Lfs in so cal

srs business... we should keep this thread on topic... that way someone could just look for a name, or link and let them know if it is worth making the trip or not... so if you aren't going to contribute to the thread, don't even post... go try to be funny in another thread...



these are just stores that i've been too and my opinions about them...

okay... lets see...


age of aquarium in long beach is great place, awesome knowledgeable staff, tons of dry goods, huge selection in quality equipment, custom tanks, emergency 24hr service, installations, mobile service, great selection of corals and high quality fish...

reef hot spot in inglewood is another one of my favorites... they have a great selection of coral frags, some stuff is reasonably priced, some are well, priced at the going shop price... they don't have much fish, but dude... they have all kinds of frags of everything... worth checking out, but it's hidden, and they don't have a gigantor sign like normal LFS...

oc aquatic in huntington beach, has great selection of fish, and especially corals... lots of LE pieces and the staff there is willing to trade with you... great place for dry goods and equipment as well...

tongs in fountain valley... way better than the tong's in whittier... DO NOT GO TO THE TONG'S IN WHITTIER!... anyways... the tong's in fountain valley has everything... tons of frags, nice colonies, i've never got a fish from there... i've heard horror stories about buying fish from there... but you can find some good stuff in that shop...

amazing aquariums and reefs in the city of orange; AKA Ali's... great place... super clean, ali is smart, setups are clean, every tank in there is a dream tank (lol), tons of eye candy, good prices, and very rare corals/fish... check him out, he's worth the drive...

carson tropical fish in hawaiian gardens, is one of my favorite spots... great deals on corals, great prices on fish, he also has used equipment... so if you need like an emergency tank, or pump, whatever... good selection on SPS, LPS and softies... if you like a coral colony he has, he will frag it for you...

bell bird farm in bell, is the closest LFS to me.... also my favorite... incredible price on live stock... everything... from fish, birds, reptiles, coral, whatever... this guy beats anyone... everything is healthy too... but... don't go in there expecting a huge store with frag tanks and displays... he's a small shop... he only has one tank with corals... but sometimes you'll find some gems in there... like colonies of acans, aussie LPS, polyp colonies and other good stuff... he does have some SPS sometimes, but they get picked up fast...

i'll do more later, or keep it going...
 
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Fish Collection in Yorba Linda by far...best selection of corals/fish I've seen locally. Some stuff is pricey but I've gotten a lot of great deals.
 
Seaside in Huntington beach(fish supply dot com) has great sps frags! The do get ORA things in. Fish are good price. Most of the time they have alot of parts in stock.

So cal tropical fish in Fullerton. Has about any product or dry good you could want! Good frags, nice clams gets alot of ORA stuff in too.
 
Seaside in Huntington beach(fish supply dot com) has great sps frags! The do get ORA things in. Fish are good price. Most of the time they have alot of parts in stock.

I like to stop into Fishsupply/Seaside when I am in the Huntington Beach area. They have a very good selection of fish and some very nice display tanks with a good coral selection too.

As already mentioned above, Amazing Aquariums and Reefs/Ali's is a great store and Ali is very knowledgeable and is not out just to take your money. He doesn't have a ton of fish, but his coral selection is good.

I also agree that Age of Aquariums is a good place. Healthy fish and good coral selection.
 
bob's tropical fish in east los angeles; this place is old school... been around for years... the guy's name is jasen... really knows his stuff... he has some very healthy fish at great prices... he has some nice corals in the back tank... every once in a wile he gets some nice aussie pieces at a great price... he also has some nice freshwater fish... his store doubles as an anime/manga store... pretty cool stuff... BTW... park in the back either in his one parking spot, or at the church parking lot... or else you'll get towed if you park in the shopping center next door... lol...

the reef tropical fish in anaheim is a good one... they have a huge selection in corals, nothing too fancy, but some goodies mixed in here and there... never got any fish from them, so i wouldn't know... a bunch of dry goods, it's a pretty big store... they're cichlids are priced to go... srs biddness...

tong's in whittier... i can't believe i'm putting this store up here... this place is epic huge, but horribly over priced... they don't have a huge selection in corals, but do have a good selection in fish... i've gotten fish from there before, and they've done great... but there have been times where they just look sad in the tanks... the lady that used to run it was so awesome/ghetto... she was a ton of fun, but now it's the dude and you can't talk him down in price at all... i really wouldn't bother visiting, but it is one place i go when price comparing for like chemicals and dry goods... they are usually cheaper than other stores but not all the time...

tiki's tropical fishin bellflower is another one i go to sometimes... sometimes, you'll find a nice fish... their corals aren't that good... before they have been pretty cheap on tanks and setups... but that was a wile back... i haven't priced them out in a wile... they have a great selection in freshwater... big time... their reptiles are okay sometimes too... they look healthy... feeder fish and feeder crickets are cheap... if you need crickets hit them up 20 for a buck...! lol...

pet town in downey; is the closest LFS to my pad... it's pretty good... they have great prices on some healthy fish... but don't have a laRge variety... but it's still a good one to hit up... they can get any fish you want if you ask them too... their reptiles are pretty good too... they also sell birds, bunnies, hamsters, dogs and cats... so they carry high end dog food and good pet supplies...

i can't think of anymore right now... i'll post more later...
 
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Exotic Fish And Corals (formerly Jeff's Exotic Fish) in Orange has a nice selection of corals and occasionally has buy 2 get 1 free deals on fish and corals.
 
Strictly fish is a minute away from me. I always get my ro/di from them. They have a nice 300g display tank with lots of nice corals. Every Wednesday 25%off all livestock. Nice selection usually the same things with a few different expensive fish. They had two really nice health sohal tanga last week when I went. But I have never bought a fish from them yet. They just don't look healthy most of the time.
 
might as well put some that aren't that A.W.S.O.M.E. amirite...? so i'm throwing in everyone's two favorite stores, atafish and strictly fish... lol...



atlantic tropical aquarium aka: atafish in artesia... this place has a pretty bad reputation... the're the one's that spam up craigslist with their mega-ultima-firesales... the only thing i can say about them is that if you go when the owner isn't there, you could get some allright fish for a great price... their coral selection isn't worth the drive... but if you're like, looking for hardy fish i would check them out... i've gotten several fish from them including yellow tangs, blue tangs, clowns, flame hawkfish, firefish, arabian dotty backs and some shrimps and stuff... i think more... but i can't remember right now... don't go expecting some amazing store... the fat dude with the shorts is cool... he's the one with the good prices... not the asian guy... very shady dude...

strictly fish in lakewood... um... lol... they aren't a fish store that's moving with the times... they have a nice selection on fish, but are priced very high... the only time to go is on i think wednesdays when they have sales on all their fish... i think 20%, but not very sure right now... their freshwater is great... they have some nice cichlids and nice plants... corals aren't all that, but sometimes they will have a gem or two... but it's also not worth going expecting some awesome acan or something...

hong kong tropical fish in artesia... this lady has no customer service at all... lol... she's rude and well... i dunno... but the dude is pretty cool, and will give you great prices on some very healthy fish... their corals aren't that special... their freshwater selection is pretty good... and they have some nice koi fish too...

red sea fish and reptiles in whittier... this place used to be amazing... but it was sold twice and well... their saltwater is very horrible... they're trying, but they just don't have the knowledge or experience to handle it... their freshwater selection is great though... also the reptile selection is okay... this place also sells crickets 20 for a buck... these are nice guys... but i think it's too much for them to handle...

neptune's reef in torrance... i've only gone here a couple of times... from what i remember, they had an aight selection on SW fish... prices aren't great, and only have one tank for corals... um... i didn't get to look at anything else at that tank, but i'm never going back to that place... YMMV...

new age aquatics in orange... this is a fairly new place... the guy chad is super cool... they have a good selection on coral and some good saltwater fish... this place is HUGE, but right now he's moving stuff around and cleaning up after someone's mess... he also modifies tanks... like custom sumps, buffs out acrylic, stuff like that...

pacific reef in fountain valley... i've only gone in this store a couple of times... they have a huge variety of corals... the guys that work there are enthusiast, so they know their stuff... they have some nice fish, although i didn't price out the fish... they were decent in coral prices... they have a lot of dry goods too... and it's around the corner from prehistoric pets... that's a win... everyone should walk around in prehistoric pets... LOL...

pasadena tropical fish in... duh... pasadena... this place has some nice chalice and LPS colonies... although, his prices always vary, i guess based on his mood or whatever... his dry goods are way over priced... like bulbs and stuff... wow... has a good selection on fish, and they look healthy... his prices are up there with other shops... i hear he also has this mystery grab bag specials when he gets new corals... i guess he just sells you a colony of SPS without looking at it or you looking at it... then go home and get either a good surprise, or a gorgonian... LOL... hahahaksdjf;klajsdflkajfl... sorry... that was hilarious...

ugh... i know there's more i've been too, but i can't find them on the map stuff... so i'll do them later...
 
Nope...I never noticed that they didn't carry SPS until now that you mention it lol... Amazing Aquariums and Reefs is a good store and they carry all sorts of corals and its really close to Exotic Fish and Coral
 
Ok this isn't a LFS BUT it's awesome!!

Garretts acropolis steve garretts OUTDOOR coral farm will blow you away! So many great SPS frags and mini colonies. If you visiting so cal this is a must see he is in costa Mesa. Great prices and insane set up! Check his site garretts-acropolis dot com. You won't believe how awesome his coral farm is till you see it!!!
 
Good addition. I have been to Garretts Acropolis twice now. It is definitely worth checking out. He is by appointment only, typically Sunday.
 
I'll name the few that I frequent... we need to consolidate the list...

ORANGE STORES

Amazing Aquariums & Reefs (Ali's)- Tustin & Meats/Taft

New Wave Tropical Fish- Tustin & Meats/Taft

Pacific Reef- Tustin & Meats

Exotic Fish & Corals (formerly Jeff's Exotic)- Tustin & Collins

Ocean Blue- Katella Ave. near Glassell

TUSTIN STORES

Puppies & Guppies (Fish 2000) - Newport & Irvine

New Age Aquatics - Redhill & Edinger
 
I'll first list the stores I frequent:

> Ali's Amazing Aquariums and Reefs- great store, even better guy to deal with. Love the Acan and other LPS collection. He just reorganized his store (I think so he can fit even more livestock) and is currently setting up a "Clam-Only" tank and dedicating another tank to SPS (also in the process of being set up). Can't wait to see how it all turns out since I couldn't imagine it being better before the reorganization. Plus, I think he has one of the few stores that has viewing couches!!! :)

> Tong's (in Fullerton): same as above... good frag tanks, will frag colonies upon request (sometimes), decent prices, and good stock of equipment and plumbing parts. Everyone there is nice, but only a few have a pretty good knowledge of SPS/clams and other corals. I've bought fish from there, and I've had good luck... but I think that's more because I know what to and what not to buy when looking for a healthy fish. Good selection of fish though... that's my first stop when I'm looking for a not-so-common fish for a decent price. All around good store in my experience.

> Coral Oasis (in Costa Mesa): I typically only stop by because it is on my way from and to Tong's... I don't typically get livestock here, but, they do have a good collection of zoas and other assorted corals (except SPS, not many to speak of). They do have good prices though, so if you need any supplements, food, or want to browse, it's a good store to at least take a look at.

Now for a store that I've never been to, but am surprised that nobody has mentioned yet...

> Vivid Aquariums: this one is a long drive for me, so I haven't made it yet, but have heard almost mythical sounding stories about how awesome this store is... great selection of corals/clams/fish, huge display tank, etc. So if anyone has been to Vivid, post and share your experience!
 
> Vivid Aquariums: this one is a long drive for me, ... great selection of corals/clams/fish, huge display tank, etc. So if anyone has been to Vivid, post and share your experience!
I'm usually in LA 4-5 times a years, for a week...EVERYTIME I'm there, I stop by Vivid and Reef Hot Spot. You can go to Vivid's website to check out video of their 14' reef tank. They are real nice guys, easy to deal with, and the frag tanks are unbelievable.
BTW, thanks, everyone, for this list....I'm putting addresses into my GPS now!
 
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