From the article: Most Common Mistakes Made by Saltwater Aquarium Keepers
We once had a young man in a pet shop in Waikiki, HI tell us that the Clownfish in one of their tanks had been caught locally, right off the beach, there. For the record: There are no Clownfish in Hawaiian waters.
The same person told us that Ich (a parasite) could pass from one tank to another through the air, which is why people put glass covers on their tanks... To keep the parasites out.
I'm sure that he meant well and was trying to be helpful, but...
What's the biggest LFS whopper that you've heard? What's Your LFS Whopper?
Bad advice
- I had only been in the hobby for a short time and went to the LFS to ask them what all the little anemone looking things were. I described them as best as I could and she told me that they were a type of coral that I should just let grow and spread. Turns out it was aptasia and after my tank had been taken over I went through tons and tons of Joe's Juice, Aptasia X and peppermint shrimp. But I could never get the damn things under control and when I upgraded to a larger tank I didn't use any of the aptasia infested live rock in the new tank for fear of another outbreak. Aptasia = not pretty and a huge pain in the butt. If you have any address the problem quickly. Don't listen to the pretty girl at the LFS.
- —Guest Terry
Biggest "Fish Stories" from LFS...
- I once had a guy at a LFS tell me that I could not have a Betta and a Dwarf Frog in the same tank, because the Betta would attack the frog due to the fact he came up for air... Another good one he told me is that no more than 2 angelfish (again freshwater angelfish) could not live in the same aquarium, no matter the size of the tank.... ...I currently have a 90 gallon freshwater tank with 6 angelfish... no problems whatsoever... they don't even mind each other... aren't territorial...
- —Guest Doug
Airborne Parasites
- We once had a young man in a pet shop in Waikiki, HI tell us that Ich (a parasite) could pass from one tank to another through the air, which is why people put glass covers on their tanks... To keep the parasites out. I'm sure that he meant well and was trying to be helpful, but...
- —saltaquarium
