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How to choose a LFS (Local Fish Store)
image via AquaNerd
There are a number of things to consider when deciding which LFS deserves your hard earned money. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in a large city which supports multiple LFS’s have the luxury of choosing where you want spend your money. This article is directed at those individuals and will assist you in picking a LFS which will provide you the healthiest animals, best service and most accurate information possible, and hopefully for a reasonable price.
The 3 most common types of LFS:
Retail Chain Pet Store
This is a business or franchise which have a common brand and top management. It’s possible that the employees may have little to no experience or knowledge of saltwater aquariums or their complicated requirements. Commonly their livestock selection leaves much to be desired, and could be limited to some of the more basic, common saltwater species, which are guaranteed to move.
Privately Owned Pet Store
A business which has saltwater livestock, along with many other species (freshwater fish, reptiles, birds, small animals, cats/dogs). As you can imagine, this is a broad range of species to try and care for, and may not have a large staff. This may inadvertently lead to overlooking certain aspects of saltwater aquariums, either because they are simply too busy, or they don’t have experience with the saltwater hobby outside of selling.
Saltwater Hobby Specialty Stores
Usually a privately owned establishment which focuses on saltwater aquariums specifically. Most often they will have the largest variety of fish and coral, depending on the size of the establishment they may not have a lot in stock but they will often be able to order it for you. This is also the place where you’re most likely to receive knowledgeable information, it is not unusual to be interacting with the store owner directly, who is usually someone who has many years of experience and has developed good techniques for proper animal husbandry. They should be able to provide good information about compatibility, or any specific care a certain species man require.
No matter where you decide to shop it’s in your best interest that the animal you’re about to buy is a healthy specimen, and the tank the specimen came out of was free of any unwanted hitchhikers. Take a minute to REALLY inspect their tanks, and look closely for anything you wouldn’t want to find in your own tank… I’m sure we’ve all heard at least one hitchhiker horror story. It’s also a good idea to ask if you can see the fish eat. It can be a great way to gauge the health of their livestock, as well as the reaction of the employee you just asked. If your request is denied, or you’re given a poor excuse, that could be an indicator to go elsewhere. Another great way to find out which LFS's are good or bad is through other hobbyists. When people have bad experiences, they'll often warn others about this, or just plain vent online. Google can be your friend to find these 'reviews', but these posts should obviously be read with a grain of salt, as you're only reading one side of the story. When it comes down to it, all of these establishments are in business to make money. However if you do a little searching you’ll find that there are those who are willing to go above and beyond, who aren’t just interested in your money and genuinely want to help you succeed in the hobby.
image via AquaNerd
There are a number of things to consider when deciding which LFS deserves your hard earned money. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in a large city which supports multiple LFS’s have the luxury of choosing where you want spend your money. This article is directed at those individuals and will assist you in picking a LFS which will provide you the healthiest animals, best service and most accurate information possible, and hopefully for a reasonable price.
The 3 most common types of LFS:
Retail Chain Pet Store
This is a business or franchise which have a common brand and top management. It’s possible that the employees may have little to no experience or knowledge of saltwater aquariums or their complicated requirements. Commonly their livestock selection leaves much to be desired, and could be limited to some of the more basic, common saltwater species, which are guaranteed to move.
A business which has saltwater livestock, along with many other species (freshwater fish, reptiles, birds, small animals, cats/dogs). As you can imagine, this is a broad range of species to try and care for, and may not have a large staff. This may inadvertently lead to overlooking certain aspects of saltwater aquariums, either because they are simply too busy, or they don’t have experience with the saltwater hobby outside of selling.
Usually a privately owned establishment which focuses on saltwater aquariums specifically. Most often they will have the largest variety of fish and coral, depending on the size of the establishment they may not have a lot in stock but they will often be able to order it for you. This is also the place where you’re most likely to receive knowledgeable information, it is not unusual to be interacting with the store owner directly, who is usually someone who has many years of experience and has developed good techniques for proper animal husbandry. They should be able to provide good information about compatibility, or any specific care a certain species man require.
No matter where you decide to shop it’s in your best interest that the animal you’re about to buy is a healthy specimen, and the tank the specimen came out of was free of any unwanted hitchhikers. Take a minute to REALLY inspect their tanks, and look closely for anything you wouldn’t want to find in your own tank… I’m sure we’ve all heard at least one hitchhiker horror story. It’s also a good idea to ask if you can see the fish eat. It can be a great way to gauge the health of their livestock, as well as the reaction of the employee you just asked. If your request is denied, or you’re given a poor excuse, that could be an indicator to go elsewhere. Another great way to find out which LFS's are good or bad is through other hobbyists. When people have bad experiences, they'll often warn others about this, or just plain vent online. Google can be your friend to find these 'reviews', but these posts should obviously be read with a grain of salt, as you're only reading one side of the story. When it comes down to it, all of these establishments are in business to make money. However if you do a little searching you’ll find that there are those who are willing to go above and beyond, who aren’t just interested in your money and genuinely want to help you succeed in the hobby.
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