nuxx Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Just curious what everyone looks for in a good LFS. I've been to just about every store in Austin, Dallas and Houston over the past few months, just enjoy seeing how they are all setup and run. I personally love seeing: - A big and clean display tank. - Rare fish and coral - Clean store ~ no weird smells or damp feeling - Tanks free of bad algae or pests - Talkative Staff - No dead fish - QTed fish/coral What's on everyone else's lists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Experience and honesty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjames Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 i think you hit the nail on the head, A plus for me to is a LFS that wont lie and sell you something that is not right for your tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 NO ICH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuentes31 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 +1 ON NO ICH!! Enjoy LFS that still love what they do and love to talk about the hobby. Not just somebody that wants to sell you something then walk off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 The selling you something not right for your tank is a great one! Had a few stores sell me stuff way to big for smaller tanks before... knowing well what I had. Also, had a tang sold to me as my first fish... needless to say that didn't work out well... ICH is something too... why even have it for sale? Or even worse in a tank with coral :X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I think we've briefly had this discussion at some point in the past. I completely agree with the honesty and friendlyness/openness and pretty much everything in the original post. I think the dead fish / ich issues are important but at the same time the business model makes it tough to address. Dead fish should always be promptly removed. But, unless you're dealing with a shop that sells only extremely rare or exclusive fish, it's a high-turnover business model, which inherently creates less than ideal conditions for always healthy fish. When fish stores get a huge shipment in, they very often have die off. Sometime you walk in a store and it's like wow, bad week huh? This is often due to a new shipment and I don't think it reflects the overall quality of a store. I've seen it at every store in Austin on the right day. As far as ich goes, none of the LFS's that I know of have dedicated QT setups where they can acclimate and QT new fish for weeks before putting them on display. Since a fish can be infected with ich for weeks before showing external symptoms, even tanks with apparently healthy fish are no more likely clean than one showing symptoms unless they've had no addition in 4 - 6 weeks. I wouldn't buy a fish that is showing visible symptoms or one in a tank with others with symptoms, but it would be unwise to make any assumption just based on the appearance of the fish. Anyway, just my thoughts on the dead, sick, and ichy fish. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great thoughts jestep I wonder if a store would do well if it just sold rarer / QTed fish, as opposed to high turn-over cheaper fish. A quality over quantity business model... would customers go for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great thoughts jestep I wonder if a store would do well if it just sold rarer / QTed fish, as opposed to high turn-over cheaper fish. A quality over quantity business model... would customers go for that? Tried and Failed. WYSIWYG.com I believe the main reason is if the expensive fish died then they were out the money and with 2-4 week QT period you couldn't sell enough to make a reasonable profit since the tanks were in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I look for reasonable prices. I use to go to a place close to where I work but they were always marking up their stuff by 50% compared to other stores. I also perfer attentive customer service. I hate going into a store and waiting for 20 minutes because the one person available to help is with another customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanoreefer11 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I like stores that are willing to hold a fish for you for a week or so to see how it does and to make sure it's eating before selling to you. Polly's in NB held me a pair of B/w clownfish for two weeks to make sure they were eating and disease free for me and I've been shopping almost exclusively through them since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great thoughts jestep I wonder if a store would do well if it just sold rarer / QTed fish, as opposed to high turn-over cheaper fish. A quality over quantity business model... would customers go for that? Divers den is probably as close as it gets. Their facility and the number of shoppers on their website put them on a completely different level than any stand-alone store. I don't know the business extremely well, but it's probably possible with a huge amount of funding and some really good management and marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Yeah DD is only able to survive because that is not their sole operation, just an arm of a parent company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I like the honest, friendly, and knowledgable staff. I like it when they take their time with you (store business permitting) and really help you out. If i am not in a rush, I will wait half an hour for help at a busy fish store I like and trust. I agree with jestep on the dead fish thing. Dead fish are going to happen. Sick fish are going to happen. If everytime I go there are dead fish, I will move along. If the staff doesn't take care of the dead/sick fish when they can, I generally start questioning the store. I recently was at a place that I used to buy fish from all the time. I have had a less than satasfactory experience the last few times I was there. Including once I pointed out a dead fish to an employee who was standing there, probably doing paperwork. He came over to look, confirmed it was a dead fish and then went back to his paperwork, leaving the little guy trapped in his little dance with the filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Great thoughts jestep I wonder if a store would do well if it just sold rarer / QTed fish, as opposed to high turn-over cheaper fish. A quality over quantity business model... would customers go for that? Tried and Failed. WYSIWYG.com I believe the main reason is if the expensive fish died then they were out the money and with 2-4 week QT period you couldn't sell enough to make a reasonable profit since the tanks were in use. Well I thought he moved because of his main business. Also he was out in the middle of nowhere in Bastrop. Not exactly the best location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 i think you hit the nail on the head, A plus for me to is a LFS that wont lie and sell you something that is not right for your tank BIG +1, goes to the experience in the hobby. Don't tell me, "oh yeah it will do great in your tank", when they know that it's not a good match. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 If it has Garry Terri and hunter ima shop there no doubt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 If it has Garry Terri and hunter ima shop there no doubt. ^this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 If it has Garry Terri and hunter ima shop there no doubt. Ha. I've been trying to get there for weeks, but haven't been able to get there before they close. I guess they think their families are more important than my fish. The nerve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkiiCircus Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I like stores that will special order for you. A few here in Houston REFUSE to order from ORA...seriously? Especially special orders if you want to order from a place that aquacultures or breeds VS catching. Also, stores where the owner is frequently there is key. They see the stock and care about it, VS just ordering it and then selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JoseZ Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I think honesty is what makes me appreciate the store the most but also the presentation of the overall look (clean tanks, healthy fish...) Friday I went down to San Antonio to pick up a fish from Mr Cob and decided to go check out the stores. I have to say we're pretty lucky to have such great stores here in Austin. The one store I liked a little didn't have me leaving with that same feeling. They did have probably the cheapest prices I've seen in a lfs which included Achilles, chevron, & purple tang for less than 200 bucks. But when I asked for some help I couldn't help but notice the smell of liquor. I can't say that the eemployee was for sure under the influence but he did seem "off". The store was located in a shady looking area. When we were leaving there were some guys outside drinking and smoking but like I said I didnt want to think that an employee was drunk while at work right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mlaw Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I'm looking for a store that sponsors ARC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibnzmonkey Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I would like the staff to not be condecending. For example. I went to an LFS here in Austin and the owner asked about how I set my tank up. I told him that I used base rock and dead sand. He immediately told me that I had no idea what I was doing and that I should ditch all the dead rock/sand and start over using his live rock and crushed coral for substrate. When I told him that there's more than one way to start a tank he then proceeded to tell me that he wouldn't even help me out until I "properly" set up my system. I've never returned to that store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Many of us have had that experience at that store... I like a store where I can develop a relationship with the staff. At most of our local stores, the guys know me by name and vice versa. They're happy to talk tank with me because they know I have a clue. I think customers who are informed (or at least attempt to be informed) get better, more honest service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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