[Linka]

After reading some of the topics here I started wondering about what kinda quality u have in "fish-stores" where u live. Many of u write about hybrids and many of them are bought in lokal fish stores. So I wonder if this is a big problem in some countries.

I can tell u that here in Norway people are very much against hybrid fish. Most malawi aquarists pride them self on keeping a pure line of breeding. Thats why most of the malawifishes are bougt privat and not in lokal fish stores.
I buy 95% of my malawi from private people. The rest is "fish store" malawis from stores I know have good quality fish.

So how is it where u live?? Is the quality of malawiciklids better or worse in ur lokal fish stores than private?

Linka

 

[Dewdrop]

It's pretty bad where I live. There aren't many fish stores around and to find malawi cichlids in them, you have to buy from "assorted african" tanks. I haven't found any breeders near by either. Guess that's the price you pay for living in the sticks.

 

[cichlidaholic]

We have one good LFS in this area that I will do business with as far as cichlids go, but I do most of my business with private breeders.

Kim

 

[liquidkiwi]

The LFS that I currently frequent stocks a good variety of cichlids. I'm not educated enough to tell most hybrids at first glance, however the owner seems honest and tells me if a particular fish is a hybrid. For the most part the other fish he stocks are supposedly pure lines.

Months ago I got a few good quality yellow labs from the store but recent stock has been very so-so. Things come and go I guess. Prices are sky-high over here in Australia compared to what I'm used to seeing in Singapore. But if that's all I can find, then I'm afraid I can't really complain.

 

[Fogelhund]

Southern Ontario is a hotbed for Cichlid hobbyists. We have quite a few people importing wild fish, and a number of LFS that do the same, as well as bringing in some decent pond raised fish. Add to that, a dedicated local website for Buy and Trade and you have a flow of very high quality fish available to the dedicated hobbyist.

Of course, you also have a large number of stores who have imported garbage fish from some irreputable farms, that are both poorly bred and often hybrids.

 

[eoconnor]

I've been able to find nice fish in London in stores and from breeders, but you have to be willing to pass sometimes. The north of the UK seems to be a hotbed like southern Ontario. How come Neil Young never wrote a song about southern Ontario?

 

[Gibbs]

I have 6 o7 LFS's within a 15 minute radius by me. 1 i never step foot in because they hormone there fish and a few others are bigger retailers. I prefer to use the smaller mans shop, those that are family owned and always have pride in what they sell without any hybrids or hormoned fish. It's a big hobby in Australia but still expensive especially for equipment and wild caught or F1 fish are unheard of. Local breeders are really good here to i have had no problems at all :thumb:

 

[iceblue]

We have a couple of nice places here in the Vegas Valley but even they are sometimes hit or miss. For the most part the chain stores have been on a downward spiral in the quality of thier stock for quite a while.

I hear it a lot now. People claim to have "Africans" and when pressed to name species don't have a clue. "I got em from the tank marked Africans." is getting to be way too common a statement. I've even given up even trying to get into friendly discussions with people on what they look like or how they are fairing. It usually ends with "Who cares. I'll just get another one."

 

[Linka]

It`s sad to hear that some LFS take in "whatever". It`s a shame. So I wonder, is it because they can`t import them or do they just don`t care ??
Some shops here have bad quality malawi as well, but I`m darn happy that so many aquarists in or near my hometown has malawi as their favorite. Private breeders take good care of their fishes and u can tell by the quality.
The thing I hate the most is the pet shops who sells "malawimix" I mean, come on !! When u buy malawi from overseas distrubiturs og lokal breeders, don`t just put "send me a mix" on the orderform... but that`s just me I suppose... :lol:

 

[remarkosmoc]

In Northern Colorado, two of the best stores recently closed. There is one decent store left and they have 2-3 species. They carry just the ones that the big box stores don't shove in their mixed tank.

 

[why_spyder]

The local stores aren't too bad around here - they just aren't very cichlid-y. Most don't carry but a few Aficans and Americans, they mainly sell the other freshwater, tropical fish and saltwater fish.

Dave knows just how bad it is to get any kind of good cichlids through fish stores in this area! :?

I guess it doesn't bother me a whole lot, it just makes it easier for me to take my Africans into them, and I really don't buy a whole lot from retail stores...

 

[GoofBoy]

90 miles Northwest of Phoenix - I will second the sticks comment. One store in Phoenix has cichilds but the prices are silly, I end up ordering online and still being cheaper.

 

[cosmiccow]

Here in the Tidewater area there is one LFS that has about 20 tanks dedicated just for African cichlids. They are a bit expensive, but the quality is excellent. The problem is finding someone in the store that knows anything about them is just about impossible. The owner and the fish department manager is very knowledgable, they are just never there when I'm shopping. It took me three trips to the store to buy some female Afra jalo reefs for my dominate male. The cool thing was the manager vented the fish for me (not that it's hard to distinguish male Afras from females) and we stripped some fry from one of the females I bought.

Overall I have purchased most of my fish there. In there general fresh water department, I have seen and purchased rare fish that I've rarely seen before offered in the hobby. I usally wait awhile after they recieve fish to ensure that there health is decent. I recently got some puntius rhomboocellatus and nanochromis parilus.

 

[Britnick]

Here in the UK there are some great LFS, but where I live I am restricted to chains or general pet stores (they aren't as good as the ones you have in the US). The thing with the big chains is to strike up a relationship with key people and then you can get almost anything you want at a reasonable price. The branch of my local chain has promised to internet price match (sweet) and they have taken my Malawi order to source for me at a very competitive price. Certain things are better on-line I have found (like plants), but most of it I get locally.

I used to work for a small LFS whilst at University and they are gradually being squeezed out of business, which is a great shame, but probably a fact of life given the pressures they are under from the internet and national chains. I’d love to start my own, but I think I would probably want to keep hold of most of the stock :lol:

 

[penalonga2005]

Well I have to tell you the quality here in OKC use to be pretty good. There were 3 LFS and now there are two that have good quality. One is in the south side of town and has great farm fish out of florida. The second gets 80 % of their malawi from me. Since I have been selling to them there malawi sells have skyrocketed. I try to sell them F1 stock from my wild and some times they Even sell my wild adults. I tried to get in with the other store but I dont think he thinks I am serious and quite a few of his customers became my customers really fast. I offered him the farm price with no shipping because at the time I had so many. I keep 25 tanks in my garage and I'm constructing a 3000 gallon pond for summer growout. The other store I sell to jumped all over the oppurtunity and has grown and prospered. The one LFS that closed down and I have heard has relocated, use to have the best stock I have seen at a LFS. There sales declined when PetsMart and Petco and Walmart started selling africans. They couldnt compete. I saw this coming and proposed the same deal to them and they gave me the run around. So now I am trying to do my best to help the one store in the quality department. You can ask members Cichluded and drewsWIfe about my setup. If its pretty rare and uncommon I keep them. The biggest hit was SP. Dolphin manda. AKA Giant damasoni.

 

[CICHLUDED]

So now I am trying to do my best to help the one store in the quality department. You can ask members Cichluded and drewsWIfe about my setup.

IT'S GOOD... :thumb:

By the way, I introduced the Maingano to my tank last night… So far so good…
.

 

[convictkid]

3words , hampton roads, sucks!

 

[CharlieTuna]

I feel blessed to say i live about 25 minuets from a warehouse and before i saw first hand what a pure strain malawi cichlid was at his establishment i settled for hybrids and the run of the mill red/blue/yellow "mix tank" at my 50 mile radius LFS and big box petstores.

thanx to good fortune i have a deeper appreciation of the addiction we all love and pride in my stock.

 

[Israel2004]

Fish quality is great at the local shops near me, it's finding african species that I want that's the problem. I find more Yellow labs then anything. Of course there the tank with the assorted africans at all the story which ticks me off to no end.

 

[cichlidaholic]

Posts have been deleted and edited. Let's keep reviews in the review section.

The question is whether you have quality LFS in your area...

Kim