Big Al's Richmond has Clams

[Jason McK]

Just dropped in to find a large tank of about 40 clams.
Mainly Maxima various colours sizes ranging from 2" to about 8"


I'll post pics of my new guy when I have acclimated him

J

I have edit my comments as I feel "my" thoughts of any store are My thoughts and the intent was not to offend.
I did buy from them and there fore my comments we hypocritical

[powerboy]

yes, there were a lot of clams, but did you notice the amount of aptasia on them? it was a horrible sight. i asked the guy at the counter why they let their tanks go to hell like that, and his reply to me was " i dunno, buddy in the back is suppose to take care of it. i work in the front"

did you notice the little tanks directly above the clam tank? these little 4x4x4 partitions had fish in them.. sigh

everytime i go in there, i lose more and more respect for them ( wasnt much to start with)

they are by far the worst store i have seen.... :mad:

but on a positive note, i hope that clam gives you much viewing pleasure :smile:

[Quinn]

I think that by purchasing from the store, you are encouraging them to continue to import that animal. I would be boycotting them if I did not approve of their facilities.

[Jason McK]

Teevee you make a good point. One I have used in the past.
You are right, But I work in richmond and its too easy to go there and slowly watch everything die. I just had to at least rescue one.

Powerboy I asked about the Aptasia too, The guy said they can like that from the Burnaby store, I think they charge more for Clams with a ring of Anenomes :rolleyes:


Jason

[robbyville]

I've been to their stores a few times, I like their aquarium displays to fantasize about my eventual needs! I actually did buy a couple of items from them when I first moved into town but no longer do.

I walked in there a while back to see them selling live sand, at first I was incredibly happy since it's hard to find true live sand in Vancouver. Then I started to see all the aptaisia in it and that was enough for me. Every single tank thaey have except for their display in the front seems to be riddled with them!

[Justin]

Wow am I suprised at the lack of intellegence and mental capacity some of you are showing.

Not a mention of how nice the clams are. Not one is unhealthy. There is a brand new display built just to keep clams healthy so customers like us can have a good selection of healthy clams. And this is bad? I think 2 I saw had aptasia on them. Yes there is aptasia in the system, but if that is the worst thing you can find, I think that is pretty good. Some local stores have such a putrid odor I can't even stand in the store without gaging.

Where to start. Lets see.

Powerboy said:

"yes, there were a lot of clams, but did you notice the amount of aptasia on them?"

What's your point? Aptasia is a common thing, some people namely Calfo reccomend the use of them. When you get something you just might have a hitchhiker. Do you cry like this when you get a piece of liverock with a nasty crab, or a bristleworm? Do you excet everything handed to you perfectly? If you see a clam with aptasia on it, and you don't want the aptasia in your tank, kill the aptasia while your acclimating your clam.

"i asked the guy at the counter why they let their tanks go to hell like that, and his reply to me was " i dunno, buddy in the back is suppose to take care of it. i work in the front" "

Well what do you expect? The guy in the front of the store to go running to the back and solve all your concerns, no matter how ignorant they are? Then people wanting help in the front of the store can stand around and twiddle thier thumbs? If you had half the experiance you seem to you claim you would have asked to speak to a manager in the livestock department, and made your concerns known to him. He is the one who can do something about it. THis is not just for pet stores, it's customer service in general.

"did you notice the little tanks directly above the clam tank? these little 4x4x4 partitions had fish in them.. sigh"

Did you notice what is in these little boxes? They are plumbed into the main system, so thier water quality is perfect. They are not Naso tangs and sharks, they are small creatures that would not fare well when placed into a larger holding tank. IE, clown gobys and the such. They are FAR happier in a nice little box untill someone takes them home, rather then being dominated in a larger holding tank. Coral banded shrimp as well would MUCH rather be in a small box where they don't rip eachother apart. Why do you think the size is too small? When did you become an expert on holding livestock?

What do you think would happen if every piece of livestock had it's own 20gallon holding tank with a prefect habitat? Nothing would cost less then $100 each. The holding tanks are a compromise of something to keep the item healthy untill it gets taken home, and keeping cost down so people can afford it.

"they are by far the worst store i have seen.... "

Then you don't get around much. It's actually one of the cleanest stores I have ever seen.

Now I understand why that one store treats everyone like morons.

If you know nothing about how a store runs, I suggest you keep your comments to yourself in the future.

[Aquattro]

Justin, please refrain from insulting people. Thank you.

[Lucky Trout]

Just thats Harsh.

Have you ever been to Animal House in Abbotsford. We have extremely clean tanks and tons of happy fish. Just got an order from Bali the other day.

We try and carry a large selection of premium Corals and as much live rock as we can get.

When we do get clams and oysters that are very health and colourful. Every tank has its only sump and UV sterilizer, to maintain the inhabitants health.

You all would be shocked at the number of people who call my work on a regular basis about there sick fish that they purchased at J&L's. And we gladly give them the info they need.

I know of a caribean order of inverts that we will be getting sortly i'll post when it does come in.

Livestock in any pet store is expensive no matter where you go because of the high shipping costs. If you want to be mad at anyone about prices be made at the guys in Hawaii or Figi who are sitting back counting there thousands for taking a new and dipping it in the water. I think everyone should that there LPS for taking a huge risk in bringing theses animals for our plessure.

Thanks alot guys.

Ian

[Jason McK]

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anything that has been said in this thread.

I just know that there seemed to be a shortage of clams around lately and Big Al's had some so I thought I'd share

My little guy is doing just great

Jason

[Justin]

Sorry Brad. I just have seen enough people driven away from this site because of people who have no idea what they are talking about shooting thier backwards opinions around unmoderated. I stopped posting here because of crap like that. Kinda went lurker.

Ian, I know it's harsh, but It's not as harsh as the unfounded comments I was responding to. I realize Animal House is a clean store. Never had anything bad to say about them. It's just a little far for some people to go. Nice plug though. :biggrin: :lol:

[Justin]

Glad to see your happy with your Clam Jackets. Pics yet?

[Aquattro]

Justin, I think your comments were right on track, it's just the "delivery" that was questionable. Carry on :razz:

[Jason McK]

I have edited my comments in the beginning of this thread as I now feel my comments were not fare and my judgment of a store, staff, or product changes with every experience.
Also my negative comments effect others so I feel I shouldn't force them on others
Jason

[Quinn]

I still feel that the Big Al's that I have visited are the Walmart of LFS'.

[Justin]

teevee,

What stores have you visited? What are you basing your impression on?

[Quinn]

The locations in Calgary and Edmonton. I've personally found that the staff were rather unhelpful (teenagers), and the place is run like a department store. It seems odd that a fish store would have employee uniforms. I also feel that their choices of what livestock to carry are based on a profit motive, rather than in the best interest of the aquarist and the livestock itself.

Having said that, I understand that we are talking about a franchise here, and other locations may be of a higher standard.

[Justin]

Interesting observations!

I find it strange, that you find it odd that a fish store would have staff uniforms.

Almost every Fishstore out here has a uniform of some form. Usually just a T-Shirt with the stores name on it or something similar. Just about every store here does now that I think of it...

[AJ_77]

It is heartening to hear that the stores mentioned keep to higher standards in your neck of the woods, Justin.

The one location here is not recommended; they are an example of what someone has termed an "LFK" - Local Fish Killer. It is difficult to even go there for curiousity's sake anymore - too depressing to see livestock (using the term loosely here) held in those conditions, with up to half dead or dying.

The corals (again used loosely) fare no better, and yes, they were/are usually riddled with aptasia. I understand some don't mind a whack of aptasia, but most reefers I know consider it a pest. There are other retailers in the city who've found ways to keep their systems (and the aptasia) in check.

Glad the ones near you are putting in the effort. A clam tank? Awesome.

[LostMind]

We have a big als in coquitlam and their tanks remind me of petcetera - all the fish look pretty sad, several dead fish in the system, staff seem fairly unfriendly. Big als was the first fish store I went to when I decided to investigate setting up a marine tank back in December. The good thing I got from that store was the marine aquarist book I picked up for $90 (overpriced, but pointed me in the right direction) :)

I haven't been to the richmond store, so I cant comment on that, but if you want a general impression of Big al's.... thats my general impression.

Next time I am in the area, I will check out the richmond location simply because of this thread, but previous to reading this, I wouldn't have bothered going in simply because the coquitlam location had such poor quality marine tanks.

PS - the freshwater tanks and livestock in Big al's was great. No dead fish in the tanks, lotsa selection etc. Just their marine tanks were pretty sad....

[Justin]

The thing about Marine systems and marine fish shipments is they vary between one another. One shipment can be great, everything is fine and dandy. Looks great.

The next can be horrible, everything is dead or dieing, and there is nothing more pathetic then a system full of dead fish. This really does not reflect on the store as much as it does the reality of the hobby every marine keeper supports. Marine fish have an atrocious rate of harvest. That's a fact of the matter. Some shipments are better then others.

Don't like to see a tank with a couple dead fish? Imagine the suppliers. On a bad day, garbage cans full of dead fish every few hours. Heh. Most stores don't have the deaths in a year most suppliers have in a week.

[Quinn]

The problem is that the locations here are consistently bad. Because of their marketing and branding strategy, they are a relatively visible company in my opinion and therefore I think that they do a great deal of business with suburbanites who want a pair of seahorses, a shark and an $80 mushroom rock for their new 55-gallon Hagen with unpowered HOB skimmer. Having said this, at least their livestock appears to be properly fed.

Personally I patronize only one LFS in this province, in Edmonton, and I have been satisfied with their service and livestock thus far.

Mods, if I'm not supposed to be this vocal just edit the iffy parts out.

[Aquattro]

I'd like to add a comment about dead or dying fish also. If a fish comes in with a shipment and isn't doing well, the retailer has two choices; dispose of the fish now just to keep up appearances, or try to bring it around by keeping it in a tank. Now I don't suggest that they let it suffer, but I would prefer they did give it a chance to come around.
I've seen a LFS guy throw live fish in the garbage rather than deal with a sick animal. Just my .02....

[Justin]

I see. Have you gone in ther and talked to the managers?

I always see people have an opinion, and I think whether good or bad, they should share it with the store in question. It's important and can cause change.

One guy who runs a LFS here has offered me a job on several occasions, but I keep turning him down, and I tell him straight up cause his store is a mess, and I can't work like that. On the same note a number of my aquaintances have gone to work there, saying they would clean it up and after several months given up as it's a lost cause.

If you want to voice concerns here about a LFS that is great, but make sure your complaint is valid and that you have shared it with someone who can do something to solve it. IE the Manager at the LFS. They are usually willing to learn, help, fix the problem, but often they don't even know what/how/where ect.

[Justin]

Amen Brad. I have seen fish laying on thier side, gasping like they were in death throws. I thought wow that thing is dead. The manager told me She thought it would come around. 2 days later the fish in the same tank, still in acclimation were up eating and swimming around fine. One of those fish is now in thier display happy and healthy.

I would much rather go to a store and see sick/stressed fish that the store is trying to bring around rather then 100% clean tanks. 100% clean does not mean thier fish are perfect, it just means you don't know how much they are hiding.

Throwing a live fish in the garbage rather then trying to help it IMO, I couldn't stomach that.

Hope everyone reading this learns a thing or two about how stores work.

[Quinn]

I hear you about throwing out dead fish. I see dead fish at every store I visit, it doesn't phase me much.

My complaints about what fish are brought in will be met with either "oh they do great in captivity, what have you been reading!" or "well we're a business, we have to make money".

[Bob I]

I am again amazed how an announcement about a store having clams in stock has been completely hijacked. :rolleyes: :mad:

[Aquattro]

I am again amazed how an announcement about a store having clams in stock has been completely hijacked. :rolleyes: :mad:

Bob, it wasn't hijacked, it was "diverted"!

[Justin]

This one ACHED to be hijacked. It was destined to be hijacked. It needed to be hijacked. :evil:

As far as what gets brought in, sometimes retailers don't have a choice. They have to buy in lots from some suppliers, and those suppliers chose lots.

For example, one fish most people will agree upon, that does not do well in captivity, but is often seen in stores is a Moorish Idol. However they are apparently easy to catch, and suppliers like that. So they catch them because it is another fish they can sell. So they put them in the lots with your common LFS fare, clowns, damsels ect, because they make money, and that is why they are in business.

Sometimes the people running the Marine section don't even chose what they get. One store in Langley is like that. The manager is a geat guy, but the person who does the ordereing is always ordering stupid things. Like 20 pairs of Yellowhead Sleeper Gobys. What store can house 20 pairs, and keep them all alive untill they are all sold? NONE!!!

[Aquattro]

For example, one fish most people will agree upon, that does not do well in captivity, but is often seen in stores is a Moorish Idol.

At least we know that nobody from Canreef would buy one of these!! :razz:

[Quinn]

Only certain stores continually carry Moorish idols, large wild-caught seahorses and sharks. The store I shop at only recently began bringing in Moorish idols. Before that time I had never seen them in store.

My point is, often times all the LFS' have certain animals, ie. right now I think there are a lot of Genicanthus sp. angels floating around, since so many get their livestock from the same wholesalers, yet certain stores continually have the most unsuitable livestock in their tanks while others do not. There is one store here that has one of those red, white and blue sea apples and saltwater rays every time I visit the store. No one else does. You cannot tell me the wholesalers are dumping these animals off on this one store.

[AJ_77]

Uh-huh...

Well, are they having good success with these clams? How about their prices - decent?

[Samw]

For example, one fish most people will agree upon, that does not do well in captivity, but is often seen in stores is a Moorish Idol.

At least we know that nobody from Canreef would buy one of these!! :razz:


<bite>lip</bite> I know you know something.


Uh-huh...

Well, are they having good success with these clams? How about their prices - decent?

The small colored clams are about the same price I paid for mine from other places. The only thing I would change on their clam tanks is to move the clams up higher towards the light. They have them at the bottom of a very deep display tank.

[Aquattro]

<bite>lip</bite> I know you know something.

.

I have no idea what you mean!! :cool:

[EmilyB]

Yes, the wholesalers are dumping IMO. Pisces got in two huge, I mean huge, anemones they didn't order. I couldn't even really identify them, did anyone else happen to see them?

I almost thought they looked like ritteri.

I might be having Mikey over to deliver a tank this week, and will have a chat with him. :mrgreen:

[Samw]

I have no idea what you mean!! :cool:


Good. If someone would give you one that's almost 2 years old in captivity, would you take it?

[EmilyB]

I would Sam. Too bad I live so far away... :frown:

[Aquattro]

I would Sam. Too bad I live so far away... :frown:
I have to agree!!

[Buccaneer]

Yes, the wholesalers are dumping IMO. Pisces got in two huge, I mean huge, anemones they didn't order. I couldn't even really identify them, did anyone else happen to see them?

I almost thought they looked like ritteri.

I might be having Mikey over to deliver a tank this week, and will have a chat with him. :mrgreen:

I saw them too Deb ... they are gone now as I went back to take another look as I did not have a bunch of time the first time I saw them ... tentacles looked a little short for riteri did'nt you think ? ... course they could have just been stressed :sad:

[EmilyB]

Yeah, they looked really like nothing I have ever seen before. They came in as bubbletips apparently.. :neutral:

[Quinn]

Pisces... let's not open that one.

[Buccaneer]

Pisces... let's not open that one.


LOL ... not much to open Quinn :rolleyes:

[Lucky Trout]

Holy Crap, This thread went nuts. This morning 17 reply now 41.

As i work for a pet store i see what goes on behind the scene.

Depending on where the shipment comes from, depends on the amount of pests (ie Aptasia) from Vanuatu and hawaii we get corals we a few aptasia on them but its a case of nuking them before it spreads.

And we have are share of deads and stress out fishes, but we take care of them, some how. Shipping can be a real bugger. I remember one time we got 3 boxs of fish and only one was alive. The other two seems to be boiling in side as if it had been left out on the tar make or something but what can you do. I mean the was an emperor Angel inside, that pist me off it was dead . thats one of my favorite fish.

Also as Justin said about the Morish Idol thing. As with our store we dont order them but sometimes they just come as a filler anyway. even if you write on the list "No Morish Idols"

and hey if you can get on to eat you got gold man.


Okay thats enough yapping about the pet stores in the area. I work for one and even I don't have a bad comment about any other LFS. Like Brad or Sam said, they all carry different products for us. I buy from them all aswell if i see something i like.but i like my discount at Animal House
Ian

[Delphinus]

Oh, heck, I might as well jump in on the hijacking too, 'cuz it's so much fun.

Yeah, they looked really like nothing I have ever seen before. They came in as bubbletips apparently..

I have not seen these very often, but I have seen on rare occasion a strain of BTA which is huge, i.e., >12-14" around. These are collected at deeper waters than the others. So it's conceivable that what you saw were indeed BTA's. I did not see them so I can't say (actually, next time you see such a thing, please let me know so I can go see myself!) They are sometime mislabelled as ritteris because of the size but just thought I'd mention that there IS such a thing as a gargantuan BTA (just a bit rare usually). They can fetch quite a price. I hope they made it to good homes.

[powerboy]

well justin, i will remember the next time i post, ill run it by you first to see if it meets your approval...

you call me ignorant, well the delivery of your post is indeed what is ignorant.. so much for freedom of expression and speech..

:rolleyes:

[Jason McK]

I just wanted to add
Big Al's in Richmond still has some clams left :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:


J

[Aquattro]

I just wanted to add
Big Al's in Richmond still has some clams left :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:


J

Wow! What kind of conditions are they kept in?

[Samw]

Wow! What kind of conditions are they kept in?

Hey, this question keeps popping up. Could someone just take some pics and post them and get it over with? :smile:

[Wilty]

Wow, this sure stirred up a lot of dirt. I didn't even realise clams were . . . rare?

[Jason McK]

Ok so this is a pic of my new Clam. It took a few days to put its foot down and it sure didn't pick a very good spot. It is right above the blenny's hole and a lot of sand gets blown up around there. We will see how it does.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=91&password=&sort=1&cat=506&page=1


Jakets

I can't see the pic (just red X) but it is in the Critters part of the members gallery

[christyf5]

You can't link the pic as an image, just a url

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=91&password=&sort=1&cat=506&page=1

That clam is really nice. I bet it would look spectacular in an overhead shot. :cool:

christy :)

[Samw]

You can't link the pic as an image, just a url

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=91&password=&sort=1&cat=506&page=1

That clam is really nice. I bet it would look spectacular in an overhead shot. :cool:

christy :)


You can if the URL points to a pic. :razz:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/506/537New_Clam-med.JPG?4474

[christyf5]

well I'll be darned. Sam you are smrt!! :biggrin: :razz:

[Delphinus]

My cat's breath smells like cat food. Awww, I bit my wookie. What's a diorama?

[Quinn]

What's the polyp-looking thing next to the clam? I have a few of them popping up and I was worried they were majano anemones.

[AJ_77]

That's a nice little clam - how much?

(Quinn: that's a brown polyp. Try to stay on track.)

:razz:

[Quinn]

Right, sorry. I drift off sometimes.

[Jason McK]

they're just Brown Polyps They are all Hitch-hiker and are popping up everywhere.

[AJ_77]

My cat's breath smells like cat food. Awww, I bit my wookie. What's a diorama?

OH!! I know! Is it Ralph Wiggum??

What do I win?

[Quinn]

And, when the doctor said I didn't have worms any more, that was the happiest day of my life!

[mikeb]

I am responding to Ians post . I've known John for a long time and had to reply. Ians post was wrote in the wrong context. Ian was i'm sure trying to say that all stores get complaints.Some maybe just and other posted by people that have had a tank for a few months and now think there the formost authority on reef keeping.There is a big difference between having a tank at home and looking after a store full of tanks.I feel the better the stores out there the better it is for everybody. As for suppliers I can only speak for ours and i havn't seen much better. Everyone gets a rough shipment once in a while ,but in four years i've only seen a couple and thats because of airline problems.Our last bali shipment had one loss out of 5 boxes.Ian has never been there to put away a shipment so i don't know if he had a few many drinks before his post.I havn't talk to him yet but will be doing so. Thanks Mike

[EmilyB]

I have not seen these very often, but I have seen on rare occasion a strain of BTA which is huge, i.e., >12-14" around. These are collected at deeper waters than the others. So it's conceivable that what you saw were indeed BTA's. I did not see them so I can't say (actually, next time you see such a thing, please let me know so I can go see myself!) They are sometime mislabelled as ritteris because of the size but just thought I'd mention that there IS such a thing as a gargantuan BTA (just a bit rare usually). They can fetch quite a price. I hope they made it to good homes.

Well, they had a yellow tinge, and seemed to have more "tentacles per square inch", if you can call it that. :confused: Plus they were both parked on the glass when I was there. Although, may they just didn't want to touch that rock...... :rolleyes:

I don't think they had any "pimples" tho.. :mrgreen:

I actually forgot to mention it to you, but thought of it at the time. :biggrin:

[christyf5]

My doctor said my nose wouldn't bleed so much if I just kept my finger outta there!

:razz:

[EmilyB]

You must be feeling better Christy..... :rolleyes: :mrgreen: :cool:

[christyf5]

Its the codeine talking :razz: