably consistent and new inhabitants are not the norm... at at pet store, stock is changing weekly, fish are very stressed after a long transit from across the world, some are wild caught with sketchy practices, etc.  A page and a half is not uncommon for a month; when I worked at SP merivale, sometimes we'd have that in a day.  All you can do is treat the tanks and hope for the best... it's hard.  I'm not saying it's a GOOD thing, but it's not a problem limited to Big Al's.

Edited to say:  heh, never thought I'd stand up for big al's...  :lol:

[az]

I'm not sure I like this post as there is no way to prove the original statement and without proof .....

i am not trying to bash them here Marc, just something i saw!

its a known fact for some time now that big al's innes dont take care of their live stock that much, even take whole lot of time to throw away the dead ones! as a regular fanatic buyer, i would hate to go to kanata everytime when there is a big als right next door!

i'd like to see some improvements thats all.

[Julie]

Seems to be dead ones floating in many tanks in many places, the ones with fungus are the ones you want to avoid.
You know petsmart is right next door.

Julie

[Mettle]

Seems to be dead ones floating in many tanks in many places, the ones with fungus are the ones you want to avoid.
You know petsmart is right next door.

Julie

Julie... Totally off topic. But. I saw the two most beautiful albino oscars ever at that Pet Smart. They were listed as 'red albinos' but had no red in them what so ever. Only a tinge of black on one of the fish's fins and the other was white. The pair were stunning! I think they were running about $24.99 a piece and I had no room at home so I didn't buy them.

I've had mixed results buying fish from just about anywhere. As Squeeker said, lots of these fish come in really stressed. I've seen a quarter of a shipment nearly dead or dying before. It's rough. (And disgusting to sort through.) I think the bottom line is if you're not a fan of the business don't buy from the shops. Because you're just supporting it.

[Julie]

Off topic, but that's where my oscars came from.

Julie

[az]

Seems to be dead ones floating in many tanks in many places, the ones with fungus are the ones you want to avoid.
You know petsmart is right next door.

Julie

i never had problems with their fw stock, no complains there.

bought over 100 africans maybe.......no problems ever.

[Nerine]

yeah I get mad at petsmart for their fish labels, because they CANT change them even if the fish they get in is not a RED albino oscar...grrrrrrrrrr I have complained to head office MANY times about this, it happens a lot with the goldfish not being the correct colours or types.  the best is though when you get a fish in...marked as an upside down cat for 4$ when it's really a different 40$ catfish ,because it HAS to sell what it's marked at!! even with reptiles...it has happened with our geckos and skinks.
Dead fish are going to always be there, working in fish there's only so many times a day you can scoop out the duds before customers see them, and when you're alone in the department or have other things to take care of, sometimes they pile a bit, it's disgusting to me to see dead fish floating around in any store or even at home! but it's true, sometimes the entire stock comes in half dead or diseased. we had this lady flip out because our goldfish were 'cooked' this summer...most of them survived, but they laid on the bottom of the tank for a week straight and looked dead. I've had both good and bad experiances at most of the fish places around here. It's getting harder and harder to find cool fish

[Shouganai]

I'm currently doing research on wild-caught herps for a seminar I have to do this saturday.. and I've come across a lot of info on wild-caught fish for aquarium trade. I don't recall numbers, but if you think seeing dead fish in a pet store is bad, the number that die during capture, packaging and export are staggering! It really depends on the method of capture though.

Also, another former pet industry (specifically fish) worker chiming in to say a page and a half for a month is nothing.. and that fish loss is quite a common occurence in a pet store. Its even factored in to the price you pay for fish. Not that it is right, but sadly, thats the way things are.

[rockgarden]

I don't think that I can ever remember going into a retail fish store or even a breeder's basement operation without seeing at least one sick or dying fish.  Sad but true.

And then many, many times I have seen customers (the retail pet buyer) take their new prize home, plunking it in the still cycling tank and watching it die and then blaming the retailer who had tried to counsel them in the art of patience in the first place.  Sad but true.

Or then there is the wiser more experienced fish owner who gives that "never seen before but got to buy immediately because there is only one in the store and it is expensive so it must be good" new fish or reptile its new home BEFORE checking any references about its environmental needs or suitablility, sees it wither away and die and keeps quiet about it OR, once again, BLAMES THE RETAILER. Sad but true.

Then there are the rest of us who have never experienced any of the above and have never "been there, done that". .  

It is not easy to be a retail pet store employee. My hat is off to those who try to do the best they can in a very tough and emotionally demanding business.

Ron

PS I agree that thread heading is unnecessarily inflammatory!

[93GTCANADA]

did the blue tang die