EVIL chain pet stores have the answer?

Question

I have finally come to the mystery behind the whole 1 inch per gallon propaganda out there...its Chain pet stores. I have friends at the Petco near me. The guys and girls in the fish department there are very smart and actually all have successful salt water tanks...and a couple have some freshwater tanks also.

So I was talking to them and they were said company policy is to say 1 inch per fish per 1 gallon. They usually just use it with newbys and parents to keep them from buying a lot of fish per 10 gallon tank.

Just thought it was interesting that the Chains would tell their employees to say this or use this bogus rule.

Either way...bad rule needs to be banned. LOL!

Answer 1

what do you mean by chain  beacuse if aquariam city is some thing along the lines of your wrong about it they know every thing about them invesagate more its not done yet beacuse not muce has been done on it

Answer 2

Like you said, this rule is applied in pet stores to newbies with small tanks but I'd like to add that it only applies to small fish in small tanks. Of course you cant keep a 10 inch pleco in a 10 gallon. Pet stores need to be very specific when using this rule and if the rule is applied properly it's generally a good guideline to follow for newbies. Filtration needs to be considered as well, a rule for filtration is twice the recommended amount of your tank, for example a 20g should have a 40g rated filter and so forth.

Answer 3

makesmursnotwar is totally correct

....'damage control' is first and foremost where the 'newbies' mindset and knowledge are concerned

....frequently, 'not-a-lot-of-research' is conducted by spontaneous tank enthusiasts who splurge on a '10gal set-up' in a package from 'Wal-Mart' (or Petsmart)

....so the 'rule of thumb' to which yourefer is relative to the experience level of the new 'fish-keeper'

.....as the acquired knowledge of that 'keeper' expands, the person will likely develope some 'filtration ideas' of their own, much like those, for example, of others here who choose to use larger filters

....and the 'one-inch rule' is an excellent place for a 'new comer' to fish keeping to begin with out regret

...to the point, in reality, LFS employees do vary in depth of fish keeping experience and frequently they are not 'highly paid experts'

....they are not zoologists or marine biologists, and have probably not sailed on the 'Calypso'

....for that level of experience and know-how a person needs to visit the 'Dallas World Aquarium' or their local zoo and speak to the 'Docents' there

....try to be kind to the 'little people' who work at a LFS

....they are there just like other regular people who do a job

.....I am always pleasantly surprised to met one who is awake 'and' moderatly polite

....the rest i prefer to learn on my own experience, from research, or from experts elsewhere

Answer 4

wow..thts a piece of good info....oh yeah the lfs people really come up with very bad suggestions...always leads to wrong setups and crappy advices...chain stores are a waste of time...

Answer 5

even the people who work in those sections of the pet store are "smart" still have no idea what they are talking about--they do NOT hire specialty people who know what they are talking about--they just hire them.

i know someone who worked at petco and they said that if they didnt know the answer to a fish question to just BS something..

basically they dont know what they are talking about.

my bf is a saltwater specialist and we tested their intelligence of the saltwater and freshwater fish and they gave horrible answers to questions and had no idea what they are talking about.

best bet---find a GREAT fish place that KNOWS what they are talking about--there are a few where i live and i dont go to ne chain stores ne more because they have no clue what they are talking about.

Answer 6

I went to petco today to buy fish to start a new tank cycle in my new 30g. Got fed the same c**k and bull story about 1 in. per g. I let the poor guy tell it, because I know he's pretty good at fishkeeping and its his job, but really, shouldn't they be educating people instead of just preventing? If you want to get into the hobby anyway, you should be reading up on it yourself, pet sales-people are NOT your encyclopedia.  

Answer 7

Ya and their freaking breather c**p again, brb with my real answer

Actually, that store is lucky enough to have competent employees. Chain stores in general I've found you are lucky if they even know 25% of the fish they sell period. However I do not totally fault the employees themselves, rather their higher ups. I breed and keep Africans personally, and if chain stores were not so corporate by nature, I'd love to be able to sell my fish off to them when I get large groups of fry, instead of internet sales.

Now, that being said, I still need things like fish foods, medications and dechlorinators. So I am forced to some regards to do business with chain stores. I've spent close to 10,000 alone in tanks, stocks, parts etc at my local Petland Discounts simply because of close proximity, and availibility. l have significantly cut down the number of actual fish I buy from them simply because while they do give me a generous rate for my business, they also usually have me telling them what fish they have.

I've asked if they could order certain stock so I didn't have to pay the high shipping fees I usually do, and typically, they are hampered by their regional manager which I am sure is locked into what he can do by his superior and all the way up. It's clear to me, while I've given them numerous suggestions how to improve on fish, they lack the ability to implement them, and ultimately, those in charge up the chain care very little about us the consumers. Let alone actually knowing about the uses and understanding of the point you make.

Filtration alone is one major flaw with this, along with the tank footprint not being taken into account, how much O2 is being consumed by the stock, the growth rates of the stock, and the species themselves in terms of temperment. I agree that this whole so called rule really should be flushed down the toilet and replaced with people that understand how to properly keep fish.

Answer 8

so what is it really?  

Answer 9

1" per gallon works as a guide as long as you use it as 10" worth total of small fish not one big 10" fish in a 10 gallon tank.  Newbies don't get the concept of not stacking fish into a tank so if it works to prevent that then fine.

What's worse is selling 1 gallon tanks for betta's or goldfish and stores being fine with it.

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Answer 10

At least they are not selling dogs and cats and keeping them in tiny cages, where the poor animals never get any exercises and are cooped up for almost an eternity!  Cheers!