What Do You Think Of Your Lfs?

[Teelie]

My main one is good, they know their stuff, the second one I visit is adequate. Then there's PetCo. Despite their reputation, they aren't too far behind the second LFS I go to. There are a few other shops in the area but they either suck or cater mainly to saltwater only.

 

[Genesis]

i have a few

Maidenhead aquatics: Staff = 2/10, Fish Selection = 7/10
Aquacare: Staff = 9/10, Fish Selection = 5/10
Pets at home: Staff = 3/10, Fish Selection = 4/10
World Of Water: Staff = 8/10, Fish Selection = 9/10

World Of Water are my favourite

 

[newfishaddict]

Hi all,

Just need to have a really good complain about my LFS. They are crap. The staff don't know anything about fish keeping.
In half the tanks there are dead fish floating around!
Nothing is labelled so i have no idea what i am looking at.
I asked one of the staff if he thought i was overstocked (knowing already that i have) and he said basically said keep adding fish until they start to die then you are overstocked.
I asked him about an unlabelled catfish as i wanted to know what it was and how big it would grow and he said i dont know and i dont think it gets much bigger than that (vague!!!!)
Anyway as i was leaving i passed a reptile down one of the ailes (uncaged), i could have trod on it and killed it, turns out one of the staff was showing it off to a cutomer!!!!

My local fish stores employees know very little. The more I learn the more I find out how little they know; however these are minumim wage/ student type positions (here anyway) so what can I/we expect.

The store I am at the most is Big Als; great prices and selection but they have staffing issues and their staff are ofthen not qualified. Their "drug expert" suggsted use metrondiazole(spelling ?) for my camalanus worms, if I did ALL of my fish would have died. My first time at the store the employee suggested 15 tetras to cycle my 29g!!! yikes you can immagine the problems I had.... I was also told to use an antibiotic for a fungus on my plants (absurd)! This was a true fungus not bacterially caused....

 

[mark.w.jones]

The best local aquraium shop i've found in Essex, UK is Amwell Aquatics near Epping. Huge store, loads of stock + good advice from experienced employees. No I don't work there! Just thinks its worth praising a good shop as i've been to at least 4 other local ones which have been rubbish and where staff have given advice that contradicts nearly everything that Ive read on here.

 

[bunjiweb]

Just to mention, for the British readers of this thread we have a thread here..

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=49879&st=144

It's reached its 10th page of ratings by users, and is approaching 10,000 views, so it must be helping some people!

It is slowly being compiled onto the first post of the first page but its a mamoth task and very very confusing!

Ben

 

[barbiedoll]

I was looking for a couple more harlequin rasbs the other day and one of my lfs had a tank half full of them marked up for sale + one dead on the bottom and two more minutes from death covered with a white web of fungus.
I called the manager over and told him I was looking for a couple of rasbs but that his were sick.
He said - and I quote
"oh they've only just come in. The ones at the top are ok, look"

I asked him if he was kidding

and left the shop

 

[bunjiweb]

I hate that kinda attitude, He either must of thought you were stupid, or is short of quite a few brain cells himself....

 

[Disco]

[quote name=''genesis' post='1073204' date='Feb 12 2006, 10:44 PM']
i have a few

Maidenhead aquatics: Staff = 2/10, Fish Selection = 7/10
Aquacare: Staff = 9/10, Fish Selection = 5/10
Pets at home: Staff = 3/10, Fish Selection = 4/10
World Of Water: Staff = 8/10, Fish Selection = 9/10

World Of Water are my favourite
[/quote]

I was in the world of water near you on Saturday and 95% of the fish were off sale with whitespot and the other 5% should have bben off sale as well. I would suggest trying the Maidenhead Aquatics @ Oxford in Wheatley 15miles down the road loads more fish especially cats and realy helpful, much better .

 

[riverman444]

Most of mine are pathetic. Petco....Petsmart.....the "Wal-Marts" of pet supplies. I only buy gravel and filter refills there as the price is cheap.

There are a few specialty shops that I frequent. The prices tend to be higher, but the fish are healthy and the owners/workers actually care and know what's going on. Charlie's Angels is good. They have some HUGE Cichlids and some pretty odd critters like Wolf fish, eels, and some things that I have never seen before. Nice place.

 

[lenticia]

Mines hopefully quite good, beacuse I work there

The other shops in the area are very mixed. There are a couple of average retailers, but the staff are a pretty crap. There is however an awesome Marin-only retailer not too far away which is run by one guy, a brilliant shop.

Ben

hey, just wondered where abouts you work? i live just outside stroud (and i work in a fish place too)

 

[england]

my local fish shops are great.........allthough i dont have cichlids id love to................my local shop http/www.rift-valley-cichlids.co.uk/ is gr8 for cichlids