petsmart carrying trophs and demasonis

[Mandocruz06]

What kind?<br />
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Dubs for sure.<br />
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There have been tropheus farms lake side and in the states for years. I think tropheus are just more common now.<br />
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Only the truely rare ones are worth keeping.

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thai i seen dubs,pineapples,cherry spots,morlios

[SunnyHouTX]

Thai, will it be just another fad?

[fshfrk]

Those fish are DOOMED.

[Complexity]

Those fish are DOOMED.

Which goes with my long held theory. Big box stores intentionally carry fish that the regular buyer will be unable to maintain long term which forces that buyer back into the store for (1) meds and (2) new fish after the fish die. It literally creates new sales. If everything went right the first time, all they'd sell is more food.

Experienced hobbyists stop going to the big box stores for the fish stock so those stores are not catering to those buyers. They are only catering to the new, inexperienced buyers who are notorious for killing their first set of fish.

So why not sell aggressive cichlids, common plecos, and sensitive fish to newbies? It brings them back into the store which is the goal. It's all about money and more sales. The faster the fish die — while the excitement of having fish in a tank is still alive — the better the odds the newbie will rush in to buy more fish. I honestly believe it is a planned strategy with these places.

[Mandocruz06]

Which goes with my long held theory. Big box stores intentionally carry fish that the regular buyer will be unable to maintain long term which forces that buyer back into the store for (1) meds and (2) new fish after the fish die. It literally creates new sales. If everything went right the first time, all they'd sell is more food.<br />
<br />
Experienced hobbyists stop going to the big box stores for the fish stock so those stores are not catering to those buyers. They are only catering to the new, inexperienced buyers who are notorious for killing their first set of fish.<br />
<br />
So why not sell aggressive cichlids, common plecos, and sensitive fish to newbies? It brings them back into the store which is the goal. It's all about money and more sales. The faster the fish die — while the excitement of having fish in a tank is still alive — the better the odds the newbie will rush in to buy more fish. I honestly believe it is a planned strategy with these places.

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love it is so true u put it inthe correct words

[Crude]

I stopped by just to look. Price wise, they aren't that much better than a LFS. The ones I saw (trophs and dems) were only ~1". IMO, not worth the risk, nor the missed support of our LFSs.

[supadave]

Which goes with my long held theory. Big box stores intentionally carry fish that the regular buyer will be unable to maintain long term which forces that buyer back into the store for (1) meds and (2) new fish after the fish die. It literally creates new sales. If everything went right the first time, all they'd sell is more food.

Experienced hobbyists stop going to the big box stores for the fish stock so those stores are not catering to those buyers. They are only catering to the new, inexperienced buyers who are notorious for killing their first set of fish.

So why not sell aggressive cichlids, common plecos, and sensitive fish to newbies? It brings them back into the store which is the goal. It's all about money and more sales. The faster the fish die — while the excitement of having fish in a tank is still alive — the better the odds the newbie will rush in to buy more fish. I honestly believe it is a planned strategy with these places.

+1 !!!
Exactly

[Complexity]

...nor the missed support of our LFSs.

Absolutely! I have nothing against big box stores as they provide a good service by providing certain supplies that the LFS simply do not have the floorspace to stock adequately. And let's face it, they do help bring in newbies. I'm an excellent example of that. I had tanks as a kid, but sold them when I moved out on my own. It wasn't until I walked by some little tanks at Walmart and bought them on a whim that got me back into the hobby. I took what I think was the traditional pattern of killing my first fish, buying bigger tanks, (re)learning about caring for fish, doing better at keeping fish alive, connecting with other hobbyists, and then branching out to much bigger tanks, much better fish, and starting going to actual LFSs. The whole chain reaction started with a tiny tank and some cheap fish from a box store.

However, the LFSs provide us with a service we must have to keep our hobby alive. Without them, we'd be just as doomed as some of the poor fish at box stores as the LFSs offer us a much wider variety of fish, including the more expensive fish which are of better quality and health that are beyond the desires of the typical newbie. LFSs also carry better quality hardware which, while more expensive, is needed by the experienced hobbyist. It is imperative that we support our LFSs to not lose this valuable resource for our hobby.

And when both stores carry the same fish, there's a reason for spending the extra money to buy at our LFSs. It is important to ensure that we only buy healthy stock for our tanks or we risk infecting all the fish in our tanks. Fish are living creatures, and there's just so many cost-cutting corners that can be taken before the fish quality and health begin to suffer.

I think each type of store has its place in our hobby, even the big box stores. They each fulfill different needs which in many ways compliment each other. Big box stores deal in volume, not quality. LFSs deal in quality, not volume. And the truth is we need both.

[electricblue]

So what's in now petros????

tropheus are soooooooooo 2009. <img src="http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" smilieid="100" class="inlineimg" />

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[eklikewhoa]

So what's in now petros????
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endangered turtles...

[myjohnson]

No, petros are 2010.

People in the know are going towards rare shrimps for 2011-12 season.

[Crude]

I want a bobcat or a lynx. Tell petsmart to get on that.