Don't order fish

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 22:37:39 -0600, Köi-Lö wrote:


"Jolly Fisherman" wrote in message
.. .

The last time I was at the local Petsmart (20 mins away) I overheard
an employee complaining about how they used to carry such wonderful
stock but don't have the variety anymore. I'm convinced that in these
neighborhoods at least, the fish livestock don't really move and are
or are viewed as a loss leader for the dry goods. But that's just my
local assessment.
===========================
I'm clueless as to what kind of area you live in but get the impression
you're not near any cities or large towns. You may have to plan a trip or
two to another city some distance away. A bigger city where there would be
more turnover of their stock. And CALL the store to make sure the shipment
came in before you dive or take a bus or train there.

I know I must sound like a hick. Believe it or not I do actually live
near a major metropolitan area. But I've got 2 problems on my hands.
I'm currently interested in the less common FW stuff, and like the DIY
approach.

In these suburbs where I live ppl basically seem to either pay a
premium for a big custom tank or pond and get installation and
maintenance service or they buy a common fish and small bowel or tank
cluelessly for the kid, kill it, and then move on from the hobby.
Frankly my neighbor looks down on my tanks because they aren't huge &
marine. (If only the FW hobby was as cheap as she assumes).

I've found a couple of good shops but clearly need to do some more
exploring...

"Jolly Fisherman" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 22:37:39 -0600, Köi-Lö wrote:
I'm clueless as to what kind of area you live in but get the impression
you're not near any cities or large towns. You may have to plan a trip or
two to another city some distance away. A bigger city where there would
be
more turnover of their stock. And CALL the store to make sure the
shipment
came in before you dive or take a bus or train there.
=================
In these suburbs where I live ppl basically seem to either pay a
premium for a big custom tank or pond and get installation and
maintenance service or they buy a common fish and small bowel or tank
cluelessly for the kid, kill it, and then move on from the hobby.

Fortunately I'm in mostly a middle income area so we have all types of
ponders and tank owners here - from those with expensive sw setups to those
with small tanks with a few guppies. :-) We also have a fantastic
privately owned Aquarium store that sells nothing but fish and herps. It's
only 30 miles away. The place is huge and often has odd-ball fish you don't
see in the chain stores. I loved the place and try to get there every few
months.

Frankly my neighbor looks down on my tanks because they aren't huge &
marine. (If only the FW hobby was as cheap as she assumes).

I've found a couple of good shops but clearly need to do some more
exploring...

One Saturday my husband and myself checked out a few new pet stores in a
nearby city. We weren't overly impressed and some of the places were a bear
to even find, but it was fun! :-)
--
KL....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö ~~~~ }((((({*

anyone ever buy anthing from http://www.aquabid.com/ ? I've ordered
from online vendors before, but hadn't thought about an auction...

snotbottom wrote:

anyone ever buy anthing from http://www.aquabid.com/ ? I've ordered
from online vendors before, but hadn't thought about an auction...


Nobody ever bought anything from Aquabid, just from one or more of the various
vendors that reside there :-).

Some good, some bad, as I said about online vendors in general.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Jolly Fisherman wrote:

I've also ordered MTS and vinegar eels on line and both vendors were good
vendors.

Just curious.**Where*did*you*get*the*vinegar*eels?

An Aquabid vendor who goes by "Dragonlordno1" - $10 including shipping.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

On Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:08:20 -0800, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

Jolly Fisherman wrote:

I've also ordered MTS and vinegar eels on line and both vendors were good
vendors.

Just curious.**Where*did*you*get*the*vinegar*eels?

An Aquabid vendor who goes by "Dragonlordno1" - $10 including shipping.

Thanks.

On 5 Dec 2006 14:37:15 -0800, "snotbottom"
wrote:

anyone ever buy anthing from http://www.aquabid.com/ ? I've ordered
from online vendors before, but hadn't thought about an auction...

Yes. But unless you are bidding from the same seller my experience is
irrelevant.

Larry Blanchard wrote:

Nobody ever bought anything from Aquabid, just from one or more of the various
vendors that reside there :-).

Some good, some bad, as I said about online vendors in general.

Ok, ok... my bad for not being a bit more specific. I guess I wanted
to know it the site was legit in general. I hadn't thought of bidding
on live animals online before. I don't know why not, it makes as much
sense as bidding on anything else I suppose. What's next... Highprice
Hampster? Guinea bid? Topdollar Turtle?

he he... Thanks to those who replied to let me know that it is at
least worth checking out, but the rules for online auctions still
apply.

Cheers!

On Tue, 5 Dec 2006 10:47:29 -0600, Köi-Lö wrote:


"Jolly Fisherman" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 22:37:39 -0600, Köi-Lö wrote:
I'm clueless as to what kind of area you live in but get the impression
you're not near any cities or large towns. You may have to plan a trip or
two to another city some distance away. A bigger city where there would
be
more turnover of their stock. And CALL the store to make sure the
shipment
came in before you dive or take a bus or train there.
=================
In these suburbs where I live ppl basically seem to either pay a
premium for a big custom tank or pond and get installation and
maintenance service or they buy a common fish and small bowel or tank
cluelessly for the kid, kill it, and then move on from the hobby.

Fortunately I'm in mostly a middle income area so we have all types of
ponders and tank owners here - from those with expensive sw setups to those
with small tanks with a few guppies. :-) We also have a fantastic
privately owned Aquarium store that sells nothing but fish and herps. It's
only 30 miles away. The place is huge and often has odd-ball fish you don't
see in the chain stores. I loved the place and try to get there every few
months.

Oh these pet super stores are in a solidly middle income area. But
that doesn't help. The stores are too close together and frankly I
don't think there is the local interest.

Frankly my neighbor looks down on my tanks because they aren't huge &
marine. (If only the FW hobby was as cheap as she assumes).

I've found a couple of good shops but clearly need to do some more
exploring...

One Saturday my husband and myself checked out a few new pet stores in a
nearby city. We weren't overly impressed and some of the places were a bear
to even find, but it was fun! :-)

Yeah I've done that. It was a bear that didn't yield much, but was
fun. Covered every store I could find that sold tanks and/or fish in
a 30 min radius. But I'm sure there's still more I could check out.
Probably will try again soon.

I'd bet $100 I know where you live Jolly, and i would have to agree
your petsmart sucks. A year ago they had a good selection but its went
downhill. The Petco there sucks too. I spent alot of time searching
Omaha while I lived there for a good place, and I found one, but they
went out of business a couple weeks after I found them You think
you have it bad? I live in the tri-cities and we have a few LFS around
here but I dont buy ANYTHING from them, with the exception of feeders
for my clown knife. Thinking about doing a planeted aquarium? Good
luck! You won't find flourite or any other good substartes in
Nebraska. Period. I use www.drsfostersmith.com and www.aquabid.com.
Foster and Smith is a great vendor and i have ordered many many times
form them without ever a problem. Aquabid on the other hand is kind of
hit and miss. I've gotten some of my favorite fish (bettas and angels)
from vendors on there but I've been burned a couple times. The only
problem is shipping costs, but it costs me about $20 to drive to and
from your crappy petsmart and another $10 if I wanna go to the crappy
ones in Omaha. Consider yourself lucky all you people who have only 30
miles to a petstore, I got at least 100 before i'm willing to buy
anything.