Worried

[MikeBlackett]

Hi

Just wanted to air some concern:

My local pet 'superstore' holds the hillstream loaches under the name 'coldwater plec' and they are housed with goldfish. Im really concerned that these poor fish are going to end up in many drastically unsuitable environments for a goldfish let alone a hillstream. They mention nothing of their high O2 requirements or sensitivity.

Condemned to a life of suffering i fear...

I shall try to save as many as my student loan will allow me to buy tanks...

[Blue]

Aww..

Perhaps convince them, Mike?

[LES..]

This is still an all too familiar problem with many large chain shops. So much so that the wonderful minds on this forum created a poster that could be handed out to stores highlighting the needs of these fish. http://www.loaches.com/articles/Hillstream%20Flyer.pdf

I was miss-sold my first Cheni from a large garden centre as 'a great algae eater for a goldfish tank' and had them in a completely inappropriate tank. Thankfully i was able to get good information from the experts on this site and have been rewarded with a thriving colony of beautiful fish (-:

Alas it is not possible to save so many of the fish that the shops tout and it should be noted that your purchase of these fish will just encourage them to stock more. Enjoy your current tank and stock it appropriately, hillies are a very rewarding fish to keep.

Good luck with your fish,
LES..

[MikeBlackett]

Very true les, i missed the bigger picture in my Saint Francis moment.

I will take the poster next time and will try very hard to explain the requirements. The guys i spoke to were very nice and knowledgeable just not regarding the hill streams...

In some ways it makes me understand the problem some have with keeping fish as pets, alot more responsibility needs to be taken on both sides of the market.

The thing that gets me the most is the plethora of articles and sites on the web soley dedecated to aquarium keeping, and yet people are still so misinformed. All the info is there for you, it just takes a few hours searching, but alas everyone just wants all the info spoon fed to them.

On the hole the shop is very well looked after and all the tanks seem very clean and healthy active fish. I just had terrible thoughts last night of their potential fate...

[MikeBlackett]

i mean 'on the whole' obviously! lol