# Tropica & Pets at Home



## Tim Harrison

Just popped in to my local Pets at Home and was astonished to discover the snail infested weir tank has gone
In it's place is this below...


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## Mannic05

You lucky guy, in my neighborhood there is not one LFS whit good quality plants. 

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## Iain mlaren

Ooo that looks promosing. I might take a look at mine and see its the same 

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## Matt Havens

Wow I shall be going in for a look now, is this at Fosse Park by any chance?


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## Tim Harrison

Matt Havens said:


> is this at Fosse Park by any chance?


No that's Beaumont Leys, but I'd be interested to know if Fosse Park have made the change as well.


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## mort

Still looks like they have the non aquatic plants though. 

A lfs near me tried in vitro and only I bought them. I just don't think people understand them so it's nice to see a big company stocking them.


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## Tim Harrison

mort said:


> Still looks like they have the non aquatic plants though.


They do..but they're packaged as Assorted Living Decor as opposed to Live Aquatic Plants, which is fair enough


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## zozo

Mannic05 said:


> You lucky guy, in my neighborhood there is not one LFS whit good quality plants.
> 
> Verstuurd vanaf mijn Moto G (4) met Tapatalk



Even i have 4 LFS with in a reasonable distance.. If i'm looking for one or two particular plants i always ask here.
http://www.aquaplantexchange.nl/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=46&sid=e245bc65df36a5da702086afaa7dc266
Sometimes with some patience about everything you can imagine comes around. And very often, completely unavailable sp. in the LFS are offered.
The next positive side is, you most likely get an already submersed version and likely much cheaper than in the LFS..

If i need more than one plant, e.g for a new setup..
https://www.aquarium-planten.com/
Is a very good webshop and they sell pretty nice quality plants for very reasonable prices and a very good P&P service..

So actualy you do not need to get off your couch  to get nice plants.. Well only if the postman rings..


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## MooseOnDaLoose

Slow Roast is coming together and is about ready for planting.  If i got the blister packs and/or the 1-2 pots does any one know how long they would last before needing to be planted?  Would they last a week or two ?

Ta,

Si


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## PARAGUAY

MooseOnDaLoose said:


> Slow Roast is coming together and is about ready for planting.  If i got the blister packs and/or the 1-2 pots does any one know how long they would last before needing to be planted?  Would they last a week or two ?
> 
> Ta,
> 
> Si


Think they last quite a while were talking 12 months


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## zozo

PARAGUAY said:


> Think they last quite a while were talking 12 months





40 years..


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## dw1305

Hi all,





Tim Harrison said:


> Just popped in to my local Pets at Home and was astonished to discover the snail infested weir tank has gone
> In it's place is this below..


I would imagine that all retailers would like to go down that route it is lower maintenance, frees up floor space, makes an impulse purchase more likely etc.

The main problem would be that if they don't sell then they won't go back to an alternative plant display, they will just stop selling plants.

cheers Darrel


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## Kezzab

They have it at my p@h. The plants look good, but clearly turnover is low because there is a fair number in a very poor state from being on the shelf a long time. Feels like the selection is more consistent too, but the nice thing about the old set up was the often quite random selection of what appeared for sale. It lacks the 'kid in a sweetshop' factor too.


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## Tim Harrison

I think what's happening, well at least hope what's happening, is that aquascaping has become more popular and it's influence has started to trickle down to the more mainstream high street pet stores.
That has been partly driven by communities like ours and in no small way other social media, and by companies like Tropica recognising the potential their market has for expansion.
Like most things in life it's about timing, and considering the way these plants are packaged education as well.
Acceptance may take a while, but I'm guessing Tropica is testing the market, and has factored that in to their longterm strategy.


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## PARAGUAY

Well I walked past initially looking for the plants waterfall and nearly missed them so think P@H need to display away from  any distractive things and make more clear what they are,anyone new to planted tanks might not get what they are


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## mort

The longevity of these probably saves the shop money as if they are anything like the one near me the plants don't last too long in the waterfall. The ones in the tanks get covered in black brush algae amazingly fast as well which is a pitty because they do get the best plants of any shop in the local area. All in all it doesn't give you much confidence in their stock unfortunately.

Nice to see tropica are trying to educate and I hope it works well for them. The only thing I notice is the price of these has bumped up compared to the old "wet" versions, which is a shame.


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## Tim Harrison

PARAGUAY said:


> Well I walked past initially looking for the plants waterfall and nearly missed them


I know what you mean, I did exactly the same thing...I even asked if they still sold plants, and was amazed when the shop assistant pointed to the display where the plant weir tank had been...right under my nose


mort said:


> Nice to see tropica are trying to educate and I hope it works well for them. The only thing I notice is the price of these has bumped up compared to the old "wet" versions, which is a shame.


I noticed that too.
I think it'll probably take a while before people get used to the idea, in the meantime it might help if the display had a banner with a brief explanation. The display is already clean tidy and priced, which is half the battle


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## BarryH

Just checked my local Pets At Home stores and there's no Tropica in any of them yet. Probably filter through to all their stores eventually.


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## AverageWhiteBloke

Tim Harrison said:


> Just popped in to my local Pets at Home and was astonished to discover the snail infested weir tank has gone
> In it's place is this below...



Going to my local in Cumbria tomorrow, I hope they are rolling this out across the country. I have a shop fitting company and tend to find that when a deal has been done between the retailer and a manufacturer the deal is done on a nationwide basis whereas they manufacturer will offer heavily discounted supply in turn for reserved floor space in all stores so I suspect all p@h will eventually have a display in each store.


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## kadoxu

Has anyone tried the website?


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## BarryH

As far as I can remember, there have been some "Tropica" products available on the P@H website. I bought some Tropica soil through their website quite a long time ago.

Looking on the Tropica website it does show P@H pretty much nationwide as stockists which I don't think is really the case.


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## sparkyweasel

I've been to the Fosse Park branch today, the weir was empty of plants and water, so maybe they are in the process of changing over.


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## George Farmer

All shops selling plants need a decent display tank/aquascape to show them off. Otherwise it is fruitless. Simple as that.


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## AverageWhiteBloke

Very true that. My LFS had plants for sale for as long as I remember and I never paid them much attention until I saw them in a set up with fish and scape. 

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## Ryan Thang To

Hi all

Funny i was meant to post this last week when i pop in to pet@home to waste some time waiting to my wife in tk max

I went straight to the plant section and was surprised the tank is gone instead there was a new stand with all the vitro plants. Price are more than online but what made me laugh was some plants has melted down to just 2 stem for the same price  if someone didnt know that they would have to pay out alot just for those stems. 

Also what is the difference from the mini and the normal one? Oh i see!!! Same price for less for the mini one lol this is too funny

The difference between the rotala


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## dw1305

Hi all,





George Farmer said:


> All shops selling plants need a decent display tank/aquascape to show them off. Otherwise it is fruitless. Simple as that.


I couldn't agree more, I really think that is the heart of it. 

A picture tells a thousand stories. 

It will also give people a chance to compare how the fish, in the display tank, look and behave compared to those in the sales tanks. 

Names would be useful, or you could have a QR code on the tank that links to an annotated picture of the tank with the names of the plants and fish (common and scientific ideally).

Sometimes even if you know a bit about plants it is difficult to visualize how new plants might look in the tank.

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison

That's it then, we're all decided...lets head on down to our local P@H branch and offer to scape a tank for them, and help make this a success...
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/want-to-set-up-a-display-tank-in-your-lfs.15785/


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## BarryH

Had to call in at my local P@H again today and a new notice had been stuck to their plant weir. It said something like Exciting New Products arriving soon, watch this space and a few Tropica products had been added to a space above the weir.


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## richard brown

Just got off the phone with pets @ home in irvine and they stock tropica plants now


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## Tim Harrison

Yeah, I talked to P@H too, and the new Tropica range is being rolled out across the UK.


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## swackett

We've had Tropica in our P@H for years now, I remember going in there 5 years or so ago to find amazing large tropica plants at amazing low prices.  Its just a bit hit and miss what plants they have on a week by week basis.


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## Tim Harrison

Do you mean the plants in the weir tanks, or the newly packaged range?...which we're discussing here...


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## swackett

Tim Harrison said:


> Do you mean the plants in the weir tanks, or the newly packaged range?...which we're discussing here...



I meant tanks, sorry did not read whole thread   These newly packaged plants look interesting.


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## richard brown

Only issue im seeing is there is no monte carlo in the pictures.


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## alto

Tropica does MC in their 1-2-Grow line, if enough people request, likely shops will order in the complete 1-2-Grow line


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## richard brown

That was frustrating, just made a phone call to my local store (irvine) to ask which plants they stock and the guy really was useless, he said we have about 15 varieties so I asked which ones he said they all have latin names and asked if it was a specific plant I was after, I said I am just asking what you stock so I know as I am not sure what to order yet, to be honest he sounded like he just could not be bothered to to try and say the names.


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## Vandal Gardener

Maybe too embarrassed to try Richard, I know that my attempts at pronouncing the names are horrific  I have to have a few goes making phonetics sounds/breaking into syllables in my head and even then regularly make a cock of it - all adds to the rush of getting what you want eventually   How boring would it be asking for a pot of number 42 though?
You tried fleabay -a lot of sellers are offering free delivery and if it's one of the dennerle or tropica range then you can't really got wrong - although it doesn't compare to having your purchase in your hand I suppose.


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## Cadfiel

Anyone noticed if the stores sold tropica soil too? Trying to find somewhere in the UK selling Tropica Soil Powder 9l bags that have it in stock and don't want to rip me off on delivery charges.


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## zozo

Cadfiel said:


> Anyone noticed if the stores sold tropica soil too? Trying to find somewhere in the UK selling Tropica Soil Powder 9l bags that have it in stock and don't want to rip me off on delivery charges.



Seeing the picture Tim posted, second left shellf from above.. Looks like they do..


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## Cadfiel

Well spotted but at that price I suspect that's a 1l substrate pouch but is encouraging at least, if they have that maybe they have the others round a corner. Now all I need to do is over come my revulsion at walking into a P@H store.


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## Andy Taylor

Tim Harrison said:


> No that's Beaumont Leys, but I'd be interested to know if Fosse Park have made the change as well.


 Looks like i'll be going there as the Loughborough store doesnt stock them which is a shame!


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## jameson_uk

zozo said:


> Seeing the picture Tim posted, second left shellf from above.. Looks like they do..


I think that is their plant growth substrate (which I believe is meant to be capped) not the aquarium soil.  Their website lists the soil as "back in stock soon".  If / when it is you should be able to order for free click and collect


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## BarryH

jameson_uk said:


> Their website lists the soil as "back in stock soon".  If / when it is you should be able to order for free click and collect



This is what I did with the Tropica soil, ordered online with free click and collect and pleased to say they the delivery was great, no problems at all.


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## Cadfiel

Well we have 2 P@H here.

The smaller of the two shows up on the Tropica website but had 1 shelf consisting of half a shelf of starter CO2 kits and 2 tubs of dead in-vitro plants.

Hugely disappointed.

I didn't see anything at the larger when I went there recently but will check it out this weekend.


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## alto

Speak to the managers of each shop & see if you can do a special order for substrate, plants etc - especially 1-2-grow are easy to order as singles


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## Zeus.

alto said:


> especially 1-2-grow are easy to order as singles



same at my LFS who have a Tropica contract too. 1-2-grow no problem with single/small orders, but pots and bunches there is a minimum order.


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## alto

Pot plants come in 5's, but if I commit to 2, my lfs will bring in whatever


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## andyone

Can't say I like this concept of selling plants for a few reasons;

1) LFS will loose trade to the big generic outlets with greater buying power so in the end plant variaties will be reduced to what sells as they have no real interest or passion for fish/plants or anything else they sell just you guessed it profit from the uninformed masses. these outlets have no or very basic knowledge to impart to the customer. 
2) They wont stock anything intresting going forward.
3) Can't see the plants lasting too long in a plastic bubbles roasted by sunlight, picked up crushed and pushed to the back, suspect they will simply rot or struggle even if given optium conditions. Do they have a best before date I doubt it they wont be wanting to dump stock.
4) As said above plants are best seen in the context of an established scape in water so the buyer can better appreciate them. You would not go to a garden centre and buy live plants this way.
5) Looks like very small portions other than the "ones to grow pots" will work out very expensive when compared to other sources of plants. Result underplanted tanks algae and the owner been turned off the hobby or a swap to plastic plants which P@H will sell you as well!
6) Its a living thing even if only a plant dose it deserve to be treated this way?
7) Quality anything carries a premium I think Tropica are potentially throwing this away for extra profit? it will be interesting if others follow suit I hope not.

Me? I will not be buying plants this way no matter who selling them and I'd suggest we all support your LFS and for those not so blessed the dedicated internet sites with goog rep.


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## mort

andyone said:


> Can't say I like this concept of selling plants for a few reasons;
> 
> 1) LFS will loose trade to the big generic outlets with greater buying power so in the end plant variaties will be reduced to what sells as they have no real interest or passion for fish/plants or anything else they sell just you guessed it profit from the uninformed masses. these outlets have no or very basic knowledge to impart to the customer.
> 2) They wont stock anything intresting going forward.
> 3) Can't see the plants lasting too long in a plastic bubbles roasted by sunlight, picked up crushed and pushed to the back, suspect they will simply rot or struggle even if given optium conditions. Do they have a best before date I doubt it they wont be wanting to dump stock.
> 4) As said above plants are best seen in the context of an established scape in water so the buyer can better appreciate them. You would not go to a garden centre and buy live plants this way.
> 5) Looks like very small portions other than the "ones to grow pots" will work out very expensive when compared to other sources of plants. Result underplanted tanks algae and the owner been turned off the hobby or a swap to plastic plants which P@H will sell you as well!
> 6) Its a living thing even if only a plant dose it deserve to be treated this way?
> 7) Quality anything carries a premium I think Tropica are potentially throwing this away for extra profit? it will be interesting if others follow suit I hope not.
> 
> Me? I will not be buying plants this way no matter who selling them and I'd suggest we all support your LFS and for those not so blessed the dedicated internet sites with goog rep.



Actually plants packaged up like in the picture probably have a better chance of lasting longer in a p@h shop. I've kept tissue culture plants in their packaging for weeks and they are still vibrant and healthy. This isn't a new thing they have been thoroughly tried and tested just not really embraced. Personally I prefer plants in the old fashioned way simply because if you get them quickly enough they are an instant impact. The only trouble I see with these is that people just won't get them and I can't believe they will rotate them on the shelves so they get enough light.

I can't see this being the way most shops go and I don't think it means they will outsell other shops, on the contrary I think people might be brought back to the normal style of plant selling and actually boost the lfs sales. P@H has been stocking tropica for years so I also don't see how that will affect other shops unless it already had. Of the lfs near me non do tropica anyway.


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## HiNtZ

Terrible idea, waste of packaging, sub-par quality, overpriced.... there's nothing going for these except for when they go in the bin. I can order a plant 4 times the size, healthier, cheaper and better looking from Aquadip.


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## mort

Looks like my local one has these now. Only popped in to see if they had some twisted vallis and I must say it was the saddest collection of tiny but very expensive plants I've ever seen. They had bags of what I think were elodea but it was just a black squished mess. The in vitro pots looked ok but the others apart from anubias (which seemed half the price) were extremely poor. 
I can only assume that the switch was made because they couldn't keep the plants alive so it was costing a lot. From what I've seen it's a huge step backwards and it will need to improve if they are to keep up with plants. It would help if they at least put some lighting over them.


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## andyone

mort said:


> Looks like my local one has these now. Only popped in to see if they had some twisted vallis and I must say it was the saddest collection of tiny but very expensive plants I've ever seen. They had bags of what I think were elodea but it was just a black squished mess. The in vitro pots looked ok but the others apart from anubias (which seemed half the price) were extremely poor.
> I can only assume that the switch was made because they couldn't keep the plants alive so it was costing a lot. From what I've seen it's a huge step backwards and it will need to improve if they are to keep up with plants. It would help if they at least put some lighting over them.


Agree the sooner this experiment ends the better


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## PBM3000

Portsmouth P@H has it.  The tissue culture pots are ok.  The others are a mess...


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## jameson_uk

Tamworth has switched over and I have to say it is better... Previously plants were just in a state between unhealthy and eaten by snails.  These actually didn't look too bad but I suspect they have only been there a week or so.

Had a trip across five LFS as well as P@H and everything seems to variable.   Shirley Aquatics is moving at the end of September so resembled a closing down sale and plants were limited and very poor.  Maidenhead in Shirley was then actually not too bad and better than when I have been before.  (And located a source of pretty good looking yellow rainbowfish).  Then off to Maidenhead in Birmingham / Coleshill and I was amazed how far that had gone downhill.  There was a huge puffer in a tiny tank with rotting fish, cherry shrimp in tanks that were being picked off as snacks, lots of tanks with the odd fish from next door, tanks full of algae (and not a little covering, full on thick green stuff).  This used to be one of the better Maidenhead's I have visited.

Then two local (Ripples) branches which are consistent but not great for plants.

P@H specimens were amongst the best I saw...

I only popped out to get some substrate for new betta tank but ended up with some lava rock and four horned nerites!


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## alto

Unfortunately the shopkeeeper didn't (apparently  ) pay attention during Tropica's "how to" discussion on staging/storing these plants 
- unless turnover is quick, plants in packaging still require some light, Tropica display stands are all open sided with only a back panel, & additional lighting recommended depending on store situation, stock also needs to be rotated for light 
- again, only really needed if plants aren't turned over on a weekly basis, & customers will usually also generate some shuffling  

If you click through Buce Plant's Interzoo 2016 photos, this type of packaging is typical now

(there are significant advantages, also some disadvantages - the plants in pots definitely stand up better to the mad jostling of shipping ..... in my area the stems in the ceramic holders are off the order list due to consistent shipper destruction  )


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## andyone

I predict the end of quality plants from the mainstream shops even those with a half reasonable rep for live plants if all they can source is these blister pack plants. The packaging will have to be paid for at the price of reduced numbers stems etc and a higher retail price for poor quality. Plus there is no effort in terms of plant care so how can they advise the buyer?

If the likes of Tropica etc go down this line we will all suffer as I suspect the specialist traders on here also might be forced to take supplies of plants in his format. Hope not. Plus anything with a short shelf life will be quitely dropped from the catalogue.

The noice will get burnt never to return. Result no one wins in the end. It will be intresting to see if those sponsered by the big growers push this concept as the future in articles/journals or have the balls to reject it on the grounds of a waste of packaging/value for money. Lets see!


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## dw1305

Hi all,





andyone said:


> I predict the end of quality plants from the mainstream shops even those with a half reasonable rep for live plants if all they can source is these blister pack plants. The packaging will have to be paid for at the price of reduced numbers stems etc and a higher retail price for poor quality. Plus there is no effort in terms of plant care so how can they advise the buyer?


I think this is a legitimate concern, already the "aquatic" plants that are available are dependent upon their ease of production emersed, and lots of obligate aquatic plants are already difficult to source, because there is no commercial rationale for their production. 

I can only see this exacerbating the situation, and it leading to many stores abandoning plant sales all together. 

cheers Darrel


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## zozo

Made me wonder... If there is a profitable market to display and sell it like this.. Than about the majority of people in the area must have multiple fish tanks and still it feels like all the fish die faster than they can be sold and than buy new ones each week or month.

This is cash and cary to the max..


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## xim

zozo said:


> Made me wonder... If there is a profitable market to display and sell it like this.. Than about the majority of people in the area must have multiple fish tanks and still it feels like all the fish die faster than they can be sold and than buy new ones each week or month.
> 
> This is cash and cary to the max..



Jatujak is a market for wholesale and retail. Fish in the bags are normally available from Wednesday's night to Thursday's noon. They're generally bought by LFS's from other areas/regions.


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## zozo

xim said:


> Jatujak is a market for wholesale and retail. Fish in the bags are normally available from Wednesday's night to Thursday's noon. They're generally bought by LFS's from other areas/regions.



I beleive you.. It also looks like that.. Who else would buy a bag with over a 100 little fish in it. Just the scale of it all, in contrast of what i'm used to see, how it all is made as effective and efficient as possible for the customer as well as the vendor. Kinda mind boggling..  Not so long ago i saw a video how wild caught fish are bagged and shipped around the world from South Ameriica was equaly as mind boggling. The power of internet, else we likely would never ever seen it..


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## TheBubblingScot

zozo said:


> Made me wonder... If there is a profitable market to display and sell it like this.. Than about the majority of people in the area must have multiple fish tanks and still it feels like all the fish die faster than they can be sold and than buy new ones each week or month.
> 
> This is cash and cary to the max..




Those poor crippled snakeheads!


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## Tim Harrison

The latest from Pets at Home...
_Bucephalandra_ sp. "red" for £4.00


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## Ryan Thang To

That a good prices.


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## Tim Harrison

I've got mine and it looks to be in great health as well


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## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> I've got mine and it looks to be in great health as well



In a way, displaying and selling plants in these little Hermetospheres seems more realistic and beter for the plant. Than putting them submersed in the LFS.. If they go Buy 2 get 1 for free you can bet your mother in law on it they are in bad shape and to long submersed, infested with algae and have to be solled asp. But i can imagin, because we are not used to the concept it is recieved somewhat sceptic for a start. But i think the plant lives much longer in this little sealed dryer invironment than submersed in a display tank.


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## techfool

I've had good luck with these blister packs. It's very space age!


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## Patrick Crowley

Tim Harrison said:


> I've got mine and it looks to be in great health as well



I spotted these as well in Pets at Home, I thought they would be perfect for my Dwarf Puffer cube I’m just planting up.  So I got 3 for £11.  Very nice!







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## Gill

Have not been to PAH here yet, Hoping they have changed over to to this system.
The Stores in Coventry had these displays, but idiotic chav scum were opening up all the packaging to have a look at the plants. So a few times, went to pick up a pot and it would spill out everywhere on the floor. Shop Staff were used to it they advised. And TBH were not bothered about the damaged plants etc.


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## mort

Tim Harrison said:


> The latest from Pets at Home...
> _Bucephalandra_ sp. "red" for £4.00



Thanks for the tip picked up three myself earlier today. The selection was pitiful though, maybe 18 or so pots in total, 12 buce red, couple of anubias and some sad crypts. The plants have really suffered since they switched in terms of selection. I've never seen more than they had in today (and they just had a delivery, guessing only the buce) and it used to have a great selection. Wish they would embrace the concept properly or switch back.


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## jameson_uk

Just popped into P@H as they are the only local place that sells buce and they have always been in fairly good shape and at three for £11 they are cheap.

To be fair the buce looked ok but a selection of what was on show.  If you look carefully you can see that a few of them where full of flies (at least the bags are indeed breathable...)


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## Ryan Thang To

Hi
My local pets@home is the same. Doesn't have much at all


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## dw1305

Hi all,





jameson_uk said:


> If you look carefully you can see that a few of them where full of flies (at least the bags are indeed breathable...)


They are <"Sciarid flies">, they have little transparent maggots that live in the soil (or damp rock-wool).  I would imagine they are a major problem when producing emergent aquarium plants, particularly if you can't use systemic insecticides. 

You can control their number by drying the substrate, removing organic matter and with yellow traps and biological control (with nematodes or mites). 

@Mick.Dk may be able to tell you what  control measures Tropica use in their nursery. 

cheers Darrel


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## Edvet

I saw big yellow flaps over the dennerle plants, like the old school Vapona strips, but larger.


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## Angus

What diseases does the sciarid fly transfer if i may ask @dw1305 ? just curious.


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## Tim Harrison

There's some info here https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=804


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## Angus

these little buggers love my house plants.... grrr 
i use the old fashioned fly strips when they get excessive.


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## Tim Harrison

Apparently, it can spread a range of root rot diseases as well.
I should imagine it could be a significant problem for a commercial aquatic plant grower.


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## Angus

Tim Harrison said:


> Apparently, it can spread a range of root rot diseases as well.
> I should imagine it could be a significant problem for a commercial aquatic plant grower.


Could be the reason some of my house plant cuttings have not taken you know...


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





Edvet said:


> I saw big yellow flaps over the dennerle plants, like the old school Vapona strips, but larger.


That's them, different colour traps attract different pests, but usually they are yellow. 





fozziebear said:


> these little buggers love my house plants....


I get them in the Grindal worm cultures, if you have them in house plants you may be over-watering during the winter. A lot of 100% peat or green waste potting compost lacks sufficient drainage, you can mix perlite or "flint chick grit" with it to improve drainage. 





fozziebear said:


> Could be the reason some of my house plant cuttings have not taken you know...


<"Cuttings are easier to root in the spring">, and you want a compost with some sharp chick grit (or perlite) etc in it.  

Have a look at <"SAPS">, I use the <"pop bottle propagator"> as well

cheers Darrel


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## Angus

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, That's them, different colour traps attract different pests, but usually they are yellow. I get them in the Grindal worm cultures, if you have them in house plants you may be over-watering during the winter. A lot of 100% peat or green waste potting compost lacks sufficient drainage, you can mix perlite or "flint chick grit" with it to improve drainage. <"Cuttings are easier to root in the spring">, and you want a compost with some sharp chick grit (or perlite) etc in it.
> 
> Have a look at <"SAPS">, I use the <"pop bottle propagator"> as well
> 
> cheers Darrel



Some great advice there darrel, the over watering during winter makes absolute sense as my dad always goes a bit mad watering the house plants even during winter.


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## sonicninja

I’ve been to two P@H near me and both had a poor selection and most of the plants has completely dried out so had obviously been sitting for a while. The buces were in good condition and I picked one up for £4 which isn’t bad. I actually really like this idea of plant packing and selection as long as your recycle the plastic packing.


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## MrB15hop

Around 90% of the plants in my Edge are from the Tropica pre packaged display at one or other of my local p@h. 

I've found that in general they last quite well in between purchase and planting, although, as others have noted, it is a bit hit and miss with the quality and plant size.

That said...they all settled in really nicely, and I had hardly any melting...which is always nice.


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## Polly

I got burned by the little pots on the display at my local PAH.   The pot looked to have all green plants in it. So I bought it.  Only to find a complete tangle of plant stems of which only the top and bottom were green (the visible bits.)
The rest was grey.  Some of the green bits have grown a little, but the majority was dead.  Very disappointing.
At the very least, there should be a sell by date clearly marked on the pack.  

I won't be throwing good money after bad.  Will get my plants from a more traditional method in future.


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## Angus

I got some great eleocharis 12Grows from P@H, it was actually the first time i have ever been in one, i tried my best not to look at the livestock to be fair, the plant selection was limited but healthy.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





fozziebear said:


> i tried my best not to look at the livestock to be fair


I'm not the only one who does that then. 

We <"have a thread">.

cheers Darrel


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## Gill

I've still not been to the store in kingsway. Must make the trip sometime to see what they have. 

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## Edvet

Wasen't there a big Ukaps scaped tank at a Pets@home?? Is it stil alive? Anyone seen it recently?


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## jameson_uk

Typically after months of putting it off I went it to get three buce for £11 to find the buce they have had in plenty supply were gone.

I did end up picking up two Bacopa Carolina and a Hygrophila Siamensis mini pots for £6.  They almost filled the pack and had plenty of healthy stems.

I guess if you can get them in decent condition soon after delivery you can't argue with the price.


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## Northie

Hmm. Are Tropica plant packages a relatively new thing in the UK? Granted few LFS here stock the 1-2 grow or blister packaged plants but I've been ordering mine online for a couple of years already and they have certainly been around longer than that. I prefer the 1-2 grow pots and the blisters over the ones in "LFS" tanks as these are almost always in good condition and disease free as opposed to the algae filled things they call plants in the pet shops we have here. We don't have any dedicated fish stores here so few pet stores bother maintaining their aquatic plants. Plus there are nearly always a ton of plantlets in a single 1-2 grow pot which is great! 

There are a few exceptions like Hygrophila Pinnatifida as there are usually just a few small plantlets even in a 1-2 grow pot but for anything really weedy (i.e. rotalas or carpeting plants) you get tons of them as long as you have patience to grow them out.

Generally speaking I find that weedier plants work better as tissue culture where as crypts and the like work better as regular pots. I got some Hortilab tissue culture crypts and while they are awesome once they get going they also required a *lot* time and CO2 to start growing at all. Hortilab has a better selection of mosses than Tropica though.

That being said I wish Tropica would expand their buce selection. It's almost impossible to get any buces here other than the two Tropica offers. I had to order a few expensive ones from Russia and they didn't take the journey well.


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## Tim Harrison

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,I would imagine that all retailers would like to go down that route it is lower maintenance, frees up floor space, makes an impulse purchase more likely etc.
> The main problem would be that if they don't sell then they won't go back to an alternative plant display, they will just stop selling plants.
> cheers Darrel



This is the sad state of the Tropica stand today, most of the plants are a bit ropey and past their sell by date; looks as though Darrel may have been right...








As opposed to when it was brand new - June 2017...


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## David Hewitt

After my first tank suffered from my inexperienced eye for feeding and some rogue snails from tgm's 'value' range, I rescaped with only in vitro plants. Snail free tanks made such a difference to my enjoyment of the hobby.

Since I still have a propensity for over feeding, I am reluctant to purchase anything that risks snails. Does anyone know if the blister packs reduce snail risk to the same level as in vitro? I.e. zero risk!


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## alto

The pots in blister packs are taken out from the same general nursery conditions as the standard plants in pots - sometimes they are fantastic, other times quite the opposite ... I suspect they leave Tropica in decent nick, but shipping seems to adversely affect anything soft leafed - Echinodorus, Microsorum, Anubias, Lilaeopsis generally do fine, Cryptocoryne hit & miss

In vitro is the only snail, algae free plant presentation (also completely shrimp safe)
I think Tropica 1-2-Grow are pretty impressive 

Of course the retail shop also has come responsibility to communicate with Tropica when plants arrive in poor condition - most of my local just toss whatever on the shelf, ignoring plant condition

I've not been much impressed with H-lab, while they offer many species in-vitro, many do poorly or grow very slowly or are full of mold (while the tops are green, the healthy stem is barely a cm long)


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## David Hewitt

alto said:


> The pots in blister packs are taken out from the same general nursery conditions as the standard plants in pots..
> 
> In vitro is the only snail, algae free plant presentation (also completely shrimp safe)
> I think Tropica 1-2-Grow are pretty impressive



Aye, that's what I thought, thanks for confirming. I will avoid. 

I have also been very pleased with Tropical 1-2 grow.

I've  also has success with aquasabi's unbranded in vitros. Not sure who the source of these are, but you get a lot of healthy plantlets - maybe four times what yiu get from tropica for about double the price. I usually end up having to guiltily chuck some in the bin, thinking I should be a bit more creative and experiment with emmersed.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy

alto said:


> In vitro is the only snail, algae free plant presentation



Interested in this:
A)I have seen what I believe to have been algae on he pots of blister packed plants
B)why would they not be snail free if grown emergent and all Rockwool etc removed?


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## alto

You’re confusing the “blister packs” with tissue culture which are the only sterile culture plants available - at least they should be sterile UNLESS contaminated


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## Andy Taylor

My local Pets at home( Loughborough) stock tropica plants.I have noticed that some plants are dead or on the verge of giving up. I think i will buy online!


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## alto

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> B)why would they not be snail free if grown emergent and all Rockwool etc removed?



I suspect snail contamination occurs in dealer tanks 
(I’m always less keen on purchasing plants from display tanks with fish and substrate, while it may _look_ nice, now plants are a source of various potential fish diseases, snails etc)


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## dw1305

Hi all, 





Andy Taylor said:


> I have noticed that some plants are dead or on the verge of giving up.


That was always the worry for me. 

cheers Darrel


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## BarryH

As this thread still seems to be live, Pets At Home have the 1-2 Grow pots on offer at the minute, buy one get one half price. As my local Pets At Home had no moss in their Tropica display, I ordered on line and collected from the store this morning.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy

Sorry all but that's not what I was getting at...

The blister packs contain potted plants (I don't mean the 1-2 grow pots) and they are not in dealers tanks as they are in the blister packs.

Admittedly their poor condition (due to age I suspect) may be why I think I'm seeing algae, but what I'm really interested in here is why they would not be snail free.

For example. They will be grown emersed in the greenhouse at tropica, they will have the pots and mineral wool in nutrient rich water. This may contain snails, but as the pot and mineral wool is removed before planting, and the plant never goes underwater/in a dealer tank, I guess the ultimate question is... would pest snails leave the waters surface to lay eggs on the plants themselves which can then survive the time is takes to get into our tanks?... hope that makes sense...?


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## mort

Tropica has good bio security Matt. There won't be any snails or pests in their greenhouses.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy

So surely the blister pack are indeed snail free then!?


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## Aqua sobriquet

All the Tropica stuff I’ve bought from Pets at Home have been very good. I have seen a few plants with yellow leaves but not many. I’m pretty sure many of the problems I’ve had in the past have been because of what many LFS laughingly call aquarium plants, complete with algae, snails or planaria. I will never buy plants from the LFS unless they start stocking Tropica stuff like Pets at Home. I will also continue to buy in vitro stuff online as well.


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## mort

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> So surely the blister pack are indeed snail free then!?



I never had any snails or hitchhikers from any of the plants I ordered from tropica when I was in the shop and that was before blister packs. I think p@h only moved over to the new packaging because when plants hit their water, they started to suffer. 

Unfortunately the one near me just chucks them on a normal shelving unit and unless you get there quick they will have deteriorated. I've seem elodea as a black slime in the pack and plenty of mouldy crypts and swords.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





mort said:


> Unfortunately the one near me just chucks them on a normal shelving unit and unless you get there quick they will have deteriorated. I've seem elodea as a black slime in the pack and plenty of mouldy crypts and swords.


Same with me.

cheers Darrel


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## Paul27

There are two quite near to me, the one there are never any dead fish in the tanks, Always crystal clear and very well maintained. Where as the other one is pretty much the opposite.


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## Tim Harrison

I dislike pest snails intensely and go to great lengths to ensure they're not introduced in to my scapes...at least I thought I did. Somehow they've still managed to invade my tank. I'm convinced they may have piggybacked on emersed potted plants, not necessarily Tropic's I hasten to add. That or pest snail eggs are present in the water supply


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## Edvet

Tim Harrison said:


> That or pest snail eggs are in the water supply


Or the ducks brought it in..........


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## Tim Harrison

Yes that, or ducks...definitely ducks


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## BarryH

Just to add to the thread, one of my "dislikes" with PAH is always being chased to get a VIP card or sign up for other bits n pieces. Today, on top of all those, it was "would you like to donate 50p to what sounded like a Christmas Dinner" though I probably may have misheard.


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## Siege

Probably donation to local dogs home Xmas dinner for the poor rescued Staffies.

Don’t knock the VIP card, every now and again I get sent a bunch of vouchers for dog bits and bobs. Mostly they are of no use but there is always something that is geared towards the food/treats I buy.

For fish stuff I wouldn’t bother!


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## PARAGUAY

Having aquariums and a dog and until a year ago cats the vouchers are handy. The VIP card l believe has raised into the million plus for charities of your choice ,so no bad way of helping IMO. Disappointed with the plant choice and selection but the range of dry goods fish food,aquariums e tc ain't bad.and the offers for aquariums filters etc from time to time is worth checking out.


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## GrowPod

I have two near me, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket and both have Tropica plants. The tanks in both are cleaner than most aquatic shops in the area too. That said aquarium gardens is only an hour from me.


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## becks

My local pets at home tanks are spotless and the fish always look healthy, tropica plants always look healthy too.


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