When I started out in fish keeping way back in 1965 we had a Sears, a Woolworth's and an S.S. Kresges that sold freshwater tropical fish. There were also two local super hobbyists that had what were really overgrown fish rooms that sold fish. Their fish were magnificent. The retail stores were OK. Over the years many came and went and there were, periodically, great pet shops. Now we have the pet chains and Wal-Mart selling fish in those horrible centrally filtered set ups. Same old fish all the time. Sickly and stressed and malnourished. You rarely ever see anything exotic. But, and this is a big but. I'm finding out that you can buy fish online. I even looked one up in Portland Oregon. Their fish look great. Everything you could ever want. However, I caution everyone who reads this about a deadly hazard. I work for a sub-contractor that supplies labor to "a major U.S Parcel company's" air operation. Packages are handled with very little care. Packages are thrown and dropped and left in blazing sun and icy cold. The average person would be aghast at seeing a typical sort operation at an airport. The sole focus is keeping that cargo jet going to its next stop on time, which, by the way doesn't happen often. Anyway, I see packages from Coast Tropicals a lot. They are on their way to Pets Marts. They are routinely flipped and dropped and I cringe when I see that. I handle these boxes like they are a newborn but I am one of approximately 50 people who touch one box from origin to destination. Yes, the Killifish people and the Betta Congress members ship fish all the time with apparently good results. What is the point of this rambling post? I wish local fish people could make a living in a small mostly fish only store. They can't. I wish I could personally see many of the wonderful fish available in the hobby. I can't. I mourned that I had no shoes until I met the man who had no shell dwellers.
