• We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Suggestions for a future plan

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.
That's actually a really good idea.
At the place I worked, a lot of suggestions were made on Facebook and we had to be careful of what we took. Some of these people weren't even in the same country. This would simplify that, and make sure what's being ordered is for people who actually come in.

I do understand that a lot of it is supplier issues as well. Some fish are "seasonal".
If the suppliers don't have them, they can't be ordered, and the lists are so random sometimes. Hueta gar showed up twice while I was working, we got them the first time, but the second time by the time we ordered, they were already out.
On top of the supplier issues is the health of and the size of the fish. I ordered a tetra (I don't remember what kind) at one point because so many people were asking for it, and received a bag of fry. Nobody wanted them because they were so small.
Another time, pea puffers, they all arrived sick or dead. It's not that we weren't trying, it's that the option wasn't there, or it wasn't great.
 
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
Yep, but you have to understand that you aren't the only one into the bigger fish. Cater to both.
Just keep a smaller selection of the south/central American fish, and plan on keeping them longer, so bigger tanks, higher quality food, etc.
Also keep any breeders that pop up out of customer view.
Most of the regulars at the LFS I worked at were into the bigger fish.
 
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.
I have the customer service skills. I currently work part time at a gas station, and I have servers trying to poach me lol 😂

As far as display tanks go, I wanted to do 2, one with Oscars to show just how big they get and give an example of needs and what to expect out of monsters, and a nice live bearer tank, fully planted and scaped.

I need to start dipping my toes into saltwater so I can go in with that knowledge as well, it's just so intimidating.
 
I need to start dipping my toes into saltwater so I can go in with that knowledge as well, it's just so intimidating
Take it from me bud, I’ve been talking myself out of saltwater for the past 7 years and at some point you just have to jump in head first. Don’t think about whether you can, just put together an equipment list and start buying the stuff. One day you buy the last piece of equipment and you have a full saltwater set up minus the water so you just go ahead and set it up and cycle it because you already have it. At this point you’ve set up a saltwater tank and it’s ready for fish without even thinking about it lol.
 
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
Just a suggestion of what species go together and what plants and the equipment required to pull it off. For those not trawling multiple forum for hundreds of hours to slowly piece it together then fruck it all up because their stone they used increased their KH/GH
 
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