The perfect LFS

[mdbaskett]

I was reading the thread started by Jagarundi about having to euthanize her fish when it got too large to handle. The discussion really made me think about what the perfect LFS would entail. Here are a few things I thought of.

- Detailed descriptions of species on the tanks, including preferred water conditions, sociability, adult size, feeding and tank requirements. Same for aquatic plants.

- Each fish would come with a care pamphlet specific to the species.

- Fish that as adults will require a tank larger than 55g should be special order only. The LFS could keep display fish but in order to buy one you would have to order ahead and sign something saying you understand the care requirements and know what you are getting into.

- Each tank sold would include a couple handouts - one on the nitrogen cycle, tank care and cleaning, a description about the appropriate use of this particular tank given the size and shape that makes more sense than some rule about inches/gallon

- An indexed resource book with answers to common questions so that even the employees who aren't experts have somewhere to find information.

Anyone else have anything they would like to see in the perfect LFS?

 

[Kasakato]

That would be nice! Too bad the chance of it happening are slim to none. Its just not an effective way to run a buisness. But thats why there is AC.

 

[cohazard]

That would be nice! Too bad the chance of it happening are slim to none. Its just not an effective way to run a buisness. But thats why there is AC.

Actually, nothing he posted seems out of possibility; even for a small business.

There are plenty of other fish that can be kept in stock, so special ordering tank busters won't have much affect from an economical standpoint.

The cost for the 'care-sheets' could be reflected in the cost of the fish. What, like 10 cents?


mdbaskett, you've got some good ideas. Some of those ideas are already in use in the chain stores like petco. But I particularly like this one:

- An indexed resource book with answers to common questions so that even the employees who aren't experts have somewhere to find information.

 

[Black_Moor]

a perfect lfs I would think should offer a option to help in locating a home for a fish that get too big .. Fish adoption of sorts to people with bigger tanks.

One benefit of making a program like that I would think is to bring aquarium hobbiest(sp) together possibly.

 

[Aries]

That would be nice! Too bad the chance of it happening are slim to none. Its just not an effective way to run a buisness. But thats why there is AC.

Agreed.

True the cost of physically creating the pamplets and documentation is somewhat cheap. However, that is not where the problem of cost comes in. First, one must acquire the knowledge of all the fish carried per specifications. This can be expensive. To make sure it is accurate is even more expensive. Second, a LFS has to maintain that data and documentation - not cheap. Third, the LFS staff has to understand the fish - documentation can not account for every combination of tank habitants. THis is expensive which is why it is usually the downfall for the LFS. Further, a LFS can NOT push its knowledge onto the customer, only recommend. Some customers really dont care, this is the majority, and really want it simple (why fish cycling exists still). Finally, fishless cycling from a LFS point of view is bad bussiness because it means less fish sales. If you added all the cost to the cost of the fish, my guess it would raise the cost at least 25-30% -- bad when lots of competition exists.

There are plenty of other fish that can be kept in stock, so special ordering tank busters won't have much affect from an economical standpoint.

Agreed, tank busters usually increase profit a little (very small) because ppl dont realize how big they get so they can "sell it twice". One on initial sale, and one on big fish sale.

a perfect lfs I would think should offer a option to help in locating a home for a fish that get too big .. Fish adoption of sorts to people with bigger tanks.

Again, this is bad business from a LFS point of view. This would mean more overhead to support the adoption and less profit - a business mistake. Unless they charge an adoption handling fee - which then why do that when you can just re-sell the fish.


The biggest cost of keeping a good LFS is staff. This is a huge cost which is why most only pay min wage or close to it. You get what you pay for. It just doesnt make business sense - which is why the LFS exists int he first place - to make money. Not a place to allow hobbyists to get fish.


Now, with that said, it would be awesome to have a LFS like that. Some LFS are close to those standards but even the best of people can not know everything about all the fish - unless they had no life.

Just my rantings.

Aries

 

[MoparORnoCAR]

I like the idea of having posted species descriptions, but to add to that, a list of compatible tankmates would be a very helpful as well!!

 

[Black_Moor]

I like the idea of having posted species descriptions, but to add to that, a list of compatible tankmates would be a very helpful as well!!

a list of compatibles, make it real easy on people and have color coded dots at the corner of each tank.. green can go with green, or .. Green can go with blue.. but blue tend to be semi-aggressive..

Red not with Green, etc

mmmm, think i'll need a color code cheat sheet

 

[TetraFreak]

a list of compatibles, make it real easy on people and have color coded dots at the corner of each tank.. green can go with green, or .. Green can go with blue.. but blue tend to be semi-aggressive..

Red not with Green, etc

mmmm, think i'll need a color code cheat sheet

Actually...

One of my LFS's here in San Diego has a system simar to what is described! it works out great!

Then again, they're one of only 2 LFS' that I will buy fish from in all of San Diego County. Yeah, I'm picky! but ya have to be with this type of investment!

 

[Xielos]

a list of compatibles, make it real easy on people and have color coded dots at the corner of each tank.. green can go with green, or .. Green can go with blue.. but blue tend to be semi-aggressive..

Red not with Green, etc

mmmm, think i'll need a color code cheat sheet

Big Al's uses a color dot system exactly like that, except its green, yellow, and red, and blue for marine fish :dive2:

A LFS like that would be awesome, but like Aries says, it wouldn't be economicaly feasible. I have seen species care sheets at PetCo, but not for every fish they have in stock.

 

[pophead]

a good fish store take a whole lot more than paper and pamphlets. the walmart here has a small list of what the fish would eat, what kind of tank it should go in(community etc.), and what are some good tankmates. But I barely even look at the fish there(I won't buy any of them) because there's like 5 dead fish in each tank, and I was there twice in a week before and I saw the same dead fish in one tank :mad2: .
anyways, @ the Big Al's here there is NOT a good discription about the fish, but the staff are extreemly knowledgable and the tanks are in really good condition!
I would take quality over good intentions in a store any day.

cheers!