Maidenhead Aquatics - Wyevale Garden Centre

[monkeywobbler]

Just thought I'd give a quick heads up about the MH Aquatics in Crowland (near Peterborough).

I went there the other day with my husband with the intention of buying some new plants and while I was there we took a look at the fish - who goes to a LFS and doesn't look at the fish?!

I have to say, we were absolutely disgusted with them. Here's a link to a pic of their tropical tanks - http/www.fishkeeper.co.uk/images/stores/...orough/Pet3.jpg

Now, in that picture there are a fair few fish in the tanks, which isn't ideal but a lot of LFSs have the same "technique". We've been there before and didn't like the amount of fish in the tanks but didn't really think anything of it.
However, when we went in last week, the amounts of fish you can see in those tanks had quite easily more than quadrupled.

You could see the amount of stress the fish were under, they were pale and crammed together, alot of them didn't have room to float properly, it actually made me feel physically sick.

There was even a large puffer of some type that was about 1 1/2ft long in about a 1ft wide tank, it didn't even have enough room to turn around. There were about 14 discus in a tank not much bigger than 90l and I really felt for the poor things.
Honestly, words cannot describe how awful the whole incident was.
Anyway, I called the RSPCA and they're inspecting them so hopefully it'll get sorted out. I'm going to act as unnofficial spy for them and report back when I go in next

 

[Athena]

It's a difficult one, I think - we have to bear in mind that any LFS is there to do business and if they only stocked a handful of fish in each aquarium, their sales would be very low (turning people away empty-handed by the end of the day) and they wouldn't make enough money to cover their costs of running the place. So, we have to expect tanks at an LFS to be more densely stocked than we would with our aquariums at home. The fish in those tanks are often not in them for very long, anyway, before they are bought and end up in a much roomier permanent home (hopefully).

I've been in my LFS for a few hours at a time and have seen for myself how quickly the stock goes - within a couple of hours a whole tank of platies or guppies can be reduced to just 3 or 4, especially on a Saturday.

Also, where you see large fish in a somewhat small tank - again, bear in mind that these fish are often only in these tanks for a few days, especially if they've been specially ordered in for someone and are just being held there until collection.

From the photo you supplied the tanks in that shop look very clean and well-maintained. Perhaps they did overdo it a bit on that day you visited (perhaps had an order come in on a day when they had not sold as many of the current fish and so the tanks got a bit over-populated) and a little reminder from the RSPCA will do no harm and keep them on their toes!

Let us know the outcome if they tell you...

Regards, Athena

 

[Aaron89]

thats not good, i go to a maiden head aquatics a lot and i havent seen this problem at the one i use. they often have empty tanks incae they get a big delivery or if people bring unwanted fish in.

i have visisted one before that was cramped and the staff didnt seem to know or care much and i wouldnt go back tehre but i have 2 near to me and i travel to the further one ass i prefer the staff and lay out and set ups and variety of fish.


any how good luck with this and hope you get it sorted.

 

[monkeywobbler]

Yeah I completely agree. It goes back to the age-old and much discussed topic regarding LFS and their objectives, and the fact that not all of them manage to make money in the most ethical ways possible. However, in the picture advertising the shop, the tanks will be maintained and clean. When I went there myself, the tanks were not so clean and didn't look as shiny.

The point I'm making is that the tanks do not need to have so many fish that they can't move, no matter how quickly they come and go. At the heart of any aquarium or LFS, there still needs to be the basic right of the animal for humane treatment. They can overstock their tanks for a period of time in order to make money and avoid selling out, however not to the detriment of the fishes health.

The RSPCA just rang me a minute ago, somewhat spookily and weren't impressed with the situation, they said they had a few issues with the way things were being run, but obviously couldn't go into detail with me because of data protection. The way I'll see if anything has been done is by going back and doing a bit of spying.

Thanks for your reply Athena, I hope you realise I'm not trying to be snippy, I just like to be (slightly) provocative and appreciate a good debate with all opinions taken into account

thats not good, i go to a maiden head aquatics a lot and i havent seen this problem at the one i use. they often have empty tanks incae they get a big delivery or if people bring unwanted fish in.

i have visisted one before that was cramped and the staff didnt seem to know or care much and i wouldnt go back tehre but i have 2 near to me and i travel to the further one ass i prefer the staff and lay out and set ups and variety of fish.


any how good luck with this and hope you get it sorted.

Well the staff there didn't seem incapable, they just seemed like they weren't interested, but that's not a crime in itself. You don't have to be interested in a job to be good at it.
Your experiences with incapability aren't so good though. The variety of fish there was astounding, however that is a slight worry because as we all know, different fish have different requirements so are they all being taken care of responsibly?

On the other hand, their selection of plants was pretty comprehensive

Thanks for your reply Aaron

 

[helterskelter]

RSPCA dont do anything....... well not with fish!!!!!!!!!

Nothing will happen only if they know how to test the water and what to look for. Which i bet nothing will!!!!!
MA do have a very large gallonage of water and they will use that as an excuess as the tank may have loads of fish in it but the sumpss are lightly stocked thus reducing the stress on the fish.

 

[monkeywobbler]

To be honest, the RSPCA didn't sound impressed with them, but I'm not sure they're going to do much about it. As you say helter, you really need to have a background or at least some knowledge of fish to tell if they're being ill-treated. It's not as cut and dry as a puppy being starved or a cat being beaten.
Not that the RSPCA don't do great work, it's just that (understandably, although not rightly) tropical fish will be swept under the rug as more common and easier to deal with problems arise, such as birds, cats and dogs.

 

[spesh]

Have to say my 2 local Maidenhead shops are very very well run with extreemley knowledgeable and friendly staff for the most part.

 

[monkeywobbler]

I think I should point out that I'm not criticising the Maidenhead Aquatics brand, the shop in question merely happens to be a MH shop. I would still be posting this if it was a family owned LFS that I had to report. Please don't get annoyed at the fact that it's a MH shop. I'm sure your local ones are lovely, however, mine isn't

 

[shelaghfishface]

was there not a manager around,so that you could have aired your concerns, i think MHA have a heck of a reputation to uphold and probably would have welcomed you poiting out the problems that they have ( thats sounds like they are amateurs- but you know what i mean) in scotland we dont have any MHA and i love looking at the adverts on the baclk of PFK mag,and would still love to go and see one of there stores when i go home wo wales

 

[monkeywobbler]

was there not a manager around,so that you could have aired your concerns, i think MHA have a heck of a reputation to uphold and probably would have welcomed you poiting out the problems that they have ( thats sounds like they are amateurs- but you know what i mean) in scotland we dont have any MHA and i love looking at the adverts on the baclk of PFK mag,and would still love to go and see one of there stores when i go home wo wales

To be honest, I didn't feel like getting into a confrontation in front of a shop full of people, because in all likelihood the manager would've been overly defensive or dismissive and it wouldn't have achieved much.
MHA do have a good reputation, but people seem to forget that there are different managers and sales assistants working in each one and not all will have the same level of experience, so there will be some branches that don't hit the high standard that some people seemingly expect.
Again, it's not a critisism of the MHA brand, just this particular shop. As with Athena, shelagh, I'm not being snippy, just like a good chat

Thanks for replying

 

[shelaghfishface]

oh i appreciate that, i didnt think for one moment you were. then im sure you have taken the right route, hope the RSPCA do something,think i would have been straight on the fone to the head poncho.. but then thats me

 

[monkeywobbler]

oh i appreciate that, i didnt think for one moment you were. then im sure you have taken the right route, hope the RSPCA do something,think i would have been straight on the fone to the head poncho.. but then thats me

Well I think that might be a route to take in the future if I go back and see them grossly overstocked as they were before - but I don't think a small screechy woman shouting at a fish shop manager in the middle of a busy Saturday would've gone down well

 

[shelaghfishface]

no possibly not

 

[monkeywobbler]

no possibly not

By the way shelagh, I adore your oscars. There's one in my LFS nearly fully grown (Red Tiger?) that is all by himself and looks so utterly adorable I just want to hug him. And they have 3inch babies too

I need a bigger house

 

[shelaghfishface]

no possibly not

By the way shelagh, I adore your oscars. There's one in my LFS nearly fully grown (Red Tiger?) that is all by himself and looks so utterly adorable I just want to hug him. And they have 3inch babies too

I need a bigger house

oh tell me about it, there seems to be oscars in every LFS i go in lately,and if i could i would bring them all home,oscars are definatley my kind of fish..well in general they are ,Jambo is out to get me at the moment but they really are the best in the hobby as far as im concerned