Fish Tails and Story Trails

08/29/2024

Yard Sale Alert!!!

Last chance for bargains.

Friday 8:30 to 5
Saturday 8:30 to 12

Remaining fixtures, shop lights, slat wall accessories are all priced to go. Too many miscellaneous items to list, come see for yourself at 419 Durham St. E Walkerton.

08/28/2024

Shelves are emptying.

Tanks are draining.

We will continue to be in the store for the next 2 days, but inventory is limited.

For those of you who have reserved a tank, please come in Thursday to pick it up, or call us at 519-507-7026 to make other arrangements.

Thank you for your support!

08/24/2024

We're nearing the end. Our doors will officially close on the 31st of August. We are working on emptying out the store, which means deals for you.

We still have limited fish, aquariums, pumps, etc.

And books! At 40% off, how wonderful would it be to gift a couple classics to your child's classroom library? It never hurts to start buttering up the teachers early on...

And small business owners, pop in to see what display items you can use in your store!

We are open Saturday, and Tuesday through Saturday of next week.

Thank you for supporting this dream!

07/11/2024

These high quality, like new bookshelves are also for sale.

At $125 per shelf, these are a steal of a deal!

Call 519-507-7026 or come in to reserve yours.

07/09/2024

One of the piranha agreed to a photoshoot. They're notoriously shy, so this is a big accomplishment.

What would you name this guy? We're thinking Colonel Sanders, because he probably likes chicken.

Stop into Fish Tails and Story Trails to pick out your unique pet today!

All fish start at 15% off.

07/05/2024

Meet Elliot.

Elliot was the only pet in his household for a few years. And then his humans brought home fish from Fish Tails and Story Trails.

Elliot continues to receive all the love he always has, and frankly, doesn't seem to know the fish exist.

He's here to tell you that there is room in your heart (and house) for some fish.

But he does recommend bringing home treats and new toys at the same time, just to ease the transition.

Our fish start at 15% off. Come on in and find your new companion. Our fish don't cover you in hair and slobber.

07/02/2024

NOW ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS!

This is not a current picture - we still have lots of fish in stock. This is simply one of the only pictures we have of the tanks themselves.

We are not inviting you to sleep in a tank. We are inviting you to reserve a high quality tank with extra thick glass for pick up at a later date. We have tanks and stands ready to have your name on them. To reserve one, come visit, pick your tank, and provide a 25% deposit for us to hold it for you.
In the event we sell the business as a whole, we will return your deposit in full. Otherwise, we will notify you when your tank is ready for pick up.

Prices start at $56.

The following sizes are available: 33 gallon, 42.5 gallon, 58 gallon, 70 gallon, 80.5 gallon, 103 gallon.

These would be a wonderful addition to any man-cave or she-shed.

Pop in to 419 Durham Street East Walkerton, or give us a call at 519-507-7026 to talk about details.

06/28/2024

Whatever your weekend plans involve, they should definitely include reading a classic.

We're open until 5 tonight, so pop in to get your long weekend reading material.

All new books are 15% off.

06/27/2024

ATTENTION BARGAIN HUNTERS...

Get these deals while you can. If we get a firm offer on the business, this sale will end (and let's be honest, we hope this sale will end).

Select Piranha and Cichlids 50% off

Other fish starting at 15% off

New books 15% off

Make sure your long weekend plans include a stop at 419 Durham St East in Walkerton

06/13/2024

The Countdown has Started

The Countdown has started for selling the business as a whole. It is still a work of love. I KNOW I’M GOING TO GRIEVE, when it is no longer mine. But I will grieve far less if this life-time dream can continue to function and thrive.

The listing is being carried by Joan Stewart of McIntee Real Estate in Walkerton, ONT. Office number 519-881-2270. The asking price of $69,900.00 includes Aquariums & Stands, Fish & Supplies Inventory, Bookshelves & Book inventory. The Aquariums and Stands alone cost me over $50,000 to have custom made by Miracles Aquariums. Much of the plumbing and Canister Filters plus the high capacity Air Pump came from Fish Farm Supply. The Bookshelves came from Brodart Canada, a Library Supply Store.

My preference is unquestionably to sell the business as a whole. I’m increasingly aware that I’m getting too old for this. My understanding of on-line marketing, almost essential in today’s world, is virtually non-existent. This has also been unfair to my wife. We were retired and debt-free when started this. I haven’t missed a single day being in the store since the first fish arrived almost 3-1/2 years ago, so we’ve never been able to do anything together or go anywhere even for a weekend in our late 60’s, early 70’s. I’m convinced it is time to fix that.

I will be open to lower priced offers BUT convince me you are passionate about aquariums and fish, and hopefully books as well. If you are lowballing the offer just because you know I’m anxious to sell, that may tell me you are not the kind of person I want to take over the business.

If I can’t sell the business as a whole with a confirmed offer by the end of this month (June 2024) I have no choice but to begin to sell things piecemeal and have the building emptied by the end of August.

3 identical Aquarium Units 17’-2” long x 24” wide x 72-3/4” high (plus room for lights, plumbing & access)
Each unit includes 4 Aquariums 48” x 24” x 16.25”/ 70 gal 4 Aquariums 48” x 20” x 16.2 / 58 gal and 4 Aquariums48” x 16” / 33 gal

1 Aquarium Unit 17’-2” long x 28” wide by 72-3/4” high (plus room for lights, plumbing & access)
Unit includes 4 Aquariums 48 x 28 / 80.5 gal 4 Aquariums 48” x 24” / 58.5 gal and 4 Aquariums 48” x 24” / 35.4 gal

1 Aquarium Unit 17’-2” long x 28” wide by 66” high (plus room for lights, plumbing & access)
Unit includes 4 Aquariums 48” x 28” / 80.5 gal 4 Aquariums 48” x 24” / 103 gal

Fish and Fish-food Inventory as of June 12 at Retail Price About $7,250.00 Note Inventory changes daily. Many small accessories are not included in the above price.

9 Steel Bookshelves by Sandusky with 5 adjustable shelves each.
Various Wooden Bookshelves, some with fixed shelves and some with adjustable shelves

Book Inventory as of June 12 at Retail Price About $19,000 Note inventory changes daily. Cards, Magazines & Puzzles are not included in the above price.

The store is WANTED in the community. I hear that almost daily. There is an excellent, but tiny Aquarium store in Hanover, but the closest full-sized store is in Owen Sound, a 70 minute drive from Walkerton, so the potential market is constantly growing. Bookstores have almost ceased to exist, and that too is wanted in the community.

THERE IS SO MUCH POTENTIAL HERE
but it needs someone younger and better able to function in an on-line world.

Call now to connect with business.

05/08/2024

A Go-Fund-Me Account?
Fish Tails & Story Trails started as (and continues to be) a work of love. But Old Age is RELENTLESS! Old age brings exhaustion. Old age brings health issues. I CANT CARRY ON WITH THE STORE yet I want so much for it to survive.
I have a buyer as passionate as me, but he can’t raise the funding.
One of my big handicaps is age related. I don’t understand on-line marketing, but know that without it the store has little chance. I don’t even understand Facebook, so I’m shooting in the dark with this post.
Is there someone out there with the knowledge and ability to set up a Go-Fund-Me Account in a way that can’t be dipped into by me, but might provide the purchaser with the possibility to step in and keep this business alive?

02/27/2024

How do you adequately say THANK YOU to the many people who made a Book Launch a success and a delight? It's both a thrill and a terror to release a book. Now that there are a bunch in people's hands, will they actually read it -- or was it just to encourage a crazy old man? I don't think anybody counted numbers on Sunday during my Book Launch. I don't think we ever violated fire codes, but we were probably close. The store was full but never overly crowded. What a joy as an author! What a joy as an aquarium nut.

02/24/2024

I am so lost on Facebook -- But with a Book Launch happening tomorrow, wanted to at least TRY to send out an invite. Those of you familiar with the store, Fish Tails and Story Trails know I'm hooked on both aquariums and books. You might not know that I'm an author myself. Tomorrow we are launching the first of a trilogy. The celebration is happening from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. If any of you are able to come that would be wonderful. If any of you know how to link this to a Press Release from Chicken House Press, that would be great -- although I have to admit after reading the Press Release I wrote back saying I wanted to meet the guy it t referred to.

11/23/2023

You could go to a city tomorrow and join the hustle of Black Friday shopping. OR you could stay closer to home, not fill your car up with gas and enjoy a more relaxed shopping experience with us and other local shops. We would love to see you and help you find the perfect gift!

11/16/2023

We’re open late tonight! Come and meet all the new baby fish, browse the books, and take something home for Christmas!

11/15/2023

We will be open late for Walkerton's Hometown Christmas Market tomorrow so be sure to pop in and pick up some early Christmas presents! Alanna Rusnak from Chicken House Press will also be here with a table of new books and literary goodies.

10/31/2023

"There’s never a man looked me between the eyes and seen a good day a’terwards . . . ” Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island

Dare to try your luck and visit Captain Long John Silver at Fish Tails and Story Trails.

10/28/2023

If yer brave enough or foolish enough
head on over ta Fishtails & Storytrails store in Walkerton

I were always a upstandin man
but me daughter has put me in the Piratin way
so ya can blame her if ya ends up walkin the plank

I hear tell there’s loot ta be won
an I hear tell there be others after it.

Well, since I took to the Piratin ways,
I didn’t do it by half measures
So ya tamper with the loot in the hold of me ship
ya be tamperin with the number of breaths
ya got yet ta breathe

This be Captain Long John Silver

I’ve heard rumors there be other
Pirates sailin these waters.
I’m puttin ya on notice. Tamper with me treasures an
I’ll have ya walk the plank.
For any of ya Land-lubbers who don’t know
what that means
it’s ta walk off the deck of the ship,
an then watch the ship sail away
while ya splash in the water an
wait fer a shark or a whale ta end
yer thievin ways.


So be warned
Sword an cutlass an pistol.
If ye resist walkin the plank,
I can find other ways

Bonnie little ones I can share a coin or two with

But let others beware

10/24/2023

We asked who the owner should dress up as for Halloween, and you answered (drum roll please)...

Long John Silver from Treasure Island!

Come in next Tuesday to see the pirate in action!

10/24/2023

Have you visited us since we did our rearranging? Our books and aquariums are together, making it so much easier for you to find your next book while your kids enjoy watching the fish.

10/20/2023

Interview with Elsie.

What is the weirdest fish you have?

10/18/2023

Can you see everyone's favourite mouse on this Fish Tail? This is a Mickey Mouse Platy fish!
If you're planning a trip to Disney, this would be a fun way to announce the trip to the kids!
Pop in to see them in person. They would love some visitors!

10/14/2023

BARGAIN ALERT!

08/18/2023

I've had Axolotl's in the store for all of three days -- and they are sold! If there are any private breeders out there with a couple to spare at a fair price, I'm INTERESTED! Or if there are some of you whose kid's fascination with them has moved on to other things and are looking to rehome one, I'm INTERESTED!

08/18/2023

It’s one of those special joys that is pretty rare in the retail section of an Aquarium Store. There is almost always too much activity and too much stress for fish to breed and successfully rear a batch of young. IF it happens, it typically happens in spite of rather than because of the attentiveness of staff. I think these may be two days old. Their parents are on full alert when I come near with the camera. I’m told by a successful breeder that they can give a nasty bite when they are defending their young. Since he got it in the finger tip with a great many nerve endings, I’m willing to take his word for it and not try to prove his point.
The adults get pretty agitated when I get close enough to film them, so I'm giving them a rest.

08/17/2023

Facebook is still a medium I feel so clumsy with. I'm guessing part of that is Old Age, although I WANT to deny that. Some of you will know that I've apparently recently had a couple of mini-strokes. Headaches aren't too common and usually aren't too bad. Dizziness if I get up too fast or turn too fast has become the norm. I TRY to move in slow motion, but that doesn't work well to manage the store. I find I'm pretty tired by 3:00 every afternoon.
I'M OFFERING THE BUSINESS FOR SALE. At almost three years in, it is just reaching the point of gaining enough steady customers to hope to be profitable. I'm asking enough to pay the debts incurred, but not ANYTHING for the last three years of working 55 - 60 hours a week as well as putting my entire OAS and Canada Pension Plan into the store.
The combination of Aquarium Store and Book Store makes it Unique and draws a wider range of customers. Those are two of my "passions." I like that word better than "Craziness."

07/19/2023

My Take on GloFish

I get requests for GloFish and can easily obtain them and could undoubtedly sell them. However, because many of them remain fertile and able to reproduce, selling something whose offspring cannot legally be traded, sold or given away feels to me like setting someone up for serious problems.

I have no objections to stores that choose to sell them. I have no objection to people who choose to purchase them. I’m just not comfortable being a part of a transaction until I have confirmation that anything I handle cannot reproduce or if it does, the offspring belongs fully to the purchaser, and they have the legal right to deal with the offspring as they choose.

I’m not willing for anyone who purchases from me to be at risk of criminal prosecution if the animal they have purchased lays fertile eggs or gives birth and they seek a way other than killing to deal with the offspring. If and when GloFish LLC makes it possible for me to buy back offspring (perhaps paying them a percentage) I will consider changing my stance on these fish.

That doesn’t mean GloFish do not fascinate me. THEY DO! It also doesn’t mean it is inappropriate for the GloFish company to profit from the research and development of this line of fish. It is just that the risk of one of my customers facing criminal charges for any attempt to deal with offspring of these fish increases exponentially over anything else I sell in the store. I’d rather not be the one who puts them into that position.

From the GloFish International Use and License Notice

GloFish® fluorescent ornamental fish are intended solely for visual enjoyment as aquarium fish by end-uses who have purchased these fish through authorized channels, and not for commercial reproduction. Please note the following important information:
1. These fish are the subject of various intellectual property rights owned or controlled by GloFish LLC, both in the U. S. and internationally.
2. GloFish® is a trademark owned by GloFish LLC in the United States and Worldwide.
3. GloFish LLC owns trademarks associated with the appearance of the fluorescent fish, including the names Cosmic Blue®, Electric Green®, Galactic Purple®, Moonrise Pink®, Starfire Red®, and Sunburst Orange®.
4. GloFish® owns the trade dress associated with the appearance of its fluorescent fish.
5. GloFish® owns the copyrights associated with the unique color configurations associated with its fluorescent fish.
6. The GloFish® trademarks, trade dress, and the copyrights cannot be used in connection with the promotion or sale of any ornamental fish other than authentic GloFish® fluorescent fish sold by GloFish LLC, or its authorized distributors.
7. GloFish® fluorescent fish are covered under one or more patents in the United States and other countries in the world. Please note there are other international patents pending.
8. Intentional breeding and/or any sale, barter, or trade, of any offspring of GloFish® fluorescent ornamental fish is strictly prohibited.

In my experience, almost no one who has enquired about GloFish is aware of these restrictions. If the information has been offered they haven’t bothered to read it. That seems to be true whether or not they have ever owned GloFish or just heard about them or seen them somewhere.

9. GloFish® fluorescent ornamental fish are reviewed by government agencies such as the FDA in the United States and ECCC in Canada. Production and distribution without proper approvals is prohibited.
10. Notwithstanding the foregoing, production of these fish is permitted for educational use by teachers and students in bona fide educational institutions, provided, however, that any sale, barter, or trade, of the offspring from such reproduction of these fish is strictly prohibited. GloFish LLC requests that you notify us using the contact link below if you are producing these fish for educational purposes.

Attn: GloFish Spectrum Brands Pet, LLC 3001 Commerce St., Blacksburg, VA 24060-6671 1.800.526.0650

07/10/2023

A Pair of Would-Be Man Eaters apparently decided
I wasn’t to their taste. One Bite was Enough

Bighting me was forgivable. They had reason to be alarmed when I moved them.

BUT

Destroying my best net. . . That calls for some type of retribution.
Any ideas HOW I should require them to pay for their crime?

07/01/2023

Happy Canada Day! We are open today until at least 1pm. After that, our hours are by chance.

It's a great day to pick out some summer reading options for you and your kids.

06/15/2023

Get ready to create your dream sanctuary right at home with everything you need available at our store. Explore our collection of aquarium tanks, fishes, and accessories to suit your space and preferences. Visit us now.