Fish Buying Advice For Beginners

[Dragonscales]

Thought I'd share some of my ideas about how to get a bargain.

1. Always shop around - Different Aquariums have different prices and the smart shopper always flicks through the phonebook before heading out to get a fair idea where is the cheapest.

2. Find out if you can get some Aquariums to price match - Some dealers will knock 5% or more off the total price of a cheaper place that stocks the same fish. Meaning that you get the fish/product 5% or more cheaper than you could find it anywhere else.

3. Try and find somewhere that sells things other than fish - I've found a store near my place that sells all sorts of pet related goods and only have one person who looks after the fish. The rest of the people who work there wouldn't have a clue about the fish and there is one tank in the place that doesn't have all their fish priced. Find out when the person who looks after the fish side of things works and make sure you go in there when they AREN'T working. I know, it's slightly underhanded but hell, I picked up 3 upside down catfish for three dollars each, usually in Oz you'd be looking at around the $15 mark each! If I was to buy 2 more then I'd have 5 fish for the usual price of one!

4. go into the shop when they are close to closing - I've found that people are generally more happy close to closing time and may knock a little off the price if you jabber to them a bit, be friendly and polite and the world is your oyster

I hope someone out there has at least some success with these tips as they've saved me quite a bit of money, and if anyone else has anything to add to my list then please, post away

 

[buggyboutbettas]

Also you should check the lowest price you can find on the internet. froogle can be very helpful.

Thanks for the tips Dragonscales!

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

Fair enough, look for bargains, but IME the cheapest places, and the pet shops with hardly any experienced fishkeepers, don't generally sell the healthiest of fish.

 

[Fordaz]

I'd rather have an expensive healthy fish and good service than a cheap dying one bought from a guy who knows jack.

My only advice is to make sure you get a guarantee with your fish, at least 2 days or more. That way if they cough out on you when you get them home, you don't have to fork out for another one.

 

[ladynaoko]

I want to add another point to that -

don't believe everything the store tells you. Research the fish you want to get BEFORE setting out - a lot of stores may give you false information so instead of coming home with a cute little thing that'll grow 3 inches you could end up with a 12" monster! If you're unsure about a fish ask the store to hold it for you so you can research it.

 

[Nina7777]

don't believe everything the store tells you. Research the fish you want to get BEFORE setting out

Definately have to agree with this!!!! Never ever believe a store employee! ALWAYS research first!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Find out if you can get some Aquariums to price match - Some dealers will knock 5% or more off the total price of a cheaper place that stocks the same fish.

3. Try and find somewhere that sells things other than fish

Instead, pay a little more to a small and reliable LFS. Establish a good relationship with them and you can be sure that they will help you out when they can. Sometimes price is not the only criteria when shopping--for me it rarely is.

 

[Dragonscales]

Some good points made there, I agree with the fact that you need to know a shop's stock before buying, but I didn't type that coz I thought it was pretty much common sense. I always go into a shop many times over the period of a few weeks, just to check up on stuff like how many fish are dead in the tanks, etc, etc. I also make a point of asking alot of questions about their water levels and what they feed their fish, what steps they take if they do get an outbreak of something. I also shop at a few places, the joint I was talking about only uses one person to look after the fish because she knows what she's doing, noone else is allowed to touch them except to get them out of the tanks to sell them when she's not there. Strange for a big chain outlet centre I know, but hell, I believe that they are doing the right thing by their stock by only letting an expert look after them and commend them on it, alot more warehouse style joints should take a leaf out of their book. I also have a small lfs near my place that I buy alot of stuff from and that's the aspect I was talking about when I typed be polite and friendly. I have saved alot of money just by the simple gesture of being civilized. As for price matching, if you were to go to a big warehouse joint who sells the same fish as a smaller, slightly expensive store, find out their price and then go into the smaller, trusted shop and say "Hey, I seen this fish at fish 'R' us for blah blah blah dollars, do you happen to price match?" you may find that you get the same type of fish at the shop you'd prefer to buy it at for cheaper than the budget, sickly looking lil fellow who's sitting in the neglected fish section of the chain store who can afford to sell it cheaper coz they believe in quantity, not quality.

 

[roberto]

Instead, pay a little more to a small and reliable LFS. Establish a good relationship with them and you can be sure that they will help you out when they can. Sometimes price is not the only criteria when shopping--for me it rarely is.

Well, that’s all good and well if you even *have* a LFS, but alas mine closed down recently for the next 6 months to expand their shop. How annoying. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with buying fish from a pet store. If you do a little research on the net about what fish you want and check out their tanks before you buy, you shouldn't go wrong. Use your common sense, not everything the store employees AND people on this forum tell you is 100% correct.

When I set up my tank, I went into my local pet store (having no LFS), and bombarded the staff with questions to which I already knew the answers. I did this on more than on occasion and while I was there I bought different equipment for my new aquarium (because anything with "aquarium" written on the side warrants a 500% price increase for some reason and I only earn so much in a week!). After about 3 weeks, I had my aquarium set up, ready to add fish. By this stage the staff knew me by first name and my bank loved me, however, I had the benefit of knowing how they kept their fish and knowing who was reliable to talk to.

I'm still in the cycling stage with my aquarium, so I'm still learning, but I do know one thing:

Google (and these forums) are your friend!

Rob