Have you ever seen the "back room" of your favorite locally owned fish store?

Question

I've become friendly with my local fish store. Nice people, but not so good with English.
The back is kind of like the front. A mixture of 10, 20 high, 20 long and 29 gallon tanks. They all are filtered by box filters with several running off of one pump. There were probably 50 tanks in the back and another 50 in the front.
They explained to me that most live bearers were raised on the premises. So were some egg layers. All fish they received went through a 4 day quarantine. Others well held longer to grow up. They told me several relatives and friends within 1,000 miles of here were also in this business and some had swimming pools of fish, that they purchased from. Definitely not the same sources or methods as Wal-Mart, Petco or Petsmart.
He told me this was the "old way" and this guaranteed better fish for me, the customer. Do you think this is true? Do you think most independents really are different than chains? Thanks.

Answer 1

Not the old way, the right way. You can ask Pet smart or Pets supplies plus or any LFS and they will usually be happy to explain what they are doing and how they do it.

Our Petsmarts and Petco's here all run a 300 gallon reserve refilter UV tanks as well as a 1500 gallon salt water back flush system. Unreal to tell you the truth. Now if they could only get people in there that know what is going on.

Answer 2

Sounds like my LFS. They have a relationship with their customers. With the chain store, there is no relationship, just "have a nice day". I hate that phrase, but that's not the topic.
The smaller one in the area is on the 2nd generation of owners. It was started about 1980 when the current owner was an infant. He grew up in that store. I can remember him as an 8 or 9 year old bagging fish and talking to customers like an old pro. He had to get up on a step ladder to get fish from tanks on the top shelf. He's in his late 20's now. The business is now his. His parents are in the store one or two days a week. He has a wife that works there. She's about 6 months pregnant. No doubt this child will work there as well, perhaps be the 3rd generation of owners.
The place is old. The walls are a hunter green and the lighting is dim. The tanks are bright and clean. The fish show much better in a room somewhat darkened.
Their return policy is "no returns". They sell very healthy fish. More likely than not, the customer did something wrong, so why should they give you a free replacement to kill as well?
They will do something however. They will help you understand how to do things right. They have care sheets that look like they were typed on an electric typewriter with hand drawn illustrations. Photo copies of photo copies right now, but they are doing some over.
I don't shop much there.
There is a bigger store that I do work for at home. I have tanks with peaceful dwarf cichlids, mainly German Rams, but also Kribensis, Agassizi and others that I will hold for a few weeks as they grow out. I get a little bit of cash and supplies for my efforts. After paying the electric bill to heat 20-30 tanks (presently 26) I break even. This is a labor of love for me. I love these little guys. I enjoy having so many to look after.
This is the relationship I have with my main LFS. I started by supplying them with mollies, swordtails and platies more than 15 years ago in trade for supplies. I only have two livebearer tanks for breeding right now. If I need a pump, food, heater, light bulb, etc, my money is no good there. They always give it to me for nothing. Like most of their customers, I have a relationship with them, a very strong one at that.
They truly love what they do. They are not getting rich doing it, but making a living. They aren't more expensive than the chain stores. If you support them, they will support you. Customer service is not "have a nice day" or replace cheap sick fish with more cheap sick fish. They want you to be successful. Aquarists need to support their local fish store, because if they all went away, this hobby would be severely damaged. Clubs and hobby breeders are a good part of the hobby too.

Answer 3

I have seen this type of arrangement with several independent shops and all types of fish. I know of a African Cichlid shop ( yep, that's all just Africans) that raises about 60% of his own stock in the back and lovves to buy from local breeders as well. Easily 80% of what he sells is from those two sources. I know an other shop that has not sold a typical beil tailed betta in over a decade. He buys all his bettas from local IBC breeders and sells at the same price as a regular batta at the super stores. Another shop I do bussiness which buys all their angels and live bearers locally and raises some in the back as well. I think it's far more common than people think. It occurs most often when the shop owner is a fish lover and not just in it for the money.

Oh, and yes, I do aggree that it almost always means better fish for the cumstomer and usually better prices as well.

MM

Answer 4

The independents are definitely different from the chains. The independents are in it because they love fish and everything that goes with them. You will certainly get better fish from them. The chains only see it as a cash flow department.

However, a four day quarantine is really not enough. I quarantine any fish I bring home for at least two weeks before placing it with any other fish. If they are going into an empty tank, then there is no problem.

I have worked in retail pet stores and believe me, they only take care of their live pets because of the people in PETA. They don't want any adverse publicity about them not caring for their fish and other small animals.

Answer 5

Independant lfs are what keeps this hobby quality oriented, as opposed to the quantity oriented corporate shops. Most hobby breeders are more interested in quality, and sell to the independants. They pay a little more for quality, thus have to charge a little more. Their customer service is generally outstanding, as is their knowledge. As was previously mentioned, many have second or third generation family employees who were raised in that environment. Getting into their back room is pretty easy if you pal around with them a bit, corporate shops are a little tougher, public aquariums are even harder to get a "behind the scenes" tour.

The toughest area to get to see is a local breeder's developmental tanks if they have them in a seperate room. These are often projects in the making involving breeding, which they want to keep secretive so they have a chance to get something new on the market without others finding out. This strategy is what often keeps breeders profitable instead of just "breaking even".

Answer 6

Yep, I've seen (and even worked in) private and corporate-owned fish stores. There's a world of difference. Asking to see the "back room" setup is quite an educational experience - something all hobbyists should do once or twice just to see the types of operations these places have.

Independents are definitely better than chains - they offer better merchandise, better selection, and better service. A couple of the places I deal with also use local sources for their stock, two offer free public education seminars for topics like ponds, saltwater, aquascaping, etc. Not just store employees, but people like Julian Sprung - professionals in their respective fields. One of these stores offers a half-day class on weekends for kids in responsible pet ownership, where the kids can work with different kinds of animals each class (fish, reptiles, birds, small mammals) to learn about their care and maintenance. Anyone hear of the Pet-whatever chains doing anything like this for free? They can't find the time to teach their own employees!

The prices at the privately-owned places might run a little higher, but IMO it's worth it. The owners and managers care more about their quality and building a relationship with the people who buy there.

Answer 7

African Cichlids. I incredibly have 6 and my pal has 25+ fish. they are great fish and don't require plenty care different than obvious feeding. additionally, they are colourful and incredible fish even whilst they are youthful. whilst they become previous they grow to be much greater captivating fish. great fish and not too high priced or needy. the only ingredient you'll be apprehensive approximately is there aggressiveness. they don't look to be too aggressive yet they do chase one yet another around and each so often nip others' tails. additionally, make useful they are incredibly the comparable length because of the fact they'll consume one yet another in the event that they could greater healthful the different fish into that is mouth.

Answer 8

I do think that's true. I've bought about 5 different fish at Walmart before and all have died within the month!