LFS going extinct?

[wally]

Oh, and I can't vote from tapatalk on iPhone, but put me down for LFS all the way.

 

[ralph atl]

great question...

my maintenance purchases are:

BRS ALK
BRS Calcium
BRS Mag
BRS gfp
BRS Carbon
BRS mesh socks
BRS replacement GFO/Carbon containers & pads

My food:
Selcon
frozen PE Mysis
frozen Hakari
frozen Cyclops-eze
frozen oyster eggs

My salt is Salinity

400 watt Radium bulbs until I go LED

I have tried to get this stuff local, but to no avail....it's a pita, quite frankly....

I put 2 requests in for a maintenance crew for:

Nassarius distortus
Nassarius sp
various snails
2 peppermint shrimp...Lysmata wurdemanni complex
2 acro crabs....Trapezia


10-14 days later after he said YES, I asked status? He said he had forgotton (no big), but would get them...2 weeks later I put an unofficial group buy togther for liveaquaria

I am trying to give my money to lfs, but they won't take it! so, oh well!

 

[KrisDeitz]

Ripped Tide;674148 wrote: I know this, you know this, but does John Smith who has never had an aquarium know this?

Imagine if a total noob buys their tank from craigslist. I'll put a little scenario together for you...

So you've never had a tank before, but saw one at an acquaintance's house and decided that you want in. The next day you find a 55g tank for $150! having no experience, this probably seems like a HUGE tank for a great deal. Eight hours later you are a proud owner of a non-drilled 55g with a Rena Filstar and a Seaclone skimmer. You have killed all the fish during the move because it took forever, and you didn't realize that there is a short time frame for making a successful move without gas exchange. The seller said this tank was top of the line and in great running condition. So its time to restock. You google salt water... and then you can imagine what you would find from there. In freshwater, the petsmart rule of thumb involves inches to gallons why not try that for salt too....

Then im the one to blame not anyone else. Trust me i was that guy. but after losing 500 bucks i learned fast. Sometimes we gotta be grown ups and learn before we do.

 

[ralph atl]

online quality of fish, inverts, & corals is so much better....imho...

 

[ripped tide]

PFCDeitz;674153 wrote: Then im the one to blame not anyone else. Trust me i was that guy. but after losing 500 bucks i learned fast. Sometimes we gotta be grown ups and learn before we do.

Thats too bad. But if you learned before you made the mistake, you would have had the $500. At a LFS, someone would have probably seen that some new person is coming in, asking about all these different fish, and then trying to buy them all. This is going to be an alert to most good employees and they should question what kind of set up you had. They would have explained why buying 7 new fish was a terrible idea and taught you about the nitrogen cycle. You would have learned the same thing but saved money. No fish would have been needlessly sacrificed.

 

[KrisDeitz]

Ripped Tide;674159 wrote: Thats too bad. But if you learned before you made the mistake, you would have had the $500. At a LFS, someone would have probably seen that some new person is coming in, asking about all these different fish, and then trying to buy them all. This is going to be an alert to most good employees and they should question what kind of set up you had. They would have explained why buying 7 new fish was a terrible idea and taught you about the nitrogen cycle. You would have learned the same thing but saved money. No fish would have been needlessly sacrificed.

My Lfs sold it to me knowing what i was doing. Told me my eel would do great with clowns and 4 tangs. In one SHOT! Sadly they all died cept my eel... He got fat, But i think we are off topic now so lets get back!

 

[ripped tide]

Your store sold you all that??? I guess you really have to sift through to find the honest ones.

This thread should be a good message to us all... FREE YOUR FISH! Jk

 

[KrisDeitz]

Ripped Tide;674161 wrote: Your store sold you all that??? I guess you really have to sift through to find the honest ones.

This thread should be a good message to us all... FREE YOUR FISH! Jk

Yes sadly... They did and i been too a few who people praise and they did the same thing.. Its sad that they are only there for business. Ive noted twice when i went to a LFS selling a Sick fish to someone new or lying saying its not sick its just coloured that way.. I continue to stay away from these stores but i cant post that or who it was simply because they are our guest. So when Person above we spoke about goes to buy 10 tangs for her 50 gallon tank and 3 have ripped fins and are laying on the floor are sold they they die.

Also how many times have we bought a fish and brought it home only to die before its home? Do the LFS offer a refund or replacement? No. Ive only had one store and they are NOT a Sponsor.

 

[ripped tide]

PFCDeitz;674165 wrote: Yes sadly... They did and i been too a few who people praise and they did the same thing.. Its sad that they are only there for business. Ive noted twice when i went to a LFS selling a Sick fish to someone new or lying saying its not sick its just coloured that way.. I continue to stay away from these stores but i cant post that or who it was simply because they are our guest. So when Person above we spoke about goes to buy 10 tangs for her 50 gallon tank and 3 have ripped fins and are laying on the floor are sold they they die.

Also how many times have we bought a fish and brought it home only to die before its home? Do the LFS offer a refund or replacement? No. Ive only had one store and they are NOT a Sponsor.

I guess I haven't had the experience that you have by being new to the hobby. My grandfather always took us to pick out fish as kids and taught us what to look for when buying a fish (yeah, our family has a lot of nerds in it).
So when I decided it was time to set up my own, I had an idea of what I was looking for.
Everyone has different experiences. Thats what make the hobby so tough to intemperate. A lot of different people have a lot of different strategies to achieve similar results.
Its a shame that some one that prides themselves in the hobby would sell you a sick fish. Fish get sick, things happen, and if a fish is sick in a store the store should man up and admit it and not sell it or take it out of display and treat it. If the is no quarantine space is available, should the owner pull the fish out and toss him just because it looks bad? If you are a true reefer, then you would prefer that the fish should not be moved and stressed even further. Most illness is stress related, so why not keep him there and medicate using focus and metronitazol, or some other safe treatment.

 

[KrisDeitz]

Ripped Tide;674179 wrote: I guess I haven't had the experience that you have by being new to the hobby. My grandfather always took us to pick out fish as kids and taught us what to look for when buying a fish (yeah, our family has a lot of nerds in it).
So when I decided it was time to set up my own, I had an idea of what I was looking for.
Everyone has different experiences. Thats what make the hobby so tough to intemperate. A lot of different people have a lot of different strategies to achieve similar results.
Its a shame that some one that prides themselves in the hobby would sell you a sick fish. Fish get sick, things happen, and if a fish is sick in a store the store should man up and admit it and not sell it or take it out of display and treat it. If the is no quarantine space is available, should the owner pull the fish out and toss him just because it looks bad? If you are a true reefer, then you would prefer that the fish should not be moved and stressed even further. Most illness is stress related, so why not keep him there and medicate using focus and metronitazol, or some other safe treatment.

I completely agree man! Im not here to rip throats just state what has happened! I do agree with not moving the fish but when you ask is this fish ok and they say "Yeah, That fish is healthy" Yet you can see gashes and Ich.

Not all LFS are like this.

I can say that Nemos has been a Huge help to me. Simon has helped me and so has Aaron. I will continue to support them. Rit as well.

 

[ripped tide]

I have seen the bad ones as well, so I see where you are coming from. I worked for this guy in Southeast Georgia that would sell dog poop to a dog. It was pretty bad. He taught me a ton about maintenance, but our moral values clashed frequently. If there was a fish that looked bad... flushed. Sometimes there isn't anything that can be done, but he didn't have a QT to try to save it. Instead of making his display look bad, he would just remove it.

 

[KrisDeitz]

Ripped Tide;674187 wrote: I have seen the bad ones as well, so I see where you are coming from. I worked for this guy in Southeast Georgia that would sell dog poop to a dog. It was pretty bad. He taught me a ton about maintenance, but our moral values clashed frequently. If there was a fish that looked bad... flushed. Sometimes there isn't anything that can be done, but he didn't have a QT to try to save it. Instead of making his display look bad, he would just remove it.

Yeah and thats the crappy part. I love all animals ( Cept cats I hate them..lol ) but id never go out of my way to hurt a animal or make death come to it .

 

[oil_fan]

I guess I'm about 50/50 or so. All of my food comes from LFS. Most of my dry goods comes from online. Some of it is local just because of convenience.

Most of my livestock is LFS. I do prefer to be able to see the fish before buying. You just have a better idea as to what you are getting.

And I do say most as there have been fish that I've wanted that I've never been able to source locally. Bellus angelfish is an example. I tried to get one from an LFS but nothing close to me was able to get me one. LiveAquaria had one so I bought her. Too bad a year later she went carpet surfing. That was a bit pricey...

And recently a blue star leopard wrasse. Who after 4 weeks of hiding has been coming out more and more.. :thumbs:

 

[ripped tide]

It was his store, not much I could do. I think we have officially jacked this thread.

 

[miami dolfan]

An LFS store sponsored here that I used to stop at on the way back from work once had a purple tang sale. I called and they said there was one left. I had been there before so I trusted the person with the health of the fish and I had also purchased 3 other items at the same time and didn't feel the need to look closely(my fault for trusting)at the purple tang the person was bagging. When I got home, the tang had lateral line disease. I never went back.

 

[ruadh]

I do most of my shopping online because my LFS is a dump. Constantly fish floating dead, and no guarantee on saltwater fish. Their corals are overpriced and being the smart aleck I am, I had to ask if they charged more because you get a free aiptasia with purchase. Wish star aquatics was still around....

 

[inzzane]

Equipment = 90% ARC members + 10% Online
Food = 100% LFS
Coral = 90% LFS + 10% ARC
Fish = 100% LFS

For me, I have rarely found anything at an online vendor that I couldn't find at my LFS or on ARC for around the same price. The online shipping prices usually increase the cost too much to make my small purchases affordable, (with the exception of Spikes). I've seen and heard too many "not as described/pictured" stories about other online vendors and also dont like the idea of not seeing the actual live item I'm buying, trusting their pictures to not be altered, or the best looking frag of the item from 5 years ago. So with the exception of Spikes, I tend to avoid any online vendors.
As far as LFS, I support them almost fully. I have repeatedly been offered refunds and returns on live product that died (often when I didnt even ask). Sometimes in cases where I know there was no way the LFS cold have known about an illness, etc... From what I've heard, this would rarely if ever happen with an online vendor. I definitely appreciate this alone, especially with a "No Returns/Refunds" sign at the counter. But they also know that I support them and am not the type to complain about something and that probably makes a big difference.
Also, I could walk into either of my LFS's and without prompting and I'd bet they could describe over 80% of all the live items in my tanks (and describe what is in each tank) as well as the set-ups. I have often been browsing new items and been told "Although the books say that this ???? would be fine, it might not get along with your ???? in the tank.... but it might work in the other"

So, No. I dont think the LFS will ever go extinct, especially the good ones that dont treat their customers poorly. Those ones will definitely have a hard time.
Shooting the ****, seeing new items, bouncing ideas and best options for this or that. You can't get that with an online vendor as well as you can with a LFS.

And of course we're all overlooking the #1 reasons the LFS won't go extinct....
It's a lot easier to sneak another bag into the tank... then to have UPS drop off a box when your spouse is home!

 

[wally]

Inzzane;674239 wrote:
And of course we're all overlooking the #1 reasons the LFS won't go extinct....
It's a lot easier to sneak another bag into the tank... then to have UPS drop off a box when your spouse is home!

Amen to that. I just did this yesterday with a couple new pieces of LR.

 

[izoid]

I have changed the way I do business with my latest tank build. I used to buy everything online but that was when I lived in Phoenix and we did not have any good local businesses. I have bought 100% of my new tank from my LFS here in Atlanta. I find that the prices are a little higher but not so much so that it outweighs the experiences I have in the store. I do not mind paying a little more in order to support a business that I enjoy so much. If we want these stores to be available to us when we need them, we need to support them.

 

[redstang]

izoid;674257 wrote: I have changed the way I do business with my latest tank build. I used to buy everything online but that was when I lived in Phoenix and we did not have any good local businesses. I have bought 100% of my new tank from my LFS here in Atlanta. I find that the prices are a little higher but not so much so that it outweighs the experiences I have in the store. I do not mind paying a little more in order to support a business that I enjoy so much. If we want these stores to be available to us when we need them, we need to support them.

Pretty much how I feel. I'll buy stuff used when I can but made a couple mistakes buying stuff online that a LFS probably would have prevented.