Grade Your LFS

morayeels

morayeels

Member
Grade you LFS on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being the worst and 10 the best.
I give my LFS a 10. These guys are awsome. Shear Heven in Allentown, Pa is the place to go if you live in the lehigh valley. Jim and Chris are always willing to help everyone out on every problem they have with there tank. Shear Heven also has an awsome selection of corals, tanks, lighting systems for the small reef keeper to the larg reef keeper. Aslo there not so fast to sell corals and fish that might not be ready to go like most places that get fish in put them in the tank and an hour later sell them. If there is something that you want Jim will be hold it for you until its ready. Shear Heven is the all out best place to go.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
My favorite store closed down: Definitely give them a 0.0! for that.
Store 15 minutes from my house told me my reef tank's salinity was too high at 1.026..... so they get a 0.0
Store 45 minutes away in Ft. Worth keeps a Barracuda in a tank where it can barely turn around and a nurse shark in a beautiful lagoon type tank... but it's a nurse shark in an aquarium... 0.0
Next closest store is overpriced, sells things constantly as "assorted" this or that because they can't ID it and they seem to go through stages where they try to sell the latest gizmos and gadgets.The also don't acclimate their fish very well (I went in the other day and they had dying fish in about 10 different tanks.)..... 0.0
 
eaglephot

eaglephot

Member
We have some GREAT stores here in the Chicagoland area.
One I would give a 6 because the have almost every fish you can think of but they are SO expensive. They would have a 9 if not so expensive. Their tanks are so clean, fish very healthy.
Anothers 7-8.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
My favorite store closed down: Definitely give them a 0.0! for that.
Store 15 minutes from my house told me my reef tank's salinity was too high at 1.026..... so they get a 0.0
Store 45 minutes away in Ft. Worth keeps a Barracuda in a tank where it can barely turn around and a nurse shark in a beautiful lagoon type tank... but it's a nurse shark in an aquarium... 0.0
Next closest store is overpriced, sells things constantly as "assorted" this or that because they can't ID it and they seem to go through stages where they try to sell the latest gizmos and gadgets.The also don't acclimate their fish very well (I went in the other day and they had dying fish in about 10 different tanks.)..... 0.0
They have a pretty nice selection of fish, no corals tho.
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
I give Preuss Animal House by me a 9.9 because they are a little expensive but they have a good selection, knowledgable staff, healthy livestock, and they qt for 4 weeks before they sell.
 
jn79vette

jn79vette

New Member
coral connection in sarasota 10+++++.great prices, excellent selection,super clean displays, very knowledgeable.
 
blizz75

blizz75

Member
one has great fish stupid people - 5
One sucks - 0
One was AMAZING but closed down, now run by young punks that know more about envelopes than fish- was a 100, now its a 0
its hard to find a good shop and when you do they either sell or close down.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
up here in bangor maine there are three different ones to choose from
***** {5} average understaffed few knowledgable people. two smart employees... nuff said (both people I know)
pet quarters {6} not friendly people at all. lousy customer service but is locally owned. 1 good employee (friend of a friend)
The pet palace.{2} owners are charlatans, rip off artists, and liars, but unfortunatly they have the best marine selection, and one of the best fish guys around. and my cousins fiancee works there. (so I get good deals and they will order me any thing) legal that is. I hate giving them money. but they are also the only ones who will buy from local breeders and propagators. fortunatly I just deal with the managment now and never the owners.
there are several private coral and fish sellers that are awesome but they are not technicly local.
 
reefeel

reefeel

Member
Thanks morayeels, I now have a new fish store I can look at. The only place that I know of between here and Philadelphia is That Ick Place (or more commenly know as That Fish Place. I would give them a 5 max. There livestock is sickley looking a lot of the times I am there, the fish and corals are way overpriced compared to how they look, they never have anything in stock, and there customer service sucks.
 
supalupa

supalupa

Member
Take a trip to Lancaster,PA to that pet place/that fish place morayeels it's definately worth the trip. I used to live in Bethlehem, PA and I traveled to Lancaster whenever I could. There is also a place in Clifton, NJ probably 2 hrs from you thats really awesome I used to call it the grocery store for saltwater fish they have aisles and aisles of them but can't remember the name.
 
kzoo

kzoo

Member
Atlanta has alot of stores and if you are into SPS we have one of the best. Cap Bay has at least 500 different corals and 100 or so different clams. Some of the big SpS go in the 200 range so you need deep pockets, but they do have smaller frags for less. 9.9 only due to the price.
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
exotic aquatics in highland gets a 10 in my book, i dont even bother with the other places anymore!
 
morayeels

morayeels

Member
Reefeel
Make a trip up the Shear Heven in Allentown. You will be very pleased. The staff is very nice, the store extra clean and a great selection of corals and fish. Keep in touch and I will let you know when the ideal time to visit is. Im in the store just about every day so I know when the shippments are coming in.
 
fishstix4u

fishstix4u

Member
down here in pittston pa.. i have the petzone about 3 blocks from me.. they have a nice selection of fish and corals. a very helpful and smart staff that has put up with a lot from me... a very very nice reptile department... good products, good live stock, and its clean.... they get a 9 cuase no one is perfect but damn close.. then we have D.C. pet center... FILTHY more like an animal torture chamber.... my wife called the department of health on them.. that did nothing of course.. -38 or somthing like that for them.. *****...petsmart... need to be removed from excistace for obvious reasons.. pet wonderland in wilkesbarre gets aboutt a 6 there decent, need to stop hiring high school kids that no nothing about anything but they always have at least 1 smart person on to keep things cool... and im interestead in this allentown place im 45 min from there...
 
J

jrthomas40

Guest
Originally Posted by kzoo
Atlanta has alot of stores and if you are into SPS we have one of the best. Cap Bay has at least 500 different corals and 100 or so different clams. Some of the big SpS go in the 200 range so you need deep pockets, but they do have smaller frags for less. 9.9 only due to the price.
i was there saturday (the 28th) they do have a lot of corals and small frags are at a good price but i was really impressed with Marine Fish a little further down on roswell....unfortunately for me it is about an 1.5 hour drive :(
my local fish stores are pretty bad....the first one ranks about a 2 not very clean but could possibly be because of expanding the store but that is a stretch
the second is a small store but not great customer service and small selection so it is about 5
a little further in the next county one has great customer service but is just getting into the marine side so they rank about 6 and the last one is about a 7 it is strictly marine alright fish selection but not very lastic on prices for fish or corals
 
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