blue ribbon koi

[wolfman]

Ok i have been there a couple times and it seems like all the good stuff they have in there selling tank is NOT FOR SALE. What is the deal with that? I think that fins and feathers has a much better selection than blue ribbon koi and if blue ribbon koi is not going to sell something because they are going to frag it than dont put it in there selling tank.

[Guest clownfish4]

Can't say I know for sure, but maybe they are quarrantining? Or perhaps waiting for them to grow to a decent size? Either way, I would take BRK over any other store any day, and so would A LOT of people here.

[dzekunoi]

Ok i have been there a couple times and it seems like all the good stuff they have in there selling tank is NOT FOR SALE. What is the deal with that? I think that fins and feathers has a much better selection than blue ribbon koi and if blue ribbon koi is not going to sell something because they are going to frag it than dont put it in there selling tank.

 

Gosh, very first post and so much angry...

 

Too bad you did not like BRK. Why didn't you ask the owner why stuff was not for sale?

[wolfman]

The ppl there are very nice, but they said that they were trying to frag them. I would think if you were a fish store that you would have a seperate tank for your frags so customers wouldnt get confused over what was or wasnt for sale thats all.

[Guest clownfish4]

I would think if you were a fish store that you would have a seperate tank for your frags so customers wouldnt get confused over what was or wasnt for sale thats all.

 

 

Last time I was there they had a sign pointing left saying those weren't for sale and other signs pointing to corals with the price, where's the confusion?

[wolfman]

when i was there they had a sign pointing to some things for sale and i said i i wanted some zoos and they were like o those are not for sale were fraging them even tho what they were fraging takes one year to grow one polyp.

 

there was no confusion because things they were fraging were in the section that had a for sale arrow pointing to it.

[GaryL]

what about asking johnny or byron to just hold the frag for you, im sure they would do that. or maybe all the frags were already taken.

 

there have been many reason why i like one fish store over the other. but i still go to them for one reason or other. i believe in competition and making sure their is not just one store in our area. as long as there are humans they will make some error.

 

JMO

 

G

[rocko918]

The ppl there are very nice, but they said that they were trying to frag them. I would think if you were a fish store that you would have a seperate tank for your frags so customers wouldnt get confused over what was or wasnt for sale thats all.

 

 

Their main tank is their best tank with all the best equipment on it like the Deltec Skimmer, Ozone , the MH's and t5's. Why should they setup another tank just to grow stuff out. That tank is plenty big and there are plenty of other corals to choose from. Sorry you couldn't get the coral you wanted.

 

Also remember this is a new side of the shop, they specialize in Koi and they may not have the room for a grow out tank.

[wolfman]

ya i agree they are kinda new in the salwater area i guess they have alot of room to grow, but i am not saying that they are a bad store

[johnnybv]

Their main tank is their best tank with all the best equipment on it like the Deltec Skimmer, Ozone , the MH's and t5's. Why should they setup another tank just to grow stuff out. That tank is plenty big and there are plenty of other corals to choose from. Sorry you couldn't get the coral you wanted.

 

Also remember this is a new side of the shop, they specialize in Koi and they may not have the room for a grow out tank.

 

Lets set the record straight here......

The 260 coral / frag tank is still under organization and construction, we have about a shelf and a half that does contain frags that are not for sale "yet". These are frags of hard to get, slow growing, and very desirable corals, buying corals as a dealer is not as simple as calling someone and saying send me 3 superman montis, and 5 blue torts, they just dont have a machine that makes them. We buy things as they are available knowing that it may be some time before we will be able to get them again, and if that is the case we hold back one of the pieces and grow it out so that we can continue to supply our customers with these hard to find corals. We have spent a tremendous amout of money & used all the space available to provide a fair and desirable enviornment. I do not have any more space to set up a separate frag tank, sorry.

I find it quite interesting that you are a new member on the board, and have such a negative opinion of a business that has done nothing but support WAMAS since starting our Marine endevour.

 

If you need any furthur clarification, please call me 703-753-7566.

John

PS what frag are you interested in?

[wolfman]

thanks i will give you all a call

[Larry Grenier]

Hey John,

 

You know where the other 99% of us stand.

We know you guys ar not like a 7-11.

That new Jaw fish I bought Friday is eating various foods including pellets. What a personality.

[madmax7774]

Regardless of any percieved flaws that you think BRK might have, they have something going for them that I have not found in ANY other LFS. They have real honest to God customer service. They genuinely care about their customers and their livestock. As for LFS's I have tried:

 

Centreville Aquarium

Marine Scene

Fox Mill Pets

Petco

Petsmart

 

Not one of them is as personable and Caring as BRK. Yeah some of them they mave have more flash to their store, but in the end it's about customer satisfaction. If you saw something you wanetd in the Not For Sale section you should have just asked John about it. He will aways give you a straight answer, and probably would have worked out some sort of deal to make you happy. Giev them a chance, I did and now they are my number one store. Heck, I like them so much, I even brought my wife there to let her shop for more plants and shrubs.

[Ne0eN]

I was at BRK on Saturday - right before the Social... Yes they did have a separate shelf in the frag tank with 'Not for Sale' sign. What's the big deal? It was obvious to me that they were growing/fragging these corals. Look at other LFS - Marine Scene has majority of fish in Q that are not for sale/ or already pre-paid. Super Petz has some nasty looking bleached/mojano infested corals that I don't know why would anyone even consider buying. Instead of venting some immature negative comments in your first post on WAMAS, consider perhaps giving us some insight to who you are and wha kind of set-up you currently have. This forum is for learning, sharing ideas, tips, and helping each other. That's what makes WAMAS so great.

 

'off the soap-box'

 

-Rob

[Caribbean Jake]

the good stuff they have in there selling tank is NOT FOR SALE. What is the deal with that?

 

Wolfman

Seems to me, IMHO, that you are not very familiar with LFS in this area. They all have tanks where they hold/quarantine corals and fish for few days or weeks until they are ready for sale. It is not a bad thing, or that they"The Store" does not want to sell you a piece. It is done to assure that the livestock they are selling you is in good health and will survive the transition into your tank. That is one of the reasons they hold those pieces, also we at WAMAS promote aquacultured corals rather than depleeting the ocean of it's beauty. I rather wait for a frag from an established coral than take another piece out of the ocean. Again just IMHO. Hope this helps understand the reason why some LFS do what they do.

[londonloco]

Regardless of any percieved flaws that you think BRK might have, they have something going for them that I have not found in ANY other LFS. They have real honest to God customer service. They genuinely care about their customers and their livestock. As for LFS's I have tried:

 

Centreville Aquarium

Marine Scene

Fox Mill Pets

Petco

Petsmart

 

Not one of them is as personable and Caring as BRK. Yeah some of them they mave have more flash to their store, but in the end it's about customer satisfaction. If you saw something you wanetd in the Not For Sale section you should have just asked John about it. He will aways give you a straight answer, and probably would have worked out some sort of deal to make you happy. Giev them a chance, I did and now they are my number one store. Heck, I like them so much, I even brought my wife there to let her shop for more plants and shrubs.

 

I have been to BRK once. John was very nice, his dry goods are top quality, and I bought an achilles tang from him that is still alive and well in my tank 6 weeks later (imagine that). I will go back when I am in need of something.

 

I agree that all the above vendors are not as "personable and caring"; with ONE expception. David, the owner of Centreville Aquarium is very personable, and tho he is out to make a living, he is caring also. Until I stumbled around BRK, I would only buy my live goods from Centreville Aquarium. At least now I have a choice. BTW, John, been meaning to call you about some T5 retrofits.

[johnnybv]

I have been to BRK once. John was very nice, his dry goods are top quality, and I bought an achilles tang from him that is still alive and well in my tank 6 weeks later (imagine that). I will go back when I am in need of something.

 

I agree that all the above vendors are not as "personable and caring"; with ONE expception. David, the owner of Centreville Aquarium is very personable, and tho he is out to make a living, he is caring also. Until I stumbled around BRK, I would only buy my live goods from Centreville Aquarium. At least now I have a choice. BTW, John, been meaning to call you about some T5 retrofits.

 

Thanks for all your support guys, I will sleep better tonight.....I take this stuff pretty seriously.

John

Oh BTW Just brought in about $$$$$ in Koi.......(decided to take the numbers out, but it is a lot of koi)

[BeltwayBandit]

John,

 

You are my store of choice in the area. You actually do put the customer first. Heck you even let me move your product for you...Wait I should get the employee discount now... But, back on topic. Keep up the good work. I will gladly drive thirty minutes* to get to your store, because you are willing to make me feel like I'm your most important customer (even though I know I haven't spent enough in there to get a decent goldfish yet). Keep up the good work, you just can't please some people. As long as you keep doing things the way you are doing them, we will have your back when clowns come in here with their first post bagging on your store. Thats just not right.

 

"Oh BTW Just brought in about $$$$$ in Koi.......(decided to take the numbers out, but it is a lot of koi)"

I guess you had a successful trip to Richmond then. I just might have to trek out that way.

 

BB

 

*with traffic it has taken up to 2 hours to get there, but it was still worth it.

[dschflier]

I read this thred with a bit of amusment. I did not take from what wolfman said; that he was slamming BRK. He was asking a question and everyone appeared to attack him. It is good to get clarification when something doesn't seem right. Someone once asked about Roozens on the site and people didn't have a problem slamming them. were is the anger managment when it comes to Roozens. I had a purchasing issue with BRK once; I would hope if I brought it up on the site I wouldn't be attacked for stating my views.

 

I read this thred with a bit of amusment. I did not take from what wolfman said; that he was slamming BRK. He was asking a question and everyone appeared to attack him. It is good to get clarification when something doesn't seem right. Someone once asked about Roozens on the site and people didn't have a problem slamming them. were is the anger managment when it comes to Roozens. I had a purchasing issue with BRK once; I would hope if I brought it up on the site I wouldn't be attacked for stating my views.

[johnnybv]

I read this thred with a bit of amusment. I did not take from what wolfman said; that he was slamming BRK. He was asking a question and everyone appeared to attack him. It is good to get clarification when something doesn't seem right. Someone once asked about Roozens on the site and people didn't have a problem slamming them. were is the anger managment when it comes to Roozens. I had a purchasing issue with BRK once; I would hope if I brought it up on the site I wouldn't be attacked for stating my views.

 

I read this thred with a bit of amusment. I did not take from what wolfman said; that he was slamming BRK. He was asking a question and everyone appeared to attack him. It is good to get clarification when something doesn't seem right. Someone once asked about Roozens on the site and people didn't have a problem slamming them. were is the anger managment when it comes to Roozens. I had a purchasing issue with BRK once; I would hope if I brought it up on the site I wouldn't be attacked for stating my views.

 

PM Sent

[Caribbean Jake]

dschflier

Please reed my post again. I'm neither attacking or supporting, more of clarification to wolfman on why (in general) some LFS in this area do the "hold" on livestock. ON the other hand I have to agree with you that some members went over the edge in their remarks that come across as attacks, but again it all depends on how you read their posts.

Jacob

[Larry Grenier]

Ok i have been there a couple times and it seems like all the good stuff they have in there selling tank is NOT FOR SALE. What is the deal with that? I think that fins and feathers has a much better selection than blue ribbon koi and if blue ribbon koi is not going to sell something because they are going to frag it than dont put it in there selling tank.

 

Sounds a little critical but probably didn't mean to sound harsh. We're over it.

[Armson]

Wolfman

Seems to me, IMHO, that you are not very familiar with LFS in this area. They all have tanks where they hold/quarantine corals and fish for few days or weeks until they are ready for sale. It is not a bad thing, or that they"The Store" does not want to sell you a piece. It is done to assure that the livestock they are selling you is in good health and will survive the transition into your tank. That is one of the reasons they hold those pieces, also we at WAMAS promote aquacultured corals rather than depleeting the ocean of it's beauty. I rather wait for a frag from an established coral than take another piece out of the ocean. Again just IMHO. Hope this helps understand the reason why some LFS do what they do.

Well put Jake.

 

 

I was the one who helped Wolfman out when he walked into the store. As I try to explain to everyone that comes into the store and asks about the NFS section. It is only a temporary section. I am currently working on the propogation system in which all the NFS frags will be moved into once it is complete. As Johnny can atest it is extremely hard to get projects done in the shop with all the those pesky customers buying Koi and all those annoying wamas members (Lee, Anton, Craig, Doug, Wildman, Eric, Steve...etc Yes I mean YOU!) :-) :D

 

Wolfman,

 

Sorry I have not gotten the propogation system up and running yet. I assure you it will be finished ASAP if you were looking for a particular peice PM me or Johnny about it and we can work something out.

 

 

 

Byron

[rocko918]

I read this thred with a bit of amusment. I did not take from what wolfman said; that he was slamming BRK. He was asking a question and everyone appeared to attack him. It is good to get clarification when something doesn't seem right. Someone once asked about Roozens on the site and people didn't have a problem slamming them. were is the anger managment when it comes to Roozens. I had a purchasing issue with BRK once; I would hope if I brought it up on the site I wouldn't be attacked for stating my views.

 

 

dschflier- i think wolfmans first post is slamming them. Saying that another store is better is certianly slamming them.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[dschflier]

I disagree that saying one store is better then an other is a slam. As you stated that is an opinion. It is also an opportunity for stores to look at what other stores do and either use the ideas or not. A slam would be saying a store sucks and then saying why. It is good for BRK to hear what customers think. I think in the end everyone gains. I don't think anyone disagrees that the owners are knowledgable and generally a pleasure to work with. It is also acknowledged that they have been great to WAMAS members. He was just saying what he felt. If a store does not listen to customer comments then it is much more difficult for the store to improve. Isn't it better that they know what the customer thinks so they can re-capture him as an exclusive customer? Insted of him saying nothing, and just going somehwere else. especially since his opinion costs the store nothing.