Off-Topic

[Synodontis]

:confused: Morning all,

What a bloody week! 7 man store running on 3. Deliveries to Melbourne, Ararat and Minyip have to be done plus service the regular yard's and forecourt traffic. Wheres the time to do them and the manpower.
So I figure call the real estate man and go look at Aquarium shops. First one is Sunday morning at 10am, so the question is.......

Q. What would you ask or look for while at the shop??

:)

 

['vspec']

Your thinking of buying one? , Or have I missed my mark bud

 

[Synodontis]

yeah looking at two at the moment. or another business totally not related to fish lol

 

[DavidS]

Man, if you're gonna buy one, can you buy it somewhere close to me? :)
Failing that, somewhere between here and about Rockbank, which is is about as far as I can drive without Melbourne drivers causing me to have a complete mental breakdown :)

 

[brendore]

Its really all about location location location. And have a general plan of what you want in the shop so you are able to judge floor space, no use buying a shop if its gunna be too small, or too crowded. Oh and btw how about looking around my area ;) we could use a marine only shop for the entire area! (closest one we have is in Coffs an hour n a half away, or Newcastle 3 hours away) :(

 

[DavidS]

Its really all about location location location. And have a general plan of what you want in the shop so you are able to judge floor space, no use buying a shop if its gunna be too small, or too crowded. Oh and btw how about looking around my area ;) we could use a marine only shop for the entire area! (closest one we have is in Coffs an hour n a half away, or Newcastle 3 hours away) :(

Nearest here would be an hour and half without much traffic

 

[brendore]

We have a fish shop here, with fairly limited marine section, it's ok for beginners but for someone looking for that special bit of gear or livestock we gotta pack a day bag and head off.. Feel sorry for you Dave if that is the closest marine shop of any sorts to you!

 

[DavidS]

We do have two LFS that have tried marine - one has three filthy tanks and one or two fish (chromis and a tomato clown normally), the other has just started sells a couple of clowns, and $25/kg live rock. Neither has a single person with a clue, and certainly no coral or anything :(
Ordering anything through either of them isn't worth a damn. I ordered my blenny from them, and told them not to unbag it when they got it, call me, and I'd head straight over. So what did they do, unbagged it in their rubbish water, and put it in a display tank full of live rock. Took half an hour to catch a fish I was already paying twice what I could have bought it for anywhere else (not complaining much, Benny is still the coolest fish I have).

It's about an hour to hit the outskirts of Melbourne, so there's plenty of choice there... I just have a chronic hatred of driving there :(

 

[brendore]

That's a bit like my LFS, they sort of cater for the beginner with your basic clowns, angels and some others. They do occasionally get some cool things in like atm they have 4 line wrasse's in but at $125 a pop they're a bit pricy for what they are, and they've got a comet too but again is very pricy at over $200 for it. The main benefit of our shop tho is we can order just about anything if we're willing to wait long enough and pay the premium price for it...As for corals it's the usual standard hammers, leathers and moon types. Nothing is really special or has any special colour, and is rather on the expensive side, but can't complain when we actually have a shop who has pretty knowledgable people running it and constant supply of healthy (if average in no. species) stock
Yeah I hate drving around here during holiday season let alone in a major city!

 

[DavidS]

Our biggest LFS would have zero chance of keeping coral, though apparently they did try. They have a massive sump that must have $500 worth of bio balls in it, a DSB that is as dead as a maggot, and a couple of pieces of "Live rock" that is basically base rock that's been exposed to light under water. SG is about 1.020-1.021 depending on when you get there, so it's a pain in the ass to deal with going from that to 1.026. Their water looks average, though I'll blame Aqua One salt as it tends to have a haze about it. All of my marine fish have come from them.I like to be there on opening time so I can see what happened in the tanks overnight before they have time to remove dead and diseased fish. I learned that from a town I lived in years ago - their tanks told at different story at 9.30am than they did at 9am.

 

[brendore]

All of my marine fish have come from them.I like to be there on opening time so I can see what happened in the tanks overnight before they have time to remove dead and diseased fish. I learned that from a town I lived in years ago - their tanks told at different story at 9.30am than they did at 9am.

Yea I can certainly confirm that one! I can't say too much, but when you have a dedicated deceased fish log book it kinda explains itself (mind you I was working at a wholesaler, and I would say that 90% of deaths occured in the first 2-3 days after a boatload arrived)

 

[Synodontis]

I like to be there on opening time so I can see what happened in the tanks overnight before they have time to remove dead and diseased fish. I learned that from a town I lived in years ago - their tanks told at different story at 9.30am than they did at 9am.

That is really smart thinking DavidS, I never even thought of trying that. Something to try on a few down this way.

The two shops we are looking at will be in striking range for you Dave so dont fret pet lol. Both are established, one needs a little work to bring it up on the looks side of things. The other needs some work to bring it up on the live stock care side of things. Might be a bit to far for you tho brendore sorry, but I will post lol.

 

[Synodontis]

but when you have a dedicated deceased fish log book it kinda explains itself

That could work for a store couldnt it? As long as the info was tracked to find a cause or pattern in a system that wasn't working. To show a week point in either the suppler of the store or the store itself.

 

[DavidS]

I think logs are a bloody good idea - especially considering that shops tend to run single large systems (eggs, baskets, anyone?)

I hope you're in striking range! Then I can come buy out all your stock each fortnight :)

And yes - can't more highly recommend rocking up before they clean up. I can't think of how many times I've not bought a specific fish because I've seen diseased/dead fish in the tank with it. Natural deaths don't bother me, but when I see signs of disease (doesn't matter if I know what the disease is or not), then I'm worried enough to hold off. When I buy a single fish, I'm interested in the health of it's tank mates as well. Where they have multiple tanks interconnected, I'll look through every single one of them first.
First thing in the morning is also normally a feeding time, so that's always good to watch. Our biggest LFS probably thinks I'm a freak given I'll stand there for half an hour just staring at their fish. When I lived in South Oz, the LFS at the time had entirely interconnected set of tropical tanks, and they were typically crammed full of fish (read: overstocked even by retail comparisons), so after plenty of sick fish, and coming in one morning first thing to buy another tank so I could make the most of a day off, I then realised just what their tanks looked like after being left alone overnight.

 

[The Reefuge]

Before you go and buy something, let me send you over a bit of information you may find handy.

 

['vspec']

yeah looking at two at the moment. or another business totally not related to fish lol

Before you go and buy something, let me send you over a bit of information you may find handy.

Commercial application forms for a red light district? lol

 

[Synodontis]

Like the thought 'vspec', but something tells me Jen may not agree with us :)

Well the shop Geelong is not looking good. Will take to much cash flow to bring it up to a modern standard.
On to the next one.

 

[DavidS]

Bugger. Good luck on the hunt!
Was hoping one might be in a street off Norman St here.. :D

 

[The Reefuge]

Remember to take into consideration all the information I sent to you, as it is extremely useful information.

 

[Synodontis]

Shall do "God" and it was very handy useful info. Still doing home work on the project, wont go jumping into anything!

Hey DavidS, how does that one off Norman st go? it's one we never drop into. Only ever been there once.