What do you look for in a LFS? Good, bad, and ugly...

[amygetsalife]

Haha! It's funny you ask! The one I won't do business with is the closest one to me by a long shot, and they are the same one that's been in the media lately. I have several stories about that place, and none of them are pleasant.

That's the one I decided I wouldn't go to.

As a specialty retailer myself, I want to make sure to spend my money with those that I talk to! So far 2 out of those I've gone have gotten me most of my equipment. Just not sure about livestock.

 

[amygetsalife]

I ask if the animals go through quarantine before going on sale. Only one of my lfs quarantines new fish and invert arrivals. I'm not talking about just, "deworming fdipping". I mean these guys run them on quarantine for 3 -4 weeks in 40+ separately plumbed hospital tanks before they get moved to large for sale systems.

They also quarantine their inverts, and scrub shells when possible.

The cost of quarantined animals is reflected in thier prices tho. They've been local for a number of years, but hope to go online next year.

That's awesome!

 

[Paul B]

I personally don't want my fish quarantined or medicated. Most places have to add copper or some other treatment to control parasites because all wild fish have parasites. It's just a fact of nature.

But that is only so you don't see the parasites when you buy the fish. Those parasites will be very visible when you remove them from that medication and put them in most tanks.

I actually like getting the fish right out of the shipping boxes before they go into the dealers tanks.

My family sold seafood and many fish have worms. It's just a fish thing. I never de wormed a fish and don't think I ever lost a fish from worms. Maybe the worms are afraid of my tank, I don't know.

I keep my tank immune from parasites so I also don't have to care if the tanks are plumbed together.
After looking at fish for over 60 years I can kind of tell how the fish "feels" and if he will live or has some sort of disease. Parasites are not a disease to me as I realize they are natural so I don't need or desire to eliminate them. Parasites are also animals so maybe parasites have parasites. Who knows?

They will just fall off the fish in my tank and get bored to death so it doesn't matter how tanks are plumbed to me. Even if the tanks have different water I am sure the guy catching the fish use the same net on all the tanks. He may wash the net while you are there, but I am guessing.

 

[shakacuz]

I have 3 types near me The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

I try to avoid those that try to sell everything, birds, snakes, turtles, fresh and saltwater...
These stores more often than not are just trying to turn a buck and usually the animals in their care suffer.
The second type are the big box stores that make money off of dry goods but sell fish as a side gig.
The third store are those stores that cater to fish goods and animals and know what they have, how to care for them and can express their knowledge to you about a number of hobby related issues.
The last tend to be the best but also the most expensive.

Choose wisely.

agreed!

whenever i go to my LFS i look at equipment (how their pumps/drains look), and sand/glass. this usually shows me a sign of how they are with maintenance. if equipment, sand, and glass look clean. next, corals. i look for any pests that i can see in the moment, as well as any algae on the frag (about 70% of the time i see nuisance algae on frags). lastly, livestock. i ask if they are quarantined.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I have a couple close to me that are decent. What I look for:

1. A decent display tank. If they an maintain a nice display tank with corals for more than a few weeks, they most likely understand what is the appropriate methods and have the possibility of applying this to their sales tanks.
2. They sell more than clown fish and invertebrates. If this is all they sell, then I would debate if they have the skill set to maintain a thriving ecosystem.
3. No dino outbreaks. I know these are hard to control perfectly..but if you are in there and they have dinos they are not paying close enough attention plus you will be importing dinos into your system.
4. No dead fish anywhere. I know this is obvious and you cant help dead and dying fish..but you can at least quarantine your sick fish in quarantine so that you are not sharing water. Plus, if you have dead fish in your tanks and your workers are just doing shelf stocking...I dont think they are paying enough attention to what matters.
5. Finally, a 'not for sale' rack of tanks. Be it quarantine, hospital, or just 'new arrivals', this to me is actually the most important thing. This tells me that the owner has a level of quality expectations that they pass on to their clients. Selling new fish that they just got in the other day means there is no accountability.

 

[ClownWrangler]

Dont give up on all Petcos just because one or two you went to were poorly managed. Search around. There are a few in my area that are hidden gems for saltwater stock. Also, you could just plan ahead and make a few large online order purchases per year during fair waether to save on shipping and reduce shipping stress. Also, doing QT yourself comes with the territory being in this hobby. Everyones luck runs out eventually if you leave it up to others.

 

[SHINYSuccubus]

New to the hobby and checking out my local or local-ish fish shops/pet stores/etc. I have not been impressed. Maybe I'm being too critical? Looking at beautiful pictures online, which are carefully chosen and the shots framed just so, maybe has set up unrealistic expectations?

I understand that algae can happen to anyone and it can take a while to get it under control, and for herbivore fish, they need some to be happy, but shouldn't it look like someone is trying to control it? Especially around frags?

Aptasia... Yeah...it's there because they sell Aptasia eating file fish.......OK. How many tanks should be prepped and "ready for file fish"? All of them? Only about half of them? None of them? Maybe 2 of them?

Maintenance of tanks and shop? I thought they'd be kept clean and presentable. Silly me. I am pretty sure that a discussion before one of the shops I visited was opened was, "get all your nasty fish tanks out of the basement or I'm leaving!" It had an amazing amount of diversity and big specimens, but there were more 'mature' display tanks than your typical sale tanks and the display tanks seems to be a frag on demand kind of thing. Is that good? Normal? Like picking produce straight from the farm? I read somewhere that you wanted to see some growth on the frag plugs before buying? The newest display tank was gorgeous, but the rest?! Skimmer cups overflowing, was trying to figure out what I was looking at in one tank to realize that the 3 inch oval shape was one of the return pump outlets coated in....well...some of it was coraline algae. Not sure what was growing out of it above the waterline....

I have yet to buy livestock online, but may I'll need to. I definitely feel good about the extra spending on quarantine tanks now, but I don't want to buy knowing that they need quarantined. I was less horrified by the tanks at Petco which were obviously in the midst of the ugly stage with dinos, slimes, etc. Though I saw less algae and aptasia there than in some of the shops. But I didn't expect much out of them and won't buy livestock there. I want to support local.

What do you look for in a good shop? What makes you walk out and say, NOPE? What do you overlook as a trade off for local and nearby? Maybe I'm just in a bad area for this.

Pictures would be awesome. Who has a small local shop (in the US) that does a great job AND they sell online with good outcomes?

hi amy!

i can’t answer all your questions , but i know a little about filefish. I had a wild caught matted filefish who was a champion aiptasia muncher, unfortunately , he was also a champion clam muncher. he was such a cool fish, and so lethal to the aiptasia that i decided i could do without a clam - unfortunately, he only lived four years. my next MFF was aquacultured, promptly leapt out of the tank on his third night. my 3rd MFF was also tank raised, but turned up its nose at aiptasia and decimated my zoa. i kept it anyway bc file fish are just so cool to watch - they look like living fossils. then it went after my palyzoanthid. i just gave in and sent it over to my LFS, where it sold the same day. i sure hope it went to a FOWLR tank!

re: LFS. i lucked out big time here, not only are they about a 15min drive, i’ve gotten amazing help from them and have become fast friends with the owner and his family. i’ve had my tank for 13yrs, and i would’ve given up in year two w/o the encouragement and advice from them. they’ve never sold me a sick fish or coral, their shop is clean and so are the tanks within. unfortunately , they do not ship online.

i hope this was slightly helpful and good luck with your tank and your LFS search!

btw, this forum is a great place to ask questions , you’re definitely in the right place!

 

[Nemo&Friends]

+1 for Nemo's reef in Charlotte. I live there and go in that store every 2 or 3 weeks. I bought all my fish there, never quarantine and never got a sick fish. I do not have corals, but I enjoy looking at them while they check my water, and they look beautiful.
there are another 3 or 4 shop in the city and its surburb, and they are OK, but not as good as Nemo's reef.
Yes, the store is very busy during the weekends, and I always try to go during the week days.

 

[DeniableArc]

I look for aptasia, bryopsis and overall health.

 

[7hogwarts]

I look to see how clean the tanks are. If I see a tank with Cyano , hair or blue/green algae I get skeptical because it indicates they don't know how to take care of what they are selling. Same thing for diseased creatures. I like to come into a shop that is clean. I worked in a shop 45 years ago. EVERY night after the store closed, we mopped the floors (That way the floors would be dry in the morning, and no one would potentially slip and fall). Cleaning the front of tanks is super easy. Have a dedicated bucket of RO water and a dedicated squeegee (like you find at a gas station). You could clean several hundred tank fronts in literally 30 minutes.
My other issue with lfs stores are live stock that isn't priced. It's just frustrating.

 

[Rmckoy]

New to the hobby and checking out my local or local-ish fish shops/pet stores/etc. I have not been impressed. Maybe I'm being too critical? Looking at beautiful pictures online, which are carefully chosen and the shots framed just so, maybe has set up unrealistic expectations?

I understand that algae can happen to anyone and it can take a while to get it under control, and for herbivore fish, they need some to be happy, but shouldn't it look like someone is trying to control it? Especially around frags?

Aptasia... Yeah...it's there because they sell Aptasia eating file fish.......OK. How many tanks should be prepped and "ready for file fish"? All of them? Only about half of them? None of them? Maybe 2 of them?

Maintenance of tanks and shop? I thought they'd be kept clean and presentable. Silly me. I am pretty sure that a discussion before one of the shops I visited was opened was, "get all your nasty fish tanks out of the basement or I'm leaving!" It had an amazing amount of diversity and big specimens, but there were more 'mature' display tanks than your typical sale tanks and the display tanks seems to be a frag on demand kind of thing. Is that good? Normal? Like picking produce straight from the farm? I read somewhere that you wanted to see some growth on the frag plugs before buying? The newest display tank was gorgeous, but the rest?! Skimmer cups overflowing, was trying to figure out what I was looking at in one tank to realize that the 3 inch oval shape was one of the return pump outlets coated in....well...some of it was coraline algae. Not sure what was growing out of it above the waterline....

I have yet to buy livestock online, but may I'll need to. I definitely feel good about the extra spending on quarantine tanks now, but I don't want to buy knowing that they need quarantined. I was less horrified by the tanks at Petco which were obviously in the midst of the ugly stage with dinos, slimes, etc. Though I saw less algae and aptasia there than in some of the shops. But I didn't expect much out of them and won't buy livestock there. I want to support local.

What do you look for in a good shop? What makes you walk out and say, NOPE? What do you overlook as a trade off for local and nearby? Maybe I'm just in a bad area for this.

Pictures would be awesome. Who has a small local shop (in the US) that does a great job AND they sell online with good outcomes?

Amazing post !
For me …. I like clean , cheap, and knowledgable staff .

someone that’s going to try blowing sand storms up your butt to make a sale ..I’m out .
Some algae is ok , aptasia ..nope I’m out .
I like seeing frag tanks with a few tangs swimming in them .
coralline in the frag rack and even the plugs is good. .but I don’t want to see clumps of lha

dead fish in sale tanks I walk out instantly .
I’d love to travel to different areas just to check out a few different lfs .
Open to suggestions of favourite stores.

 

[Adam_M]

For me to buy local I look for clean tanks without any pests in the tank. Around me there are no reef shops so to go to any brick and mortar store I have to travel. There is one in Charlotte, NC which is about a 10 hour round trip for me that I have absolutely fell in love with. Their tanks are always clean and I have never seen a pest in any of their tanks. Their corals and fish always look healthy and their prices are good. I've been to many lfs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas and it is by far my favorite. I've never been to any in Virginia but from reading online none sounded all that impressive.

Here is a link to the shop I prefer, they do ship corals but Ive never ordered online from them. Although the corals listed on their website only make up about 1/3 of their coral tanks.

Premier Aquarium Store in Charlotte, North Carolina Premier Aquarium Store in Charlotte, North Carolina Premier Aquarium Store in Charlotte, North Carolina

Top aquarium store in Charlotte, NC. Aquarium Maintenance, Aquarium Service, Aquarium Installations in Charlotte, NC. Live Coral for sale. Aquacultured SPS, LPS, Soft Coral.

nemosreef.us

Here is a picture I found on their Facebook page of one of their growout tanks. I can't say enough positive things about them. No other lfs I've been to compares. I'm willing to make the 10 hour trip to go to this store if that says anything about how well I like them.

What a coincidence, I just talked to the owner of Nemos about moving my 150g reef tank to Charlotte for me. Sounds like I'll be in good hands!

 

[Gtinnel]

What a coincidence, I just talked to the owner of Nemos about moving my 150g reef tank to Charlotte for me. Sounds like I'll be in good hands!

I love them as a store, but I have no experience with their install or maintenance services, but from the pictures they post on Facebook of their installs I think you're in good hands.

 

[Jesterrace]

Aiptasia or visible signs of parasites. Beyond that I want something that has sat in the LFS' tanks for a while and I have been able to observe for a few weeks (ie healthy, active). Why? Because I have had much higher odds of success when I do this.

 

[Doug6952]

Haha! It's funny you ask! The one I won't do business with is the closest one to me by a long shot, and they are the same one that's been in the media lately. I have several stories about that place, and none of them are pleasant.

And @G Santana really hit the nail on the head for me, we go to the LFS for their knowledge of their product and the hobby at large. I enjoy going to the LFS just to talk about the hobby with the owner and other local hobbyists.

After looking to see where you're located, I know what store you're talking about. I only go in there if I really need something. They weren't too bad when they first opened. Got really bad after they moved.

I haven't been too impressed with any of my LFS's. When I lived in NJ there were quite a few good stores. In VA meh. I look for healthy livestock, variety.

 

[muzikalmatt]

After looking to see where you're located, I know what store you're talking about. I only go in there if I really need something. They weren't too bad when they first opened. Got really bad after they moved.

I haven't been too impressed with any of my LFS's. When I lived in NJ there were quite a few good stores. In VA meh. I look for healthy livestock, variety.

Have you been to Pet & Aquatic Warehouse in Lynchburg? I've been meaning to check it out but haven't yet and am wondering others' opinions of the place.

 

[USArmyReefer]

New to the hobby and checking out my local or local-ish fish shops/pet stores/etc. I have not been impressed. Maybe I'm being too critical? Looking at beautiful pictures online, which are carefully chosen and the shots framed just so, maybe has set up unrealistic expectations?

I understand that algae can happen to anyone and it can take a while to get it under control, and for herbivore fish, they need some to be happy, but shouldn't it look like someone is trying to control it? Especially around frags?

Aptasia... Yeah...it's there because they sell Aptasia eating file fish.......OK. How many tanks should be prepped and "ready for file fish"? All of them? Only about half of them? None of them? Maybe 2 of them?

Maintenance of tanks and shop? I thought they'd be kept clean and presentable. Silly me. I am pretty sure that a discussion before one of the shops I visited was opened was, "get all your nasty fish tanks out of the basement or I'm leaving!" It had an amazing amount of diversity and big specimens, but there were more 'mature' display tanks than your typical sale tanks and the display tanks seems to be a frag on demand kind of thing. Is that good? Normal? Like picking produce straight from the farm? I read somewhere that you wanted to see some growth on the frag plugs before buying? The newest display tank was gorgeous, but the rest?! Skimmer cups overflowing, was trying to figure out what I was looking at in one tank to realize that the 3 inch oval shape was one of the return pump outlets coated in....well...some of it was coraline algae. Not sure what was growing out of it above the waterline....

I have yet to buy livestock online, but may I'll need to. I definitely feel good about the extra spending on quarantine tanks now, but I don't want to buy knowing that they need quarantined. I was less horrified by the tanks at Petco which were obviously in the midst of the ugly stage with dinos, slimes, etc. Though I saw less algae and aptasia there than in some of the shops. But I didn't expect much out of them and won't buy livestock there. I want to support local.

What do you look for in a good shop? What makes you walk out and say, NOPE? What do you overlook as a trade off for local and nearby? Maybe I'm just in a bad area for this.

Pictures would be awesome. Who has a small local shop (in the US) that does a great job AND they sell online with good outcomes?

So I have a weird thing with LFS and buying live stock. It seems that the places I have been to in California and now Kansas. The cleaner and prettier the display tanks look, the lower the standards of their livestock. Here in Kansas we have 2 LFS that are SW specific. Their tanks look pristine AF, but everyone I have talked to in this area has had terrible experiences with the lifespan of the fish they get from them. Meanwhile there is a Petco not far from us that the 2 people who run the fish section are a part of our local FB SW group and the tanks look like what you expect at Petco but our group swears up and down by the success of the fish from there. Everything I have gotten from that Petco has been amazing so I can attest that their fish are healthier. Back in California I would run into similar issues with shops with super pristine looking tanks, the fish all seemed to have issues(infections, sores, ex..) where as the shops that look like some back alley stuff would have amazingly healthy fish.

 

[Doug6952]

Have you been to Pet & Aquatic Warehouse in Lynchburg? I've been meaning to check it out but haven't yet and am wondering others' opinions of the place.

Yup. Best place around. I just hate that it's a 100 mile round trip. They had started to post on Facebook what new livestock they got in after I had suggested it, but they seem to have stopped.
I might make a trip down there on Sunday for some Freshwater fish. Going to contact them to see if they have what I want in stock before making the trip.

 

[amygetsalife]

Yup. Best place around. I just hate that it's a 100 mile round trip. They had started to post on Facebook what new livestock they got in after I had suggested it, but they seem to have stopped.
I might make a trip down there on Sunday for some Freshwater fish. Going to contact them to see if they have what I want in stock before making the trip.

Have you been to Pet & Aquatic Warehouse in Lynchburg? I've been meaning to check it out but haven't yet and am wondering others' opinions of the place.

I think we got interested in reefing when PAWS must have had some staffing issues. We actually own the shop right next door and hubs has done some work on their generators, pressure washer etc. for them. He fixes sewing machines for our business but he's a very handy guy! So it was sad to see so much algae and aptasia in the tanks.

We bought our display tank there and other equipment, but I told one of the assistant managers that I was concerned about the state of their tanks if I was going to get livestock there.

I've noticed in the last two weeks or so that the tanks have been getting much better.

They have a huge fresh water section! Store itself is pretty clean. The two clown fish I have in my QT came from there and they are doing well.

Coral selection is probably better in Roanoke.

We're closed on Sundays but if you visit PAWS any other time, pop in to Sew Simple and we can chat.

hi amy!

i can’t answer all your questions , but i know a little about filefish. I had a wild caught matted filefish who was a champion aiptasia muncher, unfortunately , he was also a champion clam muncher. he was such a cool fish, and so lethal to the aiptasia that i decided i could do without a clam - unfortunately, he only lived four years. my next MFF was aquacultured, promptly leapt out of the tank on his third night. my 3rd MFF was also tank raised, but turned up its nose at aiptasia and decimated my zoa. i kept it anyway bc file fish are just so cool to watch - they look like living fossils. then it went after my palyzoanthid. i just gave in and sent it over to my LFS, where it sold the same day. i sure hope it went to a FOWLR tank!

re: LFS. i lucked out big time here, not only are they about a 15min drive, i’ve gotten amazing help from them and have become fast friends with the owner and his family. i’ve had my tank for 13yrs, and i would’ve given up in year two w/o the encouragement and advice from them. they’ve never sold me a sick fish or coral, their shop is clean and so are the tanks within. unfortunately , they do not ship online.

i hope this was slightly helpful and good luck with your tank and your LFS search!

btw, this forum is a great place to ask questions , you’re definitely in the right place!

thank you!

 

[frizzayyyyreef]

New to the hobby and checking out my local or local-ish fish shops/pet stores/etc. I have not been impressed. Maybe I'm being too critical? Looking at beautiful pictures online, which are carefully chosen and the shots framed just so, maybe has set up unrealistic expectations?

I understand that algae can happen to anyone and it can take a while to get it under control, and for herbivore fish, they need some to be happy, but shouldn't it look like someone is trying to control it? Especially around frags?

Aptasia... Yeah...it's there because they sell Aptasia eating file fish.......OK. How many tanks should be prepped and "ready for file fish"? All of them? Only about half of them? None of them? Maybe 2 of them?

Maintenance of tanks and shop? I thought they'd be kept clean and presentable. Silly me. I am pretty sure that a discussion before one of the shops I visited was opened was, "get all your nasty fish tanks out of the basement or I'm leaving!" It had an amazing amount of diversity and big specimens, but there were more 'mature' display tanks than your typical sale tanks and the display tanks seems to be a frag on demand kind of thing. Is that good? Normal? Like picking produce straight from the farm? I read somewhere that you wanted to see some growth on the frag plugs before buying? The newest display tank was gorgeous, but the rest?! Skimmer cups overflowing, was trying to figure out what I was looking at in one tank to realize that the 3 inch oval shape was one of the return pump outlets coated in....well...some of it was coraline algae. Not sure what was growing out of it above the waterline....

I have yet to buy livestock online, but may I'll need to. I definitely feel good about the extra spending on quarantine tanks now, but I don't want to buy knowing that they need quarantined. I was less horrified by the tanks at Petco which were obviously in the midst of the ugly stage with dinos, slimes, etc. Though I saw less algae and aptasia there than in some of the shops. But I didn't expect much out of them and won't buy livestock there. I want to support local.

What do you look for in a good shop? What makes you walk out and say, NOPE? What do you overlook as a trade off for local and nearby? Maybe I'm just in a bad area for this.

Pictures would be awesome. Who has a small local shop (in the US) that does a great job AND they sell online with good outcomes?

Most lfs suck especially in Long Island a lot try to rip you off the corals look horrible and 2 places if you buy fish from them they’re guaranteed to come with ich or your money back !