We could certainly do with some in the Torbay/Devon area.Anymore Specialist plant shops I think would struggle in most areas for actual visiting customers
Surely they would have to basically be an online business so then why have the expense of a retail outlet ?
It’s a shame as I’d love one near me to visit
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I'd be surprised if we don’t see a steady growth of aquascaping shops over the next 12 months.
The industry has grown considerably over the last decade or so and I think events over the last 12 months will only fuel that growth further.
The only potential banna skin to that growth is of course how the economy manages itself over the next couple of years; and that could well have an impact on amounts of spare cash folks have which would be needed to feed said growth.
Is Jack's Patch on the A381 Bisopsteignton still part of Maidenhead Aquatics? they had good selection of fish 5 years ago but since been bought out by Otter Nurseries.We could certainly do with some in the Torbay/Devon area.
Aqua essentials are local but online only.
Online is great for equipment, but you can't beat a brick and mortar store imo, you can't look at hardscape online, view plant health etc, plus you are always going to need fish.
I think more aquatic outlets need a better selection of aquascaping stuff, rather than a dedicated aquascaping store which is harder to make profitable.
Jacks patch is still there but not been there in years, and yes Homeleigh is a great shop, used to be there a lot when I kept marine.Is Jack's Patch on the A381 Bisopsteignton still part of Maidenhead Aquatics? they had good selection of fish 5 years ago but since been bought out by Otter Nurseries.
Endsleigh garden centre, Ivybridge, are Maidenhead Aquatics but we've never been there.
St Bridget's garden centre, A3052 o/s Clyst St Mary have aquatics but probably not worth a trip unless you are in Exeter.
Our go-tos are Bow Aquatics A3072 ( bit of a haul from TQ), and Homeleigh garden centre A388 Dutson north of Launceston, which is a great place but even worse from TQ unless you combine it with a trip to the North Petherwin "Tamar otter and wildlife centre", which is a decent combined day out.
also Maidenhead Aquatics
Fort Austin Avenue
PLYMOUTH
PL6 5NU
which I know nothing about.
When lockdown is over we want to check out "River and reef aquatics" who have an address/ phone in Tavistock but not much online info.
I think the number might be high on both counts, when you count ponds, small tanks with a few fish etc, shops also lose a hell of a lot of fish.Woops, posted that without finishing my thoughts, I have always struggled with aquatic shops and their models, it just feels like there aren’t that many people with aquariums to warrant so many fish in shops. Or, there are a lot of fish deaths.
I don't agree with this one so much, a full-on high tech ADA setup maybe, but you can create a planted tank on so much less, any tank will work, it doesn't need to be optiwhite and rimless, a filter and light and away you go (again these don't have to be that expensive either. A lot of what we use is not needed, things like aqua soil, powders, potions etc.Planted tanks are in my mind a middle class hobby, as the price point to entry is high, it isn’t a jewel tank and a goldfish, for example. Additionally, £5-£10 for a pot of plants is something many would question, especially on entry to the hobby. The plants are likely to die, we should be more honest about that.
Compared to a lot of hobbies as mentioned above, a planted tank is relatively cheap.I know this can be as cheap as you make it, and I’m looking at this from the top of my ADA built castle, but plants are still expensive. Every lfs I visit has planted display tanks, unsure if that has changed much.
There was a trend for shrimp a few years back and the lfs seemed to welcome this boom and invest but it seemed shortlived going by local examples. We see booms and busts in various aspects of the hobby and I think you have to be very good at what you do to consistently attract custom.