Here are some tips on how to be an ideal pet store shopper! It may seem easy, but many can't seem to follow some of these basic steps!
Step 1: Do your research BEFORE you shop! Buying a pet, starting a fish tank...these are not in any way similar to renting a movie or buying clothing. They require education and thought, and on a busy day in the pet store, your pet store associates may not have the time to educate you thoroughly on what you are buying. Most places aren't commission-based either, which means we are staffed to help everyone who visits as succinctly as possible. In other words, the pet store staff may have to help several other people as well as you in a short time frame, and if you are taking up too much time asking questions that you could have researched yourself at home (the library, the internet, the local bookstore are all great resources!) you are making a LOT of other customers unhappy, which makes it hard on the business you are visiting. They try very hard to please everyone equally, and you can make it difficult by skipping this very important first step!
Step 2: Make a list of pertinent questions! After doing your research from Step 1, write down a short list of questions you would like to ask at your local pet shop. That way you do not forget about what you would like to ask and we can make sure your experience is as informative as you would have liked it!
Step 3: Do NOT come in with a time limit when starting a new pet enterprise! Nothing is more irritating and inconvenient than someone who needs to make a huge purchase in a short time frame. Give yourself time to be helped!
Step 4: (Within reason) Take the pet store staff's advice! Now if the staff member is obviously a complete idiot (have seen it happen before), please take all advice with a grain of salt. The good news is, if you did your research, you should be prepared with some knowledge of what you are trying to do. You can use this knowledge to "test" the staff member assisting you. Let's say you are buying fish. Now you have done your research and know that you should only add about 2-4 small- to medium-sized fish to your 20 gallon tank at a time. You test your staff member by saying "I would like to add 6 of these Red-Bellied Pacu to my 20 gallon tank". A reasonable response would be "Sir or Ma'am, I highly recommend choosing a different fish for your tank as this species can get quite large. Too large, in fact, for your tank! Let's look at these tetras over here..." Someone who nods their head and starts to catch your new tankbusters is obviously not up to snuff. Now, if you've done your test and concluded that this person knows at least as much as you, if not more, PLEASE take recommendations! I cannot repeat enough that when one has worked in a pet store environment long enough, seen enough returns of unfortunate critters, and keeps up on their knowledge base, they know a few things about what they are selling. I have seen too many ill-fated combinations of fish, birds, reptiles, and small animals to not want to prevent a death or two. I don't spend my time talking to you to spew out gibberish. I honestly want to make sure that your tank/vivarium/cage succeeds! I promise that most pet store staff are trying to help you out when they make recommendations as to number of fish, size of cage, and type of reptile bedding. Yes, we are a business and most businesses are out to make money, but there is a special balance in pet stores between making money and keeping happy customers. One bad experience with an inappropriate fish, a child being bitten by a dwarf hamster/parakeet, or a striky snake will end the store-customer relationship very quickly. Now if we take the time to determine that you, in fact, do not need to spend a lot of money today, and that brings about good results, then we will keep you as a customer and keep your future business, however much money that might mean for us.
Step 5 - HOLD ON TO YOUR RECEIPTS!! Almost all pet stores have some form of live pet guarantee. Most of those are null and void without your receipt. If you are keeping fish, store receipts in your tank stand. Small animals, birds, or reptiles...find a good stashing place for those receipts and keep them for the whole guarantee period, even if the pet is healthy the first few days. A lot of places have guarantees on their products as well. Hold onto those also. I cannot tell you how many times someone has had to buy a whole new filter/heater/lamp/cage/etc. because they did not bother to hold onto their receipts! My method? Take a plain envelope and stash receipts in it in a place you will remember. Mine is the drawer next to the sink. Hold onto them until the replacement period is over and then go through and throw out the no longer useful receipts.
Step 6 -REPEAT! Build a relationship with your LPS (local pet store) and it's employees! Be a model customer and they will treat you like gold. You will get to know them and they will feel more comfortable making recommendations to you and your specific needs. You will know peak times in the store and avoid them whenever possible so that you have a little more time with the staff. As we understand you, we can stop "babysitting" you and your purchase choices and start chatting about more advanced topics that are more relevant to you and your critters! The other plus side? If we know you well, we will be more confident in backing you up if you flubbed up and forgot (god forbid!) a receipt. Isn't that nice?
If you love your pets and you visit the pet store at least once a week, follow these steps to make certain that your visits are always productive and positive ones! Trust me, we know who you are when you are in that often, and if you are an ideal shopper, then we are more than happy to serve you every time! If you see your staff running away when you come in...well, maybe you should brush up on these steps and see what good may come of it!
In tank news, we have the traditional good news/bad news. Bad news first, you say? Lost two White-Finned Rosy Tetras in two days this week. The first one made it 6 days in the tank, the second made it 7. No symptoms, no fluctuations in my levels (still 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrate and nitrite). The only thing I could think of is that my pH is slightly more elevated than is ideal for the species, but considering levels at the store (between 7.2-7.5), my 7.6 is nothing too high than what they have been used to. We will see what another water change tomorrow brings to the pH and the health of the rest of my Rosies. Also purchased some more ghost shrimp. The ones from last week have (I swear to goodness) doubled in size and are very active in the tank! Hope they continue to enjoy it as I decrease the pH. Some more tetras have joined the bunch. A school of 5 hyphessobrycon columbianus have joined the tank and are loving it! The Red-Blue Columbians are VERY active when juxtaposed with the more docile and shy Ornates in the tank. They are shoaling together, however, and seem to be having a grand ole time. The Columbians are also more excitable eaters, which has helped the Ornates figure out when the food is coming. Everyone is currently enjoying their daily doses of Omega One flakes and algae wafers and their tri-weekly dose of frozen bloodworms! Plants are doing well, though I will have to make some time for pruning this week as some of the older growth on the swords may need some removal. The java moss is branching out nicely, and I even have some added bonus of duckweed from the shipped plants rooting out at the surface! The eventual hatchets will LOVE that!
That's enough for tonight! Pictures to come in the next few days of the newest additions and the "jumbo" shrimp!
-Bri
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