That Pet Place, Lancaster PA

[chadman]

anyone from the area knows about that pet place...my question is: does anyone else have problems with unhealthy fish from up there? both from personal experiences and from friends with both salt and fresh water tanks we have noticed an ongoing trend of fish dying that we bought at that pet place...i know they have a closed loop system...so every single tank in that whole freakin place is connected...so it is not out of the realm of possibility that fish could be sick....

 

[drew2005]

Originally Posted by chadman
anyone from the area knows about that pet place...my question is: does anyone else have problems with unhealthy fish from up there? both from personal experiences and from friends with both salt and fresh water tanks we have noticed an ongoing trend of fish dying that we bought at that pet place...i know they have a closed loop system...so every single tank in that whole freakin place is connected...so it is not out of the realm of possibility that fish could be sick....
I don't know anything about livestock. But i have been to there and it is freakin huge. I always order dry goods from them and never had problems in that area.

 

[chadman]

o yeah for sure don't get me wrong it is AWSOME!! corals i have had great success with...dry goods you can't beat it...no one has the selection and know how that they have...but their livestock...i just don't know about it...

 

[lion_crazz]

The dry goods are great but they are infamous for not having very healthy livestock. It usually looks very good, but does not hold up very long, supposedly. This is why I have never bought any fish from them. I stock up on supplies every 3 to 4 months though,

.
If I were you, chadman, I would just wait a month or two until the Hidden Reef is back open. They always had great livestock when they were open and their new fishroom is going to be absolutely huge. They probably now have as much fish stuff as that Pet Place as well, and their prices are awesome. Their dry goods section is now open, but their fishroom is still being worked on.

 

[chadman]

where is this utopia of fishies located?!?!?!

 

[chadman]

lioncrazz you don't know how excited i am to hear of a new fish place in my area!?!?!?!?!

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by chadman
where is this utopia of fishies located?!?!?!
Right outside of Philadelphia (north of Philadelphia). Probably only 45 minutes for you if you take the turnpike down.

 

[chadman]

but yes what you said is exactly the case...everything looks good down there...but a week or so later it is dead...could they have something in their tanks to keep stuff alive while its there or something??

 

[chadman]

are there any other fish places in philly worthy of taking the trip down for? i always figured there had to be places down that way...does this hidden reef place you speak of have a web site?

 

[lion_crazz]

No, that is the only place I would make the drive to Philly for. You will not be disaapoointed with The Hidden Reef. Before the store burnt down last December, they were THE one and only store in Philadelphia worth checking out. It will be that way again once their fish room is completed.
They already have the same cheap prices on dry goods that That Pet Place does. I used to drive to That Pet Place because things like their salt were so cheap. Well now, I don't have to drive all the way up there anymore. The salt at the Hidden Reef is the same price for me ($40 for Oceanic, just like TFP/TPP).
They do have a website. Just google their name.

 

[chadman]

well i will keep an eye out for that place...once they open i definately want to go check it out...because after our blue spotted jawfish which was 100 bucsk died, and we had to return 2 different tangs and a number of other random deaths i just can't deal with tpp anymore! what type of responses do you see from people ordering fish from sites like this one?

 

[lion_crazz]

Every place has a few problems here and there, but the great majority of the feedback is extremely positive from SWF.com. I have never had a negative experience with an order from here.

 

[chadman]

whats the trick with ordering fish online? is it to acclimate them for much longer right? cause shipping a fish has to be rough on him/her

 

[m0nk]

I always wondered about the fish down at That Fish Place. I was just there yesterday for their big sale (got a 55g setup for a good price), but you're certainly right about their livestock. Last time I was there I saw a dwarf lionfish lying upside-down dead and looking like it had been there a while at the bottom of one of their tiny tanks.
There's a nice little LFS up here called Treasures From the Sea. Of course lately they've had some financial woes; always selling great coral for very good prices, too good to be true it seems, and they've had a limited number of fish lately since a major shipment got held up at an airport in the last major snow/ice storm and almost all were lost.
Anyways, I plan on getting some fish from there going forward, though I don't think there's anything else up here that's much worth the trip. Just thought if you were ever in the area you might like to check it out. It's about 10 minutes across the river from downtown Harrisburg.

 

[mamasky712]

The few things we've bought from there have all died in our tank. We go out there every few months to stock up on supplies but that's about all we'll buy.
Chadman, have you been to A-Z yet? It's just down the street from me and I haven't bought any fish from them yet. Have you had any problems with fish from there?

 

[chadman]

i actually have had success buying fish from down at az...they odn't have the greatest selection...and usually hte people working don't even know enough about the fish to tell you which fish they are or how much they cost...but the one guy who runs the place is knowledgable and very helpful...dry goods though are on the expensive side...where are you from? i am from mt penn...you said your right down the street so you can't be too far away...

 

[chadman]

Originally Posted by m0nk
I always wondered about the fish down at That Fish Place. I was just there yesterday for their big sale (got a 55g setup for a good price), but you're certainly right about their livestock. Last time I was there I saw a dwarf lionfish lying upside-down dead and looking like it had been there a while at the bottom of one of their tiny tanks.
There's a nice little LFS up here called Treasures From the Sea. Of course lately they've had some financial woes; always selling great coral for very good prices, too good to be true it seems, and they've had a limited number of fish lately since a major shipment got held up at an airport in the last major snow/ice storm and almost all were lost.
Anyways, I plan on getting some fish from there going forward, though I don't think there's anything else up here that's much worth the trip. Just thought if you were ever in the area you might like to check it out. It's about 10 minutes across the river from downtown Harrisburg.
where exactly is this place located in harrisburg?

 

[mamasky712]

Originally Posted by chadman
i actually have had success buying fish from down at az...they odn't have the greatest selection...and usually hte people working don't even know enough about the fish to tell you which fish they are or how much they cost...but the one guy who runs the place is knowledgable and very helpful...dry goods though are on the expensive side...where are you from? i am from mt penn...you said your right down the street so you can't be too far away...
I'm in Exeter. Like a half mile from a-z. We got our 90g tank and stand there for a decent price. I work at ***** and it was cheaper at a-z than ***** with my discount. We've bought inverts from a-z and we did get a rainford goby once but it didn't last very long. We're going to start stocking our 90g in a month or so and some of their prices are high but I'm willing to pay more if the fish are generally healthy.
We were actually in there yesterday to look at their live rock and corals and not a single person in there could tell us how much the mushrooms were.

 

[m0nk]

It's actually in Mechanicsburg, about 10 minutes from Harrisburg. 5205 East Trindle Road, Mechanisburg, Pa 17050. You should probably call ahead to get their hours: 717-215-4379. Hope that helps some.

 

[chadman]

i was just checking out there website...and it doesn't look like they are too stocked up right now, like you said....i will keep an eye out for them though i am always looking for somewhat local fish stores...you said they have a large selection of cheap corals too?