For All You Tampa Reefers

[GreenGoblin]

i bet most of you who go to fish and other ichy things (LFS) has noticed the remodleing. but if you havent been there in a wile ,like me, WHOA! what a difference. much bigger and better.
i love the new coral selection especialy!:eek2:

[gregt]

Yeah, John has a great store.

[imgrtful]

we're heading over to tampa sat.what is the best way to get to ichythy things.do i keep heading down hillsborough past marine warehouse?we usually take 4 to the vetrans to hillsborough av.any better route? thanks
eric and melissa
proud new members of orca

[fish_taste_good]

I must admit the store is great. It is the only place I will buy fish from. They take great care of their live stock and I thank Greg for pointing me to them.

Much better than some of the stores I dealt with in Gainesville.

[SUNCOAST]

I agree John's store is clean. But, he has the personality of a piece of base rock. I stopped frequenting his store and only go out of convenience when required. I prefer Marine Warehouse and their knowledgeable polite staff.

[scubadude]

Originally posted by SUNCOAST
I agree John's store is clean. But, he has the personality of a piece of base rock.

Marine Wharehouse!?!?! Ok I have been there 1/2 a dozen times and each time I see massive amounts of dead animals....Every time I have been to Johns store, it has been VERY VERY Clean and the animals are well taken care of. Also FWIW im more interested in the personality of the coral im buying not the salesman selling it :rollface:

[fish_taste_good]

lol - i agree on marine warehouse and the dead fish.

As for personality of the salesman, I know what I want when I go there. I ask the specefic questions I want to know, then say bag it up. His wife (i think) is the one that usually makes the small talk with me since she rings my purchases up 99% of the time.

It's not like we are playing poker or on a first date. :D Who cares what he says. His knowledge is vast and his store is just plain badass. I just wish it wasnt across town from me. :(

[ichthyman]

Suncoast,

I disagree, baserock is much more charming. An abrasive algae pad would be a closer to my personality. I would rather fail being myself than pretend to be something I am not. I have many faults but among those is not dishonesty, lack of compassion, laziness, or the desire to see anyone fail at this hobby. If my business is not the store for you that’s O.K. with me. Marine Warehouse has been around for along time and I am sure they will continue to be a fine example of the aquarium industry with your financial support.


Everyone else,

Thanks for getting it.

John S. Reiter III a.k.a the Fish Nazi
Owner – FISH and other ICHTHY stuff

[fish_taste_good]

:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

gotta laugh at THE FISH NAZI part of the sig.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[ReefRelated]

Originally posted by SUNCOAST
I prefer Marine Warehouse and their knowledgeable polite staff.
Well that says it all. It tells me you you are new to the hobby and have very little knowledge when it comes to reef keeping.

[SUNCOAST]

Seriously folks, and with all due respect. You need to get out more if you think Fish and Ichthy Things is the end all to reef/marine stores.

My opinion of the owner and his callous attitude is not relative to how much experience or expertise I have in the hobby. Frankly, if Fish and Ichthy Things was the only shop around I would have left the hobby years ago. I can only imagine how many folks he's turned off.

But look, it makes no difference what I think, it's his shop to do as he pleases. Perhaps it will always remain a small hole in the wall with a few loyal customers.

I for one am thankful to live in an area that has such a diverse and large number of alternative LFS.

[luminary]

gotta laugh at THE FISH NAZI part of the sig.

No phyto for you!

I for one am thankful to live in an area that has such a diverse and large number of alternative LFS.

Amen! We all will always have our favorite stores...and I'm sure we've all had good and bad experiences in everyone else's favorite stores. Let's try and keep the conversations friendly :).

[ReefRelated]

Originally posted by SUNCOAST
Perhaps it will always remain a small hole in the wall with a few loyal customers.
Maybe you didn't notice when you were there that his coral stock is at least double what Marine Wharehouse is. Anyway...I understand John may not be in the greatest of moods all the time but he is very knowledgeable. I would rather recieve a informative advise and healthy fish or coral from someone in a bad mood than to get unhealthy livestock and worthless information from some chipper guy who knows nothing about the business. In the end all that matters to me is my reef tank. The reason John has the loyal customers he does is because he has the nicest selection of corals in town. Name one LFS in this area that has a SPS selection like his. Everything in his store is very healthy including fish. He always gives good advise and won't sell you something he doesn't believe in.

BTW LFS stands for "local fish store" and SPS stands for "small polyp stonies" and BTW stands for "by the way"

I can tell your new at this ;)

[BLUE LAGOON]

Suncoast
It seems you have a problem,or should I say an attitude problem.If you have ISSUES with John and his store.Why don't you talk to him?I live here in Tallahasee Florida,and I drive to his store for his stuff.He probably doesn't NEED your business.ALL of the locals down there and here in Tally knows he has quality stuff,just LOOK at his tanks.You sound like the person that BUYS from other stores,then goes to see John with your problemsand fish dying?If you buy ANYTHING from M.W. you will have ALL these issues.Yes I'm sure he has his bad days.Don't we ALL. ALL his customers know he got the BEST store down there.Again I wish he was HERE.He goes out of his way,to supply the BEST quality live stock he can.And it shows.....I have been at his store when he gets shipments,and people waiting to see what he got in.Have you SCENE that at M.W.But people like you the hobby doesn't need.Because you are supporting stores that don't care about their livestock after you take it home.

[greenswmr]

After reading this thread, I am almost afraid to respond. I am absolutely a beginner in this hobby. I have visited almost every LFS in the Tampa area. When I walked into Icthy Things I was most impressed with the livestock and the crystal clear water in the tanks!!!!!!! I had a conversation with John, who was very busy helping other customers and wiring up a canopy. His demeanor reminded me of one of my old Drill Instructors, a bit edgy and rough, but extremely knowledgable. I have been researching this hobby for almost a year before buying a thing. Now I have a 120 gal tank drilled with a center overflow, much to John's chagrin and as large a sump as I could fit into the stand. As I am not made of money, my approach has been slow and methodical. As it turns out from all my research, this is probably the best approach. There are a few LFS that I will not do business with, John's place is not one of them. I look forward to doing business with him. I also don't believe in taking my problems to another store. That is just plain wrong. Be kind to us "newbies" we have genuine interest in this hobby too.

:)

[rottenpineapple]

I wish I lived in tampa.

[ichthyman]

greenswmr,


A very wise man once said to me, "The more you hate me the more you shall learn.......... now drop and give me fifty!".


your lovable neighborhood fish nazi
john

[ichthyman]

Mako,

Yeah, I took the day off. Tried to fly a kite but I didn't have enough wind or built in hot air to get the damn thing off the ground. Are the Monties better? You wouldn't happen to paintball?

john

[ichthyman]

Mako,

The Thunderbay field is 5 minutes from the shop on Racetrack Rd. but that not where I go. Got my own field in Bushnell. Check out my Paintball thread. I might be able to hook you up with some of my extra gear. All you would need is balls and gas(CO2).

Atlantic blues maybe this week. If your looking for a good herb., I've got a long term captive seriously fat foxface, orange shoulder, and sailfin.

Got to go, wife wants the PC. PM if youe interested.
john

[marineaquariums]

yae well john is a nut and his wife is a swettie
but what would we do with out them
Thanks for the great store and prices guys
My buddy loves that 50 lbs of live rock he bought

[spsboy]

Just a quick note on the whole paint balling with john thing...
If you think he's a fish nazi, imagine him on the paint ball field. Speaking from experience, it's not the smartest move to go out in the wilderness with a guy who's already a little on the edge as well as furnishing him with a gun. He takes his paintballing about as serious as he takes his reefkeeping, plus he likes to take out his frustrations on the newbies. Anyway, just wanted to give those interested a fair warning.
As for the store front, its by far the best around.

Andrew


:D

[scubadude]

Originally posted by spsboy
Just a quick note on the whole paint balling with john thing...
If you think he's a fish nazi, imagine him on the paint ball field. Speaking from experience, it's not the smartest move to go out in the wilderness with a guy who's already a little on the edge as well as furnishing him with a gun. He takes his paintballing about as serious as he takes his reefkeeping, plus he likes to take out his frustrations on the newbies. Anyway, just wanted to give those interested a fair warning.
As for the store front, its by far the best around.

Andrew


:D

LMAO you dont say......I could smell this one from a mile away!

Originally posted by ichthyman

On May 26, Memorial Day, anyone who is interested is invited to join a slightly psychotic
but well mannered group of individuals for a day of paintball. ................. If any of you Auto-cocker geeks are interested please
remember that we are all not a PLAYER like your bad self.:D

If you would like more information, please P.M..

Be bloody, bold and resolute.
:blown:
John Reiter

LOL. You gotta be hardcore into paintball
Note the word psychotic, yet he humbles himself toward the auto-cockers.....John I dont think there is enuff money to bribe me to play paintball w/yer bad self :p I can see it now I would come home looking like Disney World threw up all over me!

[ichthyman]

spsboy,

I am so excited, MY Andrew lives!:bounce2: You mysteriously leave town and then no word for months. You’re in big trouble. Next time you are in the store, you have skimmer and filter sock duties.

If I remember correctly, you did not do all that bad. You tagged the cop right at the beginning and I think you shot my brother in-law a few times. On the edge, me never. I am just some balding, out of breath and shape thirty something year old playing G.I. Joe for a day every three months or so.



Scubadude,

Maybe not for money but I bet you would if there was coral frags handed out at the end of the day.:D

[imgrtful]

i went to johns store yesterday and my wife agrees with the part of them not being on top of thier customers.but when i explained that we need to look around then get an idea of what we are looking for i'm sure they will come and help if we call them.noone wants to be bothered with 1000 questions a day about what is this,how much is it,and then you say ok and walk to another coral and do it again.no intention of buying it in the first place because you know everywhere else you've been its been to high for you to afford.find what you like and know you want then get the help.as for the personality,no other lfs has showed me thier filtration room and explained what i can do to replicate it.if john doesent have knowledge in what he's doing can you imagine what his store would look like if he did.i guess he would have to change the name of the store to the atlantic ocean or the pacific ocean to better identify his set up.geez someone needs to take thier head out thier a** and realizewhat they found when they walked into his store.we drive from lakeland and will be making the drive many more times.thanks for caring enough about the livestock enough to give us a chance to have the kind of tanks you see thriving on rc
thanks again john
eric and melissa

[JonT]

Have you ever seen another LFS that would quarantine half of his store for over a week just because he spotted a fish with ick and doesn't want to chance passing it on to his customers?

As a VERY newbie (4 mths) to reefing, I have found John to be super helpful and approachable with even the most stupid questions. But since the folks on this thread seem to agree with me by about 10-1 (and we don't want John feeling TOO smug), I'll simply add that Marine Warehouse suggested (and sold me) a wet/dry, sealife "piece of $#%%" skimmer, and bio-calcium when I started out. Wasted $200 of my money, but the salesperson sure did have a nice smile!! (which is more important to you?)

[Bimini_Twisted]

I just got back into the hobby after a long hiatus. When I get into something I tend to be a bit obsessive. Since I travel all over the Mid-State for work, what I do for entertainment is stop at historic Florida sites and every LFS I can find. Yes I have seen bigger shops than Johns but none run so exclusively towards reef keeping. His set-up is badass and his livestock is in pristine condition. True, he is no Mel Gibson, but if you give him the chance to explain something I think you will find that you will learn something. Marine Warehouse is a fine store and if you know what you want you can usually find it there but I don’t need a thing for my koi pond. Opinions are like a_holes, everyone has them. I’m tired of some pierced punk kid in BFE'ville Florida telling me a Camel shrimp will be fine in my tank.:smokin:

[ricknbecky]

Trust me...

I don't think John will ever when a charm award... but I don't visit the place for whitty banter.

I go for some of the best stuff around... I have been in the hobby ( but not buying anything in over a year ) When I asked locals that I trust if anything had changed... like a new place or something about FAOIS had chnaged... they said nope same old John but the store was even better.

I will be going today to buy a bunch of LR for my new 65S... I appreciate their dedication to keeping a quality run store.

BTW, John has nothing on my father - a Col. in the USMC... John just isn't the most social creature in the world.

[dboyd]

Originally posted by scubadude
Marine Wharehouse!?!?! Ok I have been there 1/2 a dozen times and each time I see massive amounts of dead animals....Every time I have been to Johns store, it has been VERY VERY Clean and the animals are well taken care of. Also FWIW im more interested in the personality of the coral im buying not the salesman selling it :rollface:
HEY ROCKY I THOUGHT YOU SOLD LIVESTOCK TO MARINE WHAREHOUSE? I KNOW YOU SELL TO JOHN.....,IS IT THEIR SYSTEM THATS THE PROBLEM?

[maruskam]

Thumbs up for John’s store. :fun4:
Being new in the hobby, we also started from the “bad end�, buying useless equipment and sick fish from wrong place, wasting our money and patience. We found about John’s store couple of months ago, and don’t go anywhere else since then. I prefer healthy fish and long-term investment, even if I have to buy it from “base rock� personality person. After all, John is very knowledgeable and has his good days too.. :mixed:
I’m allowed to also talk about other stores that I think are not good at all and should be inspected immediately? I recently visited one pet store to buy cat food and discovered terrible and dirty environment where they sell fish and corals to everyone who walks in, including children!!! Is there anything I can do about that?
:confused:

[gregt]

Originally posted by maruskam
I recently visited one pet store to buy cat food and discovered terrible and dirty environment where they sell fish and corals to everyone who walks in, including children!!! Is there anything I can do about that?
:confused:

Don't give them your business.

[maruskam]

I won't, trust me. it was a mistake to just stop by for cat food !!! :hammer:

[cahermit]

I wish I lived on the east coast

[imgrtful]

Originally posted by cahermit
I wish I lived on the east coast


why,so you dont fall off and float away when the 10.5 hits


lol



lol


roflmao

[JnTocean]

I take the ride out to John`s place cause of his tanks.
Also i have called around a couple places to trade in branching frogspawn i had recieved no from all but one place in brandon that i called.the answers were no cause we get everything from the ocean..one place was no cause we don`t know your tank parms and were not gonna take the risk of adding anything from someones tank..but they are willing to Deplete the ocean reefs,and not knowing if or what they sell from the wholesaler is gonna live where as a frag from someones tank is gonna have a chance cause it`s been in a closed loop system then the funniest thing i saw when i was in one of the stores the guys were trying to take a 4inch bristle worm out of the lr one guy said wait a minute trying to get knife out to try and pick it out the guy holding the lr grabbed the worm by his fingers be fore the guy with him,or me could say no he had grabbed it the face was worth a million bucks cause he didn`t know if he should drop the lr and scream or just say $$$$ it hurts.but to many people standing around he swallowed everything and stood there..
One other thing is i walk in to John`s place he says hello to me with my name i don`t see other stores doing that to anyone but their friends or someone that just spent a couple grand on his credit card.

John

[marineaquariums]

I wish i could have been there,, i have worm over 1 foot long going on 12 years that would have put him on the floor
im sure he will never do that again

[marineaquariums]

I wish i could have been there,, i have worm over 1 foot long going on 12 years that would have put him on the floor
im sure he will never do that again

[marineaquariums]

I wish i could have been there,, i have worm over 1 foot long going on 12 years that would have put him on the floor
im sure he will never do that again

[JnTocean]

LOL if ya can get it on to a small piece of lr i`ll get a video camera can bring into the store and tell them to get it out of the rock.LOL the guy that grabbed the worm will most likely quit and run cause of the size of it.

[cahermit]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by imgrtful
[B]why,so you dont fall off and float away when the 10.5 hits



Yes.

[imgrtful]

lol ;)