Your dream fish store

[Xiuhcoati]

My OH and I have made it something of a quest these past few weeks to visit a new fish store every payday. (You don't want to know how much we spend on fish. )

This week we visited one way out in the boondocks which had a dazzling variety of species, kept in reasonable condition. The bettas were kept in fantastic condition. You could SEE the purity of their water, and what ever they were feeding led to eyepopping color. They all had enormous bubblenests, and while space was limited, it was obvious they were being kept up on.

These are nice features, but I couldn't help but notice one thing...all fish stores look exactly the same. Same flooring. Same WAY overcrowded aisles. Same dim lighting. Completely devoid of any character or style.

I'd love to see a fish store that still had all my critical criteria (clean fish tanks, healthy fish) but with some of the features of other retail stores...like an inch of space to move in, some lights, and maybe a little color.

Then again, I guess we're lucky if the water's clean. Right?

[ChoclateBetta]

All I care is the fish are properly cared for. They probably had to cut money some were for proper care.

[harleraven]

My LFS is not too bad with the space, but yes, the lighting is not great in the tank area. The lighting is fine where the STUFF is, but the tank areas are all kind of dim. I've never had a problem moving around through most of the isles, except one or two that are a little narrower and more crowded (they are the supplies isle).

[toad]

The LFS where I live is so disgusting I refuse to buy from them. I think I may have found another one a little farther south, but I haven't gone there yet (not like I really need more fish lol).

If I was going to build a fish store, I think it would sort of look like Pier 1, but with fish :)

[Kim]

Anything with clean water and happy fish is great in my book....still haven't found one though :(

However, I do see what you're saying, and I think it's a common problem for many small stores that don't have much money to spend on design.

[Frazzle]

I wish i had a lfs

[DiiQue]

All the LFS here pretty much suck but one of my friends took me to a fish market... basically a huge warehouse that had hundreds of vendors.. they basically had everything you could ever want. Some sold nothing but tanks, others nothing but plants, while others just bettas, and others salt water fish... I smiled the entire time I was there. After going there, the LFSes sucked even more. I'll try to grab some pics next time we go there... but it was fish heaven. =)

[Xiuhcoati]

Originally Posted by DiiQue

All the LFS here pretty much suck but one of my friends took me to a fish market... basically a huge warehouse that had hundreds of vendors.. they basically had everything you could ever want. Some sold nothing but tanks, others nothing but plants, while others just bettas, and others salt water fish... I smiled the entire time I was there. After going there, the LFSes sucked even more. I'll try to grab some pics next time we go there... but it was fish heaven. =)

Take me there!

[harleraven]

I was impressed today when I went. A teenage looking kid clearly paid close attention to the fish. I said something looked wrong with one of the Berta's. He immediately said, "Is it the black orchid? That guy keeps scaring everyone!" Apparently he likes to wedge himself into every little crevice he can find and look dead. Then he comes out, swims around, and laughs at everyone. Okay, maybe not the last part. My point is that they are clearly watching the fish well and taking note of what is and isn't normal.

[Sakura8]

A clean fish store where the staff actually knows about the fish they care for. It would stock everything you can't find at Petsmart and Petco. They would specialize in harder to find, rare fish and not carry many of the kinds of fish you can find most everywhere else (like guppies, danios, platies etc). They'd have a good medication section too, not QuICK Cure and Melafix but strong antibiotics like Neoplex and Kanaplex and they would educate customers on how to properly use those meds. And a good selection of aquatic plants.

*sighs longingly for such a store*