Importance of the Invoice

[Van down by the river]

Great post Tim,

Okay my turn to rant.

A good aquarist uses his experience, common sense, and knowledge to judge a fish based on quality, health, appearance, behaviour, and feeding.

Truly, the invoice, time of day,colour of the aquarium, the dow jones, or wether the store clerk helping you has brushed his teeth this morning has little real relevance.

So I think we have established that it's GOOD to ask were they came from.
The invoice is NOT important.
To those that keep harping on the invoice I think it was quite clear and unanimous "NO" from the retailers.
(Tell you what, you send me a statement of your earnings,wage,debt load, credit report, and tax return.......and I'll send you some wholesalers lists......Let me guess it's none of my business right? Get the picture?)

Besides, many of you probably have cyanide caught fish swimming in your tank as we speak.

I'll also say the dirty words: By the way, Cyanide didn't kill all those fish!
Some of them, dare I say it, were your(the aquarists) fault!
Cyanide is a important issue, but it's often a scapegoat for bad husbandry.

Yes sometimes you do need to tell the customer were to go!
Yes I've done it. I've spent countless hours educating,chatting,learning,and discussing with wonderful customers and peers over the years (Wether they bought something or not). In fact It's one of the biggest benefits for me. So I have no shame in telling a jerk to get lost!

There are a 1000 things more important to look for in a store before the "show me your invoice or I'll go somwhere else approach".

Stores DON'T Pay $1.00 for Flame Angels!!!! or have a 400% markup on them. :shock:

What's wrong with posting a modified invoice? Don't you think they have 1000's of other things that would benefit their store better? Maintaining a fish store is no small feat.
Seeing the invoices won't change the hobby. You want to make a change?
Buy a membership in one of many fish/wildlife protection organizations for starters. Pay more for captive bred. etc

Think you got a cyanide caught fish? Get it tested, I believe the cost is $200 plus(2nd hand info)......... Or maybe that Regal Angel,Rock Beauty,etc wasn't really eating to start with....

naesco: nobody ever said that they wouldn't tell you where the fish came from.

BCOrchidGuy: No they don't drug fish to ship them!!
The colored water is usually just preventative antibiotics.
The only time I have heard of sedatives, is for very large fish being moved in public displays. It is risky to the animal/fish and is usually done by a Vet.

Nothing like a good debate to get everyone to participate!!!!!!