Petmart question... does the store suck?

I live up in Land o Lakes...I stopped into Pet City next to Publix on Collier. Coral looked unhealthy and fish did too. They did have a cool lookin green moray Eel though. They are more of a PET store not a fish store though.
 
I forgot about Pet City I some time stop in when I hit up Moe's. They are ok but selection is extremly limitted. I usually make the drive to Marine Warehouse. If that store opens on Livingston it would be awesome. I do not think it was a Pet Mart. I remember a couple of years ago there were so many stores around. There used to be a store on Dale Mabry near Waters, also one on Bearss West of 275, and briefly one on the corner of Fletcher and Dale Mabry there was also one at Veterans and Waters. I imagine it is a real tough business probably not something you get into if you plan on making a lot or any money, it would be more of a passion thing. I wish it was more proffitable for those guys so there would be more stores around.

I did not make it to Pet Mart last night forgot about MNF maybe this weekend.
 
Hello everyone - I just got back from the PetMart that is located on BayPines. The sale sign doesn't say anything about excluding fish or anything, so I would talk to the people at the Tampa store (If it were me). I have not been in a store that has lots of corals, anemones etc so at first I was very impressed. After looking around a bit I went over to the fish and yes dead fish in the tanks and lots mislabeled. Doesn't it seem dark in the store or is it just me? I really felt sorry for the one guy that seemed to be doing all the work and the only one that had any knowledge. As you said mrniceguy - I don't think they make much of a profit. But it doesn't take to much knowledge to remove dead fish from tanks - IMO.
 
mrniceguy, they are trying to get more but it seems mostly it's fish rather than corals and inverts. mike who works in the fish section said he was trying to vary the stock quite a bit so it isn't always the same thing but, there's limited space and they were having some trouble getting the system stable in the beginning. I haven't been in there in a while so I'm not sure how stuff looks now and they do carry all kinds of other pet junk. I do hope that one on Livingston opens up and it's a good one. I like Marine Warehouse and FAOIS alot but, that is so far from here I'm afraid the livestock might get stressed out. I also hate driving in Tampa traffic. I remember the one that was on Waters near Manhattan Ave. , that was a really cool place - they had a pretty large selection from what I recall.
 
I live in Largo and not heard of that LFS, but I am new to Reefs. I must say I'm every excited about getting my tank started - still waiting for it to cycle. The ammonia went up just a little and then the next day it disappeared. I have live rocks (75 lbs) and live sand about 100lbs this is for a 75g tank. It should start showing something before long I would think. The live rocks are keeping me busy - even if I do have to use a magnifier. Any names of LFS that I catch I check out - keeping for the future.
 
I remember the one that was on Waters near Manhattan Ave. , that was a really cool place - they had a pretty large selection from what I recall.
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If you're talking about Coral Reef it's still there. It's just moved further down the strip mall.
 
The Pet Mart 40% off thing is just with fish. They don't have any percent off things with dry goods... although that would be kinda cool if they did do a 40% off deal on dry goods. I doubt they would make any profit. Where would they put a new store on Bearss and Livingston? The Gas Station corner or in the Winn Dixie shopping center? Is there enough room for a store in that area?
 
wow, filtering out some of the generalizations and employee reviews has shed a little light for this noob. I set my tank up about a month ago and have been looking for stores in the st. pete area. Sadly (it would seem from this thread) one of the better kept stores in my non-existant expierence has been the bay pines PetMart.

Bought some lively live rock and he put it in a plastic bag, no water, no wet-wrap, no tie.... nothing..... lucky it was 5 mintues from my house.... should have guessed it was not great when i saw an algae green deep six hydrometer on top of a tank :)

the second store i visited was a ghost town and the halides looked like fluouro's they were so old. detritus was about the only thing moving in the cubes...

I bought my lights at the third, small display of corals but healthy, the owner i assumed was very friendly. Said the low stock was because of Ernesto. Either way the SW area was pretty small. This one was on Ulmerton and is as far north as i have been.

Obviously from this thread if you want a good LFS go north :) I plan on making a road trip to FAOIS very soon, it is close to the ice rink correct? Too many of you reefers keep chatting it up to not take a peek.

One other question, any good references for some lower life to seed the tank with, some grunge or well seeded live rock? petmart's latest live rock looks more like base rock and most of the "FL" live rock i have seen is a bit boulderish.

Thanks for all the comments, makes my head swim trying to remember half this stuff, let alone proper scientific names...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8130817#post8130817 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sailor_jon
Has anyone been to Rockin Reef in Largo recently - is it still there?
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yep still there and doing better all the time. IMO the prices cant be beat. its not your typical fish store but it sure is fun to visit. they carry ora frags now and the acro selection is getting bigger all the time. worth a trip.
 
looking for stores

looking for stores

I am looking for stores around the largo, saint peterburg area.
I read about rockin reef and coral reef ... if anyone can give the address for this stores I will apreciate it.

Thanks,:)
 
Nice to see Rockin Reef has a web page...I did admire his DIY smarts on his water system and his flucuating tide flows thru his tanks, if anyone goes, be sure to ask him about it its way cool. And check out his DIY skimmer system.
 
I have seen some very nice corals there but i am always too late. Everytme i try to make it early on a day they go and get more coral someone buys all the nice new stuff before i get there and have it sitting to the side for them to pick up later. They had a really awsomely colored clam that i just missed out on like 2 weeks ago and i havent seen any with the colors it had. They usually try to go on mondays to stock up.
 
I've seen stuff come in on Wednesdays and Fridays also, the only way to know for sure is to ask every week. The selection and quality are definately getting better.
 
Rockin Reef

Rockin Reef

Rockin Reef - nice place the owner is very friendly. I went today there and he has a small selection of fish, but he has wonderful corals and sponges. The place is very interesting the water is so clear .. very nice place.

I will go back definitively.
 
I believe he uses natural sea water in the tanks. Not for sure but he asked what kind of water i used when i filled my tank and he said that i could have gotten nsw from him.
 
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