bad mean evil LFS

[Surfzone]

so i went to the LFS around the corner( there are like 3 in my area) the ppl there know my by name (i go there for salt)and so the magager pulls me over to the side and asks me if i am intersted in a clam. me looking for a clam said yeah. so he brings me to the back tank and shows me this 5 inch cor. clam. after seeing this disgusting clam that is bleached and gapping i thought he was going to offer me a deal on the clam or just give it to me to nurse back to health. He then tells me that he's selling it for $50. my jaw droped. i wanted to take a 2x4 and beat his head till the white meat show. so i told him that he'd be lucky to get $20 for that poor excuse for a clam. he told me that it was an ultra grade and i say i don't care what grade it is it's a bleached clam and that i can barly make out that it should be blue and green. so he droped the price to $40. i looked him in the eye and just honestly told him that he should close his store or atleast get out of keeping saltwater live stock because he's trying to keep clams and sps wiht VHOs, by the way i'm yet to see any new bulbs put in in the past 4 years, they try to bring in the rare and unusual but just about all of their fish other than clowns eels, and damsles die at the store. i also told him that he can find xenia (i supply the store wiht most of it's xenia in extange for salt)from someone else because i donot want any ties with anyone who is willing to cheet their customers wiht a highprices low rate live stock. i made such a fuss that may of the peole who were looking at the saltwater live stock( most of them are beginners asking the employees questions) looked at me with a strange and awwed look. i told the manager that i will take my money and frags to Tideline(the best store in the county) on my way out i heard a lady ask an employee,"where is Tideline?" hearing this i put on a sort of a smlie of victory. sorry for this post but i just had to vent.

[Peabody]

Good for you. Some LFS owners need to learn respect and care for the livestock.

[hopson2462]

I think the funniest part of the whole story is his tagline....

[tomterreefic]

Surfzone:
I feel your pain. I went into an LFS up here about 2 weeks ago. I went in specifically for 5/16" rigid airline tubing. One of my co-workers, also a reefer, asked if we had time to check out their "overpriced livestock". So of course we looked around. They have bleached twig of Monti. Digitata, asking $55.00. I mean this thing is nasty looking. They had 3 of the most basic colored clams as well. I think 2 were 2.5" Squamosa and the other was a Derasa that was about 3". Not knocking these species at all, but these were the brownest, ugliest clams I'd ever seen. The cheapest one was priced at $80.00.
We immediately busted out laughing and asked each other, loud enough for everyone to hear, how they could even stay in business with these prices. It's obvious that they aren't selling anything.
Another store down at the beach, had a stalk of Xenia about 4" tall and was asking something like $70 for it. When I began inquiring why they priced it so high, the response was that they had to price it that high in order to make any money off of saltwater livestock. "Because everyone knows there's no money in saltwater"
So I now only frequent 2 stores. And even those I have be selective about what purchase.

[cristhiam]

Nothing wrong keeping clams and sps with VHO's

[Johnsteph10]

...if they are less than 10 inches away from the lighting, then no problem keeping them.

[cristhiam]

yep

[Peabody]

If this guy had bleached out gaping clams, I don't think he knew how to keep them under VHOS

[gophia]

Surfzone, not flaming you but I don't get your beef.

First of all which species of clam was it? Squam and derasa do fine under VHO. Many people including myself are keep SPS and/or clams sucessfully under VHO and/or PC.

Second did you ever think that the clam was received in poor condition?

And finally, if you don't like the clam, don't buy it.

[paulpp187]

i agree somewhat with the lighting you can use vho but they will not thrive off vho lighting almost any reputable lfs will have clams under mh and including mnost hobbiests

[Surfzone]

it was a crocera i know that keeping clams and sps has been done under VHOs(not me personal choice but if it works for you) but they havn't changed the freeken bulbs in years. normaly i don't buy live stock from there just drygoods because it's about the same anywhere else and this LFS is close to me.

[dbates]

its an understandable problem, especially if the owner tried to sucker you into it, way to call him on it. But if taken care of, most clams can handle VHO's, like they say, just up high. I got a gold maxima high grade clam a while back and had it in my sand for a while, and it did okay, then it started gaping, and i boosted it up on my rockwork in a cup of sand and now the shell is growing out nonstop! ( i have 4x65 pc's)

[Drewpy]

our local LFS in the arm pit of maine reminds me of this story. They sell 'white anemones' under regular fluorscents and some pittiful corals. I actually just bought a couple clowns from them the day they came in. I had to ask them to put them in seperate bags.
Sad part is they will just replace the clowns--- but luckily i think they sell pretty quickly.

[complexbooger]

i had a manager almost the same exact additude. When i used to work at a LFS here in NYC... yeah lol my crew got him fired... just cuz we didnt like him... Sorry Al Bocio