What makes a good LFS? What are you looking for in your local store?

[leedsrhinojohn]

My lfs are fantastic, its a family business with very helpful and knowledgeable staff, he always price matches online dry goods where he can, if he cant then I don't mind paying that little bit extra, he always goes that extra mile to help people rather than just try to get a sale, ive seen him refuse to sell fish if he thinks its not right for the customers set up, if he hasn't got an item in stock he will always order it for you, any fish ive ever wanted he has always managed to get.
I have become good friends with him as on a personal level he shares my passion for Discus.
All round great lfs and owner

 

[Derek siskey]

I live in Alabama in between Birmingham and Atlanta, our closest fish store is in Birmingham and they have a limited stock of marine life and they are double on their prices since they are the only store in the area. Yes it’s a longer drive to north Atlanta but when you can get 2 fish for the price of 1 in Birmingham and they have a larger selection of corals also and they start at a 1/3 of the price. Wish there was a suggested retail in the market instead of local fiah stores knowing they can charge more because they are the only store around!

 

[Dana Riddle]

Convenience: There are many excellent shops in Atlanta, but there is a good coral shop 20 minutes away. Driving to cross-town stores in Atlanta traffic could burn up 6 hours.
Informed, passionate staff: I ask a lot of questions, and answers have to be legit. I learn something every time I go to my favorite shop. Things have changed so much in the hobby while I was in Hawaii for 20 years (where reef tanks without a permit are illegal) so in many respects, I'm a newbie.
Coral selection/price: I'm retired, so price is important. And knock-my-socks-off frags for $10 to $40 is great!
Periodic in-store specials.
This store has two display tanks - among the best I've ever seen, and I've seen a couple.
This store doesn't have much in the way of hardware, but then I've got just about everything to set up two or three more tanks.

 

[sharpimage]

Pricing on items. I won't buy it if I have to ask.
Clean tanks, if they are dirty, I pass as well.

I don't expect the stores to know anything and always take their recommendations with a grain of salt. Each store has really good and smart people, but they all have idiots, running rampant.

 

[Bleigh]

Tanks and livestock look amazing. They have several LARGE (1000+ tanks) of their own personal fish on display - one is a predator tank with sharks! This shows me they understand what it takes to keep fish healthy and keep a tank pristine. They’ll tell me to try other ideas. Some of which are cheaper than what I initially planned on doing. They also won’t sale any fish they get in until they see them eating and if they seem sick, they qt and treat themselves. They’ll allow customer to bring in sick fish or corals an nurse them back to health for customers. They really seem more like a fish vet at times than a pet store. They also have a ridiculously large space in which to do all this. I believe the building use to be a furniture warehouse. I think the large space is part of what allows them to be so good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to take the precautions they do because of the space limitations.

 

[LadyMac]

Mine is a hit or miss, depending.

I don’t have a way to travel much so the local one is in town. I live in a pretty small town, too. So the local one is not just a fish dedicated store, it’s also a local feed store.
The tanks are usually clean, however the employees don’t know much about the fish species. There is one guy there who does know his stuff but he’s not always there. The owner focuses more on their other store a few towns over though so it’s kinda sad we miss out on things.
The prices are way high.
There’s one tank dedicated to marine, or there was a couple months ago. There used to be two, but they downsized. Which broke my heart.

Now, when I can get to the city of Greenville, we have Oceans Floor out there. It’s amazing! Beautiful displays, clean tanks and caring staff.
Last time I was there they had a goby whom I was interested in. They very easily could have made a sale. Instead I was informed he jumped sometime during the night so he was on watch. They couldn’t rightfully sell him to me knowing he may not make it. That’s the kind of honesty I appreciate and I so wish I were closer and not frightened of driving. We have far too few local businesses, and I prefer to support them as much as I can.

 

[EMeyer]

Prices need to be competitive with online. Not necessarily as good as online, but at least competitive.

Prices need to be clearly marked. Hidden prices mean I have no confidence I'm being charged the same thing as the next guy who buys it.

I can overlook some bubble algae or aiptasia. But if there are diseased or dead fish visible in the tanks, no way I'm buying livestock.

Finally, as someone who buys 99% of my livestock online, what would it take to change this and buy livestock from LFS? A reasonable DOA policy. Every online retailer -- and even most hobbyist sellers -- are willing to guarantee their animals will at least get to my tank alive, and typically guarantee their survival for some period after that (24 hr to 14 d). Buying at the LFS on the other hand, the buyer assumes all the risk. Never made sense to me.

 

[flsalty]

I'm fortunate to have a few to choose from. What I really like is a variety of healthy specimens in clean tanks. I like to feel as though I'm in a public aquarium instead of a grungy fish store. And I like when things are clearly labeled with species and price. I don't like when a store calls everything "ultra" so they can can up the price. Also, it's not rare if you have twenty of them and everybody else does too.

In this age of the internet I don't need the staff to be experts. But if the tanks are nice and clean I feel the staff is into it. I'd rather have them tell me they don't know something than feed me some bs.

 

[Sump Crab]

In Jacksonville, FL there are two that I frequent quite a bit. If I could morph the good qualities of each into one super store I would. One has a much larger selection of coral and fish while the other, in my opinion, offers MUCH better customer service.

 

[MnFish1]

The LFS I go to has:

1. Clean tanks
2. Healthy fish and coral
3. A wide selection
4. Friendly and knowledgeable staff
5. A maintenance service (if I need help with moving, etc- or a problem occurs when I'm on vacation that the house sitter cant solve)
6. Quarantined fish
7. The ability to custom order
8. They know my name

 

[ChiSox Rabbitfish]

My LFS is literally a small mom and pop shop owned and ran by a couple.
Plenty of live stock kept in very clean and stable water. Prices I would say are in the middle not to high not to low. The knowledge the owner has is what’s great you can ask him anything he’s got the answers. I like he’s not just trying to make money if there is something you want tell him what you got at home and he’ll tell you if it’s a good idea or not. If a fish is too big or aggressive for your tank or if your lights are too weak for certain corals they are pretty honest in that shop.

 

[Litlover89]

6. Quarantined fish
7. The ability to custom order

This is key for me. I don't need my LFS to have an endless selection of fish. I know that I can custom order what I want, and it will go right into their quarantine system if I cant pick it up right away. I know lots of people order fish online, but with this service from my LFS, I can't imagine paying the shipping costs.

 

[DarthSimon]

Oh Yes!!! Have TSM Corals and #AquariumCareCenter in the area!!!

 

[Mawe]

In my area on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi we have the best local fish store in the state ... Just Fish is amazing.. unlike the name it carries everything you need for saltwater tanks ... reef tanks... freshwater tanks ...etc... the value of our store is that the owners are a font of knowledge and always available to give advice and information and help ... 24/7 ... our fish store is family to all of us that go there... Gerwin Henn and Roger Henn are awesome... so glad I have them... If you are ever in Biloxi MS or nearby go check them out Just Fish 2306 Pass Rd Biloxi MS

 

[Lukas75]

Reef 2 Rift. They quarantine all fish prior to them going on out onto the floor and although they are a touch more expensive, they are nowhere near what you would think.

 

[05FLSTCI]

not may shops around here left, there use to several years so.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

What do you think makes a good LFS? What keeps you coming back? What would drive you away?

For me, I'm looking for at least these things:

• Clean tanks
• Good selection
• Knowledgeable staff

Things that will ensure me not going back are the lack of any of those things. So basically, I'll avoid stores with:

• Dirty tanks
• Limited or blah selection
• Staff that doesn't know their stuff

I recently moved so now it takes me about an hour to get to them. They have been in business since 1987 still in business and all they sell is corals, saltwater and freshwater fish. high end Reef equipment to
Pet World in San Bernardino
owners are Jon Jon, Tom, Juuls. nice bunch of geezers.

 

[mtdaly85]

I’m in southern Massachusetts. I’m lucky to have Ocean State Aquatics (“OSA Corals”) about 40 minutes away. Scott, Kris, Ali, and the rest of the crew are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Selection and prices can’t be beat and I just love going there. I’ve probably dropped over $4,000 there in the past year and I don’t regret a single purchase!

 

[joe berkman]

my favorate lfs in Massachusetts recently swapped the lighting on many of there tanks so you can visually compare echotech, kessil, orpheck ect. as much as i appreciate brs vidios. You just cant beat that visual comarison. Also it shows that they know helping customers make the right decision for the customer not profit margin is better for buisness in the long haul. Also they sell brs products. So i get to support two buisnesses that i respect and have tought me so much.

 

[Arthroverts]

All of the above, but what I really can't stand is when the owner/employee tries to come across as "all knowing", or convince you that their way is the absolute best way and you can't run a saltwater aquarium any other way, and then proceeds to try and sell you something.

Thanks,

Arthroverts