Andy Taylor
Member
Looks like i'll be going there as the Loughborough store doesnt stock them which is a shame!
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jameson_uk
Member
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
BarryH
Member
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.
Cadfiel
Member
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
mort
Member
- Joined
- 15 Nov 2015
- Messages
- 2,424
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.
mort
Member
- Joined
- 15 Nov 2015
- Messages
- 2,424
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.
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
jameson_uk
Member
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!
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!
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 🙁 )
- 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 🙁 )
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!
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!
Hi all,
I can only see this exacerbating the situation, and it leading to many stores abandoning plant sales all together.
cheers Darrel
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
zozo
Member
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..
xim
Member
- Joined
- 19 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 498
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.
zozo
Member
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..
