The trip to visit local fish stores in Springfield, Missouri, turned out really well. We ended up with a group of four. Everyone had a great time.
Our fearless leader, Michael, met me at my house, where I impressed him with my extensive aquatic library and demonstrated how an infestation of red hair algae can make a gorgeous planted aquarium look more like a swamp.
We then drove to Monett, Missouri, to meet up with the Missouri gang in the local Walmart parking lot. On the way, we gabbed about aquariums and fish-- strangely enough-- and wildlife and more. That's right. These two introverted fish geeks never shut up.
Kevin was already waiting for us when we reached Walmart. He was busy reading a paper, which came in handy for swatting ants. Kenna arrived a few minutes later. It was actually lucky that Michael and I arrived on time, because I had forgotten to check the gas tank and we were running on empty. So we loaded up the car with fellow fish geeks, styrofoam boxes, and fuel, and the mission began.
We had some great chat along the way, including talk of a future collecting trip and a future get-together to visit Cane Creek State Park in Arkansas. There's a gigantic lake there that's largely covered with water lilies. They've all seen it. I've been dying to. So we'll have to add that event to our calendar soon.
Our first stop was
Petland Springfield. It is the biggest store in the Petland franchise. One feature which drew us there was the 20-ft shark and ray tank (mentioned in a year-old magazine article). I didn't notice any sharks or rays in the tank. In fact, it wasn't impressive at all, but the fish room was beautiful. The walls were lined with gorgeous acrylic displays. All of the aquariums were decorated with rocks and plants and driftwood-- instead of the barren displays used by most dealers (
photo below). And the tanks were full of fish.
There was some confusion at first about whether or not I would be allowed to shoot photos, which was irritating because I had called ahead for permisssion. But I sweet-talked the manager and Kenna put him in a headlock. So permission was granted and I took a lot of photos.
I don't hold it against stores, especially chain stores, for being paranoid. The buttheads at PETA are always trying to find ways to shut down the livestock trade, and they hassle chains stores the most. I've only ever had one store tell me no to shooting photos, and it was a chain store.
Anyway, while I sweated and worked hard shooting photos, everyone else browsed, chatted, relaxed, and tortured the staff by quizzing them about
Lucania goodei. Yes,
they had fun while
I worked. Sheesh. Seriously, though, I greatly appreciate everyone's patience. I got a lot of good shots. Actually, Kevin did some work, too. He cleaned the floor with his socks. (I'll let him tell the story.)
But I could hear the stomachs growling over the bubbling aquariums, so we decided it was time to move on to lunch. Kevin steered us to one of his favorite spots, Buckingham's Smokehouse. We ordered, sat down at a table, and yacked-- and I don't mean from the food. The food was good. The company was better. The conversation was lively.
Next, we shuffled off to
Cichlids and Salt Tropical Fish. It's not a large store-- about the same size as our local shops-- but the owner was very friendly, knows his stuff, and he has the most cichlids I've ever seen in one place. About half the store was cichlids, including some rare ones. I'm not a cichlid person, but I was very impressed. My camera clicked away. Can anyone identify this cichlid I shot (
below)? I didn't catch its name.
Kevin knows the owner well, probably because he used to work there. So the owner stood around chatting with Kevin and everyone, setting a bad example for his staff. We found out, however, that the owner likes Michael better, since he offered him a chance to visit the owner's home aquariums the first time they ever met, and Kevin had never gotten that invitation at all. Kevin was a saint, though, and polished the store floor with his socks, anyway.
Next we headed to a store in the
Pet Warehouse chain. The assistant manager gave me permission to shoot photos, but then had second thoughts and called corporate. They said no, but the assistant manager talked to me some more and called them back. Kenna had me remind them that their Springfield competitors had all said yes. So I spoke to someone at corporate and got the okay. I probably spent more time getting permission than actually shooting pictures. There were only a couple of things there that I didn't have shots of. I finally got a shot of a compressiceps. It's not a rare fish, but for some reason, I've never gotten a good photo of one.
They also had some Mexican oak leaf plants (
Shinnersia rivularis), which is something you don't see often. I've never kept them before, but Merrill Cohen, the founder of Aquarium Products, used to grow them like crazy in his tanks and bring us the excess to sell. He passed away a couple of years ago, so the plants make a good memory of an old friend and major player in the aquarium trade. Kenna thought they looked interesting and bought a couple, too.
But it was Michael who got the biggest thrill. He found the object of his dreams, his new best friend forever-- the Betta Bowl Buddha!
It was "only 5:00 p.m." or "5:00 p.m already," depending on who you ask. So we decided to call it a day. We made a quick stop at a Sonic to refresh our parched throats. Cichlids and Salt heats the whole store instead of individual tanks. So we got pretty dried out. The sweat was stinging my eyes the whole time I shot photos there.
Michael and I dropped off the Missourians, Kenna and Kevin, at the Walmart lot and headed for Arkansas. I bored him with retailer talk on the way, lamenting how much I want to build a big store again, but doubting that our area has enough people to support it.
I'm looking forward to our next adventure!
.