Fish Stores

nudy6969

RUSTYS BROWN DOUGHNUT
where do fish stores get their fish, corals and merchandise from. im guessing its from marinedepot, dr foster and smith, and liveaquaria.
 
no. they tend to get their fish from wholesale companies or direct from divers from certain locations. The fish from divers is DIRT CHEAP, which is where they make their money. It is not easy to hook up with those folks, and you need to be in the business a while to get those connections.

-Doc
 
Yep, Doc is right. My LFS gets all of his livestock from wholesalers in Florida and California.

My guy gets fish right from the Caribbean and they are really cheap, like $8.00 for a blue angelfish, which gets turned around and sold for $65. Not a bad way to do business.

-Doc
 
they also have crazy overhead cost at fish stores, at least the ones doing it right though, it is also how they make their money, it's their job, their families depend on it, I know your not attacking it, but I just wanted to point this out for anything else. I'd rather pay that much for a fish and help one person make a honest living then pay $30 for a shirt that a 10 year old made for 5 cents with all the profit going to some corporation.
 
they also have crazy overhead cost at fish stores, at least the ones doing it right though, it is also how they make their money, it's their job, their families depend on it, I know your not attacking it, but I just wanted to point this out for anything else. I'd rather pay that much for a fish and help one person make a honest living then pay $30 for a shirt that a 10 year old made for 5 cents with all the profit going to some corporation.

Heaven's no. I am not attacking it at all. I love my LFS guy. I want him to make as much money as he can cuz he is honest and works hard. I am all for it. He charges a bit more than another guy down the block, but he can be an ass and I like my guy so it is worth paying an extra $5 for a fish or coral.

-Doc
 
My closest lfs gets his shipped in which is why he has problems with his fish. The next two both drive down to Atlanta and pick out their own fish from a dealer down there. They all cost about the same but the 2 that go pick up their fish seem to have healthier fish.
 
The ONLY LFS guy here in SF who hasn't steered me wrong (Chris from Aquatic Central, on Ocean Blvd in San Francisco - yeah, that's a plug) isn't making any money (yet)... but runs an incredibly clean operation. Fair prices and he doesn't sell stuff that's "wrong" (i.e., sensitive habitat, animals that don't live long in captivity, etc). He gets his stock from lots of different places. I've also met a couple people in Hawaii who harvest fish for the trade - they get $1 per fish; they collect using scuba gear and nets. Talk about a tough way to make a living...
 
if is far better to collect fish with gear and nets over cyanide, which is commonly used in Vietnam which is one reason fish collected from that area (radiata lionfish, etc) tend to die mysteriously after being introduced into our tanks. They are poisoned from the start. I respect collectors who still go after fish with nets.

-Doc
 
i respect people who bred fish and fag corals instead of destroying the environment.

I am a fan of fragging corals and farm raising fish - although many species do not seem to spawn in captivity. I also believe that catching fish can be done in a way that does not destroy the environment.

-Doc
 
it seems like it does alot of damage if u think about it . Hawaiians get paid a dollar a fish, they have to catch 1000 fish to make a 1000 dollars lets say a month, in a year thats 12,000 fish. lets say 100 people do it. thats 1,200,000 fish a year. thats crazy.
 
it seems like it does alot of damage if u think about it . Hawaiians get paid a dollar a fish, they have to catch 1000 fish to make a 1000 dollars lets say a month, in a year thats 12,000 fish. lets say 100 people do it. thats 1,200,000 fish a year. thats crazy.

In theory, yes, but.....there are not 100 people who are allowed to do it by a HIGHLY regulated industry. In order to ship anything out of Hawaii, there are amazingly tight regulation to avoid that very scenario. There are maybe 5 companies who are able to catch ship and transport them out of the island.

Not to mention, fish spawn an amazing amount of fry. It is not an issue in America, although, outside of the country, it could be

-Doc
 
I have a book published a few years ago on reef keeping, and the author suggests that reefs that are set aside for our collecting for the marine reef hobby are much healthier and vibrant than unprotected areas which are fished for food - where strip mining is the way things are done. Reefs set aside for the hobby don't allow the reefs to be over-harvested or otherwise abused, or they lose their livelihood. SUSTAINABLE practices is what it's all about... and the LFS plays a keep part in making sure he buys only from collectors and/or distributors who work in ethical, sustainable ways.
 
I have a book published a few years ago on reef keeping, and the author suggests that reefs that are set aside for our collecting for the marine reef hobby are much healthier and vibrant than unprotected areas which are fished for food - where strip mining is the way things are done. Reefs set aside for the hobby don't allow the reefs to be over-harvested or otherwise abused, or they lose their livelihood. SUSTAINABLE practices is what it's all about... and the LFS plays a keep part in making sure he buys only from collectors and/or distributors who work in ethical, sustainable ways.


well said.

-Doc
 
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