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  • Local raised or imported

    I am just wondering if you were to go to an lfs and had the option of buying fish that were raised locally or fish that were shipped in, which would you rather have?
    GIVE NONE, TAKE NONE - BE FREE, HAVE FUN

  • #2
    Re: Local raised or imported

    I would rather have locally raised fish.  Fewer handlers, less travel, and less stress should mean healthier fish.  Local breeders should also have more interest in maintaining a good reputation for high-quality operations and specimens than a far-away breeder/distributor.  And I've always believed in supporting your local resources whenever possible.

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    • #3
      Re: Local raised or imported

      Ditto  JLawson
      Board Member of Houston Aquarium Society
      Mod OF Marshreef

      Breeder of Discus, Angels, Bristle nose & Sail fin Mollies
      Coming soon Daphnia

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      • #4
        Re: Local raised or imported

        no lost fish if its locally

        but sometimes thats not an option to get them locally.
        700g Mini-Monster tank

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        • #5
          Re: Local raised or imported

          If they're the same type of fish, just one's local and one's shipped in, I'd definately go with local unless I were looking for new genes.

          Ellen

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          • #6
            Re: Local raised or imported

            Ellen if one were looking for new genes to add to their gene pool they are probably a breeder and would not be looking at lfs fish anyway.
            elikewhoa- if they were not availble locally and not an option then the question asked would not apply.
            I have noticed that village tropical on shepherd actually puts tags on local raised fish and charges more for them, and get it.
            I think that is a good idea. I find it interesting that some lfs owners complain about customers buying stuff online because it is cheaper, they do not have the volume to compete, yet they do the same thing, order imported fish, when the fish are availble locally.
            I have wondered about the economics of this issue. If the fish are imported and you have to pay shipping, are they really cheaper? They might be, I don't really know.
            I sell my angelfish to the lfs at between $1.50 and $3 apiece, depending on the type and the size. They in turn sell them for $6.99 to $19, I figure that is a pretty good markup for them and I want them to make money.
            With the price of gas and the time it takes to deliver them, the cost of raising the fish, I can not go much lower. I recently had a well known store up north ask me to go down to 89 cents to compete with the fish he imports, how much does it cost him to ship them in? I would not sell to him anyway, because I will not knowingly sell to any lfs that imports their fish from SE Asia, i have seen too much of the plague brought in from there and I do not want my fish exposed to that. People buy these fish, everything in their tank dies and they think they did something wrong and they did not. I think locally raised fish, from breeders who know what they are doing and raise quality fish are a much safer and better deal.
            I have enough stores who buy from me that I do not need to do that. I am just amazed at the guys who want to pay less than a dollar apiece and want you to deliver them 30 fish, they are an hour drive time from my house, do they really expect me to spend the time bagging them, driving to their store, wait on them to finish with a customer and drive an hour home for $30? it is mostly a hobby for me, and selling the fry does offset the cost of the hobby, but it will not make a living for me, so that kind of thing is not going to happen.
            Maybe if more of us asked for local raised fish when we went to an lfs, the local breeders would get a little better deal.
            GIVE NONE, TAKE NONE - BE FREE, HAVE FUN

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            • #7
              Re: Local raised or imported

              Good point. :)

              And I'd rather pay more for local fish than less for imported. You raise an interesting point about them doing the same thing they complain about the consumer doing.  

              Ellen

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              • #8
                Re: Local raised or imported

                It would be nice if we could get a local store owner to weigh in on this issue. What are the facts about shipping cost when bringing in fish. Is it really cheaper to buy fish from out of state than it is to buy from local breeders? I can understand wanting variety, so they might want to bring in a particular type that the local breeder does not have. With only a 100 tanks, I can only have so many varieties of angels available at any one time, so that could be one reason for not buying locally, but why not buy what you can locally. Does it really vary that much from store to store, I mean I have several stores who ask if I know any more local breeders of different types of fish, and some who act like they do not want local at all.
                GIVE NONE, TAKE NONE - BE FREE, HAVE FUN

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                • #9
                  Re: Local raised or imported

                  I'd also think that of the imported fish (speaking angels here), many die and the rest need to be medicated. So what's that cost to the store owner?  Cost of fish, shipping charge, loss of dead fish, cost of meds, usually acclimation time.  I'd think they'd be jumping at getting locally-raised healthy fish that are ready to go straight into the tank and where they could see exactly what they're getting.  Go figure.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Local raised or imported

                    Obed,

                    I had bought some guppies and had a problem with one of them within the first week or so. When I went to Village, looking for some plants, I talked to an older guy there about the problem and he explained how most stores import the guppies from places that only breed for quantity, not quality. He told me he got his locally - that's when I figured out it was from your wife. I learned a valuable lesson that day and will strive to buy local fish whenever I can.

                    Maybe you could ask Mike about the shipping, but then again you could probably just check it out on the internet. It's a darn shame that the LFS are putting you in that position. Being a small business owner myself I know the nerve of some clients expecting me to charge nickels on the dollar while they mark it up 200%. :evil: Boy, don't even get me started.  

                    Daisy

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                    • #11
                      Re: Local raised or imported

                      Local ... because for starters, they are more likely to answer questions and give you pointers.

                      Logan5
                      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Local raised or imported

                        I always try to buy local.  My Discus, Angels, Bettas and African's were all acquired locally from breeders or local auctions.  I really enjoy being able to talk the locals folks as they are always so forthcoming in hints and assorted bits of info you will not receive from your local LFS.
                        Reasoning with some people is like trying to nail jello to a wall...

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                        • #13
                          Re: Local raised or imported

                          I've been reading along with this thread, and I'll say I would prefer locals the majority of the time. I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts. When I lived in Florida I did the fish order every week. We would accept almost all (unless the person was questionable) locally bred fish offered, but it was usually just from fellow hobbyists and such. Tallahassee's a lot smaller than Houston, and not many (if any) people had the setups to consistently supply fish. So I think I am reading this thread with an idea already formed in my head, and I don't know if it has any validity...But I think it's a function of both the customers expressing an interest in locally bred fish as well as the local breeders communicating with the stores. In my situation, we couldn't rely on local breeders for any significant numbers to stock the tanks, nor could we have any set schedule for receiving the fish. I can't even remember one "local breeder" coming in to ask us if we wanted to start up a relationship. It was pretty much, "Hey, my fish have babies! You guys want some once they get bigger?" That was about the only guarantee we could get.  :) But, here in Houston, where there are so many RELIABLE (key word :) ) breeders...maybe the owners/employees just don't know about this valuable resource? Again, it might just be my mindset. I dunno, and I hope at least some of my ramblings made sense!

                          Oh yeah, it might also be a factor that we were in Florida, the land of the fish farms... :)  
                          "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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                          • #14
                            Re: Local raised or imported

                            i rather buy from a local breeder in person, that way i know what im getting and get a chance to see the parents and such.

                            lots of times at the lfs they dont know what they bought but they know they are selling them. usually no sure answer which sucks even if they are local bred it would be nice to know the origin/background on them.
                            700g Mini-Monster tank

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                            • #15
                              Re: Local raised or imported

                              eklikewhoa, that brings up another question, one of business practices or ethics, should a local breeder who sells to lfs, sell his fish to the public? If he does, is he/she not in direct competition with his customers?
                              I have not sold retail to anyone who lives near a store I sell my fish to.
                              The question then becomes, how far from a store that I sell to, should someone live before I sell to them with out being competition to my customers?
                              I have given some fish away, and have donated fish to the HAS auction for them to use as fund raisers, but I have made an effort not to be competition to my customers.
                              I have sold fish to people who have come down from Dallas and in from Louisianna, but those were folks who were into fish and looking for breeding stock or who did not have lfs in their area that had the phenotype/genotype fish they were looking for, so they came here and got them from me.
                              I guess maybe one reason I started this thread was to check my own thoughts out. I have been considering starting a website and selling on line and doing retail and not dealing with the lfs situation anymore. I have not wanted to fool with the shipping myself, so I have not done that as of yet,but am thinking about it. I would rather deal with lfs and not have to do that, but it is an idea I have been toying with lately.
                              GIVE NONE, TAKE NONE - BE FREE, HAVE FUN

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