Should I get my fish from this LFS?

sophiecat22

sophiecat22

AC Members
Jul 25, 2006
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St. Pete, FL
I found a quite interesting little fish store near the barn where I board my horse today. I was lucky enough to find a 30 gallon tank that comes with a solid wood stand and full hood with a strip light for $199.99 there. Thats not what I'm worried about though. I searched their freshwater selection for kribs...no luck. Although their tanks weren't really properly labled. I found an empty tank that was labled "Dwarf Cichlids" so I'm guessing that could have been kribs and their sold out or something but who knows. Their other cichlids were either labled parrots, oscars, or get this...mixed cichlids! Not even "African Cichilds" or "South American Cichlids", just "Mixed Cichlids".

I'm seriously considering angels instead of kribs and I checked their angels out and they looked healthy. Now here's the clencher, aside from "mixed cichlids", a man that worked there approached my boyfriend and I, asking if we needed any assistance. When I told him that I was looking for YoYo loaches, he took me over to a tank that had absolutely no loaches in it at all and pointed to a CAE. Now his english wasn't that good so I'm thinking maybe he didn't understand. So the beau and I decided we'd seen enough and that we weren't ever going to find our YoYo's but just as we were leaving, Brian happened to glance in a tank and see about 4 teeny little yoyo loaches in one of the "mixed cichlid" tanks. Now what I'm wondering is, should I buy these fish from a store that doesn't even know they have them or what they are? Their tanks didn't look that great but the fish they have appear to be healthy and happy. I'm definitly buying that tank and stand set-up from them though. ;)
 
200 dollars for a 30 gallon dam with 200 you could of got a bigger tank with a stand psssssssssCraigslist.com
 
Hrmm, if you quarantine your fish, then I wouldn't see an issue as you said they appeared healthy enough. Were there a lot of dead fish floating around in their tanks? Stores that have mislabled fish don't bother me too much because I make it a point to research which fish I want and then I go get them. Is it right to be mislable them? No of course not, and some would say that by shopping there that you are promoting the careless store to continue without addressing the issue. Eh. I say, if the pricing is reasonable, you know what you're looking for obviously, and you don't see unhealthy conditions running throughout the stock, go for it. Just be cautious and quarantine.
 
Its $200 for the tank, a SOLID WOOD stand, and a full hood and light. Trust me, its a steal in my neck of the woods. Its about $250 at another LFS for just a 20 gallon tank and the same solid wood stand but for a 20 gallon instead of a 30. Not worried about that though, I'd like a little more insight on the fishy situation.

Edit: Didn't see your post before I posted mine. Another thing that really bothered me was the fact that their parrot cic's had those stupid I Love You tattoos on them. I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place though because they are the lfs in my area that has yoyos and really good looking angels.

There were a couple of dead fish, one that appeared to have been there for quite awhile, but he was also very hard to see and I only saw it because I really search for stuff like that.
 
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at craigslist they got cheap fish tanks people sell
 
I'd rather spend the $200 on a brand new set-up and not pay shipping and handling. I'm set on this, I've done my research. Trust me, I'm a woman, I know how to bargan shop lol. Thanks for the tip though!
 
Hrmm, tough call. The tatt'd fish LEAVE ALONE! I think purchasing those would definitely be promoting the practice. I would try to go back at a different time and see if someone else is around that you could possibly speak to ..almost put a bug in their ear about the mislabeled tanks and see how they react...or if they even are still mislabeled. Giving the benefit of the doubt that maybe they're in the midst of moving fish around?? I don't know. It's your call, a tough one, but yours none the less. I think if I were in your shoes, I'd still purchase the fish that I was having difficulty finding at other area shops.

In regard to craigslist and that set up you're getting being overpriced? Nothing beats buying brand new and that price is pretty decent. Buying off craigslist is like buying off eBay, sometimes you never know what you're going to end up with. You can't go to the persons house and fill up the tank to check for leaks etc. Yet you purchase "as is", great you can look at it, but that's all. New you at least get a receipt and 30 days to return it if you're unsatisfied.
 
Go to Wal-Mart, you can buy a complete 55 gallon with stand for about $235.00..That is the price plus you get the filter, heater, lights and everything..If I remember correctly it is $158.00 for the tank with everything in it and the stand is $76.00...Having a much bigger tank is a lot better than a smaller one like a 30 gallon..
 
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...but that tank comes with a solid wood stand. You know how difficult it is to come across a sturdy, attractive looking stand these days? It's harsh, you always wind up with those shifty looking iron stands.
 
actually on CRAIGSLIST you do a pickup on your tank and you type in what state and city you live in they have all kind of stuff in craigslist


craigslist.com
 
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