LFS questions

[ladytunderin]

Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay away
from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to share
your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance
--
Ladytunderin

[Magic menagerie]

It's not so much WHICH LFS, but the people who work there... some LFS chains
have knowledgeable people, considering their minimum wage pay. Others are only
worth their pay... ; )

[GiveMeABMW]

Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay away
from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to share
your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance>>>

Well, it depends on where you live.
As for national chains...

The PetCo in my area (upstate NY) is AWFUL and always has dead fish in the
tanks, ignorant sales people, limited fish supplies, etc.

The Petsmart is slightly better - the goldfish I've bought from there are
disease free so far. Once while I was there the clerk sold 10 feeders to a
woman who said she had a 10 gallon tank...I suppose perfection can't be
expected of these people...

Of course, all pet stores in the area mistreat their bettas (tiny cups to live
in).

[johnhuddleston]

My LFS always quaranteens stock for 2 weeks before selling. The shop itself
is quite basic, very little nice decor, just lots of tanks full of healthy
fish, prices are slightly higher than other shops i`ve been in but its
definately worth it, his tanks and water are always spotless and when you
buy something from him he always checks what sort of tank, other species and
filtration you have. Every fish i`ve bought (about 20 in total, for myself
and other people)has been in perfect condition and after following his
advice they stayed that way, I`ve never quranteened fish from him and never
had a problem, not one medication in a tank running 3 years.

"ladytunderin" > wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
> Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay away
> from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to
share
> your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
> I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance
> --
> Ladytunderin
>
>

[Watkins Lady]

The PetSmart near here is not bad for fish. They have teenagers, too, but
they seem to train them... too well. They tend to lecture me, which gets
annoying. I got into an argument with a "little girl" once about the
snails... I had black ones and gold ones, and the gold ones ate my plants,
but the black ones never touched them, and the girl argued that it was the
fish. Meanwhile, I SAW the snail saw my plant in half!

Anyways, every time I have purchased a fish, I get the lecture about how
big the tank should be, etc. It's boring by now. But at least they care, I
guess. I know of another privately owned LFS also who has one filter which
he rotates from tank to tank. Needless to say, I've never purchased from
him. One friend told me her friend spent over $100 on tropical fish from
him and they all died... wonder why.


"Col" > wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
> For me in this area, Outskirts of Toronto, there is a Big Al's (referred
to
> by a lot of people as Dead Al's). There was a good place called Pet
Parade,
> the owners retired and closed down the shop. There is a Petsmart. lots
of
> teenagers working there and unfortunately most of them don't have a
clue.
> There are a couple of places in the mini mall, just the thought of those
> places makes me shudder, I am sure you have all seen they type where
most of
> the fish are dead or dying and your shoes stick to the floor as you walk
> thru. So I would love to hear of places that others have found
acceptable.
>
> --
> Ladytunderin
> "GiveMeABMW" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay
away
> > from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to
> share
> > your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
> > I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance>>>
> >
> > Well, it depends on where you live.
> > As for national chains...
> >
> > The PetCo in my area (upstate NY) is AWFUL and always has dead fish in
the
> > tanks, ignorant sales people, limited fish supplies, etc.
> >
> > The Petsmart is slightly better - the goldfish I've bought from there
are
> > disease free so far. Once while I was there the clerk sold 10 feeders
to a
> > woman who said she had a 10 gallon tank...I suppose perfection can't
be
> > expected of these people...
> >
> > Of course, all pet stores in the area mistreat their bettas (tiny cups
to
> live
> > in).
> >
>
>

[blove]

where in upstate are ya? im in massena and the lfs that i work at is
pretty knowledgable and decent


"GiveMeABMW" > wrote in message
...
> Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay away
> from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to
share
> your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
> I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance>>>
>
> Well, it depends on where you live.
> As for national chains...
>
> The PetCo in my area (upstate NY) is AWFUL and always has dead fish in the
> tanks, ignorant sales people, limited fish supplies, etc.
>
> The Petsmart is slightly better - the goldfish I've bought from there are
> disease free so far. Once while I was there the clerk sold 10 feeders to a
> woman who said she had a 10 gallon tank...I suppose perfection can't be
> expected of these people...
>
> Of course, all pet stores in the area mistreat their bettas (tiny cups to
live
> in).
>

[GiveMeABMW]

where in upstate are ya? im in massena and the lfs that i work at is
pretty knowledgable and decent>>>

I'm by Albany...it's most likely not the same store! :)

[blove]

albany is central ny, i have an uncle in albany, one of these days im gonna
take some time off and go down to visit and check out all the petstores


"GiveMeABMW" > wrote in message
...
> where in upstate are ya? im in massena and the lfs that i work at is
> pretty knowledgable and decent>>>
>
> I'm by Albany...it's most likely not the same store! :)

[IDzine01]

(Magic menagerie) wrote in message >...
> It's not so much WHICH LFS, but the people who work there... some LFS chains
> have knowledgeable people, considering their minimum wage pay. Others are only
> worth their pay... ; )

I agree.Usually, I'll overhear them giving bad advice to unsuspecting
customers and know to stay clear. Truthfully, the people who frequent
this board probably already know more then most LFS empoyees anyway.

It's much more reliable to do all the research you need yourself,
BEFORE going to the store. I'd guess the average employee give less
then 50% accurate information anyway. It can be hard to determine who
knows what they're talking about and who THINKS they know. I don't
think the employees are TRYING to dupe people, I just think they don't
know better.

I pick stores based on who meets my level of expectations for animal
husbandry mostly. If they treat the fish as "live animals who will
become loving pets" instead of merchandise, then I'll go back. I like
to see clean tanks with healty animals and plenty of room to move
around, etc.

[Kay]

ladytunderin wrote:
> Which LFS have you been happy with and why? Which ones should we stay away
> from? I know we all have our horror stories, and what better place to share
> your advice with others who would benefit from your experiences
> I am interested to hear your replies. Thanking you in advance

I have 2 LFS that I love, both have seperate filters for each tank, and
one only buys fich from private breeders.

Kay

[IDzine01]

(Magic menagerie) wrote in message >...
> It's not so much WHICH LFS, but the people who work there... some LFS chains
> have knowledgeable people, considering their minimum wage pay. Others are only
> worth their pay... ; )

I agree.Usually, I'll overhear them giving bad advice to unsuspecting
customers and know to stay clear. Truthfully, the people who frequent
this board probably already know more then most LFS empoyees anyway.

It's much more reliable to do all the research you need yourself,
BEFORE going to the store. I'd guess the average employee give less
then 50% accurate information anyway. It can be hard to determine who
knows what they're talking about and who THINKS they know. I don't
think the employees are TRYING to dupe people, I just think they don't
know better.

I pick stores based on who meets my level of expectations for animal
husbandry mostly. If they treat the fish as "live animals who will
become loving pets" instead of merchandise, then I'll go back. I like
to see clean tanks with healty animals and plenty of room to move
around, etc.

[Azul]

On Tue, 11 May 2004 00:08:15 GMT, "Col" > wrote:

>For me in this area, Outskirts of Toronto,

I have found that I prefer the Super Pet stores to the
PetsMart. They usually have nice fish, clean tanks
and some of the people I have spoken to their have
their own tanks at home. They usually have more
middle aged to older people working there.

I have a wonderful Paul Mac's in Cambridge were I
have purchased most of my fish.



Azul