Favorite LFS and why?
 

Hey All:

Just curious how many good stores there are throughout the country. What are your favorite shops and why?

I'm in New York, so my choices are rather limited. BUT- I am lucky enough to have a few shops that get quality material in.

NY Aquaria in Mamaroneck NY gets in awesome livestock and the owner knows his stuff and they always have some kind of sale running

Fishtown USA in Queens NY - They get in LOTS of livestock in on a regular basis. Downside is that the workers dont know much and as a result, the fish are often stressed out and often do not do well.

Aquarium Warehouse in New Jersey - Big place and they get a lot of stuff in on a regular basis. Prices are good, owner is nice but their knowledge is limited. I still like these guys and their fish are healthy.

Of course there is always House of Fins in Connecticut, but they are VERY expensive. Everything always tends to be healthy and staff is fairly knowledgable. They get some nice stuff in, so the trip is well worth it and even at a premium price (which is the tradeoff for a well informed staff) you will probably find something that you just cant do without.

You would figure that in the City that never sleeps there would be an incredible selection of stores to choose from, but there is only one shop in Manhattan that carries decent livestock and I have vowed to never to grace them with my presence again for various reasons I will not share right now.

Besides LA, what other cities have awesome stores?

-Alfred

I have two here in town
 

One is called Sea Escape Aquarium,they are great for any fish you would want but the inverts and corals are in question

Then there is THE CORAL CONNECTION.They have nothing but reef tank supplys and corals.Awsome live rock and every coral you could ever want.A lot of frags.

About 12 years ago I visited a bunch of stores in Florida, you guys are lucky...

-Alfred

Big Al's. Nearly all of them are awesome. I visit the one in North York mostly, I have a lot of friends there, but the one in Oakville is amazing, it's enormous, and the livestock is great. Mississauga is also a good one. The one in Newmarket isn't that good, they're lacking in invertebrates.

Exotic Tropicals - Rogers, AR. Somewhat a small store, but selection is awesome. Health of all livestock is great.

Kermit's Reef - Memphis, TN. Another somewhat small store, but all saltwater/reef related. They have their own coral growout/frag system in the back of the store and provide aquacultured corals that were grown right there in the store. Very healthy livestock here too.

Sea in the City in Orlando is by far one of best shops I've seen.Super service, 99% propagated corals, tons of frags including rare stuff. I just bought a red goni frag from them that they fragged and held for two months before releasing it to me. Every fish is almost hand picked but require thy stay at the shop for two weeks before they let them go. Everythin gis healthy and happy. Just an amazing little shop.

Luis

hey luis in located in altamonte springs fl.........do thay have a website?

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6967331#post6967331 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by angel125 [/i]
[B]hey luis in located in altamonte springs fl.........do thay have a website? [/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah...

[url]http://www.seainthecity.us[/url]

Also check the ORCA forum here, I know they post in there quite often. It's a tiny little place but they have some great stuff.

luis

The Salty Critter in Vermillion, Ohio. The guys there are cool as hell, know their stuff, and aren't there to screw you over. They've hooked me up many a time. I bought a flame angel that only lasted a couple days in my tank, told 'em all about it and gave me a credit for the fish. :thumbsup:

i second the salty critter
but the knowledge of the staff severly drops off after dan and shawn

"In Living COlor" in South Jersey.

[B]WHY?[/B]










Because my wife has a part time job there and she brings home really cool stuff for cost :D

Exotic Aquatics in Baltimore MD. They always have awesome fish and an excellent stock of corals. Lots of frags and a large variety of SPS and LPS, plus they almost always have blastomussa so that puts them high on my list. :) it's my favorite

Fish And Other Ichthy Stuff in Oldsmar, FL. he always quartines his fish and corals and is very very informative. always ask general as well as serious questions about your tank before he will even sell you anything. huge selection of fish and corals. worth the trip if anyone is ever down here. second on my list would be Exotic Aquatics in North Clearwater, Fl. nice size selection of fish and corals in good health.

I can't really say I have an absoulte favorite. I have some that dont know anything, but have a wide selection of fish. Others that are very nice, knowledgeable, but don't have a large variety of fish. And then theres many with healthy fish and good info, but very expensive. Out of those 3 "options" I prefer the very nice knowledgeable with not a very large variety.

My ideal fish store: All nice employees, all knowledgeable staff, large variety, and good prices.

[COLOR=purple]In Living Color[/COLOR] :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[b]Ultimate Reefs in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Shane is like the best at knowing his customers and getting exactly what you want. He has doubled the size of his store over the last month and really has a wide selection of everything for salt water and carries the best from all over the world.

He stands behind everything he sells - alive or supplies.

It's worth a trip to Tulsa just to see Shane!

Robert[/b]

Atlantis Aquariums in Richmond, Virginia. Marvin and Michelle are great people and have one of the cleanest stores I have ever seen, great selection of SPS, softies, fish, plus they have "THE Deltec Tank"

I wish I had a favorite. The three that are near me seem to be getting worse every day (their reef tanks.) Lots of algae and pretty much zero tank maintenance.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6972290#post6972290 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by h2joe [/i]
[B]second on my list would be Exotic Aquatics in North Clearwater, Fl. nice size selection of fish and corals in good health. [/B][/QUOTE]

They are an awsome store I have been their several times and they have a great selection of both freshwater and saltwater stuff, They have lots of accessories. I also think the staff is informative...

I second, Exotic Aquatics in Baltimore MD.

The Aquarium - in salt lake city

Great store, amazing ownership and livestock. They definatley know their stuff and recently won a few awards for their 600 reef show tank

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6973901#post6973901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by old salty [/i]
[B]I wish I had a favorite. The three that are near me seem to be getting worse every day (their reef tanks.) Lots of algae and pretty much zero tank maintenance. [/B][/QUOTE]

yeah welcome to my work! my best efforts to save fish or corals gets thwarted with excuses why everything always fails... i swear we have at least an 80% mortality rate... it's pathetic, and it's always written off as "yeah that's normal with saltwater"

Is it really normal!??!

One of the lfs in my area didn’t have heaters in their tanks to save money, their coral system was at 64 degrees and they almost were running brackish because they don’t test salinity, they just keep adding ro water when the system is low, corals were all dead. Pleas don’t ask what store it is.

Delafe,

If you ever want to make a trip through Long Island let me know I will give you a rundown of the goo the bad and the ugly.

thanks luis.......