Fish Stores in Your area

S

Slick Fork

AC Members
Dec 27, 2005
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Wild Rose Country
Hi there,

I was down in Calgary today at some of my favourite Fish Shops, as I was cruising around I got to thinking about when I had just received my tank at Christmas and was running around trying to find something that came across as a reputable establishment. The yellow pages were a start, but couldn't tell me anything about the quality of the store or their relative prices. I've also noticed that about once a week there is a post somewhere about "what's a good fish store in my area"

So I thought why not start a post about your favourite stores in your area! (if it takes off maybe we can get it stickied) As a resource for newcomers this would be great. If I had been able to find anything like this it might've saved me a couple of days of running around checking prices etc.

Lets try to keep the negative stuff out of the posts as the site owner can be held accountable for what is said here so we'll try to keep to the "if you don't have anything nice to say....." Remember this is for RECOMMENDED stores only! So if you only want to recommend a store's plant selection then do so and just don't mention the outrageous prices for general supplies!!

So to start us off and give a bit of an example here are my favourites so far

Region: Southern Alberta
For Fish:
Franco's Aquarium: 32 ave NE, Calgary.. Friendly service, very clean healthy tanks and great prices!
Riverfront Aquarium: Riverfront Dr. Calgary... Tons of neat fish (reptiles too which my niece loves) no dead fish in the tanks and they all look relatively happy

For Plants:
Pisces Pet Emporium: McKnight trail, Calgary.... Huge plant section
Big Al's: Heritage and McLeod, Calgary... not bad selection and helpful staff

For Supplies:
Big Al's: Heritage and McLeod, Calgary.... Good prices, free shipping and helpful staff

Hopefully this will help some people starting out or just give you an excuse to check out a new spot!

Cheers
 
Sacramento, Ca

Best selection overall best quality fish

CAPITOL AQUARIUM

yep the fish may cost a buck more but there wort it!
 
Sure, sounds like a good idea.

Here in the Chattanooga, TN Area:

PetSmart on Gunbarrell Road - seriously, the dept. manager really cares. Very clean and well cared for tanks. Just dont expect the kids who work in the evening to know all that much. Freshwater only, decent plant selection.

Nashville Area: The Aquatic Critter: very large store devoted to fish and reptiles. They also have caimans on display in the store! (not for sale). Marine and Freshwater fish, equipment, plants and corals. Knowlegeable staff, though sometimes they are pulled in 20 dif. directions at once and may not have time to babysit a customer. (for those that expect that)

I wouldnt reccomend anywhere else in this area at all. Hope this helps someone.
 
Philadelphia, PA

Monster Pets
Good selection of healthy fish at reasonable prices. Great selection of equipment, though the prices are a bit high.

Worldwide Aquariums and Pets
Best prices on All-Glass tanks. Fish tanks are a bit yucky looking and have some ich. Staff is friendly and knowledgeble. Only place around that actually has driftwood. High prices on a medium selection of stuff.

The Hidden Reef
Caters to the more serious aquarist. Especially excellent for marine/reef stuff, and for parts/customizing. Best selection of marine fish and inverts. Very nice selection of freshwater fish, though sometimes there is a bit of ich. Decent plant selection. Very good prices on a large selection of chems and dry goods. Currently closed due to a fire.

Petsmart
This really depends on the location. We go to one on the Boulevard in the Target Center. (Near Red Lion Rd.) That location has immaculate tanks where I have never seen any ich. Their plants are usually pretty good, too. Same Petsmart prices as probably anywhere else, although I always utilize the price match guarantee and make them sell me everything at Big Al's rates. (Most of my plants and many of my fish have come from here, and have been consistently high quality.)

Petco
I'm consistently disappointed in this place. Poor selection of stuff, lame prices, and even worse conditions for the fish. One location near us has the worst plant tank you could ever imagine. The newest one off of Grant Ave seems to have decent fishtanks, but I haven't bought any fish from them yet even though I'm considering it.
 
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Connecticut:

www.noreastwetpets.com

Located in Vernon, real nice place. Ton of tanks, and this place is like African Cichlidland. Very knowledgeable staff.

Another place in Manchester, www.aquaticwildlifecompany.com, I haven't been to yet, but hopefully this weekend. There website has been under construction for a while but I'll check it out and report back.

Fin & Feather, in Groton. Very big store, lots of stock. Pretty wide selection as well.
 
Kalamazoo/Portage Michigan

MVPets-Portage
strip mall on the corner of Shaver Rd and Centre Ave
probably my #1

Deep Sea Aquarium/Discount Pet Supply-Kalamazoo
Kmart strip mall on Stadium Drive near Drake Rd and US-131
used to be #1 but their best fish guy let to start MVPets ;) Now they have a pretty good selection of fish and supplies.
 
Locally we have Petsmarts
PetCo
the Wild Side ( one of my favorites..they try and stock live fish foods Brine shrimp and tubiflex)
Aquarium Paradise
recently I have been getting my supplies from The Wild Side..these folks are almost constantly working on their tanks.
I was surprised by what I found in Aquarium Paradise recently.
these folks use to maintain a higher quality..but last weekend I found several tanks with Ich and other fin issues...and these tanks were not Quarantined..I was shocked. :eek:
 
In Toledo/Northwest Ohio :

Trilby Tropicals Monroe Street near Westfield Shoppingtown.

Many varieties of fresh and saltwater fish and invertibrates. Full line of premium food (Frozen and dry). Friendly and knowledgeable.
 
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