Local Fish Store Problematics!

[ralpf]

It is quite amusing (in a sarcastic sense) of how many different opinions and views I have recieved from different LFS as a rookie in the world of, I call it aquariumology (seems to be it's own science).
Two different stores, two different opinions on, 1) Tank Cycling: Shop 1 - Running a week eh, bring me your water values, (looks quickly), aha, seems okay, what fish do you wan't. No questions concerning tank size, they wanted to provide me with fish that should never go together in the same tank, let alone share the same water preferences. Example: Cardinals (White Cloud Minnow) were suggested as a starter for me, I said my tank is small and my water temperature (room) was 23°C, and is that not a tad too warm not to mention what will happen in the summer, reply was we keep them between 25 and 26°C without any problems!
In the end I had the feeling I knew a bit more than the sales people concerning some of the fish. and Shop 2) You have to cycle your tank at least three to four weeks before adding fish, all fine and dandy, but they never said anything about adding a bit of ammonia to simulate fish waste. Maybe not as bad as shop 1, but they make up for it by being much more expensive. In a nutshell, it became a game of hit and miss and 30% water changes every 2-3 days as well as constant monitoring of water values. Too bad I located this website 1 month after I started my tank, it sure would have saved me a few headaches.
P.S All my fish are fine (knock on wood)!

Nice to be part of such a cool forum, Kudos to the Mods and members!

[J double R]

shop 1 doesnt have the slightest idea of what theyre talking about. i guarantee the only thing theyre testing for when they tell you your water is 'ok' is chlorine.

shop 2 has a bit of a better idea, but you seem to have a clue about what theyre missing, so i would cycle the tank properly with ammonia and go with LFS #2.

but now that i see your tank is already established, good luck! lol.

[liv2padl]

someday, before i'm dead and gone, i'm gonna walk into a fish store and they're gonna actually know something about fish. really. i'm serious. i just know this is gonna happen.

[J double R]

my local LFS really promotes proper tank size, cycling and water quality.. they just don't have enough staff to properly care for the huge amount of tanks they have.. (theyre a family only business, ive already attempted to apply)

[nerdyguy83]

I actually have an LFS whose owner will be frank to the point of rude with people who try to come in and buy stuff without knowing what is going on. He definitely tries to be nice at first, but there is only so far he can be pushed. The store is the only one in the area to carry BioSpira, and he constantly pushes it. The majority of people don't want to spend 15 bucks on the stuff just to get their 10 gallon going, and that same majority go right up to PetsMart where they are dealt with by the incompetent "yeah, you can keep a goldfish in a bowl"-type employees we all know and love. Overall, though, this store has a positive impact on the fishkeeping world, so if you are ever in Erie, PA, check out Buzz 'n Bs.

On your question, my advice would be to find out which store uses less salt in their tanks and go with that store. Then find out what day they get their new stock in and go shop the following morning. Chances are that is how you will get the healthiest fish overall. As far as advice on cycling and whatnot, just stick with this website and you can't go wrong.

[wataugachicken]

petsmart was pretty good the other day. i was talking to my mom about what fish i don't think would go well with my angelfish, and the employee came over and added some thoughts which were quite accurate. later before i left i decided to pick up another goldfish because i have enough room for two of them for now (the new one is only an inch long) and she came over and made sure i wasn't about to put it in with the angelfish. i thought that was nice of her.

[losermonkey5]

I go to a place in ny called eddies aquarium there really good... they know what there doing and give really good advice.. ask tank sizes... if its a hard fish they ask if you have read up on them if you havent they advise you not to buy it and try to tell you a lil about it. Never sell any fish out of a sick tank... there really awesome... there also not the kind of place that thinks they know it all and try to tell you stuff you know or know is wrong.

[jgulecas]

A good LFS is hard to find nowadays. And I can't blame them. Competition from the internet must have really killed their bottom line. It can't be a very profitable business anymore.

That said, a good LFS should:

1. Post the date of receipt of each fish shipment.

2. Post the store tanks general water parameters.

3. Keep fish out of the tanks with plants for sale.

4. For heaven's sake, clean out the corpses every morning. I have actually heard LFS employees say that they leave the dead fish in there to feed the ones that are left. It's not just a matter of disease control and prevention of foul water. It's a simple matter of sales presentation.

Based on the above standards, I have yet to find a good LFS in the Tampa bay area.

[Squawkbert]

A good LFS is hard to find nowadays. And I can't blame them. Competition from the internet must have really killed their bottom line. It can't be a very profitable business anymore.

That said, a good LFS should:

1. Post the date of receipt of each fish shipment.

2. Post the store tanks general water parameters.

3. Keep fish out of the tanks with plants for sale.

4. For heaven's sake, clean out the corpses every morning. I have actually heard LFS employees say that they leave the dead fish in there to feed the ones that are left. It's not just a matter of disease control and prevention of foul water. It's a simple matter of sales presentation.

Based on the above standards, I have yet to find a good LFS in the Tampa bay area.

1, 2 - I've never, ever seen this done
3 - I have seen this. An occasional fish in w/ plants doesn't bother me. A school of Cardinals in a neatly planted hair grass tank doesn't bother me either
4 - this is spotty, at best and corpses do bother me and most people...

I'd just like to see one that keeps some brackish tanks for their figure 8s, scats & bb gobies.

[DBray6]

Based on the above standards, I have yet to find a good LFS in the Tampa bay area.

If you find one let me know.

I generally like Pet Supermarket on East Bay Dr. But they can be better by far.

The LFS that is decent sells tattooed fish and I hate that. But they are the only place I know that will take my fry.

[ralpf]

Yep, during the last times I was in store 1, I have seen 4 dead fish, and in one tank the bottom dwellers were feasting on one, pretty gruesome. Unfortunately many store higher students who probably get a quick introduction to the shop and then they are on their own.
Look I realise everyone has to make a buck nowadays, but the bottom line is, proper professional advice goes a long way, I mean if you build up a good reputation, your name will be remembered and you will get good references, possibly even from professionals. Here in Europe people are going to the former Eastern or near Eastern countries such as the Czech Republic or Slowenia for instance to purchase fish for less money, and I am told less medicated treatment, wether that is a good thing or not!

[WeeNe858]

store one is after sales.. store 2 is a nice store.. but most people/stores dont hassle with telling customers about adding ammonia to a tank to feed the bacteria.. seeing as how most of them are new..its also kinda complicated

[jgulecas]

I like Clearwater Aquariums on US Highway 19N north of the Countryside Mall. Opened late last year. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and they have excellent deals on All-Glass aquariums and stands. The fish I have bought there have been healthy and of excellent quality. Decent selection of freshwater and marine given their space limitations. It's a small store in a strip mall.

They also give away RO water, subject to a gallon maximum per day and on a BYOB basis.

BUT they do sell dyed fish, and only give a 24-hour guarantee on fish, which, if you think about it is really no guarantee at all. If you have a job or school, how can you be expected to make it back within 24 hours?

[DBray6]

Could you give me a little more info on Clearwater Aquariums. I tried to find them on the web and the closest I could find was Exotic Aquatics on 580. Addy or phone would be great.

[jm1212]

stick with store 2; it sounds like they have the right idea.

a wild guess, but is store 1 your local wal mart?

[MammoMK11]

I always like supporting small chains because they tend to have better quality and better service. I went to this one that I used to goto when I was a little kid and had a simple goldfish tank and saw the most dead fish in a store that I have ever seen. It seems that they had a dead fish in every tank. That forced me to goto petsmart...

Anyways, you mentions that store #2 was more expensive, is that a bad thing? Naturally, avoid it if they are scalping you, but if you're confident about the health of the fish there, then the extra expense shouldn't be a problem. I don't like paying more, but I will if I'm pretty sure about the quality.

[ralpf]

Fish store 1 has a huge sortiment of fish of all types, problem is that they never really try to maintain fish compatibiliy regarding temperature and water parameters. Now I know that fish die and in a fish shop with so many different types and quantities of fish something will happen now and again. But I think it is only common sense for one of the employees to go around and check and remove any dead or sick fish. Store 2 will be my next area of purchase it may not be perfect but it is smaller and cleaner, but right now I have all the fish I can stock in my aquarium and I unfortunately bought them at store 1!

[Mgamer20o0]

you would think something so simple as this to keep the livestock alive wouldnt be to hard.

[ralpf]

I guess it all has to do with economics, it is all business, maybe the founder of the fish store had good intentions, but when a store changes hands the lives of the animals are only secondary, because of the so called profit margin. New owner must cut costs, so he hires cheap staffing, students or part time with maybe a rudimentary knowledge of fish care at best. Now, another concern of mine is, if I purchase a fish that for some reason may not be compatible with my tank or fish etc, when I bring it back under guarantee I am afraid that the fish store will destroy the animal before going through the trouble of re-aclimatising the fish to their aquariums (not to mention that the fish may be labelled as agressive). That is why if it happens that I have a fish that does not work out I always try to find them a proper home amongst friends and relations!

[beefsteak]

A good LFS is hard to find nowadays. And I can't blame them. Competition from the internet must have really killed their bottom line. It can't be a very profitable business anymore.

That said, a good LFS should:

1. Post the date of receipt of each fish shipment.

2. Post the store tanks general water parameters.

3. Keep fish out of the tanks with plants for sale.

4. For heaven's sake, clean out the corpses every morning. I have actually heard LFS employees say that they leave the dead fish in there to feed the ones that are left. It's not just a matter of disease control and prevention of foul water. It's a simple matter of sales presentation.

Based on the above standards, I have yet to find a good LFS in the Tampa bay area.

1. We recieve our fish every Thursday. It's not a goverment secret.

2. Nitrates- 0 Nitrites - 0, Hardness - 300 (Very Hard), Alkalinity - 180 (Alkaline) PH- 8.4 (basic) Ammonia - .25 (Safe) Chlorine - 0

3. We have snails with the plants no fish.

4. We pull the corpses every morning and evening as part of the standard opening and closing procedures as well as periodically throughout the day.

Anymore questions?

Let me repeat myself, not every pet store is the same and not every store is filled with ignorant staff. IMO, it's the customers that are the idiots and people like you guys exsist only in cyber space. I am one of those aforementioned employees that will get PO'd at the idiots.

If you want to know things like shipment dates and water parameters just ask. If they don't want to tell you then don't go back. Simple as that. But please don't generalize. Or I'll have to start generalizing the customers. And you don't want me to do that.

[cathrynlisa]

Although I realise that not all stores and their staff are the same, I've quickly come to see that my local LFS is just that, a fish store - I'll come here for the advice. When I first started out, I asked one guy about fishless cycling and he hadn't got a clue what i was talking about and actually walked off mid-conversation. Unfortunately, they're the only one local to me, so I had to go back. Since then I've been told that the minimum size tank required for Silver (Bala) Sharks is 2 and a half feet and that brown algae is toxic.

[Mgamer20o0]

well if thats your only one or the cleanest one then your stuck with it. what i do is just go in and if they ask me if i need help or anything i jsut say no i am just looking.

[dmopar74]

1. We recieve our fish every Thursday. It's not a goverment secret.

2. Nitrates- 0 Nitrites - 0, Hardness - 300 (Very Hard), Alkalinity - 180 (Alkaline) PH- 8.4 (basic) Ammonia - .25 (Safe) Chlorine - 0

3. We have snails with the plants no fish.

4. We pull the corpses every morning and evening as part of the standard opening and closing procedures as well as periodically throughout the day.

Anymore questions?

Let me repeat myself, not every pet store is the same and not every store is filled with ignorant staff. IMO, it's the customers that are the idiots and people like you guys exsist only in cyber space. I am one of those aforementioned employees that will get PO'd at the idiots.

If you want to know things like shipment dates and water parameters just ask. If they don't want to tell you then don't go back. Simple as that. But please don't generalize. Or I'll have to start generalizing the customers. And you don't want me to do that.


hmmm..... your water has 0 nitrites and nitrates, but you have measureable amounts of ammonia(which is not "safe"). sounds like your tanks arent cycled at all. if they were it would be 0 amm,0 trites, and some or none trates,not the other way around.

[jajjaj]

LFS 1 sold me a male and a female molly (because they thought my four-year-old would like how different they look), and when I asked if that was OK to have them together, they said, fine. Of course, the male nearly harassed the female to death.

LFS 2, which I went out of my way to get to because they supposedly know what they are doing, sold me two platies, saying, they were fat and healthy--as it turns out, one was pregnant. I'm not certain of this (would platies do this), but I think after she gave birth, she got aggressive with the male molly (karma) and injured him.

[jgulecas]

With respect to my earlier post, the name is Countryside Aquariums, not Clearwater Aquariums.

[emmaS]

I have gone to 5 different LFS in my area, not including the pet stores. And I can say that only 3 are worth going to, and only 2 are worth buying fish from. Just cause they're a local FS doesn't mean they'll be good. And of the 3 I consider good quality, when it came to cycling I was recommended three different fish, one store said white clouds, one danios, and the third feeder. I chose the white clouds and am very happy they are all still alive after 3 weeks of cycling.

It also depends on who you get to help you.