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Hi everyone
I have been lurking around this site for some time now i thought i should take a minute to say hello.
I have been keeping fish for nearly ten years now and have had alot of fun from coldwater to fully planted tropical and without sites like this i think i would have failed along time ago. So thank you to all people(experts)that take the time to post up there tips and how to's so that the rest of us can learn from there experiances.

But Now to My Question, Me and my wife have been toying with the idea of setting up our own fish shop here in the UK as there is no good shops around us, we have to travel far to get to a good shop.Is there anybody out there that has done this or looked in to it because i could use some advise on what i would need to do. I Know i need to do a full business plan and all of that but where do i start, What would the start up cost be,How do i find a good supplier of fish and dry goods where can i get the tanks from etc etc.
If anybody could give me any info i would realy appreciate it.
And keep up the good work everybody it's sites like this that help the hobby to keep growing.

Ive never set up a shop and the financial end of it, supply contacts and local legalities are not something I could give advice on, but I have set up and helped other to set up public displays in wildlife parks etc, and I have seen the "back room" operation of many shops.

Aside from the knowledge needed to set up large scale filtration, quarantines, etc for larger scale and low staffed setups there is one thing that I feel should get a mention, and thats the mentality it takes to run a shop from scratch as concerns the way you treat the stock and how owning a shop may affect your love of the hobby.

It takes a certain kind of person to run a shop with live stock. In a sense you have to be more farmer than hobbyist, you have to retain detachment from the stock, and remember that they are business and not your pets.

Probably 80- 90% of all the fish you sell will not go to good homes and will suffer premature deaths and never be treated correctly for ailments or disease. Can you bear to watch that? Because if you cant , your business will not last long.

Ive seen shops with literally hundreds of dead animals in freezers waiting for collection and disposal. Will you be happy to see the dead fish arrive if theres a delayed shipment or the weather makes the transportation of these fish arduous, and will you accept fish returned in terrible condition, and be prepared for the fact that you may be the one killing the fish if you dont have the finaces to quarantine the fish and treat it. Will you be the one selling tiny tanks and goldfish bowls, will you be the one stocking lousy products because contracts or profit margins demand it?

Running a really good LFS can leave you low on profit , and high on responsibility. If you have a genuine love for fish, and a true sense of hobbyism you could find that love severely dented by the everyday practises of owning a shop. The often initially glamourous idea of owning your own LFS can be tainted so badly you wont be able to get away from it fast enough. God knows Ive been disappointed enough in behind the scenes situations in animal rescue and zoos, a shop can only be worse.

Ive seen lots of great shops close down quickly because of high overheads and a lot of really bad ones just run and run.

Having said that, if you can cope with it, and make a difference with your customers, and promote good and healthy fishkeeping, I wish the more power to your elbow.

Good luck!

Alright longhairedgit,cheers for the reply.

I know that setting up, running and maintaining a shop involves long hours and alot of hard work.(none of which we are shy to). I don't think running a Good shop is glamourous, i believe its going to take alot of commitment and skill.

I do hope to establish ourselfs as a good honest LFS which i know will not happen over night.But doing things like not selling stupidly small tanks and lousy products should help.I do plan on quarantineing all new fish and giving them the best chance they can possibly get. When i first started going to my LFS he insisted on a water sample before he would sell you any fish, Which was good because at the time my nitrite was off the scale high(it would have killed the fish for sure).He then gave me all the relevent advise to sort out my problems. After a few weeks when my water parameters were good and upon production of another water sample he then sold me my first tropical fish. After a few months of going to the same guy and alot of informative chats he then trusted me enough to sell me fish without a sample.After moving house and trying all of my LFS's i still travel miles to get my stock and advise from the same guy, alot of my mates now travel to see him aswell as they were sick of the lousy LFS's.
It just goes to show IF you do it right you COULD have a good reliable customer base.
In short i would like to take the time to establish a good LFS trading on a good reputation but i need to know how to do it.I don't really want to ask my guy about it because he might then see me as a rival and i would lose a great resource.
Cheers for the more power to my elbow wish.

Im not sure about the UK, but in the US the big-name-national-chain stores are growing and becoming more widespread. They will have lower prices on mercendise so you need to establish a reputation of being friendly, honest, and(most importantly) intelligent. Some steps to help you with this:
1-Choose your employees carefully. Most of the big chains have less experienced staff. The coustomers will learn that your employees have better advice.
2-Many stores have one large filtration system. Divide yor system up into many smaller systems. Only have 3-4 tanks linked together. When you notice a problem in a tank you any have to stop selling out of a few tank instead of all the tanks. You will be less hesitant to stop selling fish to treat a disease. This will lead to better quality stock.
3-Large chains only have one choice to buy stock from. Independent stores can have multiple sources. Choose the source with the best quality.
4-Many stores attempt to sell anything a coustomer wants without explaining it to them. Buy placing coustomers at a higher priorety than profits you can help them to get the greatest enjoyment possible. They will trust you to give them honest advice.

20 Gallon Long:
Aquaclear 300
2 Bolivian Rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus: Gumby and Pokey

You need to decide on what type of store you will have.
-Are you going to specilize in fish? Or will you sell any other animals?
-The store should always be clean and neat. Everything should have a place and be in order. All the equipment should be free of grime, dust, chipped paint, rust, or any other blemishes. Coustomers dont like a dirty smelly store that looks like it is about to fall in on itself.
-You should never be under staffed. Coustomers should always be able to find an employee that isnt too busy to answer their question or help them carry something etc.
-Do you want to expand the one store? Will you open additional locations? If you expand you need to maintain the reasons why coustomers like your store.
-Dont be afraid to ask other stores a few towns over for help. You may even be able to buy some products in bulk together and save some money. They might even be partners to own your store.

20 Gallon Long:
Aquaclear 300
2 Bolivian Rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus: Gumby and Pokey

are u looking to start one from strach, or open a francise.

as with a francise they will have more sources and make things easier, but some negs. are that some people often pre-judge chain lfs and since it is a well known name they wont bother to give it a shot, also you would have to pay them with commission(sometimes)

overseas is the best market for aquatic wholesale, so you should be able to find a wholesaler easy.

dry goods, i would guess that buying bulk from the makers is your best bet.


also i think marine land makes a fish/show system, that most chain lfs have, or you can make them your own.