# new pet store - richmond



## nigerian prince

so i was heading to chapters today to browse and i saw a large vacant business, with a sign in the window that read: "ackroyd pets and aquarium" , the building has been completely gutted and is empty, it looks like its going to be a nice size too.. Hopefully they carry lots of fish and are not just another pet food store, this is good for us as anyone knows the more competitive the marketplace the better it is for the consumer, its about 2 stores down from chapters..

Does anyone else have any info?


----------



## rave93

no info, but i love having another fish shop to drop in when i do my "rounds" haha


----------



## Richmond Dave

Cool...fish store on one side of the street, liquor store on the other...it's a one-stop shopping destination!


----------



## Fish rookie

I checked it out today. It sells fish, tanks, supplies, reptiles, and some small animals.
The fish department is managed by Howard who is a very experienced fish hobbyist himself with years of experience with breeding and keeping fish such as discus, zebra pleco...etc.
He used to manage PJ Pets (now Petcetera), a very knowledgeable and nice guy to talk to.
They have 3 plants for $10, buy 1 fish get 2nd fish 50% and their prices are pretty good (e.g. $2.98 for a cory) also sell Beamswork LED and such.
They are still setting the place up, will expect to see more stock soon.
It is right across from the Price Smart (Save-On-Food) Mall on No.3 Rd, next to Chapters. Very easy to get to via Canada Line, bus and it has a big parking lot.


----------



## 35angels

Lucky you...I only have Pet lovers, then there's Mr. Pets in Mission to choose from.


----------



## Fish rookie

Yes, we are lucky that way I guess. In Richmond, we have Canadian Aquatic (Mykiss here on bca), IPU Richmond, Pet Smarts, Petcetera, and now the new Ackroyd Pets, all within driving distance.
Canadian Aquatic is my favorite because Pat is a hobbyist himself and is very knowledgeable. Unlike most fish stores when you will see some sick or dead fish in some tanks every now and then, Pat's fish are always healthy and he is very helpful and easy to deal with. 
Pet Smarts in Richmond's employee are also very polite and friendly. They carry most major brand names (fluval, api, aqua clear, seachem...etc) at a reasonable price. They vacuum clean their tanks all the time (even the plants tanks) so there is no tank infested with algae or full of fish with ick or things like that. Price-wise they do promotions from time to time and it is quite reasonable. On black Friday they had Aquaclear 110 at 50% off (around $45). I can go get most routine stuff there such as seachem stability, prime...without paying an inflated price or wait for their shipment to come. I can also pay and buy on their Pet Smarts web site and have the goods delivered to the store to pick up if I want to.
Speaking of price the new Ackroyd Pets is not bad at all. Under $3 for a cory is a very good price, so is the 3 for $10 plants deal and the buy 1 get 1 50% deal. 
They still look very new--some shelves are still empty, their tanks do not have light canopy set up yet. But I am sure things will eventually come together for them. 
Well, that is my little report for now. Hope it helps.


----------



## aquaticnovice604

awesome sounds like i have a second option for a store


----------



## Pat805

I know someone working there for sure they will be getting more fish in =) and they also carry reptiles and small animals. They will soon have a variety of everything with great prices =).


----------



## nigerian prince

thanks for the updates ill be checking them out sometime this month and ill report back


----------



## nigerian prince

went in there today, still seems a bit bare bones, have a decent assortment of goldfish, the equipment is mostly tetra and api brand, they don't have many tanks, only a few small 10 and 20g "tetra starter kits and like a million stock 10g tanks for $15 , like fishrookie said they have lots of beamwork led lights, didn't see any tube lights or anything.

think the fish sale is over but could be wrong, they had guppies,swordtails and platys, a few types of corys (sterbai , panda, bronze and albino) , a few types of angels/tetras , and 4 kinds of oscars haha i didnt even know there were something called "black oscars" , did not have any plecos/otos or any other algae eaters

anyways they have a bit of everything, reptiles, birds etc, they had a bigger selection of reptile terrariums than aquariums, a decent selection of plants, if you like banana plants youre in luck they have a tonne of them.

open 7 days a week 9 to 9 so they have great hours

carry male and female bettas, don't know much about them so thats all i got on them

my first impression was "sweet banana plants" , hopefully they don't go the ipu route where they bring in a bunch of gimmick tanks and equipment brands nobody wants to buy 

cheers


----------



## Goldstone

I had a look yesterday and I really think they have the best deal on plants. 3 for $10 is a great deal and there are tons too choose. There are other stores with same prices but this store has much more variety in plants at these prices. They plants are also pretty sized so you really get a good deal. They are kinda lacking in the variety of fish since they have too much feeder gold fish, I noticed they had 6 tanks of feeds and another 6-7 tanks of normal goldfish.


----------



## nigerian prince

if the owners of Ackroyd pets and aquarium or maybe someone that knows the owners see this, please order some natural wood of all sizes as well as rocks of all sizes, perhaps those hollowed out natural rock caves like Petcetera used to carry, the other pet stores in Richmond are seriously lacking in these departments..


----------



## Pat805

nigerian prince said:


> if the owners of Ackroyd pets and aquarium or maybe someone that knows the owners see this, please order some natural wood of all sizes as well as rocks of all sizes, perhaps those hollowed out natural rock caves like Petcetera used to carry, the other pet stores in Richmond are seriously lacking in these departments..


So they have gotten some different sizes wood, as for the hollowed out rock is it the ones for reptiles?


----------



## mike.m

Has any1 been down there I went when they were still setting up, didn't have much then


----------



## nigerian prince

havent been since the middle of december, nobody has really given updates yet. next time i go in there ill maybe talk to them


----------



## eternity302

Was there last night cuz I had to grocery shop next door. Thought I let you guys know.

One row - All feeder gold fish
One row - Practically several tanks of oscars and the remainder is angels, platys, jack dempsey, gouramis, neon tetras, emperor tetras, black skirt tetras, black neon tetras.
Some tanks had no filtration and dying fish, but it's like that anywhere so aint surprised.
Plants are all just weeping away anubias, crypts and some half dying plants.

And if you can't stand pet shop smell, they currently stink 10 times as bad compared to before, they have hedgehogs (awesome), chinchillas, gerbils, snakes (nice little reptile section), horrible shrimp tanks place on a table at the corner. A really big chinchilla home (friendly little guy, I got to pet him a few times) and some guinea pigs.

All around, if ur just browsing a little and in the area, might as well take a look. Are they a destination fish store? not at all, but they do sell a variety of pet supplies and critters. But hey, if you don't like what I say, that's just my own opinion at the end, go take a look, maybe you'll like them at the end =)


----------



## NODES

anyone know the prices on the beamworks led looking for either a 36 or 48 version.


----------



## Victor

NODES said:


> anyone know the prices on the beamworks led looking for either a 36 or 48 version.


I believe the 48 was at $126


----------



## Death's Sting

Went there yesterday and saw this, I think I will stick to the sponsors. :bigsmile:


----------



## NODES

Victor said:


> I believe the 48 was at $126


close to 150% profit...NICE!


----------



## charles

really? 150%? 

They have a store front. There are bills to be paid. They have a unit there so you can see how it works, how it brightens up a tank, how it looks. You don't have to buy it from the net without looking at it. 

What happen when you don't like what you buy from the net? you have to pay for shipping to ship it back. Wait, how about the drive back and forth to pick up and ship back? and you gas cost, your time cost? Wait, how about telling the border custom official that you are shipping something back and all of a sudden, they tell you there is a border service $10 fee that you have to pay. I bet you did not know that either. Most will not charge you, but it is there. Just like the GST/PST and import tax for a light fixture that is sold in USA but manufacturing in China. Most will not charge you, but if they want to, you have to pay for both.

I do admire store owner. There are so many difficulties. We sell the same unit for $100 each and let me tell you, it is not a whole lot of mark up on it if you factor in the cost. And a store front has more expense than etailor like myself.


----------



## nao

nice charles, i really respect you for sticking up for a competitor.(not that i did'nt respect you before). i try my best to buy from smaller private bussinesses, i like variety, you small bussiness owners, i admire your disipline, and you take your work home with you --i prefer to be a "consumer" i would'nt want the stress


----------



## 2wheelsx2

NODES said:


> close to 150% profit...NICE!


I believe you meant markup.

Markup = price - acquisition cost of product
Profit = money in the coffers after all costs are subtracted.

A perfect example is the people I see filling up jerry cans of gas in Blaine. If one takes exchange into account, and along with the maintenance cost per km driven in one's car (tires, brakes, gas, oil, etc.) and looks at the cost difference in gas prices in Blaine, it might be a savings 10 cents a liter, maybe 15. So in a 45 L gas tank like my car, you would save $4.50. 20 minutes to the border and 20 minutes back and unless one makes $4.50 an hour, one has lost money......


----------



## tony1928

The price on the light is very fair given that you are buying from a bricks and mortar store. The 75G tank setup is probably a bit over the top but as with most small shops like this, who pays list anyway?


----------



## Fish rookie

I personally do not find their prices ridiculous as compared to other LFS in Richmond. I respect the fact that they are a new store still in the start up phase and I appreciate their effort in trying to bring in some quality products (Colbalt, Rena, Seachem...etc) to the local market.
We have lots of LFS in Richmond-- all within driving distance--they all have to try to make some money without selling dogs (turtle is also not allowed), not to mention rent is very high in Richmond. The pet store business here in Richmond is very competitive.
As I said before I have had the pleasure to know Howard since the PJ Pets days. He always treats me right-- very polite, curtious, and knowledgable. 
He is a very experienced fish hobbyists himself, and I have had nothing but positive experience dealing with him.


----------

