Support your local fish store.

[anewbie]

Maybe wait a bit and support the local lfs after Covid?

Will there be an after covid?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I order my fish online.

Only had one company let the fish and myself down and they no longer get my custom (they sold underage/undersize fish that either died in transit or shortly after arriving)

I use two companies for my fish, both have their own breeding facilities so no importation unless specifically ordered. Very very knowledgeable, are always taking fish off sale if an issue happens so no ill or diseased fish are sold. Shipping either by APC or DHL overnight, never more than 18 hours in transit, always well packed.

Used both firms successfully for the last 5+ years, no fish losses. If buying online always ask the right questions, get date stamped photos of the fish and their facilities...and a copy of their respective licences. If they hesitate or refuse, simply do not buy.

As for local...there are none and being housebound, it would be an impossibility anyway.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Maybe wait a bit and support the local lfs after Covid?

I am definitely going to do that. Before the pandemic, I went there weekly.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

I've had very hit and miss Experiences with my LFS sometimes they've been great on othe matters not so great.

I breed Mollies and Swordtails for the LFS and always get paid well for them.

So i guess i proberley dont really spend much cash in there mostly store credit paid for by my breeding.

I've had ups and downs and fallouts with most of the Staff including the Shop Owner occasionally although we do see eye to eye on most things.

They seem to respect my views and do apologise if they are at fault(even if it does take me going in again days later).

I take pride in knowing that my fry are going to end up all over the region

 

[TTboy79]

LFS, the only advantage is if they keep fish in the same tap water area. And to have a look around and some human interaction.

And only if you know your stuff ‘cause I’ve never got any good advice from them, just useless products and overstocking .

 

[ClownLurch]

I take pride in knowing that my fry are going to end up all over the region.

Id insert the word “fishes” inbetween “my” and “fry” before the CSA start investigating you there mate.

 

[GaryE]

It isn't either or. If the local store supports the hobby, I support the local store. If it's an impersonal chain that sells the same crappy farmed fish as most of the online sellers, no, I buy elsewhere.
I have 3 local stores. One is full of the staple fish I'd get online. But I can go there and look at them. I can spot problems, avoid tanks and make informed choices. Online, I would buy blind.
The second, conveniently, is a step up. They are mainly mammal supplies, but the selection of bread and butter, ordinary fish and plants is good, and they use a supplier who gets them better fish. They're locally owned, and old school enough that they bring in the occasional oddball. Their dry goods cost a little more, but i want them to exist for those times I discover a need and have to run out.
Store three is small, wonderfully run and super responsive to hobbyists. I wish every town had a guy like the owner. The fish are run of the mill but good, the dry goods have good DIY options, he'll special order, he sells live food cultures and everyone working there knows the job well. They work directly with local planted tank enthusiasts to package up their plants and sell them.
The "market" alone is a destructive force in our hobby. If price is all that matters, go online. Buy sight unseen. But remember that a good store is a useful resource, and the chains answer to shareholders, not customers. If we allow the real aquarium stores to be strangled, we are left with glofish, hybrids, fish tb and bad info.
I can be a hypocrite because I am a longtime hobbyist with a network, and still get a lot of fish directly from an importer I've worked with. I don't buy farmed fish, and I don't buy fish I don't try to breed. I have fish from other breeders and importers. But for plants and dry goods, if I can get them locally, I do. Online ordering is a last resort.