As the year closes it seems the Local Fish Store (LFS) business is closing too. Another LFS has closed permanently and the market place shrinks once again. Yet as sad as this sounds, the Denver LFS scene still has choices. Consolidation of the market has been predicted for some time now as we used to have over 35 LFS in the state of Colorado. It is now down to 30, so we have lost 17 LFS since I started back into the aquarium hobby here 8 yrs ago. And this trend is not over yet. Many of the LFS are owned by those close to retirement and it seems when stores get bought out they don’t last. Aquatic Exotics is a good example and there are several others. The reasons LFS fail are too many to list, though I will say the economy is a big part of it. So many fees and costs come with the brick and mortar business model. This is why many of the stores which do survive have gone to online sales and/or installation and maintenance as a way to keep the doors open. Another more ruthless reason for LFS’s disappearing is the practice of buying out the competition and then closing the store. Mismanagement I am sure has contributed to some of the store closings, though I don’t know enough to say for sure.
Let’s focus on the positive, the stores which do remain have not changed much, probably because they are doing it right. In the Denver area we still have ~13 LFS, depending on what you consider the Denver area. Of those stores the choices for Freshwater fall to Aqua Dog, Nature’s Box, and Aqua Rocks in the east and About Fish, Fish Den, Golden Fish, and Pet World in the west. MC Aquatics is a choice in the SE part of the metro. Ray’s Tank is in the North metro. Some of these have both fresh and salt. Only two saltwater only stores remain, Aquatic Art (Best in the State) and Elite Reef. On the northwest side Liquid Kingdom is salt only and remains a great choice in that area which I include Boulder in. See my previous blogs on the best of the best LFS in Colorado here.
So to recap, if you live on the south side and used to go to Neptune’s for your fish needs, here are my recommendations as to choices depending on your needs. All the above listed LFS are worth visiting if you have not yet done so. MC Aquatics does have a good LFS, so I still shop there even if there are many whom they have pissed off and chose not to shop there. My first choice for nanofish is Aquatic Dog on the east side, Aqua Rocks to the north, and Fish Den to the west. For monster fish Ray’s Tank is by far the best in the state. For Cichlids, go to either About Fish or Golden Fish. For Saltwater, any of the salt only LFS are good choices. As far as I know, the rest of the state remains stable for now, so refer to my previous blogs for specifics on them or any LFS mentioned here. I just visited Pet World, Golden Fish, and Fish Den and can report on these stores a status quo. A few pics from those stores are below. If you have any questions it is best to contact me by Facebook or the contact page here. I wish you all a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season!!
Sequoia Elisabeth
Pet World, then last 4 are Fish Den are featured here, click the image to enlarge.
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