# I just saw the most horrifying thing...



## SnyperP (Dec 10, 2004)

I have seen at an petstore in a long while. We've all been there. Seeing tanks in horrible condition. Algae growing a muck. Petcages completely soiled and uncared for. Those little bettas in a cup. It has reached a new low though. Bull frogs in a betta cup. =/


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)




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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

You can't totally blame the owner. I am sure that it is harder than ever to run a small business, single owner pet store these days with rental costs and utilities going up and competition from the big PetSmart warehouses.


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## Mnemia (Nov 23, 2004)

It seems to me that the way some of these small stores could differentiate themselves from the chains (at least in bigger cities) would be to focus on quality. Most of the chain stores do a terrible job on that, so one would think a small store with much better standards could do well. In the end, they're not going to be able to compete on price with the wholesale buying power of Petsmart, etc, so why try going for the low end of the market? Focus instead on really unusual plants, corals, and fish, in well-maintained tanks, and dry goods products that are not readily available in the big chains. I for one would certainly be willing to pay say $10 for an unusual fish or plant rather than the same old $0.99 fish that all the stores carry. I'm sure they would lose some business on customers who don't care about quality, but their profit margins could increase on the stuff they do sell, and in any case it would be better than going out of business when Petsmart comes to town and wins the pricing war.


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## SnyperP (Dec 10, 2004)

I hate to burst some bubbles, but i should have been more specific about the store. It wasn't an LFS, but Petsmart. =/


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## Mnemia (Nov 23, 2004)

SnyperP said:


> I hate to burst some bubbles, but i should have been more specific about the store. It wasn't an LFS, but Petsmart. =/


Doesn't suprise me. They've been consistently poor in quality in my experience. 
We're getting one where I live, and I'm concerned that they will drive the LFS out of business and that I will then have no local option left at all.

Not that all LFS are great quality, mind you. But at least some are, where the chains are pretty categorically poor when it comes to fish and plants.


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## summitwynds (Jun 3, 2005)

I personally would rather pay a little more from a local store, than a chain. I went to a chain 2 days ago, not Pet smart but Pet**, and all the freshwater tanks were quarantined for Ich. Well, at least they had the smarts not to sell them.


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

HeyPK said:


> You can't totally blame the owner. I am sure that it is harder than ever to run a small business, single owner pet store these days with rental costs and utilities going up and competition from the big PetSmart warehouses.


Speaking of huge corporate pet stores... Have you guys heard about the Big Al's that opened in FL? Their first retail store in the US. It's rediculous, their prices are so low that they're probably going to put every small store out of business within a 50 mile radius.

I fear for the day that they open up one of these stores in Atlanta. All the mom and pop's stores will go under in a heart beat, and with them goes all the variety and personality of the small stores.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

It is my view that the existence and operational style of small pet stores is a question of mentality. Mentality of both the owner(s) and customers.

Here in Dallas the only store that constantly has at least a few interesting fish is The Fish Gallery. Their view is that you must have the usual freshwater selection of fish plus a few rare fish to motivate the small number of serious hobyists to check out the store almost in weekly basis.

No other store does that in Dallas. I've talked to some owners or operators and what I hear is very much "We offer what sells". Which is what everyone else has.

Plants are a worst item than fish - people are not familiar with them at all. We cannot expect a store to carry interesting plants (even any) if they don't sell.

In that sense the best thing that I think we can do is to have an active local club. I'd love to hear from someone that has other ideas to "educate the public". The "frog in a cup" are only one of the abominations that one sees in pet stores in a daily basis.

--Nikolay


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Nicely said niko. Living on a rock, there are only 2 _main_ aquarium suppliers. one is a half hour drive away, and the other is a 2 hour dirve away. To give you an idea of my location predicament, look at a map of the Big Island. I live in "Waikoloa". Then find "Kona." The retailer here is fairly high priced and the quality of fish as well as the plants they have (all 3 of them) are medium to low quality. Then find "Hilo." The aquarium supplier here is a bit cheaper and has a more unique selection of fish and plants. My problem is that these two places are the only shows in town and shipping to my address is atrocious. They can jack up the prices ($3 for a single neon tetra, $700-800 for a 100 gal tank w/out stand) for mediocre supplies 'cause there's nowhere else to go, and I can't think of another person within a 50 mile radius that loves planted aquariums as much as I do. Anyway, I just needed to vent my frustrations. Thanks for being there APC! ;-)


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Petsmart is simply business. They don't care about pets. When I went to apply there for a job, they told the reason they didn't hire me is because I lacked the marketing skills to make them more money. They could care less if I had the right knowledge to work there, bascially they would rather suck some helpless person into buying something than give them the right advice. That just pisses me off...


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