**RANT** Bad Business / PETS AQUATIC

[coralcruze]

I don't think this should deter anyone from visiting. Was it probably a messed up situation as a result if miscommunication sure but I don't think anyone should pass judgement based solely on anothers experience. To the OP I would save those containers and purchase premixed water in the future or invest in a RODI.

Why? I would definitely want to know of stuff like this so I can avoid the same pitfalls. Of course we are only hearing one side of the story but lets face it... this thread is 5 pages long and if the other side disagreed they would have already responded. I agree though my decision is not based solely on what I'm reading here.

+1 OP should not consider this stuff to cycle his tank. even live rock and live sand will have some initial die off. i'm old school and think the best cycle that is ultimately sustainable over a long period of time is one done the natural way. No short cuts here.

I too can contribute "trace elements" lol

 

[theMeat]

There's plenty of good decent shops around me. List my order of favs
#1 total aquarium, cleanest livestock hands down
#2 aquarium village, great selection, great sales, fair prices
#3 pet warehouse, good selection, great prices on tanks

As far as worst. Think pets aquatic is coming up from behind, catching up to Franklin pet center.

 

[anthonys51]

I never heard of total aquarium. Will check it out. I normally go to Caribbean blue aquatics , aquarium village or tropical island. Last one is small and the Chinese guy lacks personality to say it nice. But close to home and clean

 

[Clink51]

i went to Pets Aquatic once over the summer and had a great experience, but then again i was dealing with the manager and not the owner. All fish were healthy and the customer service was top notch. Unfortunately, i did get the vibe that the owner wasnt well experienced with anything other than having the cash to front the place. Regardless, i hope they get better and survive... (hint: Keep the owner away, let others manage)

@themeat, the Franklin Pet Center was were i started my cichlid and saltwater hobby lol. The prices on fry good and equipment sucks and the amount of saltwater is iffy too, but there is no better place for the varied amount of Cichlids they have. I used to drive from Astoria all the way over there just to shoot the breeze with Manny about fish. Great guy.... all of his workers suck though lmao

 

[theMeat]

Thanx for sharing Anthony

Clink51, yeah in the summer, when pets aquatic finally opened, it looked quite promising. Hope they get their sh!t together.

Pet barn/Franklin pet center, Yup, Manny is cool to talk to, but not to do biz with. Don't hate the messenger but he has become pretty grumpy. Has been trying to sell the store for some time now. Remember when it was the local gathering place full of hobbyists all the time. Sadly now it's filled with outdated overpriced crap. A lot of which is still there from when manny bought the store from Scott. It's like a rundown bodega/ghost town. Felt bad for him so continued to go to buy livestock regardless, but after so many deaths and problems I give up. Most of his customers now are trying to get refunded for dead fish, or returning merchandise they saw somewhere else for half the price. Pretty sad. I know through the grapevine about how much he paid Scott for the store. He ran it to the ground, has pretty much no more profits, yet is trying to sell it for 3x as much. Sad and funny at the same time.

Check out link, pet barn for sale https://longisland.craigslist.org/bfd/5231815782.html

 

[d5332]

Why is it that the forum fall madly and deeply un love with a store only when the store has money losing/traffic generating specials

 

[Clink51]

yea, i remember the days when that was an awesome place for freshwater/ cichlid hobbyist to hang out. Manny took a huge loss during Sandy and then the water was changed in his zoning. Its been rough for him. Hopefully everything works out for him in the future, hes a very nice guy

 

[d5332]

I like shrimp
Next time a store advertises cleaner shrimp for $10 and does not let me buy them all in a single only shrimp purchase i will bash them as well

 

[Remiball]

I like shrimp
Next time a store advertises cleaner shrimp for $10 and does not let me buy them all in a single only shrimp purchase i will bash them as well

****ing brillant!!!

 

[theMeat]

yea, i remember the days when that was an awesome place for freshwater/ cichlid hobbyist to hang out. Manny took a huge loss during Sandy and then the water was changed in his zoning. Its been rough for him. Hopefully everything works out for him in the future, hes a very nice guy

i used to think the same thing.

 

[frvarugh]

Weird...I've only experienced good service at this store. The owner has honored store credit on my word and extended sale prices for me when I couldn't make it in time. Sorry you feel that way.

 

[clasystems]

People should never use a single incident as a rule to boycott a place. I mean lets face it, the more shops we have locally the better off our hobby is. Hopefully interested parties read the boards and adjust their policies. If it gets to the point of owners simply not caring anymore then maybe they shouldnt have a shop to begin with...

 

[Loose tenticle]

In business all it takes Is a single unpleasant incident for you not to go back, In this hobby a lot of people pass the word around and if reviews are spread it can go good or bad. Therefore the business owners should make sure to honor what they promise, if the request is denied is one thing but after being clearly informed of the quantities and then denying the purchase when the customer is there is another. Reviews can sway a customer in either direction so it is very important for business owners to treat customers like their business depended on it cause this day and age with the internet it very well can.

 

[leoent]

I went there with the intention to Support them, just have I did for many local Fish store. And to be honest some of their stuff looks healthy and they had certain fish i would have purchase once my tank was up and running! i would have gone back with out a doubth!!! But when you tell a Customer one thing and do another, its just wrong and I lost respect! There are lots more other Fish Stores out there. I travel to the Bronx, Queens, LI and shopped all around. I have 2 Tanks, a 300g Reef and a Custom 150 Rimless (fish only) which i was trying to start up after getting rid of my 90g

 

[coralcruze]

in business all it takes is a single unpleasant incident for you not to go back, in this hobby a lot of people pass the word around and if reviews are spread it can go good or bad. Therefore the business owners should make sure to honor what they promise, if the request is denied is one thing but after being clearly informed of the quantities and then denying the purchase when the customer is there is another. Reviews can sway a customer in either direction so it is very important for business owners to treat customers like their business depended on it cause this day and age with the internet it very well can.

+++1

 

[salpet]

there are always 3 sides to every story

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I don't entirely agree with this statement. NSW is clearly the BEST option, better than synthetic. But it is more expensive. Synthetic is "good enough", but every company strives to make their formulation as close to NSW as possible for a reason...

IMO buying any bottled seawater is a waste. It's not going to do anything that synthetic made water won't. There are too many witch oils and other products that utilize vague terms in the hobby. "Trace minerals"......My urine has trace minerals. You wanna dose that?

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I have read most of this thread... While I think the vendor TECHNICALLY should have set a limit and had a sign with a purchase limit, they are a SMALL business.

The OP went there to buy water at the cheapest price possible and apparently nothing else. He saw a good deal and wanted to take advantage of it. The store was offering the deal to bring customers through the door. Should they have honored the deal? Technically and legally yes, but I won't think less of them for not wanting to. Most small businesses are not familiar with the finer rules of contests, sales, etc.

I do think that the way the OP handled this was uncalled for. If they were willing to sell 5 boxes at the price it was a decent compromise. He probably saw you show up with a van trying to clean him out and got annoyed.

 

[leoent]

Alfredo De La Fe - Make sense and you are correct, maybe could have been handle differently, but when you speak to an owner 3x and explain this is what I want and im picking it up on this day, it was ok!!! When you get there, its a different story!

 

[WTBClownfish]

OP did you end up buying the 5. I was there today and they sold me 6 no problem. I never used it but will give it a try. I also bought some frags, fish, clean up crew, food and a heater.

I like shrimp
Next time a store advertises cleaner shrimp for $10 and does not let me buy them all in a single only shrimp purchase i will bash them as well

They had cleaner shrimp for $10. I picked up 2.