Road trip

[cioutlaw]

Awhile back someone mentioned a shop in Tinley Pk. called "Capture the Sea"...well i was in Tinley today & stopped by..nice place, not real big but a nice selection of stuff & worth going to if in the area. Bought a nice yellow Figi Leather. Also stopped by the Mad reefer on the (long)way home..nice place, lots of corals. Owner(Guy) seems to be pretty cool. I also thought the prices were reasonable.

[redvipe2010]

There is another place in Orland that is nice also. Not far from Capture the Sea, It's called Chicago Aquatics. I was at both of them on Saturday.

708-403-1810
14412 John Humphrey Dr.
Orland Park

[DougSupreme]

even better is Aquatica in tinley park. 67th and oak park avenue.

[cioutlaw]

Im up there somewhat often, ill check the others out next time. Thanks

[RCMark325]

I second the vote for Aquatica. They are the nicest people I have ever dealt with and anything I have bought from there has lived happily in my tank even after the 2 hour car ride home. I live around there so if anyone wants directions let me know. They use copper in their tanks (for fish only obviously) so be careful about that.

[redvipe2010]

Wow, I didn't even know about Aquatica, I will definately check it out the next time I'm out that way. Thanks!

[redvipe2010]

I went to visit Aquatica in Tinley Park today for the first time, also my last. What I found was, several sick fish mixed in with healthy looking fish. There was a very limited selection of corals. What got my attention the most was 7 dying bulb tip anemones crammed into a tiny tank attached to the side of the tank or one piece of PVC, with two maroon clowns hosting. Some of them had short stubby tentacles with opened or puckered mouths; others were already in the melting stage. The price was $49.99. There was nothing striking about their color, and IMO the price would have been too high for a healthy one. I’ve paid $45 for a beautiful, healthy RBTA, and don’t regret it.

I asked the first salesman how long they have had them and what they were feeding them; he said they have had them a week and they were fed mysis shrimp. I said do you know that they are sick, he asked why, so I explained to him why. He also said that sometimes they will split, I said yes because they were under stress. Then he said they are really hard to keep. I said no they are not, I’ve kept several. He then stated that he knew they were sick.

Due to the fact that anemones are very dear to me, and the site of them sickened me, I thought about it for a while, and decided I would make them an offer. I figured I could save 3 to 4 out of the 7 with a lot of work, but was willing to put the effort into all of them. I have done a lot of research on them and felt confident in giving it a try. I was not shopping for anemones, and really didn’t want to buy any more.

So then I was approached by the second salesman, I asked what they would take for the anemones. He answered $49.99 each. I said I won’t pay that, and that these are dying. His reply was “yes I know.” I offered $10 each his reply to that, “I’d rather watch them die.” I asked him what they paid for each, he said $22. I said, how about $100 for all of them. He went to ask the owner that was behind the register and the owner agreed to sell two for $20 each. I said, no, I wouldn’t pay that much for them. I told the salesman, you just lost my $100, plus what you paid for them, and you will have 7 dead BTAs very soon, and he said, “I know.”

Not only was their price outrageous for a dying anemone, with the attitude “I’d rather watch them die” they don’t deserve to have livestock in there care.

Also, there was No guarantee on Livestock, no surprise there!

[wills]

Redvipe2010, you should post this in the Chicago forum, I'm sure lots of people there would like this info. I've actually heard decent things about them there.

[pewter_jean]

Isn't there someone who watchdogs these places. Last year I recall some pet store in Alton getting all sorts of trouble for having sick puppies and kittens. I know these are fish and corals, but a living creature deserve to be treated with respect especailly when they are dependant on us to care for them. I realize that sometimes shipping of these fish and coral are very stressful on them, and sometimes they have a very hard time recovering. But still they need to take the steps needed to help them through the stress. Even if it is keep them in a nice quiet tank in the back of the store for a few weeks until they are ready. Not only is it more humane for the animal, but the customer don't come in the store and see a bunch of sick and dieing fish and get turned off. I know whenever I go in a store the first thing I do is check out each and every tank. If I see several dead fish, then out the door I go. I realize that a LFS will have a dead fish from time to time do to age, stress, fighting so on, but too many is a very bad sign.

[redvipe2010]

I will be posting in the Chicago forum shortly. I would like to report them, but don't know who to report them to. Any suggestions? I have also heard good things about them, that is why I drove an hour to visit them. I left with a very sick feeling in my tummy. My husband said on the way home, "you act like these things are puppies", Well Ya!!!!!!!

[DougSupreme]

wow. I've never had an experience like that and I've been there several times. Was the first salesman a heavyset bald guy with a gravelly voice? He can get kinda pushy, but Rob (the thin guy that owns the place) is pretty straight forward

[redvipe2010]

No, it wasn't a heavyset bald guy, both were very young. The owner was behind the register assisting customers the entire time I was there, I never spoke to the owner, the salesman went to speak to him.

[hcs3]

what is the name of the store on ciecero ave about 175th street south?

[redvipe2010]

I have been unable to find one on Ciecero near 175th on the internet. I'll look some more tonight.

[FloatingFish]

I dont think they are on the web. They sell a kinds of pet supplies from horse stuff to fish stuff.

Capital Pet Supplies
17500 Cicero Avenue, Country Club Hills, IL 60478
(708) 798-4800

I never cared for Aquatica for that same reasons. And they always seem to have lots of huge fish in small tanks.