A not so hypothetical hypothetical situation.

[Mumma.of.two]

I would have pre-seeded sponge filters and Biomax for sale for new aquarist so they can purchase everything from tanks, heaters, and related equipment and have fish swimming in a cycled tank when they get home.

That's an awesome idea! They would sell like hotcakes. Probably end up with a huge waiting list.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Another thing I'd like to see in a LFS is correct labeling of fish like rainbows. Also labels with the common and Latin names of fish, maximum size, minimum tank size, if they need a school or are solitary, etc.

 

[jetajockey]

I definitely plan to put together a bunch of sponge filters in a large display tank along with a really big O or some other large fish. It'll have some signage on it explaining what the purpose of all the filters are and pricing etc.

 

[mfdrookie516]

IMO, a store with display tanks seals the deal.

 

[jetajockey]

We have a 175ish that is going right by the entrance with some smaller bird and reptile displays around it.
It has some cf fixtures already so it'll definitely be planted

 

[Nomadu571]

IMO, a store with display tanks seals the deal.

There a maidenhead aquatics near me, in uk, which has a massive 10ft x 10ft x 5ft high tank, as it's main display, which tanks up like 60% of the shop, lol. They keep koi carp in there most as big as a 10year old child. Seriously some of these carp have a head as big as mine, crazy huge.

Letting it down however is their chchild display which is a 75gal with easy 50-60 fish, so over crowded its insane.

 

[eco23]

IMO, a store with display tanks seals the deal.

As long as a good selection of the items in the display are also available for purchase in the store. I've been to many LFS's with beautiful display tanks...but otherwise limited selection or poor quality versions available for sale. It's kind of like them saying "We have all these nice things but we're not gonna let you buy any of it".

 

[jetajockey]

That's the thing about this place, its a pet store, not a LFS, and I have a lot of room to work with but I'm also trying to keep it a fairly simple operation since they don't have a dedicated fish person, at least not at the moment. It's still up in the air but I might just pop in 2-3 times a week and do all of the major maintenance and just leave them to do the minor daily stuff, we'll see.

 

[mfdrookie516]

We have a 175ish that is going right by the entrance with some smaller bird and reptile displays around it.
It has some cf fixtures already so it'll definitely be planted

That's great. I just think that having a few different tanks that can showcase various fish, especially if scaped well, would be fantastic for business. Just look at the store out in California that everyone knows about (Aqua Forest Aquarium, ADA USA, Aqua Design Amano). Sounds like you already had that in mind though