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this may sound stupid, but does it seem to other fishkeepers that the lfs in their towns carry the same fish? i live in tucson, and the 2 dozen lfs carry the same stock. it seems like seemingly common catfish (bristlenose, banjos, etc), nonfish (freshwater clams, java moss) the list is endless- are special order. but when i look at threads from other countries/states they are plentiful and cheap. why can i buy 10 ghostshrimp in the desert for a $1, but i need to buy java moss off the internet?

forget about import/release concerns with loaches and such- i can understand the accidential release concerns of the government. wouldn't it stand to reason that if a lfs offered something different at a reasonable price, it would prosper?

I'm assuming you live in Tucson, AZ. It may be that they think the town is too small for the market?? I live in Tempe and see bn's, clams, and java moss a lot here. Not too long ago I couldn't find an albino bn for the life of me but my lfs has gotten quite a few shipments. It could also just be that's what the local breeders have available and it's not cost effective for the stores to ship certain fish in. I was pretty close to ordering blue rams online until a shipment finally came in(I kept asking about them). Good luck finding the fish you want. Sometimes it's worth the wait.

Quite often your LFS only orders what they consider to be the popular selling fish which is very understandable not wanting to keep fish that only a small minority will buy and take up tank space for too long, but they do have a list and CHOOSE which fish they buy from their supplier so if you can talk to your LFS and ask them is it possible for you to order fish that IS on their list....hopefully there will be something that you've wanted but never seen available in your area
The LFS I go to only keeps a few different type of fish but I've been able to get a wide range of fish brought in for me, that's also the same with other LFS's in our area so I assumed it's fairly common.
Good luck

I used to live in Tucson and now, like Superbohn79 I live up the highway in Tempe. Without a doubt there is a better selection in the Phx metro area. I think this has a lot to with the larger population of the Valley of the Sun. More potential customers means more fish stores. It also means more local enthusiasts breeding, selling and trading fish.
Several stores, including the store I patronized when I lived in Tucson are no longer in business. Another big pet store has declined greatly in regards to their tanks. This I don't understand considering how much the Old Pueblo has grown since I lived there. Maybe there just are not as many fish people per capita in Tucson.
Anyway, you can always look in the bright side: You don't live in Siera Vista

i am not bemoaning the avail of fish in tucson in itself. my thought was how could prices/avail of common freshwater species fluctuate so much between similar sized cities.

i have read threads mentioning inflated prices for clown loaches, glass cats, arowanas etc- these are really cheap here. the cheap ghost shrimp here are flown in from florida. i agree, local breeding hubs can dictate prices, but some of those are wild caught species.

several years ago i was in a small lfs at lake erie. this place had every conceivable non-exotic freshwater fish imaginable- and everything was reasonably priced. i purchased plastic plants that i have yet to see any where else.

wouldn't a lfs improve its customer base if it carried reasonably priced species that the locals do not?

Sometimes it doesn't have much to do with the location, simply the store. I have an excellent LFS near me... with rather high prices. I never buy equipment there, because I can get it for much less anywhere else. However, they have the best looking fish I've seen. I can stand paying a bit more for fish that I know comes from a good source and is healthy.

Of course, they also have one of the better selections I've seen, as well. In fact, since finding this store, I haven't looked for another store. I just get my supplies at a LCS and my fish a my slightly-more-expensive LFS. *shrugs*

Even between the LCSs, there's a huge difference in fish availability, and price. One has a range of species (including saltwater), but less fish than the other, which has more fish but less selection (more species of freshwater).

Another LCS, I refuse to buy fish from because the tanks are disgusting. They have a decent variety of fish, but don't have some of the more common fish (danios, rasboras, etc) and what fish they do have are crammed into maybe a tenth of the space of the other LCSs. *shrugs*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

hey, be thankful you have a choice of stores to go to who carry a large variety of things. My LFS can't get most things I want, so I have to wait until I can go out of town to get spacial fish/plants/equipment. My LFS doesn't carry java moss, java fern, cabomba or much of anything else. I had to order my penguin filter online and get most of my plants when I went to Springfield with my dad. If I want fish, I pretty much have to take my chances with my shoddy fish shop. I've generally been pretty lucky, but whenever I get new fish, one or two always dies, despite my best efforts. When I want to ad a new fish to my tank, I have to get at least two, because chances are, one will expire. I've been seriously considering opening up my own pet shop. It'd be nice to have a shop with decent care for the animals while they're there.

Have you ever asked them if they can order a fish they don't have? My lfs doesn't stock even a lot of the more common fish like clown loaches and keyhole cichlids. I had to have them " special order" bristlenose pleco even. When I say " special order" I meant I asked them to find out if they could get the fish from their supplier, and if they could to get me xx amount of them. 90% of all the fish I buy from them I get like that, because I don't want goldfish or mixed african cichlids, which , besides common tetras and feeders, appears to be all they carry in the store.