Revitalizing our Local Fish Stores

[africanchinchillas]

I was in The Hidden Reef recently buying some supplies and I find that I am spending less time and money with each passing visit. This is not because of any change in my schedule or finances. On the contrary, I have 3 additional aquariums that need livestock. However, I am disappointed with the selection and quality of the livestock they have.

I really like this store and a few of the staff, but it doesn't have the draw that it did even 2 years ago. Does anyone else feel this way about this or any of their favorite fish stores? I know from working in a pet store myself that the opinions of one whining customer are not going to change how a store operates. If we make several valid points as a group of consumers though, these stores may take notice and make changes to attract our business.

I don't know how to make an easy online poll and I don't think that format would work for listing the pros and cons of some of the local stores. Since this is a forum I think we can share our opinions and experiences with each other and agree or respectfully disagree. So....

• What do you like about the aquarium stores that you shop at the most?
  
• What do you dislike about the store or avoid it entirely for?
  
• What should the store change to make you shop there or make you return more often?
  

[africanchinchillas]

Ok so I did figure out a simple poll so members could take a quick glance and see who is in the club's good graces. I would still like to read some personal accounts to understand the reasoning behind the votes though. Here are some of my thoughts on the stores regarding the questions I brought up earlier:

What do you like about the aquarium stores that you shop at the most?
What do you dislike about the store or avoid it entirely for?
What should the store change to make you shop there or make you return more often?

The Hidden Reef

• I like the prices, selection of goods, the quantity and friendliness of the staff, the focus on fish, the store size and layout
  
• I dislike the loss of knowledgeable staff, the decline in fish selection and health, the stocking of dye injected fish and doomed species like Moorish Idols and other specialized obligate feeders
  
• They have an advanced enough customer database system with their reef rewards card that they are not using to their advantage. Rather than a $10 gift card for every THOUSAND dollars you spend they should have a more common10%OFF coupon (under $100 purchase) that they mail out to members who visit monthly or who have not visited within a year. They should also stock up on featured fish in TFH to satisfy the serious hobbyists who go out searching for the publicized specimens
  

That's quite enough for one post and one user; I'll list more stores in a future reply.

[moonwasaloon]

I use to love the hidden reef. But I find myself, leaving also without buying anything from the store anymore. Something about it, their prices have gone up, they don't really stock anything uncommon fish anymore. Their staff has gotten a lot younger, and if you ask for advice, you get a puzzled look from them.

I normally go to petsmart because, they sell their fish cheaper then hidden reef, for example a tin foil barb at the hidden reef can be up to 3.99, and they are rarely on sale. Petsmart currently has tin foil barbs on sale for 1.25!

Plus Hidden Reef has a horrible plant section. It's 2 tanks, with some plants, at high prices.

I like captain nemos a lot more but the problem for me with captain nemos is the drive there. It's like an 45 min drive at times.

(What part of philly are you from?)

[africanchinchillas]

I live in the northeast area of Philadelphia and my closest fish stores are PETCO, PetSmart and Pets Plus all along the Boulevard. I don’t buy livestock from any of these.

I don’t buy fish from the PETCO or PetSmart because they only stock common freshwater species at both of those particular stores. I do buy Spectrum fish food and Microbe Lift Special Blend at PETCO and décor and Omega One fish food from PetSmart.

I don’t buy anything from Pets Plus or the Bensalem Pet Center because they still sell dogs and cats there. The only way you can sell dogs and cats in a retail store at a low price point and still make a profit is to source them from puppy mills or an unlicensed individual. I believe dogs and cats should only be obtained from rescue organizations or from a dedicated, reputable breeder who maintains healthy standards for their stock.

[africanchinchillas]

I did like Captain Nemos too but I have noticed the same downward trend at their location as well. The knowledgable staff they used to have seems to have dwindled. The selection of more exotic species seems unchanged also. It is also a far drive from Philadelphia for me.

I really like the space and layout of the store and the incorporation of reptiles. I think the selection of reptiles is surpassing that of the fish. Their Plant setup and selection is still exceptional though second only to That Pet Place in my opinion.

They do a great job reaching out to customers in the community with club sponsorship, membership and hosting school children for education and entertainment. They need to keep that up and try to partner with surrounding businesses to make some sort of bundle deal with neighboring stores and restaurants so that far away customers like us have more reasons to visit the area than to just buy a fish or some supplies.

[moonwasaloon]

Yeah, i'm from the northeast also!

So I do shop at those three stores also, but I don't really buy that much from there.

I still don't think captain nemos has that many plants. At least not enough for me to want to drive there. I never been to "that pet place". It's a far drive from here also.

[robxc80]

I find myself going to Aquarium Center in NJ and That Pet Place in Lancaster when I really want to look for something harder to find. I'm big into stem plants, rarer tetras, and dwarf cichlids and you can find them at these two places. Locally, Captain Nemo's and World Wide Aquarium are closest to me. I used to enjoy Captain Nemo's but their plant selection is terrible now and they are really more and more about bread and butter fish. I like the manager there but thats about it. Worldwide is touch and go. Sometimes i go and see pencilfish, other times, its just the standards.

Hidden Reef is good for price as i picked up a dozen rainbow emperor tetras for 1.99 each. I thought that was a steal. I like that they have tons of hardware and a decent dry goods selection but their plant selection is the worst.

The Petco in Ardmore is actually pretty well run in their fish section. They have a good variety of Cory Cats and tetras. The guy in charge is true hobbyist.

I've been planning on hitting stores in Chester County, Northern Deleware, and even Northern NJ. I'll keep you all posted as I get the visits done.

I've yet to find a store that offers a good mix like i had in socal. Either way, those are my thoughts on pretty much the only stores I visit.

[exasperatus2002]

I can only vote on that pet place because its the homedepot of petstores.. huge selection including rare & unusual fish and the discounted prices to show they buy in bulk. I dislike all the local petstores here. I miss the mom & pop store I used to work in. Everything left around Allentown PA are chain stores with inept work force, rubber stamped stock & poor selection for the advanced hobbyist. Try special ordering something? yeah right. Mention something in latin & they go cross eyed.

[hal67]

It's a bittersweet selection out there. It seems that there are no more LFS's that are run by those who love the hobby. There used to be a place in Levittown called Wolfinger's that was run by Mr. Wolfinger who was the real deal, ( he reminded me of a grumpy Bing Crosby). Now-a-days, you better know what's what or you'll wind up going home with some "glofish"or cats that will outgrow your tank quicker than a toddler in Garanimals!

[djefferys]

We do have a number of fish that we purchased from The Hidden Reef and the neighboring "The Fish Factory" in one of our tanks and our experiences in both places were mixed. I do like the Fish Factory, but they don't have as big of a selection as they used to. Captain Nemo's is now owned by Pets Plus Natural, as is World Wide. The "LFS" is truly becoming hard to come by. Our last fish order came via mail-order, but it's difficult to do that if you are just looking to get a couple of fish.

[inclament]

Scott at pets plus, old nemos, buys some unusual things for us, plants only ok, my problem is their pricing! Fish are healthy though... Last time I went to hidden reef the selection was really good, fish health wasn't the best though... I've stopped trying to buy plants at lfs at all, cuttings from other planted tankers is mostly it.