Twin cities

[andrew.gimlin]

I know this should probably go in the regional forum but for Minnesota it is dead. So my question is does anybody live in the Twin city's or in the area that can direct me toward the best reef store. I have read a few reviews about a word of fish and aqualand but are all outdated from 2013. I am fairly new to the area so I am unsure on where to go and have to make a two hour drive to get there

 

[gone fishin]

I don't know about the twin cities but I believe your about 4 hours from Rhinelander WI. I believe Divers Den is having an open house in August.

 

[andrew.gimlin]

That may be a good idea, I am just having a hard time justifying paying for shipping from some online retailers and would rather hand select my coral. I moved from St Louis and we had gateway aquatics which also runs zomania.com and have good quality, selection, and price.

 

[gone fishin]

The retail shop is nothing special but I have been to a couple open houses. If I remember correctly there is also a 10% discount as well. Plus it is a pretty impressive facility.

 

[thienlong88]

Check out Saltwater Empire in Bloomington. They have a really nice collection of corals and fish. This is my to go store for fish and corals.

 

[fishresponse]

Worlds of fish in Richfield is pretty nice.

 

[Metal Man 1221]

Check out Saltwater Empire in Bloomington. They have a really nice collection of corals and fish. This is my to go store for fish and corals.

Just saw the place last week, and have to second this post.

I'm not a local, so I don't have much experience with their customer service. But if you are just stopping through, get this place on your list of stops.

 

[Genera]

I live in MN (hence my signature), I've toured basically every LFS in MN, and World of Fish in Richfield has seemingly good fish, but their supplies and food and etc. are expensive (digital thermometer for $25 instead of $8 on drsfostersmith), Saltwater Empire in Bloomington has great fish (they got a Moorish Idol to eat!), and Sea Level Inc. in Hopkins has good deals on everything and the owner John gives me free duckweed and java moss to feed my goldfish.

 

[andrew.gimlin]

As of right now I'm just looking for a decent coral and fish selection with competitive prices. As far as supplies no one can really beat amazon

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

MANKATO has a retail store I think it's called Fragtastic,there a lot of fragers on Craigslist that pop up plus a local club you could look at

 

[andrew.gimlin]

I live in Winona, and there is not much of an aquarium following here. I search craigslist on a daily basis to no avail, I'm going to the cities today and we will see what I come home with.

 

[andrew.gimlin]

Ended up going to a world of fish, I was really happy with the service even though they were very busy. Had a good selection of coral and a nice $10 per frag selection. And seemed most of there larger colonies were priced well. I will definitely return

 

[fishresponse]

Ended up going to a world of fish, I was really happy with the service even though they were very busy. Had a good selection of coral and a nice $10 per frag selection. And seemed most of there larger colonies were priced well. I will definitely return

Glad you checked them out. I always try to stop there when I'm in the cities.

 

[runninlow]

wet world in egan is a nice place to check out as well.
saltwater empire
world of fish
new wave aquaria is a very nice place as well. fairly new though

there is a few more stores but sadly over the years (no names) the salt sections in those stores has died down to pretty much zero quality.

hope this helps..ooh yes there is tons of minnesota saltwater people they just dont come on the forums much or post there set ups.

 

[GilliganReef]

Saltwater Empire in Bloomington I would say is the best place for SW Reef. World of Fish is nice, but I only purchase my LR from there. Fish and coral I would go to SE. Also if you join their club, which all the proceeds for signing up, go towards their member parties. Where they will give away fish tanks, protein skimmers, and credit towards their store. I use to go to WOF for everything in past and since I found SE. I like their prices and selection more. Everyone who works there are very friendly, filled with knowledge, and more so to help then hunting someone down in WOF.

 

[KJoFan]

Petco Minnetonka is actually a good place to get fish as well. The guy who heads the fish section is dedicated to bringing in quality livestock and maintaining good systems. He's also active with the local reef club.

 

[andrew.gimlin]

Sounds like saltwater empire will be my stop the next time in the cities, in the mean time I would really like to meet some local reefers in south east mn that would be willing to sell some frags

 

[Genera]

Petco Minnetonka is actually a good place to get fish as well. The guy who heads the fish section is dedicated to bringing in quality livestock and maintaining good systems. He's also active with the local reef club.

I used to always go there as a newbie and the main fish guy was excellent at maintaining the systems and recommending things, but ich is already in there so..., and I recently visited to see if they had any 40 breeders, which I will be getting one of during the $/gal sale, and I checked on the fish, and there was ich in the main system and aiptasia in the coral system. The 180 gallon looked fine, but who knows. The guy that usually maintaining it is a seasoned reefer (I believe his name is Jason), but he doesn't work there every day and the people who don't really know fish stuff might mess it up I guess. The fish that I clearly remember was a Kole Tang that was covered in ich, and was acting strange. Just thought I'd input my experience, and I prefer family and friend owned or small businesses that catch fish by hand/breed their own fish over chain stores.

 

[Dejongi]

I just moved to Richfield a few months ago. World of fish is nice, but they want $60 for banggai cardinals while petco has them for $10 (sale price). Kinda insane.

New Wave Aquaria is 15 mins from me, and I really like their selection. great prices too.
Saltwater Empire is one of the best LFS I have been to, but prices reflect it.

these are my top 3 choices. Also, if you need supplies, check out Bulk Reef Supply. they are local, and you can save on shipping by picking up at their warehouse.

 

[Aero175]

Moved here in February, +1 Saltwater Empire