Your Opinions are Needed (AA)

[group_therapy]

wwildcats04,
The things I saw before are gone now. Maybe you were holding them for someone or whatever. But they're not there now.

 

[group_therapy]

At least AA is light years beyond the Menagerie, for those of you that remember that aweful hole.

And I am glad that AA is trying to make things better. Much is a symptom of the pet trade in general. AA is what I would call a 'premier' store, and I hope that they continue to strive to be a leader in the business community.

 

[wwildcats04]

we do not have flame scalops in we havent had them forever, unless the place just sent them to us because I know that we did not order them. if the fish are gone, its because the service client picked them up because he re-did his tank about a week ago.
this is the polypterus http://www.polypterus.info/Images/p_ornatipinnis2.jpg
and this is the lungfish
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/sarco/lungfish1.jpg

before you go starting a nastry rumor about a species that we "had in" do some research... these are primitive fish some say the link between fish and amphibions(sp) much like what a mud puppy is but none the less NOT a mud puppy... and neither of them are in anyway endangered
I dont mean to start an argument but the information you gave people was totally wrong and once you look at the pictures I linked you'll real ize it. thanks for saying the tanks looked cleaner and such I've been working hard

 

[wwildcats04]

thank you

 

[group_therapy]

I'm not nockin your recent work, it does look better than my last visit, but I was just in the store a few mins ago and there are flame scallops right there.
No, your lungfish are still there. The differences between what you all perhaps were calling a 'salamander' and the current inhabitants of the tanks are quite obvious thank you. It's pretty hard to mistake the gills of mudpuppies for anything else.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/images/species/Necturus/N_maculosus1STASNY.jpg

But I'll drop it before we get too deep in a circular argument. But if I see them again I will call the DNR.

 

[wwildcats04]

lol, honestly a polypterus has the exact same thing... look up some pictures of them and you'll find it, and we had a lungfish for sale and than we also had the one t hat was the service clients which was the huge one, these fish were in the last two 65g tanks right before all of the oscar trade ins and such. trust me when I say this, we have never had mud puppies
if next time you see a ornatapinnis in the store and you call them thats fine, they'll come out and see what your talking about and laugh because you are mistaken... just do some google images and you'll see what im talk ing about

 

[wwildcats04]

I see how you saw it and thought of that right away but im telling you its not check them out
http://www.aquarticles.com/images/Gallo/Armoured bichir 1.jpg

 

[group_therapy]

Polypterus ornatapinnis does not look anything like a mud puppy.
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddbal450.jpg

In your words, 'lol'....
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t010/T010273A.jpg
Notice mud puppies have feet, legs, and distinctive gills.

LOL all you want, the chance of me ever spending $ in your store is dimishing by the second with that sort of attitude.

 

[wwildcats04]

this is a pointless argument so I quit, believe what you want and there is no way to change your mind since they finally picked them up thank you for your concern though, let me ask you... if they are endangered how would we get them???? esp. since we are a store that does not carry sea horses because people dont know how to take care of them, we dont carry pacus (we have them now because of a trade in) because people dont know how big they get, we dont carry APPLE snails because they are illegal... why in gods name would we all of a sudden get in mud puppys

 

[ECEKatko]

This is not necessarily a knock on just you, but a large part of what I don't like about AA are the attitudes from a lot of the staff. The last time I was in, a couple of the tanks were absolutely COVERED in cyano (this was a while ago, a few months maybe). I pointed it out to someone nearby, and he proceeded to tell me that the only reason it was there is that "some idiot decided to change the spectrum of the bulbs" to either 6700 or 10000K (I don't remember which at the moment.) It seems to me when I go in that a lot of the staff aren't knowledgeable at all, in fresh as well as marine. I was told that a 12" Irridescent Shark there was fullgrown (they get 48").

The best advice I've heard from anyone at a LFS is that the only tank you should have there is one that makes you want a tank. If you can look at a tank and it doesn't make you want to set one up, then it needs something. I can say that the times I've been there, many if not most of the tanks did not make me want to set one up.

Probably tied for the other top reason I don't shop there is the prices. Yes, some of the fish are way cheaper than anywhere else...but most aren't. And there is certainly no way on earth I would buy the live rock I see in the store at $10+ a pound.

 

[thebrian]

I really appreciate you posting here Kyle. It's been a while since I've been in, so I'm not too updated on what's going on there. I will say, however, that my biggest issue has always been the prices. I'd have to disagree with a lot of the health issues of livestock that people have brought up. I'd have to say that the health of AA's livestock has honestly been on par with the other LFS in the area Jack's, Byerly's, Etc. The reef section was a little lacking, and may have had worse health than the rest of the LFS in the area, but it sounds like you're trying to turn that around. I'm avoiding spending money on anything aquarium related that isn't completely necessary right now, but next time I need blackworms and you guys have them in stock, I'll make a point to go there to get them and take a look around.

 

[Andrew]

I stopped by today and it does need alot of work. ( I think you guys also went overboard with those plastic plants. ) I got a bucket of salt there today but once the prices are lower and ect I may buy some fish/corals there.

 

[icu2]

I dissected a mud puppy in college; had too for comparative anatomy. On a different note, I honestly think if you have a problem with a company you should really consider talking to them while you are there rather than bash them publicly. Very uncouth. If they did have an endangered species and you asked them about it you should have called the ODNR and let them handle it.
If you think about it though, I highly doubt it was there since you stated that temperature above 77 can be fatal... Most fish stores I know keep their temps that or above.

Just reading and observing recent posts and giving my .02.

 

[itZme]

Sure you didn't see an AXOLOTL ?
They look very similar to me and I know lots of freshwater people keep them. They seems to reproduce eaily in captivity.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7838891#post7838891 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by group_therapy
Polypterus ornatapinnis does not look anything like a mud puppy.
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddbal450.jpg

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t010/T010273A.jpg
Notice mud puppies have feet, legs, and distinctive gills.

 

[salreus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7832846#post7832846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wwildcats04
... in regards to employes giving advise... when you go in ask for someone who knows saltwater and they know who to point you to.. some people just dont know it yet but know enough to get themselves into trouble. This here is my opinion though but a person who is purchasing a fish should do research on the fish other than asking the opinion of a LFS.

I know and did. How else do you think I knew it was bad advice..... I came in looking for clowns and left with clowns. The point was that others might not have done research and lost fish or coral. Sure the person buying should have knowledge but I am guessing it's not wrong to assume people working at the LFS might have correct recommedations. Hey, I do my research so my statement really doesn't change my purchases at all. Do with the info want you want. Blame the customers for not doing research. Makes no difference to me either way.

 

[TheBigOne]

IMO talking to anyone but the owner of the store is a waste of time.

Kyle, I'm sure youre interested in maintaining better husbandry of the saltwater at AA, but the fact remains your store is hiring people with little to no knowledge- no offense to you. But the majority of workers there are 'fillers' to round out your older vetran staff and help the high percentile of the clientel , the non- hobbiests.
CORA accounts for less than a percentile of AA's clientel, correct? So yes, this is a sad fact. But AA isn't alone. Every retail environment is economicly switching to non-skilled, low wage workers to maintain business during an econmy time that is not at all stable.

Kyle, you may be one of the diamonds in the rough there, which i am sure means you're often frustrated with your coworkers, their lack of knowledge and or lack of work ethic. if not then the store management needs to be tweaked. but, back to my main point...

the only way the store management will be changed is if you, the customer or possible customers out there, see something you dont like and communicate it to the correct people in the store. ask a manager, ask for the owner - he works at the store, ive seen him- ask to get things changed. complaining about it on a website on the internet isnt going to get you or the changes you want. how long has CORA complained about AA? years? maybe. all those complaints and no changes. what does that tell you? it's time to eitehr ignore the store and go on with your lives, or suck it up, be an adult and communicate with the owner and management your concerns. complaining about the people being paid minimum wage is rediculous.

Kyle, i wish you the best of luck turning the store around. the fact is no business is booming and i doubt the owner or management or whomeever orders anything would vouch for new and better (adequate) lighting and filtration for some of the tanks and displays. we all know how much that costs and economicly i dont think that store can do it. i dont think any store can.

good luck on your quest kyle.

 

[wwildcats04]

thank you everybody...

 

[Eddie_Gilbert]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7838891#post7838891 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by group_therapy
Polypterus ornatapinnis does not look anything like a mud puppy.
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddbal450.jpg

In your words, 'lol'....
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t010/T010273A.jpg
Notice mud puppies have feet, legs, and distinctive gills.

LOL all you want, the chance of me ever spending $ in your store is dimishing by the second with that sort of attitude.

LOL

Can you honestly look at those two pictures and tell me there aren't any similarities between the two animals? I mean sure, you picked a picture that made it look less obvious, but there are still several similarities.
LOL

I stop in AA from time to time (the last time being a week or two ago) and can say I haven't seen "mud puppies" or "hellbenders" in there EVER. I do remember seeing some water dogs (larval form of tiger salamanders which look like mud puppies) several years ago. Then again, who better to know what a store has than a non-customer who even admits himself he wasn't sure exactly what he saw.
LOL

LOL
I'd still like to know how a post about improving the salt water section got into a stupid discussion on polypterus and mud puppies. Sorry to continue the topic, but it probably shouldn't have come up, and if it hadn't I wouldn't be posting right now. I guess some people just like to criticize things they don't know about.
LOL LOL LOL

 

[icu2]

thebrian is right on with the prices; some of the prices were ok (was in there last week) but a small purple tang for $159??????? $209 for a small chevron tang????? You can get a nice sized one of both elsewhere for half that. Prices like that keep me away.

 

[Aqua_Adv_G]

Good luck Kyle, and remember, we're all counting on you.
Also, you don't know me.