2 Shops, 2 Very Different Experiences

[David J]

Hi

Just thought I'd share my experiences today in 2 different fish shops.

Some of you may see in one of my other threads that I am doing a fishless cycle. Eaglesaquarium has been helping me along and has been brilliant. I am 3 weeks in. Ammonia and Nitrite are pretty much always processing over 24 hours and I'm trying to get it to process in 12 hours. The ammonia is ok but my nitrites are off the chart high after 12 hours but are gone after 24 hours.

So, today I decided to go into a couple of aquatic shops to look at plants and also try and pick up some rocks and of course spend far too much time looking at fish that I can't get yet

In the first shop, when I went to pay for 2 rocks I chose, the guy asked me what kind of tank I had etc etc. I explained my situation and took the opportunity to ask if he had any advice. As soon as I mention 'fish less cycle' the guys attitude clearly changed for the worse. I swear, he took at step back and looked at me like had 2 heads. There was a silence, to the point that I thought he was just going to pretend I wasn't there until I walked away. Finally, he told me that he had heard about the odd person doing a fishless cycle but he always does fish in cycling. He told me that 99 out of 100 people do fish in. He then said that he advises customers to put water in the tank, run it for about 7 days and put fish in. His colleague had appeared by this time and he confirmed what the first guy had said.

Before this conversation I had wandered round the shop and found 3 dead fish and one of them had clearly been dead for quite some time as other fish had started to eat it. While at the counter I noticed 3 small vases that looked like flower vases. They were about 10 inches tall and half full of water with some fake plants and pebbles in. Each of them had a betta in. I'm no expert but it just didn't look right. My partner then realised that one of them was dead.

Needless to say, I won't be back there, I won't name the shop. It wasn't one of the big chains, it was a one off local shop.

Then, I went to my local branch of maidenhead aquatics in Leith, Edinburgh. The same type if conversation opened up there and the 2 guys there immediately agreed that I am doing the right thing with the fishless cycle. They chatted for a good while about it and asked me lots of questions and confirmed that I was doing exactly the right thing. They chatted away for ages about different fish etc and were really helpful and knowledgable. While I was chatting, a man and woman came up and asked if they could gt a couple of fish. The shopkeeper asked which ones so he knew which bags to bring. They said 'it 2 fish, ones orange and the other ones blue' and they wandered off to lead him. The guy was clearly concerned and I heard him start to ask lots if questions about where these fish were going etc etc. it was really good to see that they won't just sell anything to anyone that asks.

2 very different experiences which I thought I'd share. It might be useful for complete noobs (even more nooby than me) to be aware of this and to be very cautious when taking advice from 'experienced' fishkeepers.

Regards,

David

 

[Dazzer87]

Most of the aquatic stores in cornwall are like that. The only one I like is maidenheads in truro the rest just don't know what your talking about or lie to you trying to sell me chemical stuff to balance the water out. I told one guy that I used crushed seashell in the external filter to alter the ph which it works well as I have quite a low ph in my area. His response its like smoking, it wont kill your fish at first but eventually it will stress them and kill them. He had a shelf full of chemical additives with expensive prices.

 

[phoenixgsd]

He told me that 99 out of 100 people do fish in. He then said that he advises customers to put water in the tank, run it for about 7 days and put fish in.

that statement answers itself, 99% who buy tanks from shops are novices and are advised by guys just like this, thats why this forum always has the same repeated questions asked by new members who followed this exact advice........why are my fish dying

 

[David J]

They seem to forget they are dealing with living things. I know that no matter how careful you are, you will undoubtedly lose fish but they seems to treat them like sacraficial goats from the bible. Kill a few fish but then your tank will be fine.

I forgot to say that in the first shop, before me in the queue was a guy who had brought a water sample in. They tested it. I could see one of the test tubes was green, not really dark but going from my API kit I would hazard a guess that the ammonia level was between 2-4ppm. His advice was to do a 25% water change and sold him a siphon kit, oh, and 2 more fish. It makes you want to scream. I wish I'd said something but I'm quite shy.

 

[CezzaXV]

Finally, he told me that he had heard about the odd person doing a fishless cycle but he always does fish in cycling. He told me that 99 out of 100 people do fish in. He then said that he advises customers to put water in the tank, run it for about 7 days and put fish in. His colleague had appeared by this time and he confirmed what the first guy had said.

His point of view is incredibly biased though.

While I don't doubt that most people, just from plain not knowing better, do fish-in cycles, he's not in a position to say. Working in a fish shop, I'm sure a large portion of the customers come in, want fish and have no idea how to go about it, so will take whatever advice the shop staff will give them. On the other hand, the ones who do fishless cycles have done their research and don't usually have need to inform the shop staff so they just don't know.

Fishless cycling is a relatively new concept though, only really coming about through the internet. The vast majority of people who run fish shops have been doing so for years and it wasn't like this in their day! I guess if you've been doing something for one way for years and it worked fine, you'd be sceptical of doing it a different way that takes weeks and weeks and doesn't allow you to have fish right away!

I know the feeling though. When I was cycling, I asked in my LFS if they had any media I could have, and they just tried to sell me bacteria in a bottle. Sometimes I think they can't really be that ignorant and they must be putting on an act. I really don't know.

 

[Philip.]

The first LFS I i used (Quite well known in my part of Cornwall) came recommended by a certain fish keeping magazine. It has a large variety of fish and dry goods, but where it falls down is its customer service. They are so busy that they have no time to chat and offer advice, and like the OP hell bent on doing a fish in cycle.

Luckily I was a returnee to the hobby just looking to buy a tank and accessories, so their efforts were wasted on me.

The shop I use now is much smaller, but still has a good selection of fish and the owner loves a good chat about all things fish, gives good advice and is very helpful.

 

[balajake]

A well known nationwide UK chain of pets stores has little cards on their tanks advising customers to never ever just put water in a tank and fish in it straight away nooooo, that's bad. The cards explain that you should add water and filter aid and run it for three days... YES !! 3 whole days then add fish !!
They might aswell be putting the poor fish in the bin with advice like that. As good as admitting they know nothing at all about fish keeping.

 

[Shelster]

Philip, would you mind telling me where you go to? I normally use MA at carnon downs, have heard Camborne has a decent one but haven't been here before, I live near Truro, thanks.

 

[zain611]

One LFS that i know have a good range of fish and products but the problem is that the location is that its somewhere we dont pass by so it has to be a special trip there and would say they are better then my local pets@home but never bought a fish from them yet so if i get my next tank i hope i will get some fish from there which no other fish store i know that have them

 

[Philip.]

Philip, would you mind telling me where you go to? I normally use MA at carnon downs, have heard Camborne has a decent one but haven't been here before, I live near Truro, thanks.

Sure, I use this place http/www.totally-tropical.co.uk/ he's inbetween Canborne and Redruth, just off the A30

 

[Dazzer87]

there is Trimar in camborne, that also delivers fish online, I have been in there and it gets quite busy staff don't normally have time to talk etc. They sell a good range of fresh, marine and reptile stuff but the prices on some bits can be expensive. Probably the shop Phillip was on about its on pendarves st. there's a fish shop in the garden center down the side of camborne college as well on church road just passing under the A30 on the right, I went in there once and he helped me out and even looked up a few products when I went to get some cash as I don't think he takes debit cards or its at least a £10 spend i think. Just out past matalan, wicks etc in threemilestone there is a garden centre on the right "fins2000" I think might be the name but I think it recently changed owner so not sure. If you take the next left and left again that road takes you straight to carnon downs maidenhead as well which is the place i go to a lot. In st.austell there is cuddra out the back towards par @ junction at the bottom of the hill on A391 and Holmbush road, the staff don't seem to know a great deal but do offer advice on things you probably know more about anyway but generally its ok. Ones to avoid personally is goonhavern garden centre there is a separate fish place and billy the fish in st.columb road who's advice just isnt good, every time I have asked in there the advice has been wrong or he's tried selling things to me by deceiving me so thats just a personal reason i don't visit. Thats the main lot I know about, I dont go past camborne at all really to know whats down there or much past bodmin. there is a shop in bodmin industrial estate as well I only went in there once so i can't remember which estate it was.

Edit: ah yeah totally tropical! you can get a +2 vote on going there. He is good, like philip said he likes a good chat and didnt try to sell me anything I didnt need. its in the description above on church road they have a map anyway on the link phil posted. its only a small shop but worth visting. pop into trimar as well which is only round the corner but they do get ridiculously busy at times.

 

[Shelster]

Great, thanks very much guys, always handy to have a few to visit and see some new stock, and know they are reputable

 

[zain611]

I think this is the place for the best LFS for me

http/www.crewshill.com/aquatic-warehouse.html

 

[TixeeriF]

Zain - If you like Aquatic Warehouse, you should try Wildwoods just around the corner...

 

[gleco]

Hi

Just thought I'd share my experiences today in 2 different fish shops.

Some of you may see in one of my other threads that I am doing a fishless cycle. Eaglesaquarium has been helping me along and has been brilliant. I am 3 weeks in. Ammonia and Nitrite are pretty much always processing over 24 hours and I'm trying to get it to process in 12 hours. The ammonia is ok but my nitrites are off the chart high after 12 hours but are gone after 24 hours.

So, today I decided to go into a couple of aquatic shops to look at plants and also try and pick up some rocks and of course spend far too much time looking at fish that I can't get yet

In the first shop, when I went to pay for 2 rocks I chose, the guy asked me what kind of tank I had etc etc. I explained my situation and took the opportunity to ask if he had any advice. As soon as I mention 'fish less cycle' the guys attitude clearly changed for the worse. I swear, he took at step back and looked at me like had 2 heads. There was a silence, to the point that I thought he was just going to pretend I wasn't there until I walked away. Finally, he told me that he had heard about the odd person doing a fishless cycle but he always does fish in cycling. He told me that 99 out of 100 people do fish in. He then said that he advises customers to put water in the tank, run it for about 7 days and put fish in. His colleague had appeared by this time and he confirmed what the first guy had said.

Before this conversation I had wandered round the shop and found 3 dead fish and one of them had clearly been dead for quite some time as other fish had started to eat it. While at the counter I noticed 3 small vases that looked like flower vases. They were about 10 inches tall and half full of water with some fake plants and pebbles in. Each of them had a betta in. I'm no expert but it just didn't look right. My partner then realised that one of them was dead.

Needless to say, I won't be back there, I won't name the shop. It wasn't one of the big chains, it was a one off local shop.

Then, I went to my local branch of maidenhead aquatics in Leith, Edinburgh. The same type if conversation opened up there and the 2 guys there immediately agreed that I am doing the right thing with the fishless cycle. They chatted for a good while about it and asked me lots of questions and confirmed that I was doing exactly the right thing. They chatted away for ages about different fish etc and were really helpful and knowledgable. While I was chatting, a man and woman came up and asked if they could gt a couple of fish. The shopkeeper asked which ones so he knew which bags to bring. They said 'it 2 fish, ones orange and the other ones blue' and they wandered off to lead him. The guy was clearly concerned and I heard him start to ask lots if questions about where these fish were going etc etc. it was really good to see that they won't just sell anything to anyone that asks.

2 very different experiences which I thought I'd share. It might be useful for complete noobs (even more nooby than me) to be aware of this and to be very cautious when taking advice from 'experienced' fishkeepers.

Regards,

David

 
Hi,
 
Can you tell me the name of the fish shop in Leith Edinburgh? i live near the area and i'm always looking for a place to buy tropical fish from apart from the usual nationwide stores.
 
Thanks