Please Consider...

[exnisstech]

Thank goodness for the internet. It has made reefing so simple anyone can do it.

 

[Rmckoy]

You are correct, you can't fix stupid in most situations, however what will ultimately happen is government regulations on fish and coral so stringent that it will essentially shut the hobby down. We already have/had Hawaii ban and if you listen to reefers outside of the U.S. they have limited access to a lot of things we can still get here but for how long? PETA is just one tool in the box and if the government decides there are to many careless amateur reefing hobbyist they will take actions in many forms to eliminate the hobby. Regulations increase prices forcing some out, bans mean no hippo tangs in the 20g tank forcing some out, etc.... always remember the government knows what's best for you right? So just assimilate and get in line with the other sheep. They are also recommending limiting us to 2 beers a week? We need a second revolution if that becomes law.

2 beer per week limit is all I remember .
But who’s actually coming to my house to tell me I can’t have one more ?

 

[Spare time]

Local stores here have become maintenance heavy and tank poor. Nobody is buying coral or fish locally it seems and the stores are taking a hit. Workers are hard to come by and anyone who is experienced enough to know what they are talking about cant be paid just to sit inside behind a register. Its getting tougher on everyone, has been for years.

It's definitely hard to find someone who knows enough to act as Google for the customers.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

It's definitely hard to find someone who knows enough to act as Google for the customers.

Before the "internet" we actually made enough money to pay pretty well. The owner made enough to live quite happily and could even pay at least two people (one in the store full time and one in maintenance full time) along with a couple of pesky kids to help out and act as Google for the customers.

We always started the convo with "what size tank do you have, have we checked your water, what do you have in said tank... On and on. We actually knew the customer by the time they had visited 3 or 4 times. That is gone now. We still have the old heads that will occasionally stop in but its all new faces, never the same, if it wasn't for the maintenance accounts the owner couldn't even keep the doors open and the kid behind the counter... He is pretty good with freshwater but salt... I get my own stuff before letting him touch it.

 

[Mark Goode]

Your LFS knows everything. Like the one that sold me a colony of Christmas tree worms and an arrow crab many years ago. It didn't end well for the worms.

But I think, for the most part, people do their best. There are some (and we've all seen them) who come to this forum asking why all the fish in their new tank have died, and when they don't get the answer they want, they throw their toys out of the pram and leave.

But there are few of them, fortunately.

 

[Birdman Broham]

Something everyone should keep in mind. Your LFS is in business for sales. They will tell you anything you wanna hear to sell that $200 fish and $500 coral. They make you feel at ease with them. Do your research on everything and for Christ sake stop putting fish straight into your display. There easier to catch out a QT with no rock vs a fully stocked 200G tank

 

[Cell]

Selling products and providing sound advice are not mutually exclusive. The weighting of profit over sound advice is very short sighted for a LFS.

 

[aphinney]

Local stores here have become maintenance heavy and tank poor. Nobody is buying coral or fish locally it seems and the stores are taking a hit. Workers are hard to come by and anyone who is experienced enough to know what they are talking about cant be paid just to sit inside behind a register. Its getting tougher on everyone, has been for years.

This right here is truth and facts. My wife and I own 3 businesses. And have experienced this so many times within our industries as well as seen it all about the business world. There is so much truth here. This is the issue with the average LFS for sure.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Disparaging commentary on easy, fast growing corals is a part of the problem. Beginners should absolutely be getting their fingers wet with these.