I've worked at an LFS, ask me anything about them

[keithw283]

Does your store label prices on livestock? a local place to me hardly does and its frustrating because for one person a $10 fish is like $30 for me. I would love to go there more often, but the variability makes me stay away

a store near me does that with corals and it ticks me off. I don't go there anymore for that reason.

 

[mdb_talon]

i disagree that customers will run to a cheaper lfs and get unconditioned fish. The store I am refering too is actually very small. Most lfs depend on dry good to make a profit. This store has no dry goods and only have aquariums. The store is no more than 1500 sq ft. They have two systems, one is medicated and one isn't. As a matter a fact, they don't even sell coral or inverts. Just fish. The non fish item they sell is RO water and frozen/live food. Of course this store corners the market is this very small niche, but they are doing reasonably well and have great reputation locally.

I prepaid a red sea regal from them. They are currently conditioning the fish making sure its fed and diseases free. As far as I know, i was told they are willing to hold the fish for me until I am comfortable taking the fish home. They held my friends achilles for 3 months before he decided to pick it up.

What you describe does not sound like a full QT. One medicated system and one nonmedicated system. So if they are doing a full QT they only order fish once a month at the most and i assume all go into the medicated system for over a month (possibly much longer if any are sick and realistically some will be)

What do they do with tradeins? They ruin their QT if they put them in the medicated syatem and i assume they dont put them in their already qt'ed system?

This sounds more like what most LFS i am familiar with do which is get an order of fish and hold/observe for a few days(some proactively medicate others dont). Then in a few days or so out to the displays they go.

 

[mdb_talon]

a store near me does that with corals and it ticks me off. I don't go there anymore for that reason.

Ya the store in my area with the best selection of coral does not have prices on the vast majority of their stuff. Even worse if the owner is not there they text him a picture to figure out how much he wants for it...then he texts back.

I still like to go their to look, but it is rarely worth the hassle of actually purchasing anything.

 

[afrokobe]

Ya the store in my area with the best selection of coral does not have prices on the vast majority of their stuff. Even worse if the owner is not there they text him a picture to figure out how much he wants for it...then he texts back.

I still like to go their to look, but it is rarely worth the hassle of actually purchasing anything.

agreed, I hate having to keep asking for prices. At aquashella it was the worst. I also really don't like when people post something for sale online and wont post a price. Only asking people to pm them... its fine to not know a price, if you state that in your post, but I dont like fishing for offers

 

[Sleepingtiger]

What you describe does not sound like a full QT. One medicated system and one nonmedicated system. So if they are doing a full QT they only order fish once a month at the most and i assume all go into the medicated system for over a month (possibly much longer if any are sick and realistically some will be)

What do they do with tradeins? They ruin their QT if they put them in the medicated syatem and i assume they dont put them in their already qt'ed system?

This sounds more like what most LFS i am familiar with do which is get an order of fish and hold/observe for a few days(some proactively medicate others dont). Then in a few days or so out to the displays they go.

They have copper at theraputic level. I think they hold the fish for 2 weeks. They also do some other form of treatment like paprizo and some bath.

Not sure what they do with the trade ins. Probably into their medicated system

they quarantine all their fish. I know they hold all fish for 2 weeks before they release the fish.

I just got off the phone with them. The red sea regal has stopped eating and is only nibbling. They said the fish isn't available for pick up this weekend and check back next week. They had the fish now for 1.5 weeks. I was told if the fish perishes, i would just get my money back or credit toward a new fish.

side note, they only carry more of the rare fish and not the typical damsels like a petco. Like i said, they have cornered a very small niche of the fish market. They got in a tiger angel and some cb regals.

 

[Grumblez]

Mine was selling me tap water passed off as rodi water for over a $1 a gallon. Was having major issues with my tank and couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I bought a TDS meter and checked their rodi water and it was over 400 TDS. Bought my own rodi system and have been great ever since.

Does your local tap water have over 400 TDS? Some places share a hose for RODI and Salt I know that will cause a small amount of salt and calcium etc to get into the RODI but shouldn't be 400 I reckon lol.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

I honestly don't blame the store for pushing a dead fish. They are in it to make money and as a business owner, its hard to see $90 thrown away. I seen stores that sell fish guaranteed to be disease free and eating. However the price is 20-30% higher than other LFS to make up for fish that they loose.

If I was a LFS owner, I would find a more reputable source for fish. Also, I would stay away from sensitive fish like butterflies. Have those fish available as a special order only.

Whenever I buy a sensitive fish, I pay for it but tell the store that I can't take it home today, I have things to do before I get home.

If they aren't willing to put the fish on hold (like taping a basic copy of the receipt or writing "XXXX fish - Sold") for a few days or up to a week and take responsibility for the fish until its picked up, I won't buy anything from them.

Even petco has a refund policy. Honestly, I encourage people to shop at petco and QT the fish. If it's diseased and dies, it doesn't impact your tank and it you have 14 days to get a refund.

The store I worked at got all of its livestock direct from overseas. Our doa rate was depressing. They wouldn't let me set up a hospital tank, even for the carpet anemones that almost always showed up sick.

They even ordered cuttlefish eggs and just let them roll around the bottom of the frag tanks hoping someone would buy them before they spoiled.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

Were it just about price then Petco would run all LFS out of business. Those having losses will either leave the hobby or wise up and seek better alternatives. Granted not all fish bought at Petco will die and those knowing how to QT and medicate fish may seek those lower prices but not all have the allocated space at home for proper QT nor the patience.

Petco is higher priced than most of the LFS in my area. But petco has a refund policy and none of the LFS have refund policies on marine fish.

Petco + QT is the actually the safest bet for us. Their fish aren't any less likely to be sick. There is one shop that has notably healthier fish from a wholesaler that holds the fish for a week or two before moving to retailers. These fish are considerably more expensive but have a much better survival rate.

 

[mdb_talon]

They have copper at theraputic level. I think they hold the fish for 2 weeks. They also do some other form of treatment like paprizo and some bath.

Not sure what they do with the trade ins. Probably into their medicated system

they quarantine all their fish. I know they hold all fish for 2 weeks before they release the fish.

That sounds pretty normal and reasonable and nothing at all like what i would consider for a true QT. In order to really have a true QT you cant be moving new orders/trade-ins in and out of the medicated system. Doing a true QT is where it gets pricey as you have to either order very infrequently and/or have many completely seperate systems setup.


A 2-week observation with treatment may be a bit more than the average LFS thats good, but not at all what i was talking about.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Petco is higher priced than most of the LFS in my area. But petco has a refund policy and none of the LFS have refund policies on marine fish.

Petco + QT is the actually the safest bet for us. Their fish aren't any less likely to be sick. There is one shop that has notably healthier fish from a wholesaler that holds the fish for a week or two before moving to retailers. These fish are considerably more expensive but have a much better survival rate.

I am not shopping at Petco again. I purchased a orchid dottyback from them. Because of my limitations in space, i quarantine the fish with a pyramid butterfly. The pyramid was 5 days into his quarantine process. 2 days after adding the orchid dottyback, the pyramid butterfly had velvet. 3rd day, the pyramid died. I know this, in the petco system, velvet and ich is running rampant. You are sure to get a fish that is sick.

Now if I plan on buying a fish from petco, it will have to go in its own separate quarantine process. Probably a 30day copper at theraputic level with treatments of paprizo for a week. To me, that is not worth it. I would just buy from a reputable store where I know the fish is somewhat disease free.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

That sounds pretty normal and reasonable and nothing at all like what i would consider for a true QT. In order to really have a true QT you cant be moving new orders/trade-ins in and out of the medicated system. Doing a true QT is where it gets pricey as you have to either order very infrequently and/or have many completely seperate systems setup.


A 2-week observation with treatment may be a bit more than the average LFS thats good, but not at all what i was talking about.

maybe its not a 30 day treatment like what Humble fish for Jay would do. But i think its good enough for ich, velvet and flukes.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

I am not shopping at Petco again. I purchased a orchid dottyback from them. Because of my limitations in space, i quarantine the fish with a pyramid butterfly. The pyramid was 5 days into his quarantine process. 2 days after adding the orchid dottyback, the pyramid butterfly had velvet. 3rd day, the pyramid died. I know this, in the petco system, velvet and ich is running rampant. You are sure to get a fish that is sick.

Now if I plan on buying a fish from petco, it will have to go in its own separate quarantine process. Probably a 30day copper at theraputic level with treatments of paprizo for a week. To me, that is not worth it. I would just buy from a reputable store where I know the fish is somewhat disease free.

You assumed the petco fish would be sick but you still put it in QT with a sensitive fish. That was your error, not the stores. Don't put fish from separate systems together in QT.

Once again, assume all fish are sick. Petco is one of the few that will give you a refund.

 

[pikadab]

I know for corals I think you need Aquaculture permit.

I just wanted to do fish only no corals.

Time to call New York State.

To import from out of country you do ( I forgot the name but there are people in NJ who have this license and offer it to customers who want to import say a betta fish from Thailand). If you're purchasing within the US, you don't. Usually you just bring your business card to a wholesaler and you good to go. That was my experience in NJ for freshwater fish. Maybe things have changed.

 

[pikadab]

You assumed the petco fish would be sick but you still put it in QT with a sensitive fish. That was your error, not the stores. Don't put fish from separate systems together in QT.

Once again, assume all fish are sick. Petco is one of the few that will give you a refund.

Does petco give you refund for saltwater? I thought they didnt.

 

[kiran]

Does your local tap water have over 400 TDS? Some places share a hose for RODI and Salt I know that will cause a small amount of salt and calcium etc to get into the RODI but shouldn't be 400 I reckon lol.

Yeah I compared it to the tap water in the area and it was testing at around 380-400. They have two separate hoses for rodi and salt so I'm not sure. All I know is my tank was struggling with their water and I finally got it to fall in line after getting my own rodi.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

My first question for a customer was always "what is in your tank now?"

Had one guy forget to mention hermit crabs in his clean up crew and got mad at us when the dragon wrasse had a buffet.

Definitely a need-to-know! Regarding hermit crabs: I like them, but am going to pass on them for my current tank. Don't want to worry about them trying to evict any snails from their shells, lol!

 

[Triggreef]

I'de like to know if its true that LFS keep their water at low salinity, and if so, why? Thanks in advance

(Personally for me in Toronto, the LFS's I use have always been at normal salinity)

Lower salt over time saves a lot of money when changing hundreds of gallons at a time, nothing more

 

[JumboShrimp]

Q: After a while, doesn’t it get expensive for an LFS to test customer’s water? No doubt there are some paranoid people who come in every week of the year ‘to make sure their nitrates are zero’? Lol.

 

[JaimeAdams]

Q: After a while, doesn’t it get expensive for an LFS to test customer’s water? No doubt there are some paranoid people who come in every week of the year ‘to make sure their nitrates are zero’? Lol.

It certainly can. Most stores charge for water tests. If they aren't charging what route of test are they doing. When I'm testing Im using Salifert and Hanna Checkers and yes those reagents get expensive.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Great thread.
What is your percentage of DOA or fish who die shortly after you get them.
What are the more popular fish or the best money maker ones?
How long in average does a fish stay in your shop before it is sold?
Do you see a big difference between whole sale traders? Are some more likely to sell you poor quality fish?
How often do you get new fish? Daily, weekly, monthly?
Do you resupply a specific fish only when you are out of it?
Do you just get whatever the whole sale trader is sending you because you have to buy a certain number of items per month?
Are the inverts, such as snails and shrimps kept in a different system than the fish?
I wish that some store would sale macro algae, the way they sell fresh water plants. I always prefer to see what I buy and distrust pictures and online stores. I wonder why it is impossible to find any store selling macro algae.