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View Full Version : That Fish Place!


jimi
01/20/2001, 06:05 PM
Well I just got back from that pet place and am thoroughly discusted with their live stock/ live rock and the way they handle it! About 90% of their fish stock is sick and they have about 10 young teens working like there bagging groceries. Not that I have anything against teens working, if they know what they are doing. They just go over to the tanks scoop the fish out with nets and DROP it in the container. I then watched one of them take a order from a guy for 10 turbo snails. The kid put a net into a tank full of snails alot dead and empty shells and scoop them up in the net and into the bag, There were 2 empty shells that I could see for sure, the guy was at another tank and never bothered to check them before he put them in the bag with paper. I swear if it was not for the great prices on dry goods they would never get my money and I would post everywhere about their poor livestock. Sorry for the long post just venting!

fitzyu
01/20/2001, 06:17 PM
[You might be better off sending THAT PET PLACE an email directly to the attention of OWNER advising him of your SPECIFIC observations.....I mean it is nice that you let others nice I suppose but....it would be better I think personally if you let the people that can CHANGE IT know because they probably would appreciate your feedback/comments... I love ALL pet/fish stores! I mean...the more the merrier...the better the competition the better our hobbiests pricing and selection. THAT PET PLACE has given me way up in Northern Ontario Canada good service and....although I am sure they are not PERFECT they do make many mistakes and.....IF YOU LET THE RIGHT PERSON KNOW I would bet they CHANGE IT...they have WAY TO MUCH TO LOSE with BAD SERVICE as they are the LARGEST OUTFIT IN THE WORLD in the hobby I believe..... Does this make sense? Have a great day! Love the hobby!QUOTE]Originally posted by jimi
Well I just got back from that pet place and am thoroughly discusted with their live stock/ live rock and the way they handle it! About 90% of their fish stock is sick and they have about 10 young teens working like there bagging groceries. Not that I have anything against teens working, if they know what they are doing. They just go over to the tanks scoop the fish out with nets and DROP it in the container. I then watched one of them take a order from a guy for 10 turbo snails. The kid put a net into a tank full of snails alot dead and empty shells and scoop them up in the net and into the bag, There were 2 empty shells that I could see for sure, the guy was at another tank and never bothered to check them before he put them in the bag with paper. I swear if it was not for the great prices on dry goods they would never get my money and I would post everywhere about their poor livestock. Sorry for the long post just venting! [/QUOTE]

jimi
01/20/2001, 06:24 PM
Fitzyu you may be right, but have you ever been there? I really dont think they will change its been that way since I have been going there. Like I said dry goods and customer service with returns is great but that does not justify there livestock.

DgenR8
01/20/2001, 07:23 PM
I had a problem with them once. (A shipping issue)When I first e-mailed them with my complaint, I got a reply that was rather disappointing. (misspellings, no punctuation, rude)When I clipped that e-mail and sent it back along with a note explaining why I felt that response was less than sufficient, I must have reached someone with clout.
Suffice it to say, they made up for the slow shipping and improper response to my initial complaint. I've never been to their outlet or purchased livestock from them, but I still buy dry goods there and since that one time, have had no reason to complain.
Just my experience...

Totlxtc
01/20/2001, 09:22 PM
I agree with you about their Livestock. Its the pits and now they ship them mailorder. Guess where, from the tanks in the showroom. So if you've ever been there and seen the tanks you would never buy a fish from them either. The plants looked pretty healthly thou! But livestocks not what their known for.

Their dry goods prices are excellent. I have recieved very helpful information on products from their help. (yes some where teens). The ones that didnt know about the product went and got someone that did. I also had a return and it was even pass their return policy deadline, but when i explained i lived almost 5 hours away they gladly refunded the money. Which i used to get more goods! I will continue to drive there for drygoods, but will never buy a fish from them. If i didnt like their customer service i wouldnt drive across the state several times a year to visit.

Ben C
01/20/2001, 09:37 PM
I have been to That Pet Place 3 or 4 times and have ordered from their catalog many times. The quality of their livestock is not the greatest but, sadly, I have seen much worse. The prices on their dry goods make it worth a special trip. Relative to the kids working there, it is a huge operation so it would be next to impossible to staff the place with truly knowledgeable and experienced aquarists. The employees that helped us have had their fair share of problems, (we had a Wrasse jump out of the small container it was put into just after it was caught, right onto the floor, ouch) but overall they seem to be doing their level best.

reefguyinpa
01/20/2001, 10:02 PM
Ok Kids!
Take it form one who virtually owns stock in the company...Their fishroom leaves a lot to be desired and yes their dry goods are very reasonable. I average a trip a month to the store(I live an hour away). Seems as though they have put a lot of money into their fishroom only to abandon most of the centralized filtration for smaller systems like they had before they remodeled. A waste of money on their part? Perhaps, but they do keep the price of this hobby in check and also keep some of the LFS honest as well. Just little Jimmy's opinion.
JimB.

fitzyu
01/20/2001, 10:12 PM
If you all are having that experienc with that Pet Place
then perhaps it is time you ALL SEND AN EMAIL within the
next 24 hours spelling out the problems as specifically and constructively as you can...they will listen.....but...
it is easy to critisize so please...be constructive and let them know you are trying to HELP them by providing them
with the feedback you have specified here on this site...
Good luck!

Snailman
01/20/2001, 11:40 PM
We have done mail order with them for 10 years and drive there for salt and other supplies two or three times a year. You are right about their livestock. They have a marine biologist on staff so they know what they are doing and don't care. We were there once and say a fellow buying a huge box of dead corals. They move so much stuff to people that don't know any better that it is unlikely that they will listne to a few of our emails.

BTW I am moving this thread to the Vendor Experiances forum. :)

Kermit
01/21/2001, 12:09 AM
I was lucky or maybe unlucky to see them unload their fish arrivals one day. All of the fish were poured into one of those styrofoam liverock boxes and were then just scooped and dropped into their tank. I din't see any acclimating going on. The containers had large numbers of dead or dying fish in them. I guess when you get such a large amount of fish in at once loss is a given, but I didn't look good to possible buyers. Some of the prices are a little steep as well. A pygmy angel for $50? Sounds tad high since the worst and most expensive LFS around here sells them for $20.

I still buy most of my dry goods from them though.

Kermit

fitzyu
01/21/2001, 08:20 AM
wELL SNAIL....if they are that bad one thing is for sure...it is COSTING THEM MONEY!!!! Seriously...if you people have witnessed these things then many people have already STOPPED SHOPPING THERE....Poor service will close a business faster then competative pricing. So....hey....what goes around comes around and....
if they do not clean up there act then it will just be
a matter of time and they will be closing their saltwater
fish department. My guess is that they will clean up
their act eventually when THEY THEMSELVES GET TIRED of the complaints.

So...make sure you tell them every time they screw up.,
Originally posted by Snailman
We have done mail order with them for 10 years and drive there for salt and other supplies two or three times a year. You are right about their livestock. They have a marine biologist on staff so they know what they are doing and don't care. We were there once and say a fellow buying a huge box of dead corals. They move so much stuff to people that don't know any better that it is unlikely that they will listne to a few of our emails.

BTW I am moving this thread to the Vendor Experiances forum. :)

jimi
01/21/2001, 01:18 PM
They may be losing a little money on the livestock end but there are enough newbies to buy the fish. The dry good prices are not competetive they are great. Thats why they will always have a thriving business. The prices on their Oceanic tanks beats anyone in my area by at the least $150.

fitzyu
01/21/2001, 01:31 PM
Jimi, I hear ya....I am a businessman....so...I can relate to what you are saying.... In THIS particular business of
Pets etc though there is an ethical and HUMANE factor that must come into place as they are dealing with the lives of animals...I mean if the place that is selling them does not give a rats about them....that attitude can trickle down to the as you say NEWBIES in the hobby and that is all BAD FOR THE HOBBY and BAD FOR THE PLANET IN GENERAL....
If they are not handling their livestock properly the Humane Society should be advised!!!! Seriously....even though I love the hobby and am guilty as the next for buying living animals from the ocean as opposed to leaving them be....one thing is for sure....if we are going to
take these animals from the ocean the least we can do is our best to make them comfortable and stress free....
do you not agree jim??? Does this make sense? IF so...then you as a share holder might want to bring it up at the next board of directors meeting.....
Good luck...
Have a great humane day.!
Originally posted by jimi
They may be losing a little money on the livestock end but there are enough newbies to buy the fish. The dry good prices are not competetive they are great. Thats why they will always have a thriving business. The prices on their Oceanic tanks beats anyone in my area by at the least $150.

jimi
01/21/2001, 02:11 PM
I agree 100% thats why I started the post. Your not confusing me with JimB aka Reefguyinpa are you?

jackson
01/21/2001, 03:28 PM
I bought my tank (75 gallon) and some of my equipment from THat Fish Place because it was about half the price of my local store. The livestock on the day I got my tank was very nice. I went back about 2 months later to get some livestock and all their fish were sick or dead and they had no corals. They had about 2 dozen small Purple tangs and all had very severe erosion and looked really aweful. A friend told me they buy their livestock from Roozen's which is not the greatest either! I just got some corals from Dr. Mac today and they are awesome, better than anything in any stores in my area, as far as corals go-- Dr. Mac Rocks! That Fish Place sucks! Just my opinion.

fitzyu
01/21/2001, 07:22 PM
OOOOPS SORRY JIM....THIS POSTING WAS FOR THAT REEFGUYINPA
OR SOME DARN THING.....THE GUY WITH THE SHARES IN THE COMPANY.....SORRY JIMI!Originally posted by fitzyu
Jimi, I hear ya....I am a businessman....so...I can relate to what you are saying.... In THIS particular business of
Pets etc though there is an ethical and HUMANE factor that must come into place as they are dealing with the lives of animals...I mean if the place that is selling them does not give a rats about them....that attitude can trickle down to the as you say NEWBIES in the hobby and that is all BAD FOR THE HOBBY and BAD FOR THE PLANET IN GENERAL....
If they are not handling their livestock properly the Humane Society should be advised!!!! Seriously....even though I love the hobby and am guilty as the next for buying living animals from the ocean as opposed to leaving them be....one thing is for sure....if we are going to
take these animals from the ocean the least we can do is our best to make them comfortable and stress free....
do you not agree jim??? Does this make sense? IF so...then you as a share holder might want to bring it up at the next board of directors meeting.....
Good luck...
Have a great humane day.!
Originally posted by jimi
They may be losing a little money on the livestock end but there are enough newbies to buy the fish. The dry good prices are not competetive they are great. Thats why they will always have a thriving business. The prices on their Oceanic tanks beats anyone in my area by at the least $150.

fitzyu
01/21/2001, 07:23 PM
Originally posted by jimi
I agree 100% thats why I started the post. Your not confusing me with JimB aka Reefguyinpa are you?

fitzyu
01/21/2001, 07:25 PM
Originally posted by jackson
I bought my tank (75 gallon) and some of my equipment from THat Fish Place because it was about half the price of my local store. The livestock on the day I got my tank was very nice. I went back about 2 months later to get some livestock and all their fish were sick or dead and they had no corals. They had about 2 dozen small Purple tangs and all had very severe erosion and looked really aweful. A friend told me they buy their livestock from Roozen's which is not the greatest either! I just got some corals from Dr. Mac today and they are awesome, better than anything in any stores in my area, as far as corals go-- Dr. Mac Rocks! That Fish Place sucks! Just my opinion.

reefguyinpa
01/21/2001, 09:19 PM
See that you walk away for a day or two and it is a case of mistaken identity. As far as customer service at That Fish Place...it is a hit or miss proposition and yes the fishroom help is pretty inept as far as my experiences go. Net em and bag em...I've seen it a thousand times there. I have also seen Moorish Idols in stock there. As many of you know this fish rarely if ever survives in a captive enviornment. Is this a good business practice to endanger the animals you are supposed to care about. I read in one of the former posts that someone said that they have a marine biologist on staff there. If this is the case he should not be very proud of his job. I once witnessed a fishroom person topping off a tank with come live rubble in it the reason for the top off was not to protect the life in the tank but rather to not burn out the pump attached to a Berlin skimmer. I believe the quote was: "as long as the pump dosen't burn up this is good". i understand that they are in it for the bucks but we all should look out for the animals we hold near and dear to our hearts!!
JimB.(aka reefguyinpa....lol)

jimi
01/22/2001, 08:46 AM
I too have seen a few moorish idols there and this trip two tanks full of mandarins atleast 20 in each. One tank of each kind.

Totlxtc
01/23/2001, 08:23 PM
I just got their anniversary flyer today! It says "Our own marine biologist and aquarium expert Andy Hudson will field your questions on aquarium care and maintenance, aquarium keeping products and fisn in gereral in a game show format." Maybe we should all go to the seminar and ask why he cant keep his fishroom in better shape! I dont know if i would want to take advice from him after seeing how the fishroom is keep. Anyways i just thought i'd let you know.

Chuck

P.S they do have some great sale prices on tanks!

kysard
02/03/2001, 05:38 PM
I drove 800 miles to PA on business and decided to check out That Pet Place after buying dry goods from them for 14 years, man was I dissapointed. After seeing how poorly their livestock was taken care of I felt guilting for not supporting my LFS for all these years. Places like this WILL in a few years lead to the death of reefkeeping...

People have to speak up and complain if we want the opportunity to buy live corals in 10 years. Can you imagine if one knowledgable environmental congressman were to visit this place, visions of "save the reef, end the reef hobby" legislation would dance through his/her head.

this must stop