At last... a meaty discussion that doesn't involve an NGO
Let me ask you this then... I consider myself a reasonably knowledgable and honest store -- I don't just bag it up with out testing your water, asking questions... so by virtue of the fact that many/most don't have enough or appropriate light or water flow to be successful with many SPS, I don't sell many. Montipora seems to do well in many different conditions so I sell a bit of that... but I've got it growing like a weed in the interim as it sits in my store...
I'm not presuming to know what others do in my area but I did have a conversation once with a former store owner (store has since been sold), but his philosophy was "don't ask, don't tell". If somebody came into his shop and asked his opinion, he'd give an informed one, but if somebody came in, pointed to that and said, "Bag it up!" who is he to question them? He came under fire in a public forum because another customer overheard him talking to someone about the 6-gallon Nemo/Dory setup he had sold them... and he got flamed to a crisp for selling a P. hepatus into a 6-gallon tank. His reply is, "That is what the customer wanted, who am I to question that?"... I take a different approach, if somebody wants a blue fish for a 6 gallon, perhaps a nice little yellow tailed damsel will be Dory-like enough for the 3-year old it was purchased for... IF mom or dad is willing to look after it.... but I digess.
In theory, that type of retailer might sell more SPS (or Goniopora or Mandarin Dragonets or Moorish Idols... you get the picture) but does that make them "better"? Or more to the point, does having a "better" supply or more variety, make for a better retailer? Depends on the clientele, I think.
I'm not suggesting that you or anybody sells organisms that stand little or no chance of survival to "just anyone", I'm just questioning the style of selling the store uses, versus the amount and types of organisms that the stores are selling, compared to my own experiences in my own shop.
In my experience, it's a minority of hobbyists willing to spend the money and/or the time (DIY time) to set up an adequate environment to keep some of the more challenging organisms. Many would gladly spend $100 on an unusual coral but balk at the $35 book on how to care for it - ditto with fish. They will cut corners on their setup - no sump, just a canister filter, and whatever lights are on sale. Who sells canister filters for saltwater tanks??? Apparently lots do because I've had to explain more times than I can remember, WHY we don't recommend canisters except for occasional water polishing OR for freshwater planted tanks... I've learned that this type of client isn't a long-term client if they aren't encouraged to pay attention to details. This is the type of hobbyist that becomes an attrition statistic... they go gung-ho on exotic and expensive stuff, fail miserably with it, and in 6 months their half-evaporated, green tank is up on eBay for 1/3 of what it's worth. IMO this is a tragedy, not only for the hobbyist who spent a ton of money and time on a wasted effort, but especially for the organisms they killed out of ignorance.
There are few things as beautiful as a properly-done, healthy and thriving SPS tank... thankfully for the amount of exceptional specimens in the trade, there aren't a huge proportion of hobbyists geared to such an endeavour. I think we owe it to those hobbyists and to the animals we keep, to make sure that those precious specimens at least stand a good chance of survival and propagation by selling them into appropriate environments. A Tri-colour Acro will still turn brown if it's not in appropriate light. A pink Pocillipora meandrina will still turn brown... a Seri
atopora will still recede if it doesn't have enough flow to get through all of the tendrils of the "bird nest"... perhaps it's just me but I'd have a hard time bagging up something if I knew it was going to look like sh&t in a few weeks, or surely be dead shortly after that... but that's just me. Doesn't make for a great bottom line but I can look myself in the mirror in the morning and thusfar, customers keep coming back because they appreciate the honesty. Am I a minority? I wonder sometimes... especially when a frustrated new customer comes in and tells me his/her tale of woe and death about what they have failed with before they arrive in my place. As consumers, they are ultimately responsible for the purchases they make, so I don't lay blame on stores/etailers, but sometimes I wonder what the seller was thinking if the knew where the animal was going when they sold it.
As for me, most of my customers are into LPS and soft corals... Frogspawns, Hammers, Colts, Mushrooms... big market for pretty Zoanthids lately, which are easy to propagate and share
Again, your feedback is eagerly anticipated!
Cheers,
Jenn
