Inexperienced fishkeeper

PlecoCollector

PlecoCollector

Superstar Fish
#21
Aug 21, 2005
1,430
0
0
34
Clinton, NY
#21
I'm very sorry about your catfish :( I wish you the best with your Cichlids for the rest of your cycle.

May I ask where in Florida you live? I know of about 5 Pet Supermarkets in my area and only about two know what they're doing. (I'm about to start working for one of them in a week or so :eek:) The one told me that I couldn't keep a fish in a bag for than 45 minutes because it would die (um, yeah, and how do they ship them to you then?). But the one I'm about to start working for knows their stuff pretty well, it's all dependent on the store you go to. Petsmart is pretty good too, but you either get the employee who wanted to work with the dogs that was thrown back there or the fish fanatic. Like I said, it all depends on the store (and more often the set of employees working when you get there).

If you're in my area, I can direct you to some good fish stores that can help you out :)
 

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SkwidsLair

SkwidsLair

Large Fish
#22
May 17, 2006
316
1
0
Not nearly far enough west
www.skwidslair.com
#22
I do most of my 'shopping' at Big Al's. Not sure if there's one in your area or not, but I've found them to be great. They're very informative, and have helped out immensely.

I think that if you spend a lot of money somewhere (about $2000 and counting so far for me) they should give that little extra bit when it comes to service.

Not that they should treat 'window shoppers' poorly, mind you. :D
 

PlecoCollector

PlecoCollector

Superstar Fish
#23
Aug 21, 2005
1,430
0
0
34
Clinton, NY
#23
Yes, that's where I go for all my supplies (though my fish from there have been a little below satisfactory). The only one in the US is about 35 minutes away from me in Tamarac, so I was hoping Island Gal lived somewhere near there :)

I'm almost near my $1000 mark on my Member card there. I want my well earned $25 :D
 

SkwidsLair

SkwidsLair

Large Fish
#24
May 17, 2006
316
1
0
Not nearly far enough west
www.skwidslair.com
#24
PlecoCollector said:
Yes, that's where I go for all my supplies (though my fish from there have been a little below satisfactory). The only one in the US is about 35 minutes away from me in Tamarac, so I was hoping Island Gal lived somewhere near there :)

I'm almost near my $1000 mark on my Member card there. I want my well earned $25 :D
Click to expand...
ah, see...now if you were in Canada, you'd already have reached your $1000 mark. :D hehe

I've spent some time in Superpet as well...they don't seem all that bad, though I don't find them as 'attentive' as they could be...to both fish AND people. They do, however, have a reptile section, which I'd eventually like to get into. :)
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#25
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#25
I normally do most of my shopping online. Only use the local shops and chain stores if I need something ASAP. This is because I can get a good deal on the net, and because My only LFS that is within reasonable travel is way over priced on everything!! Small thing of Melafix is $15. :eek: It also helps that a good friend of mine owns a online pet supply company.

For fish, well I normally get them online too. This is because out of all the fish I have, the quality of the ones I get online from other breeders and importers has far exceeded what I can find locally. You just have to spend some time on websites like aquabid, in their forums and learn who are the good sellers and good breeders. Like everything else in this hobby research is very important.
 

Island_Gal

Island_Gal

Small Fish
#26
May 20, 2006
23
0
0
Florida
#26
PlecoCollector said:
Yes, that's where I go for all my supplies (though my fish from there have been a little below satisfactory). The only one in the US is about 35 minutes away from me in Tamarac, so I was hoping Island Gal lived somewhere near there :)

I'm almost near my $1000 mark on my Member card there. I want my well earned $25 :D
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I don't live anywhere near Tamarac.
I haven't heard of Big Al's before until now. I am going to check to see if there is one in my area. BTW, I live in Orlando area.
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#27
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#27
In Orlando there is a very nice LFS on 436 out by the airport. If you are heading towards the airport it will be in the Wallmart shopping center on the right, about 3-4 miles before the airport. I foget the name but this place has an amazing selection of fish and supplies..least they did when I lived down that way.

Of course you can always order from Big Al’s online. http://www.bigalsonline.com/?splash_done=1
 

Island_Gal

Island_Gal

Small Fish
#28
May 20, 2006
23
0
0
Florida
#28
Pure said:
In Orlando there is a very nice LFS on 436 out by the airport. If you are heading towards the airport it will be in the Wallmart shopping center on the right, about 3-4 miles before the airport. I foget the name but this place has an amazing selection of fish and supplies..least they did when I lived down that way.

Of course you can always order from Big Al’s online. http://www.bigalsonline.com/?splash_done=1
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I would like to check that store out and thanks for the link!

By the way, the ammonia in my tank seems won't go down even though I have been doing some water changes. Yesterday when I tested the water it was at 8 ppm. I did an immediate water change to try to get it down. The cichlids are starting to act strange whenever I turn on the hood light. They would swim around like they were being in a shock. They would calm down after I turn the light off. Otherwise they are eating well (I only feed them a little once a day for now).
 

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Island_Gal

Island_Gal

Small Fish
#29
May 20, 2006
23
0
0
Florida
#29
Oh I forgot to mention that the glass tube like heater that I had in the tank got cracked. Before I go ahead to buy a new one, I'd like to ask if there are any suggestions on what kind of a heater I should look for.
 

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Island_Gal

Island_Gal

Small Fish
#31
May 20, 2006
23
0
0
Florida
#31
PlecoCollector said:
What kind of heater were you using before?
I've enjoyed the Rena Cal that I use in my 20g, but then, everyone seems to have a different heater opinion :eek:
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I have no idea what was the name of the heater that I had because someone gave it to me. It was a glass tube going into the water.
 

Toam

Toam

Large Fish
#32
Jul 27, 2005
548
0
0
44
Grove, Oklahoma
#32
SkwidsLair said:
I do most of my 'shopping' at Big Al's. Not sure if there's one in your area or not, but I've found them to be great. They're very informative, and have helped out immensely.

I think that if you spend a lot of money somewhere (about $2000 and counting so far for me) they should give that little extra bit when it comes to service.

Not that they should treat 'window shoppers' poorly, mind you. :D
Click to expand...
I gotta give credos to Big Al's as well, even though I have never shopped there. My LFS is called Pet Paradise, and for the longest time, they were absolutely horrible with their fish. Than they hired a new guy who ahd worked at Big Al's for the past five years... What a change!!!
suddenly tanks were labeled aggressive, semi-agressive, and non-aggressive.
Also they started labeling their larger fish as requiring minimum tank sizes, like frontosa and all those are listed as no smaller than a 55 gallon, back before, they'd see ya a betta bowl and a frontosa for it if they could.
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#33
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#33
RenaCal is a good name brand of heater. Any brand of submersible is going to be of better quality than the hang on tank kind. And with a submersible one you can lay it down near the substrate so it isn't exposed during large waterchanges. That's probably what caused your last one to crack.

The light thing. Well a lot of fish do that, yours could be multiplied a bit due to the stress already being put on them from the ammonia levels.
 

Island_Gal

Island_Gal

Small Fish
#34
May 20, 2006
23
0
0
Florida
#34
I just learnt from seeing pictures in another thread exactly what kind of cichlids I have. They are Jack Dempseys. Today I noticed they are more active with their swimming and doing much better. The bigger cichlid sometimes would zoom to the smaller one and chase him around the tank. It looked like it was attacking. Is it or what?
 

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