pet stores in your area

fishman1979

Suffers from MTS
Feb 7, 2006
462
0
0
47
Aldan, PA
hey everyone, hows it going. i have a question for everyone here. in your area are there any pet stores that are only dedicated to fish or are they all general pet stores? and if you do have just fish stores in your area how do they stack up to the general pet stores as far as prices and service?
around me i only have a petco, and when i go in there the employees dont really know that much about fish, and its hard to ask specific questions, an di wish there was just a fish pet store.

The reason i am asking is a am thinking of opening up a business in my area that would specialize in fish, and would like to see how businesses like this are doing in other areas.

Thanks everyone.
:shark:
 
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I have the Shark Aquarium near me, the prices of things vary as does the experience, thought they are definitely more knowledgable than your run of the mill general pet store. When I was younger they had this place called Aqua-world that was pretty good from what I remember though I was pretty young so who knows what 20 years did to my memory (no comments please)...... then we have places up the highway about a half hour or so away that are a little more expensive that the generals but the stock is well worth it as the experience.
 
yeah, i know what you mean. knowledge is a good thing to have when it comes to something like fish. when i got my tank a couple months ago, i had someone tell me that molly's were the way to go, and then someone else at the same store tell me that they like water that is a little brackish, what help they were.
 
Living in Canada's largest city has its perks-- there are at least seven pet/fish stores all within a half hour drive from my house, including various mom n' pop stores, Big Al's, Superpet, Petsmart, Doogans and PJs Pet Emporium. Big Al's by far has the most knowledgable staff, but in terms of prices, it's a pretty level playing field. The decor is barely cheapest at Big Al's, and tanks are slightly less at Superpet/Petsmart, but other than that, and excepting temporary sales, all stores are equally expensive.
 
I have Just About Fish, which only sells fish and aquarium-related items (although it is overpriced), and Jack's Aquarium and Pets, which is mostly fish and aquarium stuff. I love Jacks. The staff seems to know their stuff, they have lots of variety, the prices are pretty good, and all the fish seem healthy.
 
I've got a few fish-only stores in my area, or should I say "fish-mostly" instead. :)

I used to frequent those in addition to local general pet stores, like PetCo, but I tended to patronize the specialized stores more.

I used to check out a large store called "McCloud's" before they closed. That place was HUGE and they slowly branched out to other pet supplies.

Peace...
 
I have PetsMart, PetCo, and Jack's all within about a 5-10 minute drive depending on which one I am going to. A bit farther away I have a place called Byerly's (forum member daveedka told me about) probably still only about a 20 minute drive, then there is this huge place called Aquarium Adventure who is strictly fish and actually a really neat place to go into, they have all the big displays set up with anything you would ever want but could never afford type of stuff.
 
ok seems like there are a lot of fish stores out there, just none in my area, oh how that sucks LOL. for those of you who have both available to you, which would you rather buy your fish and supplies from, a petco type or a "fish" store?
 
I would much rather buy from a "fish specialty store" esp if they have a very knowledgable staff :thm:

All petco seems to care about are dogs :sim:
 
I just use my best judgement on what to buy from where. Obviously the sales staff's knowledge is a huge factor, but just see how they interact with the other customers in general and the conditions of the tanks etc in the shop.
 
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