I went out looking at fish today. I didn't buy any, but I had to remember the last time I bought fish at my local petsmart. It was pretty funny.

I needed 3 panda cories. They had a tank with probably 20 or 30 in it that happened to be mislabeled, but obviously I knew what they were. I flag down the employee and tell him that I need to buy some panda cories. So, he heads for the appropriate label and starts to get a couple plecos out of a tank for me. The pandas were in the tank above that one- mislabeled of course- So I show him. "oh, okay which ones you want" There are about 30 in there and he wants me to point out the 3 fish that I would like him to catch. I was tempted to point to a specific fish out of the large shoal and test his catching abilities, but I just told him to grab a few of the really active ones that were near the front of the tank.

After a minute, I wanted to sieze the net and get my own fish, but I controlled myself. After all, the fish section doesn't say self-serve. Anyway, I got home with 3 healthy catfish.

It was quite amusing, but it is kind of scary to think that I could have been some beginner and thought that those plecos actually were cories with a max size of 1.7 inches. I guess they would have to shrink on the way home to reach a max size of 17 inches . . . :D :lol:

thats funny! kinda like some people at my stores.

heh, a self-serve fish section, that's a great idea, actually. :D

I can't tell you how many times the worst one has been netted for me, or the person doing the netting will litterally beat the fish up with it, pinning them against the glass, etc. and I felt like saying "gimme that net, and let me show you how it's done" :lol:

has anyone ever tried saying that i mean what is the worst they can do say no

If I'm not mistaken, over in Bangkok, they actually catch fish, like a assorted bag of female bettas for example, and each bag might have 20-30 fish in it and be hanging from a clothespin in an open air market. I read an article that said it was strange to see because they also carry large oddball fish. They said it was nothing unusual to see a 30+ inch fire eel sitting in a bag. You just grab the bag with the fish you want, pay for it, and take it home. Ever since I read that I've always wished thats the way it was over here. How nice would that be? You see the exact fish you want, and purchase it. No fresh out of the training room employee killing your fish.

I know it's one thing to be new, but there are a lot of people out there who just don't care one way or the other, you know?

That wouldn't be a bad idea... except for when the fish didn't sell for a couple of weeks...

I Laughed so Hard when I read that! Isn't the truth though! And I have applied to work in a fish store!!! :lol:

My funniest story...

Mongo (hubby), Noodle (son), and myself had just returned home from a fish purchase. I noticed that there was what appeared to be reddish orange colored eggs on the front tank wall. I called my son and hubby over to check it out. I sat there for an hour waiting to see something happen. I got up to do something and my son yells to me "Mom, those are not eggs. It is pizza sauce!" My husband had prepared our pizza in front of my tank and he splattered pizza sauce on the tank. Needless to say we were laughing our butts off. I sat there for an hour watching pizza sauce!!

That's kinda like the streak that I spent forever trying to get off the inside of my front viewing section, only to discover that it was on the outside of the tank! :lol: