Waring about LFS in Madison.....

[Meisen]

OK am sure that many of you all have already seen it but I just wanted to post a heads up in case some newbies are checking out this forum. Anyway, we went down to a LFS in the Monona area the other day (hopefully that makes it clear where this is without naming names) and found their coral tanks saturated with pest flatworms! I mentioned it to several of their employees, about how there was somewhat of an ethical issue about selling corals from those tanks to people and that there are ways of getting rid of them. One employee said that they knew they were bad to have but wasnt able to do anything about it and the other basically denied there was anything wrong (honestly, they may really not have known) So, if you are on the beltline and you jump off to get some coral, just beware and inspect those specimens carefully.....you experienced folks probably already do that but anyway, watch out!!!

Wow thats two rants in one day. Dang it feels good to vent!!!

[tapper of spines]

Are they not shutting down then?

TOS

[hwynboy]

That place IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN disgusting...the lack of knowledge from people there is incredible. They have had those 2 tanks infested with flatworms for over 2 years. GROSS!

[Ereefic]

Yep, that store is moving as well, not sure where though. Hopefully with there move, they'll shape up. Time will tell.

[Meisen]

Well I am glad that most people around here are aware of it.....what a bummer, I mean with a couple dozen tanks, it wouldnt be hard to have an amazing setup and display. I also heard from someone that the owner is really (short term) profit driven....stuff like there are limits on how often things can be fed etc. I suggested flatworm exit specifically (at this point, I dont think there is much to lose on the live rock in there) with a preemptive siphoning and post treatment skimming and carbon and the response was that the owner didnt want to spend the money (?!!) on flatworm exit.

Lets hope they dont sell coral or marines at the new place if thats the attitude they have.

Oh yeah, one last jab: the Tsunami tax there. They raised prices 33% on most fish to account for the increased costs that the Tsunami is going to cause. Even though their fish were surely collected and purchased well before the disaster...what did yellowtail damsels suddenly appreciate a third over night? Are there going to be incidences of hoarding and price-fixing? How much of that "tax" do you think is going to make its way back to the poor people who lost their families?

So anyway, suffice to say I have a really bad taste in my mouth from even setting foot in there.

[Brad524]

is this place by a culvers ?

Q: why can we not just say the name if thier selling bad stuff,
it's thier fault for not fixing problem and selling infected corals.

[Ereefic]

No, the one by culvers is Pet World Warehouse.

Seriously, I forgot the name of the place there talking about, but it's off the beltline at Monona Rd. Exit.

[MiddletonMark]

Wow, tsunami tax?

Thank god I haven't been there in a while :(

[Meisen]

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either Mark. I have noticed that none of the other stores in town have instituted one of those.....

The reason I am leaving the name of the store out of it is libel......I posted statements that could be construed as libel and its no fun to get sued ;)

Eric, I'll tell you tomorrow.

[Brad524]

ya thats what I thought


I'm pretty sure the phrase " in my opinion "

cancels that but better safe then sorry

[MalawianDude]

*cough, next to UW in Monona...*cough

They are moving to milwaukee, rent got raised and they don't wanna pay it.....thank god they are moving, prolly worst place around here

[MiddletonMark]

I am still stunned by the `tsunami tax'.

If I could actually talk to someone in charge over there, I'd give them a piece of my mind. But does hassling the teenagers really help anyone?

IMO, the classic example of why LFS should have to pass some sort of basic inspection process. Heck, just a count of the % of livestock that lives to go out the door [vs to the dumpster] would be good enough :(

[mike4271]

It would be interesting if someone could get him to define "Tsunami Tax" and find out where the surcharge is ultimately going. Wouldnt it be nice if he said it was going to the victims,Check out how many scammers are getting caught and prosecuted by the Feds.:mad2:

[wahshk]

Moving to Milwaukee...!!! Gotta close him up once opened. I have to see my connections here...:)

[mike4271]

Originally posted by wahshk
Moving to Milwaukee...!!! Gotta close him up once opened. I have to see my connections here...:)

Ahh, thank heaven for cousins called Guido:D

[MalawianDude]

middleton mark u just gotta get hold of owners daughter that worked in there...LOL then it would get relayed to him if u chewed her out, lol

[MalawianDude]

lol, yes stop them!, that was just a ton of BS for the tax. Man can't believe some guy has nerve to do that.

[Meisen]

Well, I am laughing on one side at the guy's huevos and crying on the other considering how totally destroyed people's lives are from that thing. Honestly, I have no problem paying more for animals collected in those areas if I knew that it wasnt just the wholesalers, retailers and jobbers taking more than their usual 1500% markup. I understand global economics ie 34 cents is what they need to get corals for in order to cover their importation costs etc but, to misquote Gordon Geckko:

Greed is not what makes America work. Greed is not good.

[Meisen]

Oh sorry, does that violate this forums policy on politics?

;)

[MiddletonMark]

Hey, I'd be right with you paying a $10 Tsunami tax if I really believed it would go directly, 100% to the collectors and folks on the other end who need it.

Why am I so skeptical of that place and where the $$ would go?

Wait, I've seen their livestock.

[wrassie86]

Why dont i know the store in question thought i knew them all?someone please PM me with the name.i posted awile back about another large chain store in milwaukee that had lots of flatworms,but if it was not for those flatworms.I'm not so sure my green manderine would not be so big and fat:D i make sure i keep them breeding in my fuge for him :D

[Ereefic]

The name of the store is Animal Adventure Pets. :)

[MalawianDude]

lol It's OUT.

[Ereefic]

I didn't say anything bad about them. :lol:

[MalawianDude]

LOL nope, playin it safe..

[wrassie86]

Originally posted by Ereefic
The name of the store is Animal Adventure Pets. :)

Ah been there once.
funny story though,back when i had FO tank, i bought a very large picasso trigger from them.(Great price too).anyway there was a med green eel tring to eat my daughter through the tank in the same tank,I said to the guy you better feed that eel before you stick your hand in there."he said ah its alright"so next thing you know the eel bit his thumb,he cussed alittle and tried to get Marv(picasso trigger) then it bit him again and unlatched,the 3rd time it latched on as he caught marv.so we had the marv and the eel out of the tank.needless to say there was alot of blood from dude and they tried to give me a free eel as he was off to the hospital.
Maybe not so funny,but i did worn the guy,and also i would come back after they feed the eel.But it was all about the sale:mixed:

[Meisen]

It all sounds too much like the place I worked as a kid......no concern for the livestock and total obsession with the bottom line. I like the "blood in the water" marketing technique though. I can see it now: you have to buy the eel, hes latched onto the fish you want!!!

[Dr]

I've been there once. That's where I got my 75 for a pretty good price. But i know what everyone is saying about the livestock. Tanks were not that well kept.

[Nasomike]

I have been to almost all the pet stores in Madison that sell Saltwater fish. I have only found 1 that I felt was good. Anybody know of a good place to buy livestock anywhere in the southern part of the state?

[snorulz]

What was the one that you felt was good?

[Nasomike]

It was the one off of Gammon near Walmart. Its been a couple years since Ive been there but it was nice then.

[Nasomike]

I forgot the name of it.

[snorulz]

where is it located?

[snorulz]

is that aquarium superstore or something like that?

[tapper of spines]

Originally posted by Nasomike
It was the one off of Gammon near Walmart. Its been a couple years since Ive been there but it was nice then.

Yeah, it was nice then. :rolleyes:

TOS

[Nasomike]

Is it a lot different now? OK, so what is the closest decent store in Madison. Cause I think Ive been to all the rest and the tanks look gross and neglected.

[Nasomike]

Originally posted by snorulz
is that aquarium superstore or something like that?


Yup thats the name or least then it was.:(

[tapper of spines]

It's changed owners since then. Now they have aiptasia in the small-specimen tanks, fish jumping out of the tanks in front of your face (I put it back in), sparce fish and invert selection, and arrogant kids giving out poor advice. To their credit their SPS selection has been improving, and it seems to be the only place in town that stocks DT's, but it's still not my favourite place.

I prefer Aquatic Specialties on University. Their fish tanks are better stocked, and usually the fish are in better shape, though not always. They have a good selection of inverts, the coral selection is ok, and they don't have aiptasia. The place is also cleaner and has a nicer layout. I prefer the staff their too, though I don't always trust them (it's a LFS, after all).

FWIW
TOS

[Edited 10:30pm, 'we' in second sentence changed to 'they.']

[MalawianDude]

TOS, u said "we" do you work there or something?

[tapper of spines]

Oops. No, I've never worked at a LFS. I'll fix that post. Sorry about that.

TOS

[MalawianDude]

lol k

[Meisen]

Yeah not much going on at the local reef stores but some of them are at least trying to get better. Just a side note: I was at that store discussed above and I noticed the flatworms there too now. I guess if you buy coral in Madison, you might want to dip it no matter where it comes from! I should note that they only had a few errant ones, not the plague of them that has been discussed elsewhere.

I guess we can all go to this thread and vent since most of the LFS here are probably going to keep doing what they are doing.......

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=289937&highlight=if+I+ran+the+lfs

[denisetwite]

I visited AS on University Ave. for the first time recently and noticed dead fish in at least 2 tanks. Some were half eaten so I know it didn't just happen before I walked in. There were a few guys in there (working??) standing around the counter in the front gabbing. I was thinking that maybe they should check their tanks more. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I left. I'll never go back.

[MalawianDude]

did u guys hear about the new one opening up in janesville?? the petland i think it was called i bet they gonna have some good sales on tanks..

[Dr]

Where's it at?

[MalawianDude]

in janesville, i just got off phone with them, they pricey...not sure on fish selection tho. www.petland.com

[Ereefic]

There is nothing at this petland that is SW. They said it'll be 4-6 months before they have SW, and apparently the area will be small.

[Dr]

It's by Preferred Pets?

[MalawianDude]

i wonder if they be lookin for peeps to manage their sw selection...so it's pretty much a setup like petsmart?

[Ereefic]

It is by Target, in that little strip area there.