Well this feeders supply has no filters except in their most valuble tanks which has angel fish in it and its only a sponge filter. And I have a non chain store in my city called petsgalore and they take very good care of their fish but they have a big problem with green algae because the front of the store has big glass windows and doors that lets in alot of light. But like all other pet stores they take horrible care of the bettas. They have dead bettas for sale, bettas swimming in green water sick bettas.
Major LFS gripe
- Thread starter TF Keeper UK
- Start date
That's shocking that they don't have filters; if I were you I'd boycott them and encourage others too as well.
I'm lucky because I live within two minutes of a great store, local with really knowledgeable staff who help you all they can... free water testing and disease diagnosis etc. I have only seen about 4 dead fish there. It's a bit pricey but I love it! All their tanks are lovely and clean and aquascaped too, what you'd expect to see in a nice home tank.
But on the other hand, the Pet's Paradise store in Mooloolaba is horrid.
It's like the Aussie equivalent of a bad Walmart. Every tank is crammed full of fish, sometimes incompatible, with at least a few dead in each tank. Pets' Paradise have heaps of stores over here and I think they have them in NZ too.
I'm lucky because I live within two minutes of a great store, local with really knowledgeable staff who help you all they can... free water testing and disease diagnosis etc. I have only seen about 4 dead fish there. It's a bit pricey but I love it! All their tanks are lovely and clean and aquascaped too, what you'd expect to see in a nice home tank.
But on the other hand, the Pet's Paradise store in Mooloolaba is horrid.
It's like the Aussie equivalent of a bad Walmart. Every tank is crammed full of fish, sometimes incompatible, with at least a few dead in each tank. Pets' Paradise have heaps of stores over here and I think they have them in NZ too.
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
Ugh, that's typical of chain stores. I'm lucky that I have a LFS and a LPS that both take excellent care of their stock. The LPS is a small chain I think, but they do a good job all the same.
The best thing to do, in all honesty, is complain and annoy the crap out of them until they make changes. I'm a pessimist at heart, but in this case one person really can make a difference. I reported my local Walmart to their home office about their poor fish, then left a couple of passive-aggressive post-it notes on problems in the fish aisle over the course of several weeks. It really made a difference! Their tanks are now clean and I rarely see dead or ill fish, and they actually feed the bettas and clean their cups out, neither of which they were doing at all before. Being a thorn in their side seems to work well
The best thing to do, in all honesty, is complain and annoy the crap out of them until they make changes. I'm a pessimist at heart, but in this case one person really can make a difference. I reported my local Walmart to their home office about their poor fish, then left a couple of passive-aggressive post-it notes on problems in the fish aisle over the course of several weeks. It really made a difference! Their tanks are now clean and I rarely see dead or ill fish, and they actually feed the bettas and clean their cups out, neither of which they were doing at all before. Being a thorn in their side seems to work well
woodie
Fish Fanatic
i'm quite lucky around here, as my LFS really do take good care of there fish, all the tanks are on seperate filters, i hardly see dead fish and if i do the staff takes them out asap, all new fish go through two weeks quarintine, if any are ill there are treated and not for sale.
one of the fish places i visit actually supplies other fish shops, and the problem i sometimes have from getting fish fromt here is that there water is so goo, my water cant match it( even my readings are 0 and 7.8PH )
but we do have a pets at home, i dont go in there, as i know ther not reliable, the staff are normally untrained and couldnt tell a plec from a guppie, and mention cycling tanks there would think you were on about an ornement that goes int he tank!!
Clare
one of the fish places i visit actually supplies other fish shops, and the problem i sometimes have from getting fish fromt here is that there water is so goo, my water cant match it( even my readings are 0 and 7.8PH )
but we do have a pets at home, i dont go in there, as i know ther not reliable, the staff are normally untrained and couldnt tell a plec from a guppie, and mention cycling tanks there would think you were on about an ornement that goes int he tank!!
Clare
Well the tanks are really clean with air stones and heaters. Oh I forgot to mention I think they have filters in all the goldfishs tanks and they have gravel in all the tanks and sometimes when I go their I see people vacum cleaning the tanks. I can't boycott them because its the only pet store thats close enough to me and has fish that I want. Even though the petsgalore is closer they don't have the fish I want.
kimbowee
Fish Crazy
I personally like to check out the LFS as soon as they open in the morning. It gives me a better idea of the tanks conditions and the fish health in the store. You walk in first thing in the morning & see a bunch of dead fish then most likely there is a lot of disease in the tanks. If you go in and the fish have made it through the night & not many dead ones then the store is actually taking care of the fish properly.
I am lucky enough to have a really good LFS here. It is a family owned shop and they are actually very knowlegable about their fish, compatibility, the conditions in which they should live, cycling & etc. This LFS will actually ask tank size & inhabitants before they will sell you any fish. The fish are a little more pricey than the Petsmart prices but not by much and its worth it since I know I am getting healthy fish. They even quarantine their fish for 10 days before putting them up for sale so they make sure they aren't selling any diseased fish.
I am lucky enough to have a really good LFS here. It is a family owned shop and they are actually very knowlegable about their fish, compatibility, the conditions in which they should live, cycling & etc. This LFS will actually ask tank size & inhabitants before they will sell you any fish. The fish are a little more pricey than the Petsmart prices but not by much and its worth it since I know I am getting healthy fish. They even quarantine their fish for 10 days before putting them up for sale so they make sure they aren't selling any diseased fish.
I seem to have a habit of putting my foot in it these days, but I will put my two penneth-worth in anyway 
I have had many dealings now with Paul AKA The-Wolf, and he works at my local LFS. He does a fantastic job (for an independant LFS with a good reputation), but still there are deaths which, on a busy day, you cannot see them all. If you could possibly imagine owning as many fish at home, as are for sale in any LFS, then I am sure you would have as many deaths as they do. I am only infuriated when you look at a tank of fish for sale and they are covered in whitespot which is a problem in a large chain LFS in the area.
My point is, that despite seeing dead or dying fish in an LFS, it is path of the course with such a large quantity. I have never gone to an LFS and seen no dead fish whatsoever. Not all LFS are bad, you just have to weigh up the pros and cons of the ones you use.
Sorry for rattling on, but I have a few LFS near to me, some I buy from, others I do not. They all have dead or dying fish in their tanks, but I will not buy from the ones who do nothing about obvious diseases.
Julia
I have had many dealings now with Paul AKA The-Wolf, and he works at my local LFS. He does a fantastic job (for an independant LFS with a good reputation), but still there are deaths which, on a busy day, you cannot see them all. If you could possibly imagine owning as many fish at home, as are for sale in any LFS, then I am sure you would have as many deaths as they do. I am only infuriated when you look at a tank of fish for sale and they are covered in whitespot which is a problem in a large chain LFS in the area.
My point is, that despite seeing dead or dying fish in an LFS, it is path of the course with such a large quantity. I have never gone to an LFS and seen no dead fish whatsoever. Not all LFS are bad, you just have to weigh up the pros and cons of the ones you use.
Sorry for rattling on, but I have a few LFS near to me, some I buy from, others I do not. They all have dead or dying fish in their tanks, but I will not buy from the ones who do nothing about obvious diseases.
Julia
fish_keeper2
I am Nemo!!
theres only one lfs here that is really good. the owner doesnt buy fish untill the ones in the tank are sold out. the only draw back is that the only fresh water fish he carries are, angels, zebra danios, guppies, mollies, assorted african cichlids, otos, harliquins and neons, small koi, feeder goldfish(this is the only place in town that i know of that has very healthy commets and a very clean tank), ghost shrimp, and feeder guppies. as for brackish they have figure 8 and green spotted puffers and guppies. he also has tons of beuatiful marine fish and the most amazing reef tanks set up. my fav petsmart in town has been pretty good up to date. the only thing i dont like about them is that they add new fish every fri morning so the if the new ones are sick it contaminates all the other fish in the tank and all other tanks connected to it unless they all have seperate filters which im not sure of.
I actually agree that there is some inevitable level of dead fish in LFS tanks -partly the numbers, stress of transport to shop, nets in tank, SOME customers tapping the glass, etc.
If you were to do a proper check outside of shop opening times, twice a day this would keep corpse numbers down hugely. I reckon the issue for some is cost -say, it takes 3 mins per tank, with 30 tanks, twice a day, that's 3 hours per day; at £5 an hour (NB employer pays some NI etc) that'd be £15 per day cost in staff time.
If you were to do a proper check outside of shop opening times, twice a day this would keep corpse numbers down hugely. I reckon the issue for some is cost -say, it takes 3 mins per tank, with 30 tanks, twice a day, that's 3 hours per day; at £5 an hour (NB employer pays some NI etc) that'd be £15 per day cost in staff time.
Bloo
~ I learn something new ~ ~~~~ every day ~~~~
My thoughts exaclty when I read the first post !OohFeeshy said:
This is actually generally a very good chain and there are a few of them I think are excellent and better than so many individual shops.
Don't just complain to us - do the same to the head office. They have a reputation to uphold, so they might kick the manager into shape. But if no one says anything, things will remain the same
JDS
Fish Fanatic
TF Keeper UK said:
Mmm so this will be my nearest fish store then (2 miles from door to door) ??
I've not been there yet, I normally go to "The Goldfish Bowl" on Magdalen Road.
(Or the garden centre near my grans at South Hinksey, but i dont think they're so knowledgeable)
I'll have to call in and let you know if theres any improvement
Cheers
JDS
TF Keeper UK
Fish Crazy
The Goldfish Bowl is a great store. 5mins walk door to door!
The staff there are quite knowledgeable and helpful!
Fish R Us is not bad, though on every visit there i've seen dead fish!
I did stop going to The Goldfish Bowl, as several fish I'd bought infected my tank and killed off my Neons!
After the Maidenhead Aquatics episode, I've gone back there.
Just received an email from the manager of Maidenhead Aquatics @ Oxford. Anyone interested in a copy, let me know and i'll 4wrd it on.
The staff there are quite knowledgeable and helpful!
Fish R Us is not bad, though on every visit there i've seen dead fish!
I did stop going to The Goldfish Bowl, as several fish I'd bought infected my tank and killed off my Neons!
After the Maidenhead Aquatics episode, I've gone back there.
Just received an email from the manager of Maidenhead Aquatics @ Oxford. Anyone interested in a copy, let me know and i'll 4wrd it on.
JDS
Fish Fanatic
I'd be interested if you'd forward it to me?TF Keeper UK said:
Email add in my profile
Cheers
JDS
Funny Pie
Fish Fanatic
All of the LFS stores here are execelent. The one i go to is the supplier for all of the big resturants that have tanks ( this place like takes care of them and sets it up) In the movie Duece Bigalo, the tank, the fish and everything else was bought from the place that i go to called Marks Tropical Fish
JDS
Fish Fanatic
Cheers ...JDS said:I'd be interested if you'd forward it to me?TF Keeper UK said:
Email add in my profile
Cheers
JDS[snapback]905591[/snapback]
Quite a full reply from the manager there, sounds suitably concerned ... Think i will definately have a wander around there myself tho
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