What Gets My Goat!

[wombat1100]

OK now I don't know if this is a subject or just me having a bitch but here goes! :biggrin:

I went to 2 of my local Fish shops today, just for a look and possibly to buy (theres aways a possibility when i go to my LFS!!) and was so disappointed with the quality of their tanks, selection of fish and most of all quality of service. :(

The first one ,I shall keep them unnamed for now!, had almost all of the tanks including their display tanks so covered in algae that you couldn't see the fish! And the tanks that did have fish for sale in them had either the wrong name of the fish or none at all, and most without prices.

The second one, was a lot better with cleanliness and selection but also had no descriptions of fish or prices.

I don't know about others, but I like to be able to know what something is worth BEFORE I go to the sales person to get the net out. Not all of us are that well informed of breeds and pricing . :blush:

Then when i finally selected the fish I wanted to purchase (10 neon tetras for my 3 footer) was given the fish without a word asked of what I had in the tank, the parameters i was maintaining or the req'd parameters for the fish i was purchasing.
For all he knew i could have had cichlids in the tank and the neons would have been the breakfast of kings!

Surely they have some responsibility when selling fish that they are the correct purchase for the customer.
If I hadn't known what i was buying, i would have been so disappointed that they were eaten in minutes or died in the first 2 days from the water conditions.

I know when I was first starting my tanks years ago that every time i had a fish loss i was devastated, things like that can put people off fish keeping for good.
Hence there is so many tanks for sale in the trading post and on ebay.

well thats my bitch for today!
would be interested in what others opinions are and maybe a forum section for LFS's with a star rating on their performance and quality is a option?

Dazz

[Sloory]

I think your right.

When i go into an aquarium store i'm more likely to want to buy fish if i instantly see nice clean tank stocked with healthy fish. Also if they have a couple of good display tanks it always puts me in the spending mood :biggrin: .

Also they should always come up to you and talk about your tanks with you. It will help them tell you the right fish to buy and of coarse get them their sales.

I know they are often flat out, but at least acknowledging that you've come in the store and saying g'day always helps.

[Marc]

Having been to just about all the LFS's on my side of town, I've quickly formed an opinion of them, and built relationships with the staff/owners of some.

There are some real shockers and as a result I won't spend my money there in the future. I've purchased fish from many, and the quality has been questionable, whereas others fantastic advice, quality of fish, excellent pricing and as such they become my preferred LFS (or not so local in some cases) :)

Shop around, and choose your preferred shop.

[wombat1100]

Having been to just about all the LFS's on my side of town, I've quickly formed an opinion of them, and built relationships with the staff/owners of some.

There are some real shockers and as a result I won't spend my money there in the future. I've purchased fish from many, and the quality has been questionable, whereas others fantastic advice, quality of fish, excellent pricing and as such they become my preferred LFS (or not so local in some cases) :)

Shop around, and choose your preferred shop.[/b]


I have stopped at just about every fish store that i drive past and i have worked all over Melbourne, and in other states aswell.
I agree that there are some that are fantastic and some that are questionable, and that is why i suggested the separate forum section for LFS with a star rating, isn't that what forums and the like are for?
Maybe the "Questionable " LFS would pull up there socks a bit if they new they were being rated? Or at least the other members of the forums would know to be careful.
Isn't it better to learn from other people good and bad experiences rather than
"Shop around, and choose your preferred shop"

Dazz

[Sloory]

You could do a poll, on these shops.

But first we need to make a list of the shops that would go in the poll.

[Marc]

Forums are for learning yes. I'll still make my own opinion up from visiting personally though. Just my opinion.

[joz]

In fairness to the shops.I'd suggest letting them know first.
Give them a chance to lift their game :)

If all fails ,vote with your wallet.

[sharkybubba]

In fairness to the shops.I'd suggest letting them know first.
Give them a chance to lift their game :)

If all fails ,vote with your wallet.[/b]


Hi guys, might aswell throw my 2 cents in! i think i agree with Joz, in that if you are unhappy with the shop you should let them know- all business' work around the customers and in many cases customer feed back is appreciated. i guess the plus side of letting them know is that if they lift their game its a win-win situation for both yourself and the aquarium. also i think that it is a highly personal thing-not all people will like the same places and of course everyone has different standards! basically no place will be perfect and as Marc suggested, shopping around is probably the best thing to do!

[Sloory]

Hi guys, might aswell throw my 2 cents in! i think i agree with Joz, in that if you are unhappy with the shop you should let them know- all business' work around the customers and in many cases customer feed back is appreciated. i guess the plus side of letting them know is that if they lift their game its a win-win situation for both yourself and the aquarium. also i think that it is a highly personal thing-not all people will like the same places and of course everyone has different standards! basically no place will be perfect and as Marc suggested, shopping around is probably the best thing to do![/b]


Yes that is true.

I can't stand aquariums that the owners are clearly not even passionate about fish.
Back in shepparton where i just moved from, there has been a shop there for longer than i've been alive.
They're shop is very badly presented and theyre tanks always have big algea problems.

What i'm getting at is i don't know how they've survived so long whilst being so half hearted!

Its a shame, i do not have enough knowlege on all the fish to own a shop but i reckon i could do a damn good job making it attractive to the customers and have good public service :cool: .... :ohmy: .. :unsure: .. :blush: i'll shut up now.....

[Kaz]

I have some good fish shops in my area and some bad but I find that no matter where you go when you buy your fish I don't get asked any questions about what size tanks I have or what breed of fish I'm putting them in with, I think this would be such a great service that just does not seem to happen which is sad.
Kaz.

[wombat1100]

You would think it was a simple thing to expect from a specialty store like an Aquarium!
Dazz

[ebonairre]

You would think it was a simple thing to expect from a specialty store like an Aquarium!
Dazz[/b]

I agree with the lot of you! It's very frustrating for me, living in the ACT, as there's so few LFS to choose from - there's only a few here, and on the outskirts. So far, the only shop in town that has helped me so far is Jem's - every time I go in there, I usually end up spending way too much time drooling over fish or spending money :)

They're also great with advice and they generally don't let you buy fish without asking what tank you're putting them in, who's already in there etc etc - I guess it provides a little insurance from people returning to the store with a dead fish, complaining, when they put them in an unsuitable tank. They're always willing to do water tests (and have helped me in my beginning stages of tankhood) and dispense good advice freely.

There are probably cheaper places as far as prices go, especially for tanks/gear, however being in such an isolated area, there's not much choice unless you want to drive four hours to Sydney and back! I ordered my big tank from an online shop based in Melbourne, as they were much cheaper than the LFS, but still, they're pretty good for advice and have some absolutely beautiful marine, freshwater and plant display tanks. And the occasional shark :)

But on the offchance that I travel interstate, I would agree - a shop (not to mention an equipment) review section (somewhat akin to MASA's listings, which are a bit out of date now) would be fantastic. I think a review section would be more beneficial than a poll as you then get different opinions from various people, be they new to the art or experienced, and therefore, help others make their own decision on where to shop (or where to not), also allowing shop owners to see where they can improve their business.

Anna

[volenti]

Some of my pet peevs (and a couple of my LFS are guilty of these);

Poorly lit tanks (and in one case in an equally poorly lit fish section) "oh look!, a vague shape moving in the gloom, I'll take three!"

Broken down air driven internal/UGF and generaly poor tank mantainence. Haven't these people heard of fucking presentation? Yea those fish all gasping at the surface for air because you couldn't be arsed to check that the filters were working (or fix them) look reallyattractive.

The usual dead/floating fish/rotting corpses.

Prices listed with only obscure scientific names. Come on, at least have some sort of common/descriptive name (or a picture) next to it so I don't feel like a complete idiot trying to pronounce a latin word I've never seen before. (not to mention knowing which ones are $7 and which ones are $50)

Luckily there are a couple of LFS that are pretty good, including an excellent one half an hour away that also breed Discus on an impressive scale (first time I saw Discus fry feeding off the slime coat of the breeding pair) The guys there know their crap.

[wombat1100]

I have once been to a LFS that had small pics of the fish in the tank with a description and conditions reqd for the species and a price on every tank, thing is i cant remember which LFS it was!!
Might have been in another state or suburb as i generally stop to see all of them!!
Dazz

[Marc]

I was amazed today to go to a 'big blue' aquarium shop only to see the following:

http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=3034
The above colony of Yellow Fin Mloto's which were traded in for a store credit of $50 for MrFonz.

Now for sale in the shop for $250.00 !!!

There's also an African display tank setup with the unhealthiest Frontosa's, Cobalt Blues etc in it as well. I have been watching this specific tanks decline in condition over the last 6 months.

Poor effort for someone I consider should be setting the example!

[CichlidFreak]

I was amazed today to go to a 'big blue' aquarium shop only to see the following:

http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=3034
The above colony of Yellow Fin Mloto's which were traded in for a store credit of $50 for MrFonz.

Now for sale in the shop for $250.00 !!![/b]

That's bloody disgraceful. I mean, I know they have to make money but talk about excessive mark-up!

[Shaye]

Yep, I know what you mean.

My local pet shop let me buy 4 goldfish about a year ago. (I was 13 then, but I looked like a 10 year old). The fish were for our backyard pond. But anyways, they let me buy the 4 gold fish, which need something like a 150 gallon + tank, without even asking me where my parents were, the size of my tank, or anything that they should have asked me. Back then I didn't really think much of it, but yes now that you mention it I must admit that was pretty negligent of them selling fish to a kid, especially goldfish.

I might also add that the tank the goldfish were kept in at the shop was way too small for them and there was 2 dead fish floating around at the top. They also had an almost fully grown Oscar kept in a tank that would have only been about twice the legnth of it and twice the height of it.

Shaye.

[devil san]

after years in sales i can tell you the reson most shop wont displey prices is they will charge different prices to different people, if the salesman is good enough he will be able to gauge what you will py before he tells you the price. still way wrong, but thats how it goes :wacko: my pet peve is how some shops charge WAY HUGE prices for fish that simply are not worth it, the same with equipment... and then you gets the stores crying because people go to ebay or buy online... no big wonder when you save soo much, only problem is you have no choice with fish.

[Woodsy]

On the other hand, it costs them money to house fish, and a tank in a retail store that isn't going to generate profit is basically detrimental to a business (this is in regards to the yellow colony). If retail stores paid retail prices for their fish, i.e from breeders/wholesalers, there would be no retail aquarium businesses or hobby for the most part because it would simply be too expensive. Retail works on the simple principal, buy low sell high. Not trying to sound nasty or anything, but as hobbyists, this is a simple reality of the trade. There is money to be made in breeding fish, but don't expect to get retail prices for fish you are effectively selling wholesale. They key is to pick your species, and then be competitive ;)