tropic waters anenome

[Liza]

I was taking one of my customers to look at the animals today at tropic waters and of course had to check out the sw tanks (which are looking worse than ever, btw). Anyway, up in the corner of the small tanks was an anenome with gorgeous purple tentacles if anyone is looking for one. My tank doesn't have the lighting or space for it, but I'd hate to see it waste away and die there. Just thought I'd pass that along.

[condiman]

I do know what you mean but you also would hate to give your money to him. They really have to do something about that place. I just shake my head every time I go in there.

[lfish]

hmmm, I have been looking for a purple long tipped anemone? I will have to stop in there and take a look. Thanks for the heads up

[schneijt]

Ahh, Tropic Waters ... I don't mean to hijack this thread, but while everyone else is complaining about TW, I might as well join in.

My best friend used to work at Tropic Waters and says she never made it above $6 in three years. Which explains why the store always looks like crap, especially the fish tanks. They don't pay employees to care about the animals, and it shows.

And it's not just dirty tanks, it's a complete lack of knowledge about what they're keeping. Like the corals literally on top of each other in the one display tank. Or the clearly sick fish that are being sold, waiting to infect someone's tank. Or the lack of lighting on some of the tanks containing anemones and other light-sensitive inverts.

And of course everything has absurdly high prices, which makes you wonder why they can't seem to put better equipment on their tanks. And they're selling some absolutely crappy items as if they're the "top-of the line," like a 48" Jebo MH lighting for $400, which can be bought for a fraction of that on eBay, and which has a proven track record of failure and even electrical fires in some extreme cases.

And while we're talking about crappy equipment, look at what they've got on their tanks. The two 54gal corner tanks are incredibly underfiltered. The non-coral one has what appears to be a BakPak knockoff skimmer which is dirty and not even skimming. And the coral tank has a tiny filter in the sump that barely works. (Yes, I've looked underneath the stands to see how the tanks are set up.) The equipment is of low-quality, and it is rarely maintained properly. Is it any wonder why their tanks are always full of algae and sick fish???

And of course I must flame about their "live" rock selection. It's kept in a relatively tiny tank and with no skimming and little maintenance. As such the rock is practically dead, and certainly not "cured" like I was once told it is. Not to mention the absurd prices for it ...

Anyway, I guess I just needed to vent about how frustrated I get when I walk into Tropic Waters. Especially since Jim (the owner) keeps playing these radio commercials pretending to be some "pet savior" who's selling the best of the best livestock. It just makes me sick.

A couple months ago, I actually got so fed up that I wrote a letter to Jim complaining about what I'm seeing in that store. Not surprisingly, I heard nothing back and no improvements were made. As such, I refuse to ever buy something there again, no matter how badly I may need it or how "good" the offer might seem to be.

I simply care too much about my tank and what's in it to risk putting Jim's livestock or dry goods into it. And I feel bad for those people who go in there and get sent home with a biological nightmare waiting to happen. It's a shame he's allowed to be in business.

Anyway, I'm done. Sorry again to hijack the thread, I just needed to speak my peace about TW.

-Joe

[condiman]

Thats fine Joe I agree with you 100%

[mtfatwork]

wow, harsh. Where is this place? I want to make sure to aviod it like the plague.

[Liza]

not a problem, feel free to hijack, and I feel the same about TWs. I always feel badly for the animals, though. I understand not wanting to give him money so he will continue to sell things, but it's not the critters fault they ended up there. Unfortunately, there aren't many options in EC for buying things unless you have them shipped from the internet. That's why it's so great to see Greg's store starting up. Unfortunately that doesn't help me with fw feeder fish for my piranah. TW actually usually has the healthiest comets around town (how sad is that?) of course, the workers generally kill a third of them with their catching techniques.

[Greg S]

Joe tell us how you really feel about TW . I better call Dave and have him come and clean my tanks this weekend in case you stop in. Dave, Tim anyone else that wants to get dirty, please hurry up.
Being in the pet industry for the last 8 years or so I have to tell you that TW actually is not that bad. (I can not believe I just typed these words, and yes Chuck I had nothing to drink today) Working for Petco for 5 years in different locations you see all kind of things, and Petco was actually one of the better pet chains because they had some people that actually cared for their animals. You have to remember that TW is a PET store and not a fish store. I am sure he can loose $100 of fish and not even lose sleep over it as long as he keeps on selling those little dogs for $1000 or so. Plus when he sells a coral beauty for $50 or more when everyone else sells it for $35 ($19.99 or 24.99 on line) he makes up for some of that loss. Everyone tries to make some money, look at me as an example. I was selling my perculas for $22.99 and non of you "clowns" told me that Petco had them for $16 or $18. I was robbing you blind and all the time I was thinking I was giving you a good price. Next time somebody please say something. Anyways I have to thank Jim because he created a nice market for someone like me to come in, pretend I am your friend and rob you blind .

[chazz-66]

Amen Greg, Amen!

[Liza]

The sad thing is, with a multi-animal focus they don't seem to really specialize in any of them, as far as I've seen. A coworker of mine bought a papillon there and it had terrible worms. Plus, does anyone think $700 is a good price for a mixed breed dog? They always have a few with 2 or 3 breeds in their background, but there doesn't seem to be much of a price difference. You could get a nice pound puppy for a fraction of the cost. Without competition they can ask the prices for sick animals and still make sales. I'd rather pay a few extra dollars for healthy animals from a place that I trust has people who know what they're doing running it, but I've already got a couple clowns. I'll let you know when I'm in the market for more.

[schneijt]

Really, I was harsh??? Noooooooo.... :-)

But I agree with you, we can't expect them to be perfect. But still, Liza's got it right, in trying to satisfy every possible pet market, they know so little about everything. I'm not expecting them to be the most amazing, unbelieveable store ever. But I'd like to think they'd strive for some basic level of SW competence. It's just really a shame to see the potential for that store's SW selection that has, for so long, been unrealized. And it never will be the way things are being run right now.

But Greg's opened shop now, so TW can stick it as far as I'm concerned. Greg, your prices aren't why we go there. I'm willing to pay $5 more for a clownfish as long as you'll always be there for me to make fun of and shoot the breeze with. :-) And I don't expect you to be perfect either, but at least with a specific SW focus, you'll be more able to provide better livestock and advice for customers. I should also noticed that TW has the WORST customer service ever. I'm hardly ever helped when I walk in there, but strangely enough they're always friendly with a "thanks for stopping" kind of thing as I'm leaving.... Hmmm..... Weird. Anyway...

Greg, it's been too long. I'll have to stop in to chat. And I'll give you the skimmer back, it's not doing much on the 75 now, and the replacement EV-120 should be here really soon, assuming UPS doesn't break this one, too.

Cheers all, sorry again to rant about TW, but it just makes me livid, as you can see.

-Joe

[chazz-66]

Sometimes rants are good...

[Petunia]

We, from this area, understand. It is such a sad site to see.

I go into the store about once a week, look around, shake my head, ask a clerk about a price of a coral, hear how high the price is, tell them that I can get a nicer piece at a less dollar amount somewhere else, and leave.

I really just go in there to see if they have any specials on sw supplies. But... I always have to look at the tanks. It makes me so sad to see everything begin kept in such poor conditions.

I do go to the other lfs in town too. I usually shake my head there too. Their fish always have ick and are in quaratine all the time. And... they put fish together that shouldn't be together.

Pretty much... Greg is the answer to both situations. We're all lucky to have him start this business. Thanks Greg!

[Liza]

yep, now I just have to talk Greg into keeping a freshwater tank of feeder fish.

[schneijt]

He could probably do it. There are a whole bunch of tanks lying around in the back room that we could get up and running in a hurry for FW.