Suggestions for a future plan

[Scrappy71113]

I'm wanting to open a fish store in the future.
I'm wanting this store to be successful and I want to make the health of the fish priority.

As of right now, I'm planning on going with bare bottom tanks.
No towers, so no shared systems.
I plan on working with local breeders as much as realistically possible.
Weekly 75% water changes.
Sanitation of nets and hoses.
Designated clean water and dirty water buckets to prevent the spread of any possible disease.
Quarantine set up for new arrivals.

I know some stores don't take good care of their fish, but I want to sell healthy fish.
I have ran a fish store before, from open to close, for a friend while she was dealing with family stuff. I understand the work that goes into it, from documenting fish loss and costs, to mopping floors and cleaning tanks. I even helped with advertising and ordering.
So really, if you guys were to walk into your local fish store, what would you WANT to see, and what do you think could be done better?

 

[tlindsey]

what would you WANT to see, and what do you think could be done better?

Don't want to see any sick or dead fish. I think fish that are treated should be treated off the sales floor.

 

[RyanScanner]

Decent selection of healthy vibrant immersed plants grouped in regions for basic biotopes even with suggested substrates and hard scapes. Not just selling the fish but the whole aqua scape/biotope set ups. You do the research and people will empty their pockets.

 

[RyanScanner]

Substrate and hard scape are non perishable and doing all the research and buying all the CO2 reactors and matching lights a getting the correct dosing regime is very laborious and trial and error. If my LFS had complete set ups that worked straight away I’d have paid for it.

 

[RyanScanner]

And different levels, cheap/beginner to expensive/advanced. Different biotope setups with matching fish populations that will work harmoniously matched with tanks that will suit the whole lifespan of the fish including big fish. Too many LFS sell noobs large fish to live short lives in small tanks creating too much work for new people and discouraging life long hobbyists from developing.

 

[fishhead0103666]

What I’d love in a lfs is if they could find harder to find fish or would at least try for their customers. Like you could have a little box where people could write down their contact information and the specie(s) they’re looking for and someone gets back to them to confirm they saw it and then later if they are able or unable to find the species.

 

[troublesum]

I have also thought about opening a fish store and was going to be mostly selling SA/CA fish but now i see people are more into smaller fish and scapes and plants and dry goods

 

[Morti]

A decent display tank or two are what I look for. If the shop can't keep a nice planted community tank looking good then I start to wonder how they look after their sales aquariums.

For me though it's not so much what the shop looks like but the person behind it. Don't get me wrong the average person will just walk out of an unappealing store but if the person behind the till is open, honest and engaging then it would keep me happy.

 

[Scrappy71113]

And different levels, cheap/beginner to expensive/advanced. Different biotope setups with matching fish populations that will work harmoniously matched with tanks that will suit the whole lifespan of the fish including big fish. Too many LFS sell noobs large fish to live short lives in small tanks creating too much work for new people and discouraging life long hobbyists from developing.

I definitely have considered this one. That's one of the things I liked the most about my local family store. They dedicated a section to "you need at least 75 gallons for these fish".
I was thinking top tanks be more specialized care, bottom tanks bring easier care, and left to right being aquarium size needs.
I was also thinking about labeling them "this fish is schooling, it needs friends"
"This fish is homicidal, it needs to be an only child"

 

[Scrappy71113]

Decent selection of healthy vibrant immersed plants grouped in regions for basic biotopes even with suggested substrates and hard scapes. Not just selling the fish but the whole aqua scape/biotope set ups. You do the research and people will empty their pockets.

I don't know if I could sell "just add fish" set ups, but scaping kits might be a good idea.
I definitely plan on doing plants. I already met the owner of my local nursery, so maybe I can get some kind of arrangement set up there. I've been doing a lot of reading on what house plants can work in aquarium and I have a list.
I'll have to look into biotopes though. I just put whatever plant in my tank that will grow and is pet safe (I have cats).