Bannerfish Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Who has the healthiest and best selection of fish in austin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I love our LFS but I have to be honest I have had better luck with saltwater fish from Petco then I have our saltwater stores.... They are also able to order just about anything you just have to talk to them.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 My fish are all super healthy but I am in Burnet and they are not for sale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 FishyBuisness always has nice looking fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michae52 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 +1 Shane may not have the largest selection but he has good livestock 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyStuff Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I would expect every shop to have some variation with some shipments doing better than others. There are going to be questionable suppliers and collectors but for the most part the ones that do not provide adequite care are going to lose business then go out of business. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSH Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I've always liked Aqua Domes selection. -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) I agree, fishy business had the cleanest and healthiest looking stock I've ever seen in a pet store...but, all his tanks were small, is he able to carry larger fish such as tangs and similar sized fish? When we went I guess the shipment had not come in yet and there want much there. Anyone know what day they come in? I have never been to aqua dome, would you guys recommend them? I've seen some beautiful fish at aqua tek, but haven't bought fish from there yet. Their corals have done very well for me though... You've had good luck with petco fish? I'm scared to buy from a petco lol. I'm not that happy with our local petco, their selection sucks here :/ Edited February 27, 2012 by Bannerfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michae52 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Alot of people like Aqua Dome. I bought my first five fish the first day I went there. I still have everything but that was only 5 months ago. They probably have the largest selection of livestock. Just far for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizardx322 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 For me its river city aquatics Jake has good selection and healthy fish If the fish is sick he marks them not for sale and also try's to quantine sick fish. The rest of the stores do not do this well I haven't seen do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I like Aqua-dome's selection. They seem to always have the most stock on hand and you can usually find what you want. I have had success with all their fish. I feel though that they are the Wal-mart of fish supply... large volume with sometimes less quality per fish there. RCA also has a decent selection, not as much as Aqua-dome. They do seem like they put more care into their livestock but I usually can't find what I'm looking for there. Jake is usually pretty good about trying to get what you want in there. Aquatek has a decent selection as well but I do see a lot more sickly fish there. I feel like there's aren't as healthy sometimes as the other stores. I do find some unique creatures in their back section though... like sea cucumbers in stock. Fishybusiness probably does have the healthiest stock, but I find his selection very minimal. Never seems to have anything I want and doesn't usually carry much fish. Though his coral frag selection has gotten a ton better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Trulucks Ba-dum *ching* But seriously kinda agree with the general consensus here. Minus petco reccomendations, they have very limited stock, i find in general the following: RCA - fish/coral on shipment days Aquatek - equipment/hardware, chemicals, inverts, sime fish Aquadome - livestock only, equip selection is dismal Gallery of pets and partners pets- inexpensive live rock Amazonia - the Sanford and Son of the LFS (auction this saturday as they as going out pf business.) Petco - a leash and treats for your dog or a catnip sachet for your cat...maybe even a ferret. Most of my livestock comes from ebay or other online sources Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I like Petsmart on Brodie Lane. No saltwater fish or corals. For my freshwater pond, there selection is very healthy. I also like there selection of substrates. While they were out of the crushed coral that I get from Caribsea, they had some fresh water plant substrates that I liked for a mud substrate for the true marine plants that I will attempt to grow. I also got some gorgeous Sailfin Mollies which I have adjusted to full strength saltwater. After a week, I have losty ten of fifty fish. At $2.19 each, I am very happy with that. I used to get large Sailfin Mollies from C-Quest in Purto Rico for $1.75 each. These were gorgeous fish that lived in the Caribbean for many years. They had been crossed with some domestic strains several generations back. Now that C-Quest has moved to Wyoming, I do not know if this will happen again. Katy has set up her hatchery last winter, but I am not sure when she will go back on line with sales. This is a wholesale facility and they do not sell retail. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 RCA and aquadome are my two go-to stores for anything i need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 #1 favorite is River City then Aquatech but both of these places are far north from where I live. Aquadome does offer a membership at half off to ARC members which includes a return policy on their SW livestock and 10% off. Also if your not in a hurry post what you want in the want to buy section and keep checking the for sale section daily for the best deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 He gets his shipments on Tuesdays but sometimes it's not every week. I agree, fishy business had the cleanest and healthiest looking stock I've ever seen in a pet store...but, all his tanks were small, is he able to carry larger fish such as tangs and similar sized fish? When we went I guess the shipment had not come in yet and there want much there. Anyone know what day they come in? I have never been to aqua dome, would you guys recommend them? I've seen some beautiful fish at aqua tek, but haven't bought fish from there yet. Their corals have done very well for me though... You've had good luck with petco fish? I'm scared to buy from a petco lol. I'm not that happy with our local petco, their selection sucks here :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) Just my .02... RCA - Only went by there 2 times when I first started in the hobby. The selection seemed a little small, but everything seemed healthy. Might go by there Saturday to give them another chance. Aquatek - Really small collection, high prices and got bad advice when starting out... won't go back again. Petco - Horrible selection, high prices, horror stories - just went since I was curious. Amazonia - Sad to see the state of the SW fish they had. No shock they're closing. Partners (Round Rock) - Got 3 fish from them as a gift (never accepting again) which ended up almost wiping out all of my live stock from disease. Went to check them out after that, and was shocked how bad the conditions were. Stay far away... Phenomenal Aquatics (San Antonio) - Went to check out their super low rock prices ($3 lb for Fiji Prem). Had a smaller selection, but seem to be growing. Bought 30 lbs of rock to try out, after I cured it for 2 weeks, it turned out great. Will buy all my rock from them, probably in 50lb boxes. Fishy Business - Shane is really grounded in his ways, but it seems to work for him. Never have seen a sick fish there. Small tanks and small selection. Nice live rock, but expensive. Great guy, just needs a bigger selection. Aquadome - Also thought they were the best until a recent visit. There were 5 fish dead, upside down and in various states of decomposition. Small holding tanks with the bulk of the fish had tons of ugly algae, also back tanks had nasty algae and an aiptasia breakout which had been getting worse and worse over the past few weeks. Also three employees were downstairs watching videos while customers were upstairs. To be fair Gary wasn't there... but I was really let down. They do have a huge selection of fish and coral... but I might only buy coral from them after this. *************************** As I get more into the hobby and want healthy and rarer fish I think I'll stick with online purchases and going through wholesalers. The fish I have bought from Diver's Den / LiveAquaria have been great. Arrived in perfect shape and are still doing great. Great packaging and support as well. That's why I really hope that RCA is nice this weekend, or I will have ruled out all LFS in or around town. Pretty sad... maybe I'm just super anal. Edited February 28, 2012 by offshore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Wow, some heavy-duty critiquing of various ARC sponsors. This kind of thread used to get shut-down quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Wow, some heavy-duty critiquing of various ARC sponsors. This kind of thread used to get shut-down quickly. Just the truth... if everybody said how much they love a store nothing would ever change/improve. Without criticism a business will never improve... I honestly like hearing negative comments in my businesses than I do positive. I'm never complacent and am always looking for ways to improve what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 I might call fishy business and see if he can do a special order. Ive had the itch for a tang or 2 lately. I don't like the blue tangs much, I like yellows but they are kinda common. naso tangs are prob my faves but I'm not entirely convinced my tank is big enough :/ I also love gold rimmed tangs, or even the powder browns and powder blues. I would love one that's been living in someones tank, but I haven't seen any up for grabs. I do like to hear what experiences people have experienced here locally, I don't think anyone was insulting anyone on here, just giving their experiences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I don't see how any of the critiquing is bad with the exceptions of Amazonia and the Big Box Stores. Everyone has their own opinions and freedom of speech. Just because your a sponsor shouldn't make you immune to constructive critisism. With that said this is all in reply for current and future members so they know where they can purchase livestock for their tank. It our responsibility to lookout for our friends and make sure they can get livestock that is not going to kill their whole tank just because a store doesn't follow best practices. And as for Fishy Business I walked in there the other day and really liked the store so yes check them out for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) I might call fishy business and see if he can do a special order. Ive had the itch for a tang or 2 lately. I don't like the blue tangs much, I like yellows but they are kinda common. naso tangs are prob my faves but I'm not entirely convinced my tank is big enough :/ I also love gold rimmed tangs, or even the powder browns and powder blues. I would love one that's been living in someones tank, but I haven't seen any up for grabs. Get a purple tang... doesn't get too big and is pretty rare. I'm sure Shane can hook you up Edited February 28, 2012 by offshore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 FORUM RULES: 8) Vendor Bashing: You may not post any negative comments about our sponsors. If you have an issue with a sponsor, work it out with them personally. If you cannot resolve the issue personally, you may submit complaints to the staff via pm or email. Negative comments about any vendor may be removed without notice. This is at the staff's discretion and will not be challenged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Been to AquaTek a few time and I will go back. Good hardware selection and they have always had the things I've needed. It is close to my job site so lunch visits are a plus. The box stores, Petco et al, are touch and go. If you go to one with a hobbist in the aquatics area, then they can be good. Go to another location and the bored high schooler is working and the department is not so good. The local Petco by my house is good. Based on y'alls comments, I may have to make a visit to Fishy Business sometime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 The purple tangs price tag tells me its pretty rare hahaha! That's a beautiful fish though. I've had a few purple tang owners tell me they're real hardy, or they're real prone to illness....? Maybe a big part of that is how they're caught and handled after that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts