# Piranha Neglect



## rusty13 (Feb 22, 2013)

.I walked into a reputable pet store and seen rbp's mixed with silver dollars.Of course the reds were killing the dollars so I told them the situation thinking it would be resolved. A week later I went back to my surprise no change.i avoid discussing anything with those places and do my homework before I buy.I joined p-fury for the information.It makes me mad to see piranha neglect and i have seen it a few times.To me piranhas are the pitbulls of the fish world.Thank you!


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

and just like i responded in my PM ill say it here. piranhas along with other popular sought after fish are among the most abused/misunderstood fish in our hobby. it truly sadens me to acknowledge this but the vast majority of people who own tanks/fish do so as a pass time and never take the time to understand, to obsess over like those reading this thread more then likely do. 
most people who own piranha, including low end pet shops who stock them, are often done so by immature kids making minimum wage, a store manager who cares more about dog sales then the fish section or just a random owner who thinks he'll be able to throw a stray dog into the tank and see something out of the movies.

its unforunate but i sincerely believe the majority of people who own tanks couldnt tell you the difference between fresh and salt water other then salt water tastes yucky. or that piranha arent the man eaters you see on the movies. or that you need a wee bit bigger then 30 gallons to care for a pacu.

consider yourself among the better of hobbyists just for being on this site


----------



## rusty13 (Feb 22, 2013)

Thank you!!


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

ill always remember this little pet shop that was around when i was a kid. pets general. first place i ever went to buy my first fish (silver dollar and a firemouth)
the lady that ran the place was an absolute bitch to customers including my young self. she would q/a you on your tank when you asked her to scoop a fish out. years and years ago i thought she was a nazi but looking back today i can see why she was that way. she didnt sell a fish to anyone who couldnt house it properly and answer a few basics. 
now yeah yeah of course you could just lie and say you have a 300 gallon tank when you had a 30...but i totally feel why she was like that. went back there years later and she was still in business, still rockin. so anyone who thinks thats shitty customer service, shes obviously doin something right.

i think people crave to be educated. you just gotta be open to it. and you enjoy the fish more when you understand it better. all of a sudden it doesnt matter whether its shy or active, big or small, mean or nice...you just appreciate it for what it is


----------



## rusty13 (Feb 22, 2013)

I had to go in depth to the 2 employees on the fact that the silver dollars are vegan and rbp's are of course meat eaters.They were eating the profit!Also myself as a customer is not interested in a beat up stressed out finless fish!!Thats probably gonna die.To my amazement like I said its probably still set up the same way.


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

^ it is. trust me. and you have to look at the facts. people who work in petshops didnt exactly win lifes lottery or are young dumb kids. nothing you say will do anything then fall on deaf ears. save your breath and just dont shop there.


----------



## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

One thing I have noticed with most pet stores and LFS (and I say most, but not all... we have an amazing local SW shop) is that they are about as intelligent as the animals they sell, if not slightly less. And you have to understand 90% of the time their BS works because the customer will never double check the information.

They dont care about taking time to learn more or making things better for their livestock, they just care about making a sale and profits.

Good for you trying to help them, but like he said... save your breath. And as long as the RBPs have silver dollars to eat... its not really P neglect.


----------



## Da' Manster! (Sep 1, 2009)

rusty13 said:


> .I walked into a reputable pet store and seen rbp's mixed with silver dollars.Of course the reds were killing the dollars so I told them the situation thinking it would be resolved. A week later I went back to my surprise no change.i avoid discussing anything with those places and do my homework before I buy.I joined p-fury for the information.It makes me mad to see piranha neglect and i have seen it a few times.To me piranhas are the pitbulls of the fish world.Thank you!


Maybe I missed something but where is the piranha neglect and why are you angry?!...







...Maybe they were feeding the silver dollars to the reds (which is OK in my book since I'm a proponent of live feedings) but to me neglect would be putting a 12 inch pygo or rhom in a 10 gallon tank or something like that...you also have to remember that most LFS don't have sufficient storage or space to properly accommodate reds and they will put them in a tank with other fish and let the reds take over...of'course this is good from a business standpoint as they are trying to sell the fish as quickly as possible...Even our vendors do the same thing...but I will agree with you, Mike, and Bryce that most of the teenagers working in there are stupid as sh*t and the vast majority of the time they don't know what they are talking about.


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

its neglect on the part of the silver dollars. it makes no business sense first of all, and second of all i wouldnt be surprised if the reason they were feeding sellable fish was because said fish were diseased or over stocked. I.E. neglect
its not all about the piranha. its about the way the whole store operates.

the other side of neglect is misinformation. petsmart of all places is the worst at this. petsmart. the super huge chain...i go in there often and see the pretty labels on their tanks with totally misleading information. they will sell red belly pacu and have a 'max size' of 12-14 inches. or sell red devils with a max size of 8 inches. why?
because generally anyone who knew the true size of pacu wouldnt dare buy it.

not that there might not be SOME truth to those sizes...after all the fish generally die from owner neglect well before max size could be obtained.


----------



## Da' Manster! (Sep 1, 2009)

Ocellatus2000 said:


> its neglect on the part of the silver dollars. it makes no business sense first of all, and second of all i wouldnt be surprised if the reason they were feeding sellable fish was because said fish were diseased or over stocked. I.E. neglect
> its not all about the piranha. its about the way the whole store operates.
> 
> the other side of neglect is misinformation. petsmart of all places is the worst at this. petsmart. the super huge chain...i go in there often and see the pretty labels on their tanks with totally misleading information. they will sell red belly pacu and have a 'max size' of 12-14 inches. or sell red devils with a max size of 8 inches. why?
> ...


yes, I agree mike but Rusty said piranha neglect and that is why I addressed the issue...and yes, misinformation has been around since day one in our hobby...especially with Pacu, red devils, and piranhas like you mentioned and mislabeling fraudulent information has become all too commonplace in most LFS...Hell, even my LFS that specializes almost exclusively in piranha mislabels what type of piranha it is and we get into heated exchanges when I try to correct him!...


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

i actually bought a BOOK that mislabeled a breeding red belly piranha as a black piranha. i only noticed this after joining this place and seeing pics and comparing. i couldnt believe it cause the book labeled itself as a scientific study of the fish...and they get the most popular piranha wrong









point is....you have to do your own work. trust no one


----------



## rusty13 (Feb 22, 2013)

Yes sorry I should have said fish neglect my bad!The dollars are being abused.they are a relative to the species but to me shouldnt be in the same tank!Im not mad about it I just think they are stupid!They ussually have temperment grades on there tanks and the 2 dont have the same temperment or diet.


----------

