HOT TIP Submissions -- Topic: How do you choose a LFS?

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HOT TIPS Column: February 2008 Issue of Advanced Aquarist

February's theme is "How do you choose a LFS?." Please jot down your thoughts and ideas for determining what LFS you should/will support.

Your tips and tricks will help new and existing reefkeepers and also helps to bring the hobby to the next level (plus it's just cool to get published in a magazine like Advanced Aquarist).

When published, your hot tip will have your username published (along with your real name if you so desire). Every month we will be running a new HOT TIP thread so stay tuned and help out when you can.

The staff at both Reefs.org and Advanced Aquarist would like to thank you for your continued interest and support of our online community, magazine, and services.

Let the submissions begin!

Best regards,

Reefs.org and Advanced Aquarist staff

 

[DaFrog]

Clean tanks with no algae on sand/glass

 

[camaroracer214]

Friendly and knowledgeable staff, good livestock selection and healthy fish/corals/inverts. Sometimes with fluctuating livestock numbers, algal blooms are inevitable, so that's not too big of a concern to me. I do pay attention to livestock health though.

I actually work at a LFS. Our livestock, for the most part is healthy. But the store is new (about 6 weeks old) and algae/diatoms/etc come and go here and there due to having an immature system. But I know the livestock is healthy. So again, algae is not a big deal to me.

 

[Len]

Ideally, I'd pick my LFS based on healthy specimens, good selection, good prices, and personable staff. Pragmatically, distance from where I live/work matters a lot

 

[Anonymous]

Clean tanks with no algae on sand/glass

That's a biggie for me.
I also like a store that has friendly, available, and helpful staffers.
I like a place that has good selection of healthy fish, and is reasonably priced.

If there are two stores with equal livestock and aesthetics, I'd shop at the one with the more available staff - even if it cost me a couple more dollars. I can't stand waiting an hour for somebody to bag my purchase.

But if the store's tanks look like garbage, I'm not staying around to see prices and what the staff is like.

 

[tinyreef]

i think friendly and knowledgeable staff are the most important first impressions.

overall tank care and maintenance as the others noted are also critical.

livestock health and the appropriateness of the setting are very telling of the store's experience and how they run their business. e.g. are high-light needs corals under the appropriate lighting? obvious parasites visible? are the fish healthy? do they quarantine? etc.

a big plus for me is if a store will hold a livestock after purchase for pickup later. this tells me they're confident in their own abilities and that they're also confident that the livestock in question is healthy.