Here's an idea. What is the strangest/most inappropriate thing you have ever seen in someone elses (hopefully ) aquarium?
Let me get it started with a good one:
A) A cat skull.
Yes a real skull from my roommate's pet cat. When it died he felt like he had to 'honor' it. So he removed the skull and put it in his FW tank . What a nutjob. It is still in the tank too, after four years, and it looks really gross.
I would have to say beer bottles. i had a friend that had a Pacu, i think the tank was 90 gallons? and that pacu was huge. well it was a party house and to be creative he thought he would make a structure in his tank with beer bottles. it was strange looking. but i guess if you are drunk 22 hours out of the day you might think it was cool lol.
He removed his cats skull!?! That is AWFUL!?! There is definatly someting wrong with that guy. MAN! I thought my romate was a freak!
Yea living with this dude was interesting. I learned a lot of wierd blue-collar habits and techniques. Removing the skull was one of these things; OMG i didn't go back into the apartment for three days it smelled so bad.
Although, i have to say a battery powered alarm clock is pretty cool. Was it still working in the tank? I guess the kids thought it would help wake up the fish in the morning
picture this> u lose your brand new $1600 cell phone off the table,which rivals nasa's space platforms, only to find it again when u go to feed the tanks, which just as an added bonus isn't ever in the history of cell phones covered for water damage..lol i should turn the grounding probe into an electric kiddie fence!
Worst thing I've ever seen (in a local fish store) - a 3 foot Blacktip Reef Shark in a 4 foot by 1 foot 55 gallon aquarium. Stupid, cruel and unethical.
Dumbest thing (in a different local fish store) - a Blue Ring Octopus. Yes - let's all purchase a pet that can easily kill us. Just plain stupid.
Believe it or not, there are many good fish stores in Northern California. There are also a few bad ones.
We don't get fish stores like that here in Illinois.
But you have to be a complete Idiot to think that throwing a 3 foot black shark in a 55 gallon aquarium is alright. Its a FREAKIN SHARK for god sakes. You would think an LFS should have at least minimal knowledge of shark care.
A shark needs to swim to breath. I learned that on the Discovery Channel when I was 6!
The Corbrets Pets shop (horrible pet store chain) repeated the "shark incident" however it was some kind of bottom feeding shark (i was 8) and was a good 3 feet long the tank was no longer than 40" long as the shark had no room to turn around or swim.
But they gave this tank its own skimmer so it was all okay
Here's something i just saw, since we are talking about LFS's. Out of a total of maybe 25, 20 to 30 gallon marine tanks: 7 dead fish, 2 dying, 1 almost completely decayed to the skeleton. OMG! I mentioned this to the employee (the only one there) and he just said "Yea that happens," and walked away.
Okay, sorry for the analogy, but could you imagine if we were talking about kittens instead of fish? Bet you wouldn't get a cat, or any thing, from a store with seven dead kittens in the cages.
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
Yes, that's common with a few fish stores around here. I know that part of the reason is that the larger stores deal directly with importers, so your naturally going to have a higher death rate.
I remember back when most marine fish were being caught with cyanide (early 90's?), a LFS owner told me this story:
When the fish are caught w/ cyanide - about half die instantly.
Of the 50% that live - half die before they ever make it to the exporter.
Of the remaining fish - half die on their way to the importer.
Of those remaining fish - half die on their way to fish stores.
And those that survive long enough to be sold to hobyists, 90% of those die.
I did the math, and decided to never buy another fish unless I was reasonably sure it was net caught. Of course, there really is no way to know for sure.
I have oftern thought that if I owned a fish store, I would have a separate section where I quarantined all new arrivals. They would be on display, but I would not sell them for at least 2 weeks. I realize that I would have to charge more for fish than other stores, but I know that I would pay more for a fish that was treated this way.
It amazes me that I can not think of a single fish store in Northern California that has a separate area for treating sick fish. I guess it's cheaper to let them die than try and save them.
And I agree - if we were talking about kittens, or puppies, or birds, or even mice and hamsters, this would be a different situation.
OK, so it is a fact that shipping is hard on fish and some die just from that stress. But to not remove bodies from the tank, that is just poor business.
My favorite LFS has a policy that they won't sell a fish until it is eating. The owner is looking at expanding and doing just what you suggested Dana, quarantining all fish for a minimum of 2 weeks.
At the nearby pet-pad i saw several goodsized clown loaches in an African Cichlid tank.
Also, has anyone seen the renovated Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium? They have one tank that has golf balls and such in it.
) aquarium? 
. What a nutjob. It is still in the tank too, after four years, and it looks really gross.
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
picture this> u lose your brand new $1600 cell phone off the table,which rivals nasa's space platforms, only to find it again when u go to feed the tanks, which just as an added bonus isn't ever in the history of cell phones covered for water damage..lol i should turn the grounding probe into an electric kiddie fence!
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