I noticed in some past threads that there was some disagreement on people's reviews of LFSs that they posted here. I don't want to start a fight among the DRC, but I am seeking these types of opinions and personal experiences. I still purchase the majority of my animals and live rock in person and I am always looking for new places in which to do this shopping.
I have done some searching for regional stores and for reviews, but a lot of what I have found consists of either just phone book type entries or reviews that may be several years old. As was just hammered home to me after a trip to MD this week, fish stores can change rapidly in their quality in a relatively small span of time. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate any comments from people who have recently shopped at the particular LFS that they are commenting on.
In general, I am interested more in the breath of livestock in a store than its dry goods scope. That Fish Place is only a 40 minute trip for me, and they cover a lot of my dry good needs, although they lack in some areas such as skimmers. Of course, I like to see that the livestock itself is healthy and being attended to properly. In addition, I appreciate livestock that is labeled both in name and in price. My final main concern is that the store does not stock those animals that are considered to be near impossible to keep alive in the confines of an aquarium -- I don't have a problem w/ special orders for particular customers, but seeing multiple ribbon eels in a tank sort of takes the fun out of shopping for me.
As for prices, they don't have to be rock bottom. I understand that places have to make money to stay in business. And it does me no good if you are basing your opinions on whether or not you personally get a discount -- I don't have a relationship w/ these stores and will not get any sort of discount. Fair pricing would be great.
Is anyone willing to give this a go and speak out on some LFS that they either love or wouldn't spend their time on? I would find it most helpful. Thanks a lot.
I have done some searching for regional stores and for reviews, but a lot of what I have found consists of either just phone book type entries or reviews that may be several years old. As was just hammered home to me after a trip to MD this week, fish stores can change rapidly in their quality in a relatively small span of time. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate any comments from people who have recently shopped at the particular LFS that they are commenting on.
In general, I am interested more in the breath of livestock in a store than its dry goods scope. That Fish Place is only a 40 minute trip for me, and they cover a lot of my dry good needs, although they lack in some areas such as skimmers. Of course, I like to see that the livestock itself is healthy and being attended to properly. In addition, I appreciate livestock that is labeled both in name and in price. My final main concern is that the store does not stock those animals that are considered to be near impossible to keep alive in the confines of an aquarium -- I don't have a problem w/ special orders for particular customers, but seeing multiple ribbon eels in a tank sort of takes the fun out of shopping for me.
As for prices, they don't have to be rock bottom. I understand that places have to make money to stay in business. And it does me no good if you are basing your opinions on whether or not you personally get a discount -- I don't have a relationship w/ these stores and will not get any sort of discount. Fair pricing would be great.
Is anyone willing to give this a go and speak out on some LFS that they either love or wouldn't spend their time on? I would find it most helpful. Thanks a lot.
