Rant about your LFS here

[dlauber]

I had only been in my LFS store a few times before for short periods of times, and I saw they sold clown fish. So I went back today to see what exactly they do have, since I dont have any live rock yet.
This girl, probaly around 19, asks me if I need help and I tell her I am looking to buy live rock. She shows me the two tanks they have, one with B&W clows, the other that previously held a percula clown, which apparently had been sold, apparently that was the only live rock they had, which was in their display tanks
I ask her how much for the live rock, and she doesnt even know if they are for sale. She went looking for someone to ask and came back ten flippin minutes later with another girl about the same age, only to tell me it was 10$ A FLIPPIN ROCK!! I was shocked, there was 1 decent size peice that was maybe 3-4 lbs (good deal), another maybe 2 lbs (not bad either), but the rest was a bunch of rubble less then 1 lbs.
ok whatever I thought, ill check outanother store, and maybe come back for the bigger peices, 10 bucks for 3 or 4 lbs isnt bad at all.
But then they start playing with the shrivled up anenome, that obviously didnt have enough light (the tops of the hoods had that crusty white shiz on top of them), and she is wondering why it looks sick.
But most of the time they were just standing their having a conversation, while I was trying to ask questions, and laughing at the anenmore because the tentacles were 'sticky', and laughing because one of them thought that the live rock could move, and I had to explain what it was for
felt like doing this afterwards

 

[salty blues]

When I was running a fw tank, I went to the LFS for some API ph+. The owner, who previously had seemed to be reasonably minded on fishkeeping issues, told me to use the API ph-. She said you should use the opposite of whatever you wanted your ph to be. This confusing information made no sense at all as I had never heard of such a thing. She was quite steadfast in her belief of what she had said. I just shook my head, left the place and didn't go back for a while.

 

[zeke92]

places like that make me sick. i would have talked to those two idiot girls and then talked to the manager. but i'm 15 right now so if I was actually the one they wouldn't giv a damn but your older, they may have atleast thought about tyring to keep stuff ebtter.

 

[dlauber]

actually im only 16 =P

 

[zeke92]

oh, haha

not much difference there.

 

[paintballer768]

I went to my LFS a few weeks back to get my first fish for the tank. A percula clown was one of them. Theres a 55 gallon or so holding tank with no SB and 1 rock in it with about 30-40 clowns swimming around in it. So me and my dad look and pick out the one we think is best. 2 days later it dies. So I bring in the dead fish, covered in ich, wanting a refund. They didnt want to but I raised hell and they did. The owner had been speaking complete crap the whole time, saying how it was my tank (which had remained fishless for over 3 months) that gave the clown the ich. Once he walked away the cashier lady whispers to me "Ya know, we've lost about 10 fish in that tank due to ich, I dont know what my boss is talking about."
I just wanted to like take a piece of artificial rock and bash the owners head with it.
And another! They tried to sell me an orange ricordea yuma rock (3 polyps) for 60$. BUT! What they tried to ignore was that it was covered in caulerpa and some bubble algae which was taking over the entire tank. I told her, ya know I would take a couple of emerald crabs and stick em in here so they could eat the bubble, and I would prune the caulerpa.
5 days later....
Tank has about 5 emeralds in it, with little bubble left. Caulerpa is almost nonexistent and only down to like the roots where it was rooted. Me <- 2 LFS <- 0

 

[bessycerka]

Sorry if I break the routine here but..........I'll rant. My LFS is as good or better than the best ones in the NY metro area. The owner's great, and the help is courteous, they don't pretend to know things, they're helpful, and if they don't know, they'll say so. They have a wide array of stuff, and can get whatever you need , and, their prices are beyond reasonable, beats any large chain in service and price. Thanks Ray for carrying all the live rock to the pickup for me , my back was killing me from mixing saltwater all night on Thursday......

 

[dlauber]

I should change the word rant in the title to something else, I like hearing about good stores also
I was just so surprised when they said 10$ a rock at my LFS
I am definatly going back for the 2 big peices, but It definatly wont be enough. I am gonna try to convince them to sell me a bunch of smaller peices as one rock. Who knows, if I get lucky I might end up getting 10 lbs for 30 bucks or so. Although I was hoping to get around 15 lbs, buying 10 lbs would prolly clean them out, and at least its already cured. Then Ill see if I can reserve the last 2 clowns they had.

 

[scgator]

The LFS I go to is in Greenville, SC. I live in VA. When I go to visit family I go there. The place is great. What won me over was whe I first started going there I was trying to help get my mother-in-laws tank in shape. I asked for advice on something (I forget what exactly) and the owner looks at me and says," You know I'm not sure, but lets look it up". He goes over to his computer and gets on SWF.com. Then gets on a few other sites. by the time we were done he had spent over an hour with me and his advice was to NOT buy anything right then.
Later he impresssed me by telling a guy that he would not sell him an anenome since his tank had only been up for 2 days or so.
I LOVE my LFS!

 

[wangotango]

Originally Posted by Dlauber
, and laughing because one of them thought that the live rock could move, and I had to explain what it was for
felt like doing this afterwards

On slow days they sit in front of the tank and place bets on which piece will win.
I have no problems with either of my LFS. Some staff members are more knowledgable about certain things, but none are morons.
-Justin

 

[b bauer]

We have 3 very good lfs in buffalo 2 even sell frags of coral if you ask.THEY EVEN ASK WHAT LIGHTS YOU HAVE IF YOU WANT TO BUY AN ANENOME shocking huh

 

[dlauber]

hey I might take a ride up to buffalo then, IM only about 40 minutes away
EDIT:
went back to my LFS
This time one of those girls from previously, was working the register
And this time it was an older guy was the one asking if I need help, and my mother was there, so ofcourse as talkative as she is, she starts babbling about what I want to do, and asking him all these questions I already know the answer to.
Then she tells him I have a 10 gallon tank, BIG MISTAKE.
The guy starts lecturing me about needing 55 gallon minimun for any kind of salt water aquarium, and I swear the guy was following me around the whole store trying to see what I was looking at.
OH and it turns out that the rocks that the girl told me was 10$ per rock, and I even double checked with her about that...they are 10$ a pound, friggen rediculous.
Now Its gonna take me even longer then I had planned

 

[digitydash]

A Lake Park man was sentenced to three months in federal prison Thursday for illegally importing 500 pounds of live rock, coral and sea fans, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Lawrence W. Beckman, 57, will also pay a criminal fine of $2,000 and serve a two-year term of supervised release after his prison time, the Attorney's Office said.
Beckman pled guilty in October to failing to obtain written permission from Bahamian authorities, as required by its conservation laws, to harvest hard and soft coral species in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
In October 2002, he made a commercial harvesting trip from Lake Worth Inlet to the area of West End in the Bahamas where he planned to collect coral to sell in his aquarium supply business in Lake Park, according to the release. The Coast Guard stopped him on the way back.
I am not to happy with the federal court on this one.This also is not his first time doing this and geting caught either.I have never bought their because it was over price but did not care to here about stores like this.

 

[geridoc]

I gave my son 3 small pieces of rubble that I had attached some pulsing Xenia to - small colonies. I suggested that he could trade them in for something at his lfs, and he did. He got $15.00 off on a clown fish. Fine. The next day, he stops into the store and there, all alone in a tank, are the three frags with a sign "RARE PULSING BLUE XENIA - $99.99 EACH". I figure that makes my 12 gallon nano worth about $10,000. Any takers?

 

[dlauber]

WOW that is crazy, are they really worth that much?
wheather they are or arent...just wow

 

[geridoc]

Originally Posted by Dlauber
WOW that is crazy, are they really worth that much?
wheather they are or arent...just wow
Not even close. SWF sells them for $29.00 for a 3 inch colony. Mine were literally a single, or two, stalks glued to a small half shell. Easily worth $10.00, if that. They grow like weeds in my nano, and I'm ready to go back with several hundred dollars worth to see if they'll pay up, but I'm betting not.

 

[geridoc]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
I gave my son 3 small pieces of rubble that I had attached some pulsing Xenia to - small colonies. I suggested that he could trade them in for something at his lfs, and he did. He got $15.00 off on a clown fish. Fine. The next day, he stops into the store and there, all alone in a tank, are the three frags with a sign "RARE PULSING BLUE XENIA - $99.99 EACH". I figure that makes my 12 gallon nano worth about $10,000. Any takers?
OK. Since it is close to Christmas, I'll take $9,000, but you will have to pay shipping

 

[nano reefer]

I love my LFS !!! Greenwich Aquaria !!! They have the most beautiful livestock, and they are one of the best stores in the country. Their prices are great too !!! If you live within 100 miles be sure to visit !!!

 

[zeke92]

Originally Posted by paintballer768
I went to my LFS a few weeks back to get my first fish for the tank. A percula clown was one of them. Theres a 55 gallon or so holding tank with no SB and 1 rock in it with about 30-40 clowns swimming around in it. So me and my dad look and pick out the one we think is best. 2 days later it dies. So I bring in the dead fish, covered in ich, wanting a refund. They didnt want to but I raised hell and they did. The owner had been speaking complete crap the whole time, saying how it was my tank (which had remained fishless for over 3 months) that gave the clown the ich. Once he walked away the cashier lady whispers to me "Ya know, we've lost about 10 fish in that tank due to ich, I dont know what my boss is talking about."
I just wanted to like take a piece of artificial rock and bash the owners head with it.
And another! They tried to sell me an orange ricordea yuma rock (3 polyps) for 60$. BUT! What they tried to ignore was that it was covered in caulerpa and some bubble algae which was taking over the entire tank. I told her, ya know I would take a couple of emerald crabs and stick em in here so they could eat the bubble, and I would prune the caulerpa.
5 days later....
Tank has about 5 emeralds in it, with little bubble left. Caulerpa is almost nonexistent and only down to like the roots where it was rooted. Me <- 2 LFS <- 0
bash him with real rock...it's sharper.

 

[gmann1139]

I've seen both ends of the spectrum here on LI. I've visited probably 12 places by now, but there's only 2 or 3 I'd buy so much as a hermit crab from. Ich seems to be the most common problem.
My favorite was a situation like DLauber's. I was checking out a store in preparation for buying a pair of percs/ocel. I go in, and they have a huge tank, probably 90 - 120 gallon, with at least 50 little orange clowns in there. Unfortunately, they also had a Blue Hippo Tang, covered in Ich, who'd finally given up and was stuck to the corner filter's intake.
I was going to let the staff know, but them the smarmy manager gave a 'holier than thou' answer to a woman who'd asked for help, so I decided that place wasn't worth my time.
On the other hand, there's a store here that I'd put up against almost anything in the NE. Its funny b/c the staff in there is treated like a whole nother store. Ask as simple question to the counter, and you're sent to the "Fish Room." Lovely coral tanks, including a giant one that has nothing for sale (I think they frag it, but I'm not sure). My only cut against them is that they don't tend to have 'beginner' fish that are under $50.