My trip to the mad reefer

hey nathan do you know who the fkdenton is
as for the store in vandalia it's ok worth a trip since it's close to you he's more in to corals than fish but he can get about anything if you want to go to a big store I would go to St. Louis I know it's a drive and the traffic sucks but there are 3 to 4 good stores that mostly just carry saltwater stuff
 
I give Sam most of my business, been going there since he was on Kingsley Dr. Sometimes his stuff doesn't look good, but you get that everywhere from time to time. He has very good prices, he is the only one I buy freshwater from.
 
I have bought most of my stuff from Sam. All but 2 fish in my system came from him. I have also got a couple fairly nice corals from him as well.
 
I'll never buy another fish from Sam %60-%70 of the fish I bought from him died.

I've had much better luck with TMR fish so far, although I lost one of my big Anthias last night.
 
for the record, the idea that their fish are dieing because of top-off issues is complete BS. it is very well documented that marine fish can handle a drop in salinity from 1.025 to 1.010 in a matter of minutes with zero ill effects. a quick read on osmoregulation will arm you to call their bluff the next time they offer that as rationale for fish mortality.
 
I am also considering going to sailfins in champain. Anyone with any experiance or opinions on them. Basicly I am looking for a place within 3 hours of home that has a great selection good service and everything is healthy. I would also like someplace that has some tank raised fish. That is one thing I didnt like about tmr or fishin times, neither place had any.
 
sailfin runs a strict schedule of chemicals through their tanks (copper, formulin, etc). i don't like this and thus do not buy fish from them if i can avoid it, but i know some hobbyists prefer this so it just depends on what you like. fish there are no better or worse than the majority of LFS. selection can be good if you arrive on delivery day or within a day or two after. otherwise it is damselfish and yellow tangs everywhere. rarely captive raised fish, but occasionally it happens. staff is no more knowledgable than the below-average hobbyist minus the owner john, who is very knowledgable but self-admitted 10 years behind the times plus a saleman with an keen interest in your $.
 
St. louis has a few stores within 45 minutes of each other. That might be your best bet. The problem that I have seen is that if you want something you need to buy it when it arrives or someone else will. This does not give you much time to see if the fish is healthy. I guess that is part of the hobby (luck) you can reduce this requesting to see if the fish will eat at the store. Very rarely will a fish that just arrived eat out of the bag. I have never bought anything from Sailfin because their prices seem high. I guess if I am buying out of the bag then I want the lowest price. Otherwise I want to see them eat and they need to look really good.
 
I dont know if you all grew up in Bloomington, but, TMR is by far the best store for fish and corals I have ever been in. The selection in town and all around has been sad to say the least. Unless you are color blind or just like brown. TMR to me is a blessing. I have bought about 15 peices(fish and corals) and have had not one problem yet. so for me I recomend TMR to anyone that wants good selection and healthy fish/corals. Not to mention the color I now have it just is hipnotic. Anyway, what I have read so far on your sight(some) sounds like you have people that are more into smashing others than just enjoying a new people in the hobby and not to mention a great store for all of us to take advantage of. I know i would make tmr my first and only stop. As far aas staff goes, Guy has a little gut but other wise i find him informational, now on to RAY, loves to talk which is great for information, but he is gay!!
 
As for fish, I may someday buy something from him. But corals I doubt I would buy from tmr again. Last few times I went in with money burning a hole in my pocket and left with nothing. I was looking for sps. They had a few acropora, one was supposedly purple-looked brown to me, the other was a lightr blue-not too bad looking...both about 2". When I asked Guy the price because they weren't labeled he said he didn't know and asked Ray, $125!!! I could get beautiful colonies 3+ inches for half that anywhere. Everytime I have asked to price match something I am told that they are already matched, even though saltwaterfish.com and liveaquaria are half as much for the same thing. I have had it with them, I am sticking with Sam locally and making the 2 hour drive to Chicago if I want something. I suppose if you want mushrooms, cany cane, colts, and drab looking brains and don't mind spending the extra money for convenience, then TMR might not be bad...but not for me.
 
whoa... i asked ray about those same acros and he told me $75.

they've price matched online sites on all the fish i've bought from them, too.

wierd.
 
Smorrow print out something and take it in, they should price match it.

I got the best looking green brain I've ever seen from there for $22 price matched.

My only problem with them here of late is poor customer service, they never return any emails I send them asking about prices or LS they can get in.

I'll go to Sam if I want some fish that will be dead in a week and look like crap.
 
For the record, Sam is finished guys......He got his last shipment of livestock almost 2 weeks ago and wont be getting any more. His lease doesnt run out until june or july but he said hes taking a vacation. The only thing we can look forward to from Sam is a good going out of business sale now :(.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7108340#post7108340 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tommy2tone69
Brad
Click to expand...

Is this Tom that works at TMR?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Another Reefer back from a 13 year Hiatus
Replies
5
Views
116
mike1962
M
mixedreeflife
Reefer 250 GEN1 leak proofing...
Replies
3
Views
120
griss
griss
Old Newbie
Any reefers in New Zealand?
Replies
1
Views
66
griss
griss
Carl_Lafon
Hello, everyone.
Replies
2
Views
208
Reefing102
Reefing102
T
Returning to the hobby
Replies
13
Views
324
griss
griss
Back
Top