Would you buy from this LFS?

[fixingstill]

Would you buy from this LFS when you see bubble algae and aiptasia all over their frags?

CALIFORNIA REEF. You are the only one LFS within 5 miles from me. Please survive.

 

[aquamann183]

I wouldn't, but I don't have the most experience in corals.

There's a lfs like that near me, they have dead fish sitting beside tanks and everything, pretty ridiculous, lol

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[anthonys51]

I wouldn't buy from this store because its just lazyness. If i had that much bubble algae in my frag tank, i would take out the rack and pop them off. one or 2 here and there is ok, but that many is a joke

 

[ryeguyy84]

Nope, I would want them to at least hide those issues [emoji3]

 

[mcgyvr]

Thats pretty much the norm IMO...
Far more will be like that vs "pristine"..

And the "pristine" ones are likely not just a LFS as there is simply not enough money in it to maintain at a high level..

 

[anthonys51]

Thats pretty much the norm IMO...
Far more will be like that vs "pristine"..

And the "pristine" ones are likely not just a LFS as there is simply not enough money in it to maintain at a high level..

maybe in north Carolina, but on long island we have many great lfs and 3 bad ones. but even the bad ones arent that bad

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

I'd prefer not to, but if they had a nice coral at a good price I'd probably do it. Just make sure the coral gets dipped before going into your tank, and pick off any algae you can see first. Luckly, my favorite fish store is also the closest to me, and their tanks are all quite pristine.

 

[aquamann183]

I'd prefer not to, but if they had a nice coral at a good price I'd probably do it. Just make sure the coral gets dipped before going into your tank, and pick off any algae you can see first. Luckly, my favorite fish store is also the closest to me, and their tanks are all quite pristine.

Lucky! Lol.
The closest good store to me is 30 minutes or so..

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[Potatohead]

No way. If they keep the displays like that chances are the livestock is cared for in the same manner.

 

[kmbyrnes]

if you have to ask ...... NO!

 

[AlSimmons]

Like mentioned above if they had a piece that I really wanted and the price was right I would buy from them. Both Aiptasia and Valonia are pretty easy to deal with IME, especially in small amounts.

 

[windlasher]

Would you buy from this LFS when you see bubble algae and aiptasia all over their frags?

CALIFORNIA REEF. You are the only one LFS within 5 miles from me. Please survive.

Normally NO. If they had a piece I REEEEALY wanted at a good price, sure but I would decontaminate the hell out of it before putting it in my tank.

 

[fixingstill]

Like mentioned above if they had a piece that I really wanted and the price was right I would buy from them. Both Aiptasia and Valonia are pretty easy to deal with IME, especially in small amounts.

Bubble Algae (Valonia) is not easy to control for me. For Aiptasia, I can aiptasia-x them but some are in the back or under rock that I could not reach.

AISimmons, do you mind sharing your secrets to control them?

 

[AlSimmons]

Bubble Algae (Valonia) is not easy to control for me. For Aiptasia, I can aiptasia-x them but some are in the back or under rock that I could not reach.

AISimmons, do you mind sharing your secrets to control them?

For the bubble algae I would just rip out as much as I could before each water change. Popping them was of no concern. I did this for weeks on end until finally they were gone. For some reason people seem to forget that they can remove this algae much faster than it can grow back. Every now and then a few bubbles will pop up, but these are usually dealt with in a hurry. Staying ahead of them was key. As far as the Aiptasia goes a small butane torch can work wonders sometimes. Adding a Peppermint shrimp here & there along the way has also helped, but being that I do cherry pick the live rock from various LFS in my area Aiptasia has never really a problem.

 

[texdoc77]

I wouldn't buy from this store because its just lazyness. If i had that much bubble algae in my frag tank, i would take out the rack and pop them off. one or 2 here and there is ok, but that many is a joke

I agree, a little bad luck with lots of product coming in and out is one thing, but laziness cannot be fixed and i would be concerned with the quality of their QT and Acclimation processes.

 

[Sambo107]

Depends on price and health of coral although i would def QT all corals from there.

 

[TheFishGuy31]

Thats pretty much the norm IMO...
Far more will be like that vs "pristine"..

And the "pristine" ones are likely not just a LFS as there is simply not enough money in it to maintain at a high level..

I agree.

A few guys in the local club have big troughs setup and one has a license (I think wholesale) so he can buy colonies and fish at pretty good prices. They're just hobbyists that do that to make a little extra/support the local scene.

I'd look for a local club to buy off of other hobbyists or I'd look into buying online.


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[Reeferparty]

CA reef was a great store about 6 months ago. However I stopped by last week and man, it was bad..what happened?!


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[rjjr1963]

I bought a frag like that first one only it looked a lot better. Their tank had aiptasia so I killed it and gave it a good dip. Turns out it had nudibranchs which devastated my montiporas. I quarantine every frag I get now.

 

[Skippy2512]

From what I have seen regarding LFS', there are more bad ones than good ones. I know it sucks for the good LFS' when they read about locals selling coral out of their house because it is literally taking money out of their pocket. But my answer to the bad stores: don't suck. That store is irresponsible IMO. Newbies should have confidence in their store and their products. We all know that this hobby takes patience, but that is half the battle. If you start out with a crap product from the get go, the more likely they are to get out of the hobby.

If you are ever in the OKC/Moore, OK area, check out Custom Reef Creations to see how a LFS should look. Hope this guy had a better store to get to that was not too far of a drive!