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It's been so long since I went to an LFS - which sounds strange from someone on this board I know! I guess just beacuse I only have the one tank set up at the moment, which is fully stocked and I only need to buy food every couple of months. I love going to just look but I've been avoiding going when I don't have any money.

'Zactly. Me Too JB

I haven't been for ages, don't want to be 'lured to the dark side' (ie delve into the wallet)



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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

The best quality of fish here is actually from the only chain petstore we have nearby, petland. They don't have a huge fish section but they pride themselves in carrying less common fish. Rarely is there a dead or sick fish in their tanks and their water is exactly the same as mine except they keep nitrates below 5ppm. I also can't resist petting the $300 ray that loves attention. He swims up and grabs your finger then rolls over upside down to be petted. The only other nearby stores I knew of were pretty bad. Usually half their fish are dead. Yesterday I found another store that doesn't look too bad and is the only store I've found that carries saltwater but they mostly have cichlids and discus which I don't keep. The guy did say they were expanding soon though. Other than that it's over an hour drive to any other stores.

I *loved* going to Living Sea Aquarium when I lived in Chicago. Got most of my fish from there - pretty cheap too as I recall (black widow & red-eye tetras on special for 50c ea!). I wish I had known about cories back then - I'm sure they would have a good selection of them. The only other places in Chicago I found with decent selection were Old Town Aquarium (ouch price!) and another place in Niles (can't recall the name, near Old Orchard).

The only place I've been to in Brisbane with quite a big range of selection of fish is Pet City in Mt. Gravatt. It's quite a drive from me though, so I usually go a nearby LFS (Westside Pets) that has one pretty knowledgeable staff (at least they care enough to put their cories in a tank with sand!). Going to check out WetPetz this weekend - looks promising from their website.

-P

Mine's called Living Sea. It's a good 10-15 jaunt across several towns near me, but I haven't found anywhere else with the kind of quality they have. They've got a good selection of fish, and even if they ARE more expensive, I gladly pay for the quality. (Except the special plecos... WOW expensive... I need to find a cheaper supplier for those! Queen Arabesque for 80 bucks a pop?!)

The only other places around me that I've visited are chain stores (mostly mediocre to poor quality although Petsmart is pretty good and would be my next choice for fish purchases) and an individual store or two (which were worse even than the worst chain store).

There's supposed to be another store around here that I haven't had the opportunity to go to as of yet. It's just in an area that I never had any reason to GO to... I should take some time to investigate that. Only issue is that it's probably a bit further than my current favorite, and in the opposite direction.

However, if you're in the Chicagoland area (and the northwest suburbs in particular), I suggest taking a jaunt over to Park Ridge to visit Living Sea aquarium. There's the shark pool, a basketball sized porcupine puffer, ray pool, and moray eel in a huge display tank... yeah, they've got a lot of stuff. A bit pricey, but best quality and selection I've found yet...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

blackburn??? is there an aquarium there?!??!

Yes, on the corner of Canterbury and Middleborough Rd. On the side that the Quix service station is on, and on Middleborough Rd. Its worth a look, they get the occasional different fish in there. I got some endlers livebearers from there.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

I have a large empty garage & am starting to kit it out to get breeding. I hope to sell to a couple of local LFS as I've seen their wholesale prices & plan to under cut them. I also have a few friends & friends of friends who say they will buy off me. I have bread some lovely guppies so far & now want to do other livebearers as well as,Dwarf neon rainbowfish, zebra danios....

Any more ideas?

I go to The Wet Spot in Portland, Oregon. They have a pretty good selection of tropical freshwater species. I haven't had the opportunity to purchase any livestock from them yet, but I will as soon as I get back from vacation and buy some bottom feeders for my 38g. I've been there three times, each visit yeilding some piece of well-priced equipment for one of my tanks.

Caye's Aquarium is pretty awesome too. They have saltwater fish, but I haven't done anything with SW yet. They're super-friendly and knowledgable.

Aquariums Live in Sellwood is a favorite of mine also. The owners are so nice and they don't look at me like I'm a problem when I don't buy anything, and they're always willing to help me carry things out to my car (like when I bought a 50lb bag of sand) and give me advice. As for livestock, their tanks are always very well-put-together. I think that I've only seen one recently deceased fish, and that was on Saturday when there were tons of people in the really small space. The other pirahnas seemed to be very happy to eat the dead fish before they had a chance to take it out. Anyway, I didn't see any unhappy livestock and everything's nicely priced.

There are a few others that I've been to that are definitely not very good in the ways of tank maintenance.

Last edited by dsa at 28-Jun-2005 05:22

Opiate

I have picked some excellent bargins at Regency Croydon, Blackburn, & Aquarium Plus E Bentleigh, Petorium Mornington, & my local pet/Aquarium Jano's in Rosebud.

It pays to shop around I will use my fingers first (phone around)

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

lindy...I think that regency has gone down hill a bit!! can't tell u how tho! wierd heh?! blackburn??? is there an aquarium there?!??!

Opiate

I am on the Mornington Peninsula Vic

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hello,

This is gonna sound pretty stupid because I don't really have a favourite Aquarium..However I usually Buy my Fish From either Regency or Aquarium Factory in Victoria. I also buy fish from a guy that sells from his home, Not a huge range but VERY cheap!

Also Does anyone know where you can buy fish off the internet? other than ebay? Trading Post anygood?

It's been so long since I went to an LFS - which sounds strange from someone on this board I know! I guess just beacuse I only have the one tank set up at the moment, which is fully stocked and I only need to buy food every couple of months. I love going to just look but I've been avoiding going when I don't have any money.

Anyway, my favourites in Brisbane are the Aquarium at Stafford - great bettas, knowledgeable staff, decent prices - Clayfield Aquarium (which I've just been inspired to visit after work, since I work nearby), Annerley Aquarium which I now live close to, and Atlas - though i've only been there once since it moved from the Grange. When i'm in the Valley I love going to Aquazoo just to look - their prices are fiendishly high (because of their location I expect) but their tanks are beautiful. The absolute cheapest for everything is the Aquarium Warehouse - I'd love to be able to go there all the time but it's in Underwood, a good 30 minute drive from where I live (and i don't drive, so I can only go there by pleading with the BF to take me!).

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

My purchases are done at Regency, Boronia and Blackburn Aquarium. Occasionally I have a lfs day where I visit as many as I can fit in a day!

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

keithgh,

Dude where in aus are you? Vic i hope!! hehe

for anyone in south australia, i have to reccommend Seaview Aquariums at plympton. i've gotten many fish from them over the years and have never had a problem. also, when i bought fish from a new shop that shall remain nameless that brought on a severe bout of ich, i had no idea, i rang up seaview aquariums and they helped me to save the rest of my fish. they seem to always give good advice, and even new staff know what they're talking about AAA+

(PS: i am in no way affiliated with seaview aquariums, except buying my fish & supplies there)

I spread myself rather thinly over six LFS from 2-50+klm each has their own benifits from cost to the variety of fish, foods & water treatments, to plants. One thing I can say is that they all offer good service and have excellent housekeeping practices. One is also an importer. By being incontact with all these stores I have been able to save $100s insetting up the Beta tank.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

I rather enjoy getting my fish from lfs that are closer to me...I find that if they are closer than say one of my favorites 30 miles across town the survival rate is better I figure it's because the water parameters closer to home are closer to being the same to what I have in my tanks...

I really can't say that I have a favorite though, as there are too many that I like to go and get from or just look at

heidi




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Don't look back, Keep your head held high
Don't ask them why, Because life is short
And before you know, You're feeling old
And your heart is breaking, Don't hold on to the past
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"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

IMO it's better to buy from local breeders, as the fish are cheaper & more genuine. I buy alot from local breeders & hopefully soon i'll be breeding some fish aswell.


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You can purchase fish off the internet at www.aquabid.com .