What was the last straw with your ex-LFS?

[Augus7us]

The owner was busted in a sting for illegally harvesting, shipping and selling corals and livestock...

 

[ca1ore]

Nothing that the LFS did, necessarily, just that online is better. Fish and coral survival is about the same, but online selection is better and easier. No LFS can really compete with the big online places for dry goods.

There are a few good LFS near to me that I do visit. Less frequently in a time of plague though.

 

[fish farmer]

I'm in dysfunctional relationships with my LFS's.

The one with the most stock and great fish is 5 hours away and the owners are rude.

The reef store that has great stock(WWC frags), but keeps odd hours and is 1.5 hours away.

The next in line is a pet store that occasionally has some things I like, but it is under new ownership.

Then there is petco...

I never ask advice from anyone at a LFS anymore....I even told the employee at the petco that the turbos were the good snail to keep in stock.

I'll visit all of them once in a while, but buy 90% of my stuff online.

 

[jft]

When I saw literally an employee scoop a coral beauty from a tank and walked 50 feet across the store and sold it to an unsuspecting customer.

 

[drewwCh]

Not an ex-LFS right now but seriously thinking of stopping from shopping there. Told me it was fine to put a hippo tang in my 30 gal, sold me 2 diseased clowns which died in a week, and always insisting that keeping even the easiest corals require the best equipment in the market to get me to buy from them.

 

[RMS18]

When I told him I see almost every fish scratching some with visual dots, he replied it's normal it will go away once they are settled in a home tank.

I'm pretty sure your acro tanks have dinos, long brown snotty bubbly stuff everywhere... That's just algea from the strong lights acros need.

 

[DED65]

The LFS where I bought my first reef tank and all of the supplies was decent in the beginning and declined rapidly. My last purchase was a Reef Nutrition food (I forget what) and when I opened it, the smell was horrible. I asked for a refund of maybe $20 and the owner said just to feed it anyway, it won't hurt a thing. I told the guy that after spending thousands of dollars in his store that if I was going to be treated this way, I would just buy online. I never went back and he soon sold the store. Soon after I received a call from a credit agency that said he put me down as a reference for a loan. Needless to say, I did not give that reference! The guy who bought the store has moved out of the rundown store and has really made a nice LFS out of it.

 

[Reeflux]

Me: "Good Morning! I need some ammonium chloride."

LFS: "Yeah, I don't have that."

Me: "How about a heater controller?"

LFS: "Sorry, I don't have that either."

Me: "Alright, I'll order it."

LFS: "You can just use this reptile controller right here you know, it's the same thing."

Me: "Ummm, Not really"

LFS: "And for Ammonia you can just urinate in the tank."

Me: "What?"

LFS: "I used to work with a girl that would climb up on the tanks and squat right on em"

 

[Krully]

Me: "Good Morning! I need some ammonium chloride."

LFS: "Yeah, I don't have that."

Me: "How about a heater controller?"

LFS: "Sorry, I don't have that either."

Me: "Alright, I'll order it."

LFS: "You can just use this reptile controller right here you know, it's the same thing."

Me: "Ummm, Not really"

LFS: "And for Ammonia you can just urinate in the tank."

Me: "What?"

LFS: "I used to work with a girl that would climb up on the tanks and squat right on em"

For the sake of my sanity I need to believe you're making this up lol


As for me there is no last straw permitted, there is one LFS and that's it, most tanks have aiptasia but even online sellers have it so I just gotta deal with it.

 

[Reeflux]

For the sake of my sanity I need to believe you're making this up lol

I am not.... this happened recently. I have a also have a witness.

Rather than butcher the guy I just acted like it was funny behind my mask. Squinted my eyes a little bit.... Then abruptly left the area.

 

[king aiptasia]

Me: "Good Morning! I need some ammonium chloride."

LFS: "Yeah, I don't have that."

Me: "How about a heater controller?"

LFS: "Sorry, I don't have that either."

Me: "Alright, I'll order it."

LFS: "You can just use this reptile controller right here you know, it's the same thing."

Me: "Ummm, Not really"

LFS: "And for Ammonia you can just urinate in the tank."

Me: "What?"

LFS: "I used to work with a girl that would climb up on the tanks and squat right on em"

not aquariums but grandmas sister used to dilute pee and water the orchids with it

 

[Super Fly]

When I first started in this hobby, there was one amazing LFS that had great livestock but a terrible Mr. Know It All manager. Bought lots of stuff there including many bags of hard to find Live Sand that they offered to order for me, saying "it'll arrive in few days." Finally received the sand after weeks of talking to several different workers there who would never return my calls.

I went to buy more fish/corals and started asking the Mgr some questions about the coral bc this was my 1st reef tank. Then he started berating me in the store complaining I called them too many times about the sand order and that I ask too many questions! When I told him if he's going to treat a customer that way then I'm not buying, he replied "I'm ok with that!"...

This LFS went out of business few months later.

 

[czoolander]

I am going to flip the script on online vendors and why I do not buy off this particular online vendor . So I was brand new to the reefing hobby and researched for months before I bought anything however research only goes so far and there was some things I clearly missed out on that I assumed they would help me with. So I purchased my tank and original supplies I think total bill about $4500 .

I bought a 109 gallon tank and they recommended and sold me 2 pumps that put out 9000 gph WAYYYYYYYYYYYY too much flow. I have been trying to make my pumps work for over a year and now I run only the 1 pump on its lowest setting . Ill eventually switch to a couple MP40s with battery backup but im not 100% the magnets will hold on my glass .

I even politely said hey these pumps are just too strong I tried for 3 months all different depth and angles but nothing worked so I asked if I could return or exchange . Flat out was told no on both requests never got any help or suggestions so I flat out told them they wont see my cash again . peace

Needless to say I was not impressed with this online vendor and will never buy from them again !

 

[Cole.mormon]

I am going to flip the script on online vendors and why I do not buy off this particular online vendor . So I was brand new to the reefing hobby and researched for months before I bought anything however research only goes so far and there was some things I clearly missed out on that I assumed they would help me with. So I purchased my tank and original supplies I think total bill about $4500 .

I bought a 109 gallon tank and they recommended and sold me 2 pumps that put out 9000 gph WAYYYYYYYYYYYY too much flow. I have been trying to make my pumps work for over a year and now I run only the 1 pump on its lowest setting . Ill eventually switch to a couple MP40s with battery backup but im not 100% the magnets will hold on my glass .

I even politely said hey these pumps are just too strong I tried for 3 months all different depth and angles but nothing worked so I asked if I could return or exchange . Flat out was told no on both requests never got any help or suggestions so I flat out told them they wont see my cash again . peace

Needless to say I was not impressed with this online vendor and will never buy from them again !

Which vendor

 

[czoolander]

Which vendor

As unhelpful as they were I wont quite throw them fully under the bus . However I will say they are in Eastern Canada , Quebec

 

[Cole.mormon]

can you pm me the name
I dont want to mess up as i am looking for pumps
The retailer happens to be in quebec

 

[Captain K'nuckles]

Share your stories here on what finally made you part ways..

When I watched an order of clownfish get dumped straight into a display tank for instant sale. No floating bag or anything. Some dead in the bag went in too. Classy. Quick in, even quicker out before they die. White spot. Brook. You name it. The fish that are left must be the strongest ones around. Shop should be shut down. Been in business for 40 years yet doesn't know what an eheim heater is? Thought ok I'll just buy dry goods then. Surely can't go wrong? Filter floss full of dog hairs and fleas. Oh ciggy wrappers floating in the frag tank too. Very nice.

 

[king aiptasia]

When I watched an order of clownfish get dumped straight into a display tank for instant sale. No floating bag or anything. Some dead in the bag went in too. Classy. Quick in, even quicker out before they die. White spot. Brook. You name it. The fish that are left must be the strongest ones around. Shop should be shut down. Been in business for 40 years yet doesn't know what an eheim heater is? Thought ok I'll just buy dry goods then. Surely can't go wrong? Filter floss full of dog hairs and fleas. Oh ciggy wrappers floating in the frag tank too. Very nice.

lol survival of the fittest, come a week or two after the restock day and you got fish that'll never die apart from age lol

 

[Spare time]

I have several in my area but only went to a particular one a single time and never again. The moment I walked into his empty store, the owner started ranting about politics ruining his business and not the disgusting condition of his tanks or said ranting.

Bringing up politics is a fantastic way to anger a portion of the customer base lol.

 

[Spare time]

If I see aiptasia everywhere in the tanks, it tells me the owner is lazy and cheap and that he/she doesn't care if he/she gives it to a customer. I will instantly say to myself I am never shopping there. Having worked at LFS (and still), the amount of pests in their tanks really does tell you about how much they care about their customers.