mattliu
Member
It's a sad day when you can't even go to the nearst fish store to get simple items such as food and snails.
IMO, Tampa Bay Aquarium is the worst store in the Tampa Bay area.
Why?
1) Quality of livestock is exceptionally poor. Everytime I have stopped by there dead fish abound. The majority of the fish are suffering from some sort of ailment. The most useful service they provide in terms of livestock is the opportunity to view first hand any disease, pathogen, parasite, fungus, etc., so you can give a proper diagnosis if the need should arise.
2) Selection of corals is exceptionally poor. They're store slogan should be, "You name it, we ain't got it." They do have a rather large selection of host anemones; however, most are either bleached or the extremely aggressive, sticky, fish gobbling carpet variety.
3) Selection of drygoods is exceptionally limited. The best way to sum this category up would be generic and bare bones.
4) The knowledge of the staff is of zero value. I don't include hotreefer in this b/c he does not have a conflict of interest to sell you everything you need and utter propaganda such as flame angels are 100 % reef safe. On one occassion a wrasse was on his death dead being picked upon by a yellow vulcher tang and a customer asked what was going on. The owner responded that's normal, wrasses lay on their sides. He also proclaims such propaganda that clams and corals must feed on my big bottles of DT's to live. and no he was not refering to small juvie clams, he was referring to a 6 inch gigas. They were not even competent enough to either tie a knot or wrap a rubber band at the end of a bag of snails. Luckily I caught this blunder and prevented a spill.
"I know all the tricks of the trade," said Barry.
IMO, Tampa Bay Aquarium is the worst store in the Tampa Bay area.
Why?
1) Quality of livestock is exceptionally poor. Everytime I have stopped by there dead fish abound. The majority of the fish are suffering from some sort of ailment. The most useful service they provide in terms of livestock is the opportunity to view first hand any disease, pathogen, parasite, fungus, etc., so you can give a proper diagnosis if the need should arise.
2) Selection of corals is exceptionally poor. They're store slogan should be, "You name it, we ain't got it." They do have a rather large selection of host anemones; however, most are either bleached or the extremely aggressive, sticky, fish gobbling carpet variety.
3) Selection of drygoods is exceptionally limited. The best way to sum this category up would be generic and bare bones.
4) The knowledge of the staff is of zero value. I don't include hotreefer in this b/c he does not have a conflict of interest to sell you everything you need and utter propaganda such as flame angels are 100 % reef safe. On one occassion a wrasse was on his death dead being picked upon by a yellow vulcher tang and a customer asked what was going on. The owner responded that's normal, wrasses lay on their sides. He also proclaims such propaganda that clams and corals must feed on my big bottles of DT's to live. and no he was not refering to small juvie clams, he was referring to a 6 inch gigas. They were not even competent enough to either tie a knot or wrap a rubber band at the end of a bag of snails. Luckily I caught this blunder and prevented a spill.
"I know all the tricks of the trade," said Barry.
I'm assuming before the mods kill this thread it will just plummet from here.
