[jbjack]

truthfully, would you support the smaller ma & pop operation who keeps very good care of there fish, (and customers) over the big chains who everyone knows dont keep good care of there fish, even if it was a bit more expensive?​

yes, absolutely!	63	79.75%
probly....	10	12.66%
well, maybe....	5	6.33%
probly not.....	1	1.27%

 

[jbjack]

well, wouldd ya?

 

[Azrider]

I have never once seen a Frontosa, Altolamp, or even a decent looking yellow lab in the big box stores! They really don't care about the types of fish I am interested in. I like the small stores, because most of them started as hobbyists. They are also the only ones that are interested in the fry that other hobbyist produce. They charge a little more, but I would rather pay an extra $25 dollars for my AC110 and know that the store will be open in a few months. I would go to a small store every time.

 

[DJRansome]

I voted yes absolutely. But I would not have voted the same if ordering online was an option. LFS just cannot have the livestock variety available online.

Also it is my understanding that LFS make much of their living from dry goods. Those I pretty much never buy in LFS partly because of lack of selection, but mostly because the price is more than double. I just wait for free shipping from one of the big online suppliers.

I like being able to see the fish in person, but not enough to spend 2X the $$.

 

[Cich of it all]

It's a no brainer. Down with the big box stores!! :x

 

[chapman76]

I voted Well, maybe for the simple reason of I have a mom & pop distributor (also supply a good share of LFS) who breeds fish and sells them for far cheaper than LFS (big box or other). If I need a special order, there is a group of guys around here who order 1/2 times per month from the large distributors.

If none of those were around, then yes, I'd buy from mom and pops. There is one local store I do buy from once in awhile.

 

[The Shmuck]

I would buy fish from the ma/pop store for the sake of getting healthier fish. When it comes to equipment, I would let my wallet speak and hit up a big box store.
Also, speaking of big box stores and healthy fish, my LFS (big-box style) happens to employ a fish-loving nut, so I trust her to keep her store's fish healthy. She will even sell fish cheaper to a good home. It seems that not all big box stores deserve the bad rap.

 

[dalto]

For me its a no-brainer. Not only do big box stores not carry any of the fish I am interested in, but because of my geographic location I have access to fish stores that carry of wide variety of cichlid species. There is a store in my area that specializes in African cichlids, another which has a superior selection of South American fish.

 

[countrykat]

Ma and Pa without a doubt!!!

 

[TheFishGuy]

Here's the reason I voted for ma and pa:

Last nite I was going to get home after the kids were to be in bed so it didn't matter to me when I got home. So I stopped into a "Big Box Store" that I actually frequent and have gotten to know the managers pretty well.

They had a 5" very nicely colored midas for $10. It's very deep orange colored. So I bought it... The girl who was taking care of me made no effort to ask my tank size or if I knew what I was getting myself into. So I started to strike up a conversation that I'm Monster Fish Rescue and proceed to tell her what I do and that I had worked in the pet trade before. She had little to no interest, I think she thought I was attempting to flirt with her.... If I was flirting she'd know it :lol:

Any way she proceeds to blow into the bag after putting the fish in it.... Nothing pisses me off more... So I suggest to her that if she puts the bag of fish in the plastic cup it's very easy to trap air in it. She replys with.. "30% of what we exhale is air and gives me one of her best "F" off looks. Then I asked if she could double bag it. So she slips a bag over it and hands it to me

So right in front og her I take the second bag off, un do the rubberband on the first bag, trap some air in it, tie it back up, slip the other bag over it the opposite way then rubber band it...

She says "Have a nice day"

I had a lengthy conversation with the manager, then offered to give a presentation to all of his employees on how to prperly take care of customers in the fish room, from greeting to bagging fish properly....

He's making them all come in early to meet me :lol:

That's why I like ma and pa stores, unfortunately it's a corperate world and those days are gone.

Sorry to turn this is to a b.i.t.c.h. fest... I was itching to tell someone that might care :roll:

 

[Supercoley1]

I voted probably but mainly because it seems to be different over here in the UK.

The major chain stores like [email protected] tend to charge more than a dedicated fish store and if they get any fish that is not their usual then they price accordingly.

This means that in my local store they have 1 bristlenose priced at £24.99 ($50) whereas I would expect maidenhead Aquatics (still a chainstore) to charge around the £5 -£7 for the same fish.

To go even further mail order places like pleco aquatics or Tri-Mar will charge even less.

I tend to get all my fish from Pleco Aquatics (because heis local and will deliver to me on his way home for free) at even less i.e. my last purchase was:

4 x pitbull Plecs, 4 Otocinclus and 19 Cardinal Tetra where I paid £50 total.

In [email protected] cardinals are £1.95 each, Otos are £1.95 each and they never have pitbulls but I am sure they would probs charge similar to the bristlenose as they would think its not a comon fish. So I would pay £145. In a maidenhead I would expect to pay aprox £100 and online probably about £75+shipping.

Therefore in UK its quite simple support the dedicated fish suppliersbecause they have more range of fish in better shape and they tend to be cheaper.

Andy

 

[Cich of it all]

TheFishGuy:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
That story is priceless. I could feel your frustration, but the end result is awesomne!
Once again you are a great service to the well being of our little finned friends.
Thanks! :thumb:

 

[iceblue]

I frequent both the Mom and Pops and the big box stores checking things out. More frequently I find the M & Ps do take better care of thier fish and sometimes will have a better variety in about the same price range. However thier are big box stores that do have knowledgable and caring people running thier fish department and they also to get my business. Bottom line is my wallet, and both can have a hard time competeing against the internet.

 

[dogofwar]

I voted for M&P, but that doesn't mean that all M&P stores are better than big boxes. Some M&P stores frankly suck and deserve to go out of business.

Same bad service as a box, probably dirtier, and prices higher mean that I go elsewhere...

 

[Munky]

I've just bought 3 keyholes at a 'smaller' shop. I paid double what it would have cost me at the big stores. I prefer to pay extra because i know the bloke i'm buying them off is a true hobbiest. And they are quality fish.

I'm lucky that where i live there is an excellent choice of 6/7 LFS. I have the luxury of shopping around if i want to.

However, I do agree with dogofwar above!

 

[jbjack]

no doubt there are ppl. out there who just wanna make a buck and dont care, example there are 2 smaller fish stores competing with several giants in my city, the one is an ass, expensive, and the fish are mediocre. the other is a true m&p store, its just him, he loves his fish and is more of a hobbiest then a salesman. he alwasys has a wide variety of cool fish and will get you what ever you want if he doesnt have it (fish or supplys) his fish are amazingly healthy ALWAYS, he will do anything to keep you as a customer and is usually actually a better deal then the big giants in town - go figure. here is an example the big giant was selling an aquarium, it was 498.00 the stand was 350.00 a total of 848.00 i goth the exact aquarium (it was a boxed kit, so i know its the same) with the same stand for a total of 515.00 so there you go, not always are the m&ps more expensive. and for me personally i do buy things over the internet, never fish though, doesnt seem right to me, and as for supply and food, i will pay the extra 2 dollars i would save online to keep a REAL fish store open.

 

[chillout]

I voted Yes absolutely but lately I only buy from breeders when it comes to fish and online for supplies. I figure give the money back to people who like myself actually give a hoot about the hobby. I have found more then enough breeders in my area here in NY, from browsing www.nycichlids.com , have yet to not be able to find something I want plus more.

 

[Mr Aquarium]

I voted Yes, for the simple fact, the local stores here are more apt to by fish from local breeders, which most do, so you know not all of the fish come from fish farms and are of better stains, and keep better care of the tanks at the store then chain stores do,

that and the fact the LFS here, 99% of who they hire know about fish in general and not some little rich girl who don't know a thing besides you keep them in a glass tank with water.

 

[Cich of it all]

don't know a thing besides you keep them in a glass tank with water.

"You mean there's more to it than that? I mean other than the fact that when placing fish into a bag, a lung full of CO2 should be exhaled into the bag to keep the fish alive. Oh, and the fact that all cichlids are compatible with one another as long as you change all of the water once every 3 months.", said the life long Pet-Koh aquatics employee.

 

[big-o]

i voted m&p because i used to have one i visited frequently to see if he had anything new and interesting ,which occasionally happened . but they would never sell someone a fish without water samples and tank dimensions ,he would not sell to you unless he was sure that the fish would be well cared for , and when he got new stuff in i actually had to wait a month to get two fish i wanted because he wont sell them till hes 100 % positive that they are healthy fish and you couldnt beat the customer service you got from there he would also order in stuff or fish for you if he didnt carry it himself but you still had to wait for him to make sure they were healthy. but *** never gotten a sick fish from him.