Do You Run A Fish Shop?

[saz326]

People all talking about bad advice from shops and kids "wanting fish now" Even though the tank is still boxed up....

Why dont Fish shops provide ready populated filter media (just a couple of cubes of filter sponge would do) free with every fish tank?

Enough bacteria would survive to at least seed a colony in a filter.

 

[youngfisher]

 

[Anna Robinson]

But where would the shop store all the filter sponges so as to keep them live? And where in the customer's filter would they put them - there's not always room for any extras.

Plus most customers will not fill up the tank immediately, they will do it some time over the next week to fortnight. Even if they do, they may not stock it with fish in time to save the bacteria.

Depending on the size of the sponge provided, it might also not be enough to make any real difference. So you would have a customer who believed they could stock their tank straightaway with no problems. You would have to explain that it would 'help' but that they would still need to stock slowly, use test kits, etc. In which case they are likely to ask you why they're having to bother with those bits of dirty sponge at all.

There may be some cases where you can give a member of the public mature media, but as a general strategy, I just don't think it's practical unfortunately. I would be happier with them buying dechlorinator, ammonia/nitrite absorbing resin, and test kits.

 

[rabbut]

Eeek, ammonia removing resin, not good if you ever want to have a bio-filter since it out-competes it, tieing you into giving the manufacturers money on a monthly basis for the life of the tank, and stopping you from (safely) being able to treat any disease...

Otherwise Anna's reply is good. It isn't practicle to store enough for the sales volume in most fish rooms, you have the potential for disease spread to worry about also in any system, there is no guarantee that the bacteria will make it to the tank alive or in sufficient numbers to allow for a modest stocking, plus, it isn't too profitable to just give the sponges away...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[chesterscot]

most of my local shops will give you ature media if you buy them a replacement sponge they just wont do it for nothing and i can see their point they are their to make money after all
regards scot

 

[tenohfive]

Theres a few LFS' that do sell mature media at fairly cheap prices.