What to look for when buying fish at your LFS

[leahfiish]

I have a friend and past customer in the retail aquarium business who quatrantines all freshwater and saltwater fish before they are put into the sale displays. If you ask him or his employees they will gladly show you the system and fish in holding. Albany Aquarium in Albany, CA near Berkely. This is one store that places a premium on fish health. It is more expensive for sure but many customers appreciate the stores efforts.

I know there are some and that customers will sometimes appreciate it but it's really not feasible for every lfs. And qting for a store's purposes may be different than what a customer would want to look for. Ie a store might make sure fish are eating and healthy looking but there might be hidden things like ich. Stores will rarely have the time, space, and justification to do a full ttm for every fish, for example. And not every fish will need it, either.

 

[Ed Reefer]

Terrific article. Surely a ready reference for all of us when going to the LFS. I agree that it is critical to make your own assessment of the livestock. Although many do, I would have a difficult time buying online - or at least certainly with my eyes wide open. Always quarantine, but always always if you choose to buy online and have your remedies ready since you did not have the luxury of self examination prior to purchase!

 

[mcarroll]

But that is the only store in DFW that does not have a guarantee on fish. All the others have at least 24hrs.

I was always proud that the store where I worked allowed no returns and offered no guarantees. Our expectation was that the customers be more serious than that....if you don't think you can take them home and keep them alive, then leave them here. No, seriously. ;Cyclops

I don't remember a single problem arising from this policy either.

In my experience, the problem was not retailers trying to steer folks wrong, it was folks doing all their learning online and then going into the LFS armed with a fistful of dollars and an agenda.

Here's how I spent most of my conversations with newbs: "No you can't add all those fish at once." "No tangs don't belong in small tanks." Etc. In every case I remember, the idea that you can do (and get away with) things like that come from online. Judging from the newbs we'd get in the store, hardly anyone starts out reading books anymore....but it's something I still recommend!