Lfs in so cal

By far the best for me was
Aquatic Fantasy, 531 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach
For both corals and fish. Was there back in March, was then remodeled or something so it looked brand new. Clean tanks, excellent stock.
 
A quick update on my findings... thanks to my son's soccer schedule I do travel to weird areas in So. Cal...

Age of Aquariums in the Long Beach(ish) area - solid store with good stock. Employees were very helpful.

Jim's Exotic Fish in El Segundo - another solid store that had good stock. Not as much as Age of Aquariums though (lots of Freshwater).

Global Aquatics and Pet Supplies in Ontario - wow, what an interesting store. They have a huge warehouse with lots of 'interesting' fish. Big fish, tiny fish, an open filtering system I've never seen before and even some tropical fish swimming around at foot level. Really odd setup.

They have a very small coral section though.
 
How about LA Aquarium on Pico in West LA, or 'tis tropical fish in Fountain Valley or Aquarium Center in Sherman Oaks??? Ooops!!!
 
LA Aquarium closed down, right?

I finally went to Vivid Aquariums yesterday (Canoga Park). What an amazing store and experience. Their fish selection was above average (lots of nice clowns). But their corals / inverts were awesome.

I could only spend about 45 minutes in there because I had to pick up my kids from school. Could easily have spent two hours there. It's worth the drive.
 
^^^Like Rosso's in South Coast, Tis in Fountain Valley and Pet Town in Mission Viego o yeah San Bar in Costa Mesa is still plugging along.
 
Stopped by Aquarium City last weekend while I was in town. It's very close to Vivid so I'd definitely hit up both shops if you are in the area.

Aquarium City has an amazing selection of livestock. Probably best in LA that I've seen (even better than Age of Aquariums). Their staff was friendly and I could even hear them waving people off from a fish that wasn't eating or not behaving properly. They don't have a guarantee but I do appreciate that they weren't just trying to make a buck.

Their Coral selection is OK but I'd probably head over to Vivid for the Corals... But if you're looking for fish, definitely check them out.
 
New to the hobby found these three LFS very helpful:

Marks tropical fish
12063 Ventura Pl, Studio City, CA 91604

Vivid aquariums
21126 Vanowen St, Canoga Park, CA 91303

Rainbow aquarium
9066 Woodman Ave, Arleta, CA 91331
 
Making our annual trip to Southern California. Are there any places worth visiting in the Carlsbad or San Diego area? I know of AquaSD and have stopped by before. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
Making our annual trip to Southern California. Are there any places worth visiting in the Carlsbad or San Diego area? I know of AquaSD and have stopped by before. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Check out Aquatica in San Marcos. I stopped by there a couple years ago and thought it was a pretty cool shop.
 
Just thought I would add that Garvey Fish and Pets is under new management, and they brought back their salt water section. It isn't quite finished, but they do have a lot of corals and fish in stock. This place definitely has a lot of potential.

Garvey Fish and Pet
8062 Garvey Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770
 
Anyone know of a good saltwater fish store near San Clemente? My nephew is going to be starting his first fish tank (9 years old) and I want to point him to a solid store he can trust (healthy fish). It's just going to be FOWLR, so it doesn't need to necessarily be a coral store. Thanks!
 
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