Was wondering if someone could suggest the best local fish stores in the Delaware area. Would like name of store, address, website if available, phone # and owner name (if possible). Will be traveling down to visit some colleges with my daughter and thought I might check out some good stores. Thanks in advance.
Best Local Fish Stores in your area
- Thread starter Editour2
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johnsross3
New member
As a Delawarean, here's my favorites and my perspective on each (in brackets). These are all in New Castle County, which is Delaware's norternmost county. None of these have "feature tanks", they're all your typical livestock setups:
Delaware's Premium Aquatics (not far from University of Delaware)
http://www.premiumaquaticsde.com/
5 Chestnut Hill Plaza
Newark, DE 19713 (302) 224-3474
(Clean store & tanks, decent prices, knowledgeable staff, healthy livestock which can run a bit thin in quantity at times, but they don't have a lot of equipment or supplies beyond the basic reef stuff)
Williams Greenbank Aquarium (no web site)
107 Greenbank Road
Wilmington, DE 19808 (302) 994-1707
(Small but very busy store, the owner (Bill) is very entertaining (if you don't mind salty language) and knowledgeable. His tanks are clean and livestock (fish and corals) is healthy. Selection is generally wider than what's at Delaware's Premium Aquatics but prices on livestock are usually not marked and I often wonder how the owner can have all those prices in his head.
And lastly,
Just Fish
52 Fox Run Shopping Center
Bear, DE (302) 836-8250
(is worth a visit if you're just looking, but I think their tanks are not as well cared for and I think they're expensive, comparatively speaking. The reason they're worth visiting is they probably have the largest selection of livestock among the other two and they often have fish I've not seen elsewhere locally.)
Although not in Delaware, my favorite spot is:
That Pet Place
http://www.thatpetplace.com/
237 Centerville Road
Lancaster, PA 17603 (888) 842-8738
(Awesome Walmart sized store for all kinds of pet needs, they have the largest selection of fish, inverts, corals, and equipment). They also have the best prices around and they do mail order.
Delaware's Premium Aquatics (not far from University of Delaware)
http://www.premiumaquaticsde.com/
5 Chestnut Hill Plaza
Newark, DE 19713 (302) 224-3474
(Clean store & tanks, decent prices, knowledgeable staff, healthy livestock which can run a bit thin in quantity at times, but they don't have a lot of equipment or supplies beyond the basic reef stuff)
Williams Greenbank Aquarium (no web site)
107 Greenbank Road
Wilmington, DE 19808 (302) 994-1707
(Small but very busy store, the owner (Bill) is very entertaining (if you don't mind salty language) and knowledgeable. His tanks are clean and livestock (fish and corals) is healthy. Selection is generally wider than what's at Delaware's Premium Aquatics but prices on livestock are usually not marked and I often wonder how the owner can have all those prices in his head.
And lastly,
Just Fish
52 Fox Run Shopping Center
Bear, DE (302) 836-8250
(is worth a visit if you're just looking, but I think their tanks are not as well cared for and I think they're expensive, comparatively speaking. The reason they're worth visiting is they probably have the largest selection of livestock among the other two and they often have fish I've not seen elsewhere locally.)
Although not in Delaware, my favorite spot is:
That Pet Place
http://www.thatpetplace.com/
237 Centerville Road
Lancaster, PA 17603 (888) 842-8738
(Awesome Walmart sized store for all kinds of pet needs, they have the largest selection of fish, inverts, corals, and equipment). They also have the best prices around and they do mail order.
logans_daddy
New member
wow. not a bad summary at all. pretty fair and accurate descriptions. i would just add a couple of things.
Delaware Premium Aquatics - By far the best LFS all around. There isnt much in the way of bells and whistles, but the prices and customer service are the best around. While the selection has been sparse at tmes, things are changing. The get regularly ORA orders now and it seems like everytime i go in there is always one or two little gems. Just this week i picked up a group of 6 threadfin cardinals for $7.50 each, a fish that typically sells for $20 and up each at online retailers.
Greenbanks - pretty dead on description. not much in the way of corals and pretty pricey overall but the fish selection is consistently amazing. ive only been in a couple of times, but everytime the tanks have been overflowing with healthy fish. there always seems to be an abundant of unusual and showsize fish. if is wasnt for my loyalty to DPA, i would probably be a greenbanks customer considering both stores are about 5 miles from my house.
Just Fish - probably where i disagree the most. just fish was the LFS i frequented when i was new to the hobby. as my knowledge grew, so did my dislike for this store. to be fair, i havent been to just fish for at least a couple of years, but according to several local reefers things havent changed much.
That Pet Place - Ehhh, hit or miss. Defintiely a landmark and a store worth visting but probably not worth it when the novelty wears off. Awesome drygoods selectection and pricing but the livestock is very inconsistent.
What i would suggest is take a look at delreefclub.org and browse the local stores link. you will find all of the information that you need and then some. IMO, you would be much better off spending your time visiting exotic aquatics, the hidden reef, east coast aquatics or captain nemos. nemos 5000 gallon black tip reef shark display is worth the trip in and of itself.
Delaware Premium Aquatics - By far the best LFS all around. There isnt much in the way of bells and whistles, but the prices and customer service are the best around. While the selection has been sparse at tmes, things are changing. The get regularly ORA orders now and it seems like everytime i go in there is always one or two little gems. Just this week i picked up a group of 6 threadfin cardinals for $7.50 each, a fish that typically sells for $20 and up each at online retailers.
Greenbanks - pretty dead on description. not much in the way of corals and pretty pricey overall but the fish selection is consistently amazing. ive only been in a couple of times, but everytime the tanks have been overflowing with healthy fish. there always seems to be an abundant of unusual and showsize fish. if is wasnt for my loyalty to DPA, i would probably be a greenbanks customer considering both stores are about 5 miles from my house.
Just Fish - probably where i disagree the most. just fish was the LFS i frequented when i was new to the hobby. as my knowledge grew, so did my dislike for this store. to be fair, i havent been to just fish for at least a couple of years, but according to several local reefers things havent changed much.
That Pet Place - Ehhh, hit or miss. Defintiely a landmark and a store worth visting but probably not worth it when the novelty wears off. Awesome drygoods selectection and pricing but the livestock is very inconsistent.
What i would suggest is take a look at delreefclub.org and browse the local stores link. you will find all of the information that you need and then some. IMO, you would be much better off spending your time visiting exotic aquatics, the hidden reef, east coast aquatics or captain nemos. nemos 5000 gallon black tip reef shark display is worth the trip in and of itself.
i would say dpa is the best for now followed closly by greenbanks
greenbanks is upgrading there lights and have finally put in the wall tanks that have been sitting dry forever. it should be a nice place after that.
dpa beats greenbanks on price all day. i do belive greenbanks has a better quality but its hard to compare these two.
green banks owner's name: billy
premium aquatics owners name: charlie
i would never buy anything from just fish. it smell, there prices are 3x the regular amount, and they have bad quality.
you should stop by frazer zoo in Frazer,PA
not your ordinary stuff.
purple deaths, nuke green, AOG's, tubs blues all for a very reasonable price too.
greenbanks is upgrading there lights and have finally put in the wall tanks that have been sitting dry forever. it should be a nice place after that.
dpa beats greenbanks on price all day. i do belive greenbanks has a better quality but its hard to compare these two.
green banks owner's name: billy
premium aquatics owners name: charlie
i would never buy anything from just fish. it smell, there prices are 3x the regular amount, and they have bad quality.
you should stop by frazer zoo in Frazer,PA
not your ordinary stuff.
purple deaths, nuke green, AOG's, tubs blues all for a very reasonable price too.
portjeffski
New member
Hey Editour2,
Just wanted to say hello, I recently moved from Suffolk county( Port Jeff Station) down to Maryland and even though I can't comment on the stores in Del. if you check out any colleges in MD. especially in Salisbury, check out Dr. Mac's. Pacific east aquaculture. You will not be disappointed at all.
Good luck
Just wanted to say hello, I recently moved from Suffolk county( Port Jeff Station) down to Maryland and even though I can't comment on the stores in Del. if you check out any colleges in MD. especially in Salisbury, check out Dr. Mac's. Pacific east aquaculture. You will not be disappointed at all.
Good luck
