Can we address something? (Eating at LFS)

[mort]

When I ran a store I wouldn't sell anything until it was eating strongly. It might mean I had fish for a few weeks but everything stayed with me for a minimum observation qt anyway (apart from special orders where we'd arranged for the fish to be taken in the wholesale bag with no guarantee for a discount).
It seems crazy to sell them right away and the shops that do around me now all have terrible reputations.

At the weekend I had some defrosted food in the fridge for if people wanted to see things feeding. It's not hard to drop a few mysis in a tank and we deliberately didn't feed in the morning so they were hungry, we'd then do a proper feeding at night when we'd closed to make sure they were fed but they normally got fed properly throughout the day.

If I see something I want now that is new in I just reserve it, pay a deposit and pick it up later. If it dies before I get it then it would have likely died in my qt anyway.

 

[Fin]

I quit going to our one and only store, because they would sell the fish before it ever got out of the bag from the shipper. It was a feeding frenzy when shipments came in. Everyone knew when shipments were coming in and would congregate at the store and as soon as the boxes were opened, people started going through what was there and set aside what they wanted. Hated getting involved in that melee just to get fish. Probably only a third (if that much) made it into tanks for sale.

On the other hand, there is a shop (several hours from me) that QTs all fish and they are not put out for sale until they have passed through a QT process and eating.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Online guarantees are not just arrive alive. Liveaquaria offers 14 and 30 day guarantees as well as many other online retailers.

 

[CJS80]

I'm not sure about other LFS, but most I've been to you can order any fish you want ( that's available from whole seller). The one near me won't even charge you until you see it and decide to buy it. Now I'm not sure they would do this on a specialty $1000+ one, but most they can easily sell to someone else if you decide to not take.

 

[VJM 21]

I'm not sure about other LFS, but most I've been to you can order any fish you want ( that's available from whole seller). The one near me won't even charge you until you see it and decide to buy it. Now I'm not sure they would do this on a specialty $1000+ one, but most they can easily sell to someone else if you decide to not take.

Which store?

 

[Jesterrace]

Online guarantees are not just arrive alive. Liveaquaria offers 14 and 30 day guarantees as well as many other online retailers.

You are correct on the 14 day (didn't see that one before), the 30 day only applies to captive bred corals through.

 

[CJS80]

Which store?

Not suppose to say names of stores that don't support site, but I will say that it is in Monroeville, PA.

 

[DSC reef]

Not suppose to say names of stores that don't support site, but I will say that it is in Monroeville, PA.

You can name the fish store you bought a fish from.

 

[CJS80]

You can name the fish store you bought a fish from.

Okay and thank you. I wasn't clear on that, I remember reading one of the rules before saying something to the effect of not plugging a non supporting store. Any way the store's name is Elmer's Aquarium.

 

[MnFish1]

I think the OP was referring to the advice many people give, which is to insist the LFS feed the fish in front of you to watch for a good feeding response, compared to teh reality that in some areas, "quality, sought out fish" go very quickly...

I would not shop at an LFS where I got pushback on asking them to throw a little food in the water to watch the feeding response!

A good feeding response doesnt ensure that the fish isn't sick. Witness all of the pictures of the fish with obvious ich where the poster says - he is still eating. It is meaningless (IMO)

 

[John Hughes]

Had a lfs, keyword "HAD" , whose owner walked up to me and said " You've been here for over an hour... hurry up and buy something before they die on me!" That was my first and last time in that store, the store closed the months later.

 

[VJM 21]

Okay and thank you. I wasn't clear on that, I remember reading one of the rules before saying something to the effect of not plugging a non supporting store. Any way the store's name is Elmer's Aquarium.

Thanks. I’m on the other side of the state in York, but my son’s travel baseball team takes us all over the place. If we play in Pittsburgh, I’ll try to make a stop there before heading home.

 

[VJM 21]

A good feeding response doesnt ensure that the fish isn't sick. Witness all of the pictures of the fish with obvious ich where the poster says - he is still eating. It is meaningless (IMO)

I agree, but a fish that won’t eat is a problem unto itself. IME, that’s more difficult to overcome than ich, for instance.

 

[MnFish1]

I agree, but a fish that won’t eat is a problem unto itself. IME, that’s more difficult to overcome than ich, for instance.

Yes - I thought about what I wrote again. It may NOT be a good sign if the fish is not eating - but it may be that it just 'came in' a short while before, it may have been fed just before. I have never asked the LFS to show if a fish is 'eating' - but I do ask them how long they have had it, whether there is copper in the water (if no inverts are present) and whether it is eating their food. I usually ask them to hold the fish if it hasn't been there a while - and they have never said 'no'.

Though I can see that some LFS employees could 'lie' about these things - I have never had a problem at the LFS here. At one store in the area - there are lets say 30x50 gallon saltwater tanks in a large room. There are perhaps 10 or so fish of various types in each tank. On the weekends, the place is packed with people. If person 1 wanted to see fish 1 in tank 1 eat it means that all the other fish in tank 1 are also going to get to eat. 5 minutes later person 2 wants to see if fish 2 in tank 1 can eat, etc etc etc. Its just not practical to do it at that store.

I guess my opinion is eating is ONE factor, general activity, appearance, the condition of the rest of the fish in the tank/store are all more important. But thats JMO.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm not sure about other LFS, but most I've been to you can order any fish you want ( that's available from whole seller). The one near me won't even charge you until you see it and decide to buy it. Now I'm not sure they would do this on a specialty $1000+ one, but most they can easily sell to someone else if you decide to not take.

Same here - if its an expensive fish they require a deposit.