LFS that just don't care?

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

I get it, but judging an LFS for some aiptasia seems bonkers to me. I dunno. I also someone mention Capital Aquarium by name here.... which is a great shop with a very knowledgeable owner and manager. I don’t get some people’s expectations. I think they are online a bit too much and don’t realize that shops online can edit all they want but reality is a bit messier. I dunno. I’m out.

 

[dvgyfresh]

My LFS smh same issues Aiptasia in all tanks and I was trying to trade in a snowflake eel due to it out growing my tank and he said he could do $10 lol. I also asked about a red Goniopora frag and he said 200$ it’s smaller than a golf ball so I just get to water from there now

 

[Fish Novice]

My LFS is ok, nice owner and good advice (I'm only a year into the hobby), but there are A LOT of pests and dead fish in their tanks. I don't know why he seems so into the hobby but then doesn't take care of his displays tanks. He seems very laid back, every time I ask him about a pest or if two things are compatible he just says "eh, I don't know, try it out"

 

[ScubaFish802]

I’ll add one in here,
I live in Vermont and my state has -ONE- “legit” coral shop.
He is literally never there though. I’ve texted the guy asking his hours, asked if he will be there the days I will be going etc . . Every time I show up there’s a “Will be back at 4pm” sign up in the window.
I was able to get ahold of him on the phone last time I drove all the way out there. Asked him if he was coming back still since I hd waited from 3:30-4:30 after driving the distance out there and seeing his sign for 4pm.
He asked what exactly I wanted to buy, and I told him I wasn’t sure until I was able to see in the store. (I had an empty tank at the time so was planning on spending good money but I didn’t tell him that). So he told me he wasn’t “in a rush to make it back to the store, and may not be back today”.
That was the last time I drove up there.

I’ve gotten some really nice torches from
people here on R2R and some really nice others from TSA on here as well. Probably for the best lol

 

[Fish Novice]

Also, my LFS has a bunch of aptasia in the frag (which I have unfortunately got all of my corals from). There are no other fish stores in my area so what should I do????

 

[mort]

It very much depends on your perspective as to how good a lfs is. Near me there is a shop that anyone with even a little knowledge won't go near but it's won many customer awards in a magazine for its shop.
The reason that the more experienced keepers won't go there is because they stocked massive tank busting fish as standard (and I mean massive fish not just the odd large tang), they can't keep even easy corals alive (or even identify them for the most part) and they tend to have most marine diseases easily visible no matter when you go.

The reason people vote for it is because it has a massive selection of fish (even if most are not suitable for a normal tank), they arent aware of the diseases and it does look impressive. They very much rely on new customers.

I don't mind the odd aiptasia, it's near impossible to run a business without the odd pest popping up. I don't mind a bit of algae, or the odd sad looking fish but I'd be disappointed if they didn't seem to care when picked up on them. I ran a lfs so know how difficult it can be some time, like when you set a day to clean the tanks but are so run off your feet that you don't get round to it, meaning they aren't spick and span for the weekend trade. Online sales have all the same issues without having to face the public with them so don't be put off unless your lfs really has bad husbandry.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Also, my LFS has a bunch of aptasia in the frag (which I have unfortunately got all of my corals from). There are no other fish stores in my area so what should I do????

Setup a coral QT tank. QT the coral in the coral QT tank, removing pests like aiptasia before moving them to your DT.

 

[bmac300]

I have two local LFS and they are pretty terrible. Here are some recent google reviews.

"This place is possibly one of the shadiest pet stores around. They run fake ads about fake pets and tell you to come into the store, and once you're there, behold there is no animal advertised. They'll tell a customer in front of you the price of say, budgie and when you show interest they mark it up from $15 to $70.

Also, I'm pretty sure one of the employees is stealing money from the register. Shady business, Shady practices. do not buy from here."

" What more do you need to say about business where the owner gives his own business not one but two 5 star reviews. Right Cory. Avoid this place like the plague. No stars. "


Last time i went in he tried to sell me a tiny astrea snail for $10, this is their new 'covid price'. Over the phone he told me he had lots of snails and fish and when i went in he could only find the one astrea for $10. No fish either.

The other store has zero saltwater inventory and haven't had anything since March and even then it was spotty.

 

[terraincognita]

Every LFS is hit or miss for me.

I live in LA County and have been to about 20 that are here, might be all of them.... lol. only 3-4 I frequent.

Keep searching til you find one you REALLY like.

I chose a new one each weekend and just went to everyone in a reasonable area I could find. I also found online retailers that only sell online but out of L.A. so I can order online and pick up direct.

Some where 1 1/2 hours away. But I've narrowed it down to 3-4 that I'll go to now. Some are on the otherside of town, so I only stop by while I'm there.

The closest one to my house about 10 minute drive is not even in the top 4 but they're one of the bigger ones so have more things. I go there for EVERYTHING i need dry goods wise if I can't wait for it.

I do get cheap coral frags from there for $20 or so, they have a section I'll just peruse and see what they got.

If I'm ever gonna spend more than $100 or $200 I always just spend a little more to get something better cared for either online or at a store I know has a better and more strict maintenance schedule.

With that said, it's also a tough game being a fish store owner.

They lose a lot of money, and sometimes things just "gotta be"

I'm sure 90% of us know how to take care of aiptasia and do a coral dip, so while it might not be "pretty" they're not going to kill his coral per se.

Probably to him easier to sell all the frags and the nuke the tank. lol who knows.

If you take the time to really research it, I promise you'll find your "trusted vendor"

Every vendor has a few bad batches though, so don't hate them if once or twice they give you a bad shipment or bad order. Just work it out with Customer Service. Or bite the bullet for being in this hobby .

 

[shred5]

We have Several Stores.
One is really good and is Best fish. Place is small and crowded but they have a great selection and price. They know what they are doing and carry current equipment at great prices. He will order anything too if they do not have it both equipment or fish.

Most others are garbage. We have Petworld which used to be a great place but now they let there saltwater go. You can sometimes find a gem in these stores because they have no idea what they get sometimes. They just need someone who understands the hobby because they have nice systems.

Another place I wont mention is really high priced and always badmouths BestFish saying there stuff is garbage. They have a guy running saltwater dept that thinks he knows everything and doesn't. their stock isn't to bad sometime..

I have been in the reef hobby maybe 35 years and back in the day we actually had allot of stores with nice stuff. I think the internet made it hard for some. Some just can not keep up to date equipment and always trying to sell old stuff. Pet World, Animal adventures, Aquatics unlimited etc..

Aquatics unlimited is another store that went down hill for a while. It seemed they almost gave up on saltwater. I mean they had tons of tangs in a small tank, Carpet anemones in with the fish systems. it had become pretty bad. They recently seem to be trying to turn that dept around again. The Covid stuff seems to have slowed the turn around down some. They were building all new systems and such for the saltwater. Their stock started looking healthy and some really good stock. I avoided them for a long time.

 

[AdamD76]

My tank gets a little dirty once in a while but I'm not trying to make money off it. If it was my business it would be clean especially if customers are coming in to look for something to purchase from me.

 

[Glass Algae]

So I have a LFS that is usually pretty good. He has good prices and a pretty good selection but this year it has gone down hill. I know with covid and all that things are a little off but some things you just can't let slide. Example- Aptasia in the frag tank. About 4 months ago i spotted a small Aptasia on a new frag that had come in so I let him know. He said he would take care of it and I said cool. But every week I go in and it's still there and multiplying. I've let him know several times and he just looks at me. I went in on Saturday and he has Aptasia everywhere in the frag tank. He sees me looking in the tank and is like you getting anything today. I just say not until you take care of your Aptasia problem and leave.
Other examples like selling mostly dead corals for full price and generally being condescending.

It will probably be a few months until I go back IDK. Dose anyone else have issues with LFS like this?

Side note: Its the owner that I have been talking to not an employee and has had salt tanks for over 20 years.

I have a local fish store I onky go to get my water and ro from, he's always very nice, but even the friends I've brought in go what's that crazy sharp flowery stuff all over the tanks. Aptasia. Smh.

Sucks cause he's so close and it would be nice but I'd rather drive to my premium lfs and deal with the love of coral instead of the shady insutrial side of it.

 

[nano_ryan]

My LFS is a great store and Ive bought 99% of my stuff from them. But then they had a huge ich outbreak inside their tanks! I went in and bought a 200$ sohal tang from there ich tank!! Its been many months trying to get rid of it and in the end just ended up living with it. My lfs still to this day sells fish from there ich tanks without telling anyone.

 

[fish farmer]

I’ll add one in here,
I live in Vermont and my state has -ONE- “legit” coral shop.
He is literally never there though. I’ve texted the guy asking his hours, asked if he will be there the days I will be going etc . . Every time I show up there’s a “Will be back at 4pm” sign up in the window.
I was able to get ahold of him on the phone last time I drove all the way out there. Asked him if he was coming back still since I hd waited from 3:30-4:30 after driving the distance out there and seeing his sign for 4pm.
He asked what exactly I wanted to buy, and I told him I wasn’t sure until I was able to see in the store. (I had an empty tank at the time so was planning on spending good money but I didn’t tell him that). So he told me he wasn’t “in a rush to make it back to the store, and may not be back today”.
That was the last time I drove up there.

I’ve gotten some really nice torches from
people here on R2R and some really nice others from TSA on here as well. Probably for the best lol

Exactly!

That's why I have an order coming tomorrow from Cultivated Reef.....they never let me down.

 

[Tired]

We used to have a Petland near us, over a decade ago. They sold me a goldfish in a bowl (I was 10 and didn't know to do research), and they kept a lot of small animals in open-topped aquariums. Customers could just stick their hand in a tank full of guinea pigs and bother the poor things around. Even the parakeets! They were terrible. The place shut down, and I hope the chain goes out of business.

One of my LFS has aiptasia in a couple of their coral sale tanks. Usually just one or two in the gravel somewhere. They pull 'em out if one is somewhere easy to remove, and any frags with notable aiptasia go in the tank that has the peppermint shrimp. I guess it's because trying to never have aiptasia in a tank you constantly add corals to is a bit of a losing battle. I just look closely at any frags I want from them, and if there is a little aiptasia, oh well. I have superglue.
Hard to dislike a place that sells random little zoa frags for "eh, call it $5" if you ask. They get nice big zoa colonies in, and then some tend to grow onto the substrate. If some of those wind up as separate frags, you can buy them, cheap, even if it's a named thing. I got a Red People Eater polyp for $2.

 

[dennis romano]

I have been in the hobby for fifty years and was in the business for over twenty years. Years ago, there were many more hobbyists and many more stores. Today's younger people aren't drawn to the hobby. This means less qualified people to work in the stores. One store that I managed had three full time and seven part-time employees. These guys KNEW a lot. Today, that would be next to impossible.

 

[Glass Algae]

I have been in the hobby for fifty years and was in the business for over twenty years. Years ago, there were many more hobbyists and many more stores. Today's younger people aren't drawn to the hobby. This means less qualified people to work in the stores. One store that I managed had three full time and seven part-time employees. These guys KNEW a lot. Today, that would be next to impossible.

It surprises me with the rate at which younger people are home more, less irl social and more prone to just doing solo hobbies. Especially amongst the stoner crowds. I mean what's there to not love, ocean, uv colors, and lots of "Woaaaaah mannnn"'s

Guess the price and upkeep is a draw back but it's really not as bad as people say, most time ull spend in the tank if u do it right will be the first 5 months then u slowly buy to automate or can get away with a Bi weekly water change and trusting ur gut and knowing ur reef

 

[Tired]

Probably doesn't help that a lot of people just don't have the money to invest in the hobby. It's not exactly a cheap hobby, and the up-front costs of a decent setup can be intimidating. There are a lot of people who barely have enough to make rent and buy food, so really can't afford to start reefing.

 

[Glass Algae]

Probably doesn't help that a lot of people just don't have the money to invest in the hobby. It's not exactly a cheap hobby, and the up-front costs of a decent setup can be intimidating. There are a lot of people who barely have enough to make rent and buy food, so really can't afford to start reefing.

That's exactly it I'm sure. If it was for the trump bux this year I probably wouldn't of pulled the trigger on my system. It's definitely a steep intro price.

 

[Glass Algae]

But, so much "woahhhhh man" is worth it to me