The Nano Tank

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Opening an LFS

Hello,

I’ve been in and out of the fish keeping hobby most of my life. When I was around 10 I had a small room packed with fish tanks everywhere I could fit them. My favorite fish are fancy guppies but I kept a bunch of different species. I have kept oscars, goldfish, angels, chiclids, tetras, plecos, bettas, and I even had phiranas for awhile. A few years ago I kept saltwater. I had a mixed reef with some expensive designer fish and corals. I have been getting the itch to get back into the hobby and breed IFGA show guppies. I started to attend and join local clubs and knew I would get collector-itis and want other fish and inverts. With life changes I knew to keep and build the fish room I wanted I would have to rent a space specifically for my hobbies. Again my thinking progressed and realized its been a few years since Patnaudes closed and left New Bedford without a source of fish. The few places that sell fish close by are big box store and of lower quality in most cases. Most of those stores use connected systems sharing any diseases or issues that might come in with all the tanks connected. Then the idea to open a LFS - (local fish store) came to me. I could satisfy my want to be back in the hobby, I could offer my community a source of quality aquatic pets and supplies. I think with more and more landlords not allowing pets on their properties a tenant could fit the want for a family companion with a nano style tank that can fit on a counter or side table.

So the adventure starts. I began to look for an affordable space. I researched any and all permits I needed. Next I started looking for distributors for livestock and dry goods. Picking a name and having a logo created. Some of the problems I have realized about LFS now closed, is use of the internet or lack of and overhead dictating product prices. Unfortunately big box stores with more resources and budgets have won those battles. The battle will not be easy but I’m hoping I can address these issues with social media and a space that is cheap to rent.

At this point I have all the necessary permits and paperwork completed (except one) . Adding new distributors to my growing list. I found an unusual but workable space in a mill building in the north end of New Bedford. The space is roughly 1100 sq ft but has multiple rooms. The room you walk into is smaller but will become an awesome display room with tank(s) and an indoor pond. The next room is the main room where the counter rack of tanks and dry goods will be displayed for sale. Another small room off the main room will be tank expansion in the future or more dry good space. Other rooms will be for storage and quarantine/breeding tanks. I will build a water filtration system to remove chloramine and other stuff we don’t want hurting our fish. We will carry a variety of fish and inverts but with a concentration on nano fish and equipment. Nano tanks are described as tanks 30 gallons or less. We will carry a variety of live plants and aquascaping supplies.

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