Da Squid
Aquarium Advice Freak
I found/explored a LFS within only a few miles of my house last night and came away with mixed feelings.
First impressions were that the store was filthy. I'm not sure the floor has ever been mopped or even swept. The buzzing of flies could be heard down every isle. Empty, stained, and shattered tanks were stacked up along certain walls and littering the side of the building so as to make me feel like I was in the aquatic projects. I was there for 35 minutes and didnt see a single employee except for a guy at the register who couldn't leave his spot.
Strangely enough, dirty as the tanks were all the fish in there seemed to be in great shape. I didnt notice any diseased fish (although there were one or two dead ones that appeared to have been picked clean over the past several days). There were a number of display only tanks that were very impressive which leads me to my question.
There was a planted community tank with driftwood. The creator somehow managed to get tall leafy stem plants to grow out of pockets of the driftwood that started about a foot off the substrate. I thought it looked great and would like to try something similar. They have a huge selection of driftwood but most of it is too big for me to fit in a boiling pot. As dirty as the store is, I'm afraid to introduce anything from there to the tank without boiling first. Any advice?
First impressions were that the store was filthy. I'm not sure the floor has ever been mopped or even swept. The buzzing of flies could be heard down every isle. Empty, stained, and shattered tanks were stacked up along certain walls and littering the side of the building so as to make me feel like I was in the aquatic projects. I was there for 35 minutes and didnt see a single employee except for a guy at the register who couldn't leave his spot.
Strangely enough, dirty as the tanks were all the fish in there seemed to be in great shape. I didnt notice any diseased fish (although there were one or two dead ones that appeared to have been picked clean over the past several days). There were a number of display only tanks that were very impressive which leads me to my question.
There was a planted community tank with driftwood. The creator somehow managed to get tall leafy stem plants to grow out of pockets of the driftwood that started about a foot off the substrate. I thought it looked great and would like to try something similar. They have a huge selection of driftwood but most of it is too big for me to fit in a boiling pot. As dirty as the store is, I'm afraid to introduce anything from there to the tank without boiling first. Any advice?