Good Shop / Bad Shop
by Andy Gordon of England, and Michelle Stuart of
Ontario Canada
Reprinted, with permission, from their web site Fishtanksandponds.net
Aquarticles
If you have never kept fish or you are planning to buy your first fish tank and you
have never set foot in an aquatic shop before how can you judge what makes a good shop or
a bad one? Because fish are living things and because being transported and moved around
is very stressful to them good careful handling at the shop can make a lot of difference
to their future prospects.
In a good shop you should find
Helpful Staff
If you explain that this will be your first aquarium the staff should be prepared to guide
you through a list of essential equipment and explain how to set it all up. And answer
your questions about anything you aren't sure of. They should also explain about the need
to properly mature a tank and how important it is not to add the fish until it is fully
mature. A really good shop will refuse to sell you the fish on the same day as the tank.
This may seem rude but they have a lot of experience and they know that if they sold you
any fish so soon they would simply die.
A bad shop will either ignore you or won't be very helpful. They may offer to sell you
a complete setup without first knowing what it is you want to keep and worst of all they
may offer to sell you the tank and fish on the same day.
Sales
A good shop will take time to explain what it is that you need and offer alternatives. All
shops have to sell things to make a living but a good shop will try to look to the future
and keep you in the hobby long term, after all it is in their own interest to do so. A bad
shop will simply try to sell you the most expensive and sometimes unnecessary items that
they can without any thought for your future custom. I have seen it over and over again
where a shop has sold a newcomer just about everything possible along with a helping of
bad advice about why they need it.
The Premises
Perhaps the easiest way to judge a shop, or is it? Fishkeepers are notorious for
"adapting" things to make them work better, often without much thought for
appearance. If a shop is run by fishkeepers the same could also apply. The best shop I
have ever been in is run by a group of fishkeepers who really know their stuff and I
regularly travel the 120 miles to the shop passing 100s of others on the way because I
know I won't be disappointed when I get there. It isn't the tidiest or slickest when it
comes to displaying things but it is clean and so are all the tanks. Slick displays and
tidy surroundings are all very well but what are the tanks like?
The Tanks
In my opinion this is where you really can tell the difference between a good shop and a
poor one. Look for these pointers.
1.Are the tanks clean looking.
2.Do the filters in the tank work properly or are the fish gasping for air at the surface.
3.Are the tanks very over crowded.
4.A single dead fish isn't necessarily a bad sign. Fish do die especially after all the
travelling and moving tanks that the ones in the shop will have done. A bad sign is when a
dead fish has been left in the tank for some time, if it is covered in fungus (looks like
cotton wool) or if it is almost eaten away by its tank mates.
5.Don't expect to see show specimens, fish rarely look anywhere near there best in a shop
environment. But avoid buying fish where there is any sign of disease in the tank. Look
for abnormally thin fish, fish which simply rest on the bottom in a daze, marks, cuts or
blemishes are all bad signs.
6.Do the tanks carry any useful information about the water chemistry the fish are
currently in.
7.Do the tanks carry any information about the fish and their requirements and importantly
about their potential size. And is the information up to date or does it refer to last
month's fish?
The Fish
Do the staff patrol the tanks, do you ever see the fish being fed, is there a quarantine
area or unpacking area. Are the fish offered for sale the moment they arrive at the shop.
Ideally the fish should be unpacked and acclimatized away from public view so that they
have a chance to settle and start feeding, even better if they can be quarantined too for
a couple of weeks before sale. The fish that are offered for sale should be eating well,
and appear to be healthy and active and there should be no sign of any illness on any fish
in the tank. The staff should be able to advise about the fishes' compatibility for your
own tank. If you ask for a fish and you are asked a few questions don't take offence, this
is a sign of a very good shop, one where the fishes' welfare is placed higher than a sale.
A Good Shop
If you do find a good shop listen to their advice, even if it goes against what you want.
That cute looking 2 inch Oscar really will wreck your tank and kill its tank mates. Listen
to the voices of experience and enjoy the hobby. Don't learn the hard way. If you do find
a good shop stick with them, even if they are a little more expensive (which good care
often is). After all how much is good advice worth?
Get it right from the beginning and enjoy a wonderful hobby.
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