# Sticky  My favorite local fish store



## TheOldSalt

Here is a thread where we can review & discuss our favorite local fish stores. Not every store is a petsmart or petco or petland or walmart, after all, and it would be nice to hear about the independents who are still chugging along. 
Do you have a local store that you like? If so, then tell us about it! What does it have? How good is it? Where is it? What makes it worth checking out by someone who might read about it here on FF?

This could be fun.


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## redpaulhus

Cool.
I have two.
*In Boston*: 
Skipton Pet 
70 South Hampton St, Boston, MA
This is a small store, that currently sells dog/cat supplies as well as fish, small animal, and reptile supplies. During the next few months, the dog/cat portion is moving to a new pet resort just up the road, and the fish section is expanding ! 
*Highlights:* Great Marine and Reef selection, tons of sweet corals. Cool harder-to-find freshwater fishes - gudgeons, apistos, killies, microrasboras, rare plecos (including a nice blue-eye panaque ) and lots of freshwater plants.
*What makes it special* - great staff, great livestock.
http://www.skiptonpetcenter.com
*
Outside of Boston:*
Uncle Ned's Fish Factory
1590 Main St. (Rte. 109)
Millis, MA 02054
Ned is an original, he started out selling african cichlids out of his basement (or was it his mom's basement ? ) many many years ago. His store is always fun to visit, I always see something that makes me say "I need to setup another tank". This is a pure fish store, no cat food or dog toys here ! (and leave your $300 Italian loafers at home, puddles and python hoses aren't unheard of on these floors).
While the store carries saltwater fish, the focus here is clearly on high quality freshwater fishes (and plants) - especially top of the line cichlids. 
Ned imports great fishes, and he also brings in locally bred fish from some awesome breeders.
*Highlights:* Cichlids Cichlids Cichlids ! Plus locally raised fishes, and other goodies like killies, rare tetras, puffers and rare "plecos".
*What makes it special: *Ned. Once you meet the man, the store makes alot of sense  Also, the store has a great web-forum, where he posts upcoming orders (and even potential orders) so he can find out what people want, and then let them know when they arrive. He also takes special orders via the forum (that's how I ordered my dwarf Indian Mudskippers from him a few years ago).
http://www.unclenedsfishfactory.com/
_________________________________

Actually - looking at this way in print, the stores are alot alike.
Skipton's is a bit more "polished" -- the tanks are all decorated/planted, the store is more merchandised, most tanks have hang-on filters just like what the customers use (although they are on a constant drip water change system) - so each tank looks like something a customer might have at home. Ned's is a bit more "functional" -- the tanks all have big sponge filters, I don't think I've seen gravel in any of them, and they're certainly easier to catch fish out of than the planted tanks at Skipton's.

Both stores have found a niche selling the fishes the big box stores really don't sell - apistos, fw gobies, rare plecos, "wild type" bettas, killies, and true fw puffers are pretty common in both stores. Ned has a better web presence, although Skipton's has a big web presence on the Boston Reef Society web forum (and has a much higher % of sw customers). Ned sells more pond fish and equipment (there are alot more koi ponds in the suburbs near Ned than in the neighborhoods of Boston). Both stores sell some goldfish but are not exactly goldfish specialty stores. Both support the local fish clubs (Boston Aquarium Society and Tropical Fish Society of Rhode Island) and both have "regular" customers from NH and ME who are willing to make a pretty long drive to buy fish.


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## Ghost Knife

http://thefishbowlpetshop.net/

It's about the only local fish store in central MS that actually takes fish trade-ins for store credit, fish, or food. I like it because they have knowledgeable staff that I can relate concerns to.


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## FishMatt

I have one 

Tropical Fish Haven
Location: Corpus Christi Texas
Very good quality fish, Items, Knowledgeable Staff, Large amounts of fish, Special Orders fish, and good Prices


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## funlad3

I had a great post/advertisement that actually inspired this sticky! search for "A Certain Type of Advertising" for the full thread. And again, sorry for the accidental spamishness!:chair:


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## hXcChic22

My favorite from where we lived was "Pet World". It's a local chain, but we only went to two of the stores and only one of them was any good (IMO). The one in Hampton, VA. 
Here's the site but it seems to feature the Newport News one.  http://petworldofva.com/home.nxg
Anyway, they always had generally healthy tanks and lots of knowledgeable employees. Most of them kept tanks themselves. They also did store credit trade-ins, sold live plants, and had a decent SW section as well. They are willing to specifically order fish for you, and their selection varies with each shipment. Sometimes they'd have just "meh" fish, and other times, they had some awesome stuff in there, like jardini arowanas, ABFs, plus the giant fish people seemed to enjoy dumping on them. On any given day, they'd have a couple huge plecos, plus some other giants like half-grown silver arowanas and tiger shovelnose catfish. They even had an almost full-grown Pacu in there once (and he loved to be pet on the head) but unfortunately he was brought in sick and died. 

And where I'm living right now, this one is my favorite: They don't seem to have a site but here are reviews. http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3722798487/pet--aquatic-warehouse-lynchburg
They have a HUGE fish selection there. I have never tried to do any trades there so I don't know how that works. But they have an entire basement just filled with tanks and equipment/supplies. We have seen fish there we've seen nowhere else or only rarely, like FW flounder, sparkling gouramis, panda orandas, and hillstream loaches. They also have some ponds outside with koi. We have not bought from them yet because we just moved back here but man, I love just going and looking around to waste time!


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## burninrubber390

Number 1
*Getty's Pet Shop*
2908 East Market Street
York, PA 17402
They might not be the biggest store around but they do know what they are talking about.
They do have a decent selection of fish all fw though. All in all for the size they are good

Number 2
*That Fish Place
That Pet Place*
237 Centerville Rd
Lancaster, PA 17603
This would have to be my favorite chain store by far.
*pros:*Very large selection of fish fw and sw. large selection of coral and frags. staff is excellent. They also have a large reptile room plus small animals and bird rooms.
*Cons:*Busy they get very busy especially during the weekends


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## lukehouse356

My favorite Fish Store is in Fargo, ND. It is called the Tropical Fish Shoppe (yes its spelled with two p's) The tanks are very clean and they always have a great selection of fish. As well as a varying range of specific types of different species. And the prices are very good.


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## TheShark76

Favorite pet store: I agree with burninrubber

That Fish Place in Lancaster Pa

They have a pretty huge selection of everything - fish, reptiles, and pet supplies. The put a huge effort into their store and the staff generally seems to have a knowledge of each section. Great selection of saltwater and freshwater and will work with you if you want something they don't have. The back has a large area where you can buy all different rocks for your tank by weight. They also have a pretty good selection of tanks. TFP is also the only place that stocks my FX5 filter sponges. Their prices are generally hard competitive and beat the chains - filters you can get better deals on-line.

It does get crazy busy but I always run into someone with a cool dog. It's about a 40 minute drive for me but worth it. I'll have to check out Getty's in York one of these weekends. 
Good thread.

Tank: 120g w/2 blue gourami, 1 gold gourami, 2 corys, 10 green tigers, 1 rainbow shark.


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## PostShawn

I'm in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. 

I used to like The Giant Fish on Ventura Blvd in Encino. But they recently closed their retail location and I think still do online sales. Their website appears to be down at the moment though. They had seemed to really know their stuff. About average on pricing but seemed pretty fair. Had some nice fish and had lots of retail space compared to other LFS, but they are closed now so maybe the retail space was too much for them. 

I recently went to Mark's Tropical Fish in Studio City on Ventura Pl. I got great service there and some good info and recommendations on putting some life plants in my tank. They also hooked me up with a good price on already pre-soaked drift wood. 

And lastly Underwater Depot has some neat tank setups in their store. It's a bit crowded in there as in the isles are narrow but what fish store isnt. They have one of my favorite tank setups with a community tank and lots of plant growth. They seem to be knowledgeable on the hobby and usually have a lot of variety in stock. I've gotten a couple fish there before and some good info on various topics. 

I'm sure there are lots more in my area. I've actually been to PetSmark in Canoga Park on Victory Blvd and they had a couple people in the fish dept that actually know their stuff. Their stock is decent for a chain store. They still have some things to steer clear of but over all not too bad. I just got a few fish there including some Dwarf Gouramis and they are wonderful fish. 

That's my input on mid SF Valley of Los Angeles.


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## funlad3

I think of all of the chain stores, PetSmart is the least bad.


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## e048

2 in the NW part of Fort Worth, 

The first is petorama great live plants, saltwater, and cichlid selection, they have the strangest fish around like elephant noses, and brackish pipe fish all cheap. Great staff, custom aquariums, even terrium/aquarium hybrids, for example, they have a turtle/archerfish tank for $300

second is keller farms,
it used to be a family koi farm, now they have a more varied selection of fish, it used to be 50/50 FW, SW now it's mostly FW, still great fish, I still have a dwarf gourami I bought there 2 years ago, none of the fish i have bought there have died, great health of the fish, they breed cichlids, and other FW fish, they used to have a 5ft arowana and aropina gigas1500 gallon tank in the back, great fish but pricy though.


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## couchy

mine is zoars Ark in Neath, Wales, UK they got all sorts there


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## platies pwn

carters petstore


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## Elry

http://fishdoctors.com/

This is my favorite fish store (the Ypsi one). It's where I got Callius. They've been there nearly twenty years and are extremely knowledgeable. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly, too. I'm a painfully shy personality, so feeling comfortable to talk to someone is a _huge_ deal for me. I've seen them all multiple times and can actually have a conversation with them! The store is small when you first walk in, but when you go down the staircase, there are hundreds of fish. It's paradise for a fish lover. But I'll stick with my bettas


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## blindkiller85

My favorite by far is a local store to me where owner has been in charge since 1989 (I believe).

http://www.fishybusinessaquarium.com/

The Chain pet stores are generally all the same, however a Pet Land over by Orlando International Airport stands out for their quality of tanks and selection of fish. Only thing they go through is bouts of snails.


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## emc7

PetLands are not corporately owned so they can vary quite a bit. The Dunwoody Petland is currently excellent.


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## xFishAreFriends

Ghost Knife said:


> http://thefishbowlpetshop.net/
> 
> It's about the only local fish store in central MS that actually takes fish trade-ins for store credit, fish, or food. I like it because they have knowledgeable staff that I can relate concerns to.


How did you attach the vid to "New Video" in your signature? I wish I could do that for a vid of my comet named Ronald!


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## SGT Z

hXcChic22 said:


> My favorite from where we lived was "Pet World". It's a local chain, but we only went to two of the stores and only one of them was any good (IMO). The one in Hampton, VA.
> Here's the site but it seems to feature the Newport News one.  http://petworldofva.com/home.nxg
> Anyway, they always had generally healthy tanks and lots of knowledgeable employees. Most of them kept tanks themselves. They also did store credit trade-ins, sold live plants, and had a decent SW section as well. They are willing to specifically order fish for you, and their selection varies with each shipment. Sometimes they'd have just "meh" fish, and other times, they had some awesome stuff in there, like jardini arowanas, ABFs, plus the giant fish people seemed to enjoy dumping on them. On any given day, they'd have a couple huge plecos, plus some other giants like half-grown silver arowanas and tiger shovelnose catfish. They even had an almost full-grown Pacu in there once (and he loved to be pet on the head) but unfortunately he was brought in sick and died.
> 
> And where I'm living right now, this one is my favorite: They don't seem to have a site but here are reviews. http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3722798487/pet--aquatic-warehouse-lynchburg
> They have a HUGE fish selection there. I have never tried to do any trades there so I don't know how that works. But they have an entire basement just filled with tanks and equipment/supplies. We have seen fish there we've seen nowhere else or only rarely, like FW flounder, sparkling gouramis, panda orandas, and hillstream loaches. They also have some ponds outside with koi. We have not bought from them yet because we just moved back here but man, I love just going and looking around to waste time!


The one in NN has more fish and tanks than any fish store I've ever been to. The employees all seem to be experienced fish owners. They recently expanded. It's a pet store, but half of it is fish. It's a really good store.


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## hXcChic22

SGT Z said:


> The one in NN has more fish and tanks than any fish store I've ever been to. The employees all seem to be experienced fish owners. They recently expanded. It's a pet store, but half of it is fish. It's a really good store.


In that area, you'd be better off going to Animal Jungle or Fish Safari if you want quantity. But the four times we went to the NN ones, there was never anything unusual or exciting there. Just your everyday fish. And the place always smelled really badly from the rodents.


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## tiggerbarb

i live in Ottawa,Ont.Canada and at the moment big Al's is my favorite fish store. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly.the store in Orleans has a shark and a wide assortment of fish from salt, brackish and freshwater. Whats unique about this store that i haven't seen in any other store.They have their showroom separate from where the tanks are. The tanks are in a dark area but, not too dark that you can 't see the fish all the tanks are on black shelving so it looks like a picture frame. They have a nice selection of plants aswell. They have 4 ponds some with koi fish, and others with a variety of different sizes of gold fish.


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## Christemo

I second That Fish Place (That Pet Place) in Lancaster, PA. The fish were fantastically well taken care of, and the prices were pretty good. If you like the fake aquarium plants, they were dirty cheap at the store.


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## baileysup

*Three Fish Four Fish*

"Three Fish Four Fish". Jay Park Plaza, Columbia Dr. #5. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. i love these guys! no comparison to chain stores.


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## Danio king

i have a rain forest pets in league city TX it has mostly saltwater but an alright section of tropical fish. Its family owned and they are all very friendly and knowledgeable.


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## chronoboy

Well strangly anough my fav petstore back home has the same name as the store I use alot here,

Noah's ark, virginia st. north bend oregon other location coosbay oregon pretty much same city you cross the street and your in the other city, I really miss those stores havnt been able to find a petstore here that compares.

But I did find one here I like, also named Noah's Ark and its on dyer st. el paso TX.


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## Kurt R Furan

Well, there are no independents in my area that I'm aware of, but when it comes to a battle between Petsmart and Petco, if it's fish you're after, you can't go wrong with Petco. Many of the people who work at the store in My area keep fish themselves and know what they're talking about. I got a lot of help there and they were really supportive when I lost my latest fish and I was trying to figure out what killed it. Their whole stock of that kind of fish had died as well, so they gave me a full refund!  I'd go to Petsmart for anything else, but not Fish!


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## Betta man

Ghost Knife said:


> http://thefishbowlpetshop.net/
> 
> There's several around...


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## pj1218

my favorite fish store is the hidden reef and whenever i go there they always have the fish i want and they have a awesome selection of plants and corals and every thing i could need its sooo awesome    
:fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## snyderguy

Christemo said:


> I second That Fish Place (That Pet Place) in Lancaster, PA. The fish were fantastically well taken care of, and the prices were pretty good. If you like the fake aquarium plants, they were dirty cheap at the store.


I ordered my light fixture from them. Definitely pleased with it :]


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## grogan

In Anchorage we have two locally owned stores: 
Pet Zoo 
Alaska Coral Fanatics 

Pet Zoo:
This store is like your Petco/Petsmart as far as general pet selection but they excel in fish. Unlike the cooperate stores, Pet Zoo lets their fish guy "Brett" order his own shipments. Of course he has management watching what he orders so he is hard pressed to get the really cool stuff but he tries his best. They get a lot of cool fish that I would never find a any of the chain stores. They try to keep more of the exotic fish in stock amd more often, where as the chain stores its more of a special. This is where I got my school of thread fin rainbows, Precox rainbows, fake zebra placo, african butterfly fish, starry night bristle nose placo ext.. Also the people that work the fish tanks are experienced fish keepers that remember me and my tanks and don't waste a lot of my time with basic questions "are you doing water changes, do you have enough filtration" and such. We all know how annoying it can be to walk into a store with a simple question and then have to re-explain something to yet another idiot. Basically good customer service and knowledge of the stuff they are selling is a big plus here. Plus 2-3 times a year they have a half off all live creatures sale! This is usually when I will empty them out lol.

Alaska Coral Fanatics:
This is a true fish store, which we are lucky to have in Alaska. These guys are a bit on the spendy side but I am paying for quality and knowledge. I tend to take my money here even if it means spending twice or even quadruple for a fish that I could get from a chain store. They are 2/3 salt and 1/3 freshwater and the owner Tim tends to push towards the salt side with most people. Their salt water set up is AMAZING! They have a 600 gallon reef tank in the center of the store that will stop you dead in your tracks. For Tim to actually net a fish for you out of this tank can sometimes%


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## dracothebichir

rainbow pets schaumburg Illinois. it has a great selction from fish to birds and everything in between.even porcupines.


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## GloFish1999

Funky Fish & Friends

What does it have? Fish (Both saltwater and freshwater!) Reptiles/Amphibians (Beardies, leos, painted turtles, tree frogs, chamilians, etc...) Aquatic reptiles/amphibians (ADFs, anenemes, although that's more of an animals instead of an aquatic reptile or amphibian and it's probably not spelled right, etc...) and even other animals sometimes (Tarantulas, dwarf hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, etc...)
How good is it? AMAZING!!! 
Where is it? Gaylord, Michigan http://gaylordfunkyfish.com/
What makes it worth checking out? Well, basicly everything... On their website it says they have a stingray tank, but now it has their anenemes (like I said before, probably spelled wrong...)

YOU GOT TO CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!!


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## OhYesItsMe

Mine is ABC Aquarium.

http://abcpetcity.com/

They have an amazing selection and many fish I have never seen. The fish are healthy and good quality. The people there know a lot and are very helpful. They have a really cool room with couches all these big display tanks filled with fish.


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## Sorafish

The Ocean Floor, in Arizona (can't remember city) Is has the best selection of fish I've found. Service is iffy though. The manager sucks as far as people skills go (the employees don't know what they'll get in shipments or when because of this) and one of the girls that works there is careless when it comes to catching fish, but the guy that works freshwater is very experienced and willing to help with anything you need. The fish are pretty great quality from what I've seen.


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## dracothebichir

:fish::fish:my favorite local pet store is rainbow pets in st. charles illinois. it has a knowledgable staff,great selection,and great prices.:fish:


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## giggitygiggity

For those who live in San Diego. 


Aquatic Warehouse - Only been there once, but the name says most about it. They are only a fish store. They have both freshwater and saltwater, pretty big selection, and friendly staff. I purchased a fish and a rock from them, my rock was 14 pounds and when the lady rung me up he said "The rock was 14lbs but ring it up at 12 pounds" Cool staff!


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## Bug Girl

I live on Long Island, NY and good pet stores are few and far between, at least when it comes to fish. There are two good ones I've been to so far though.

In Riverhead there is a Petland Discounts (yes, it's a chain, but this particular store is wonderful). It doesn't have much variety and tends to stick with the basic freshwater species, but its fish tend to be healthy and the people working there are helpful. It has some of the best angelfish on the island, or so I've been told. 

In Patchogue there is Country Critters. Going by it on the street you'd think it a small, shabby place. It's not. Inside it's huge and nothing like its outside would suggest. It's where you go if you want exotics or very large specimens. As a result the prices are on the high side for most of the fish there, but not unreasonably so. The people there know what they're talking about and won't sell you a fish they don't think you can handle. Be honest about the tank setup you have and they'll match you with the perfect fish.


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## rolltide

Its crazy but I get most of my fish at walmart and they live longer then the ones at petco or petsmart.I bought a platy this week and it had babies the day i got it and so far i found 21 and i cant belive that there doing good too.:smile:


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## emc7

Be specific, which Walmart?


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## MagPie

In Sacramento I'm still looking for a good local place since the place I used to go to closed. Walmart doesn't sell fish in my area anymore, they haven't for a while. Plus their fish were never good. Petco is ok, not much of a selection and the fish usually have something wrong with them. The one fish I got from Petco died within a week (was not my tank).

So far I've been to Aqua Workz, which has a decent setup, good selection of fish. However, customer service could use some work and they have tattooed fish there.

Next Exotic, which also was lacking in customer service. However it is a big store that had a lot of dry goods and a big selection of fish (most of which looked ify) and a nice selection of live plants. Most of the tanks weren't that clean. One tank full of plants had debris all over the plants. But the plants in other tanks looked good. Oh and the store was noisey, I think they run these big exhaust fans all the time. Which makes hearing yourself think hard to do haha.

Finally I went to JoJo's which I didn't spend much time in. It's a smaller store, but their stock looked healthy and tanks looked clean. They had some nice setups with plants and even had some Zebra Otos, which I was very tempted to buy. haha.

I haven't bought anything recently but I will definately go back to JoJo's.


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## MsAquarium

Anyone have a favorite from Oklahoma?


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## SalamanDERP

those sound great, are there any in florida preferably in miami?


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## IAoddball

Pet Barn in Council Bluffs, IA is pretty amazing (for it being in IA). It's all FW usually commons like guppies, barbs, etc. But you can special order just about anything. A friend of mine ordered a needlenose gar from then ($40), Red Tail Catfish, and a Jardini Arowana. 

I'm currently in debates in my mind to put in my 75 with my Senegal Bichir. But when i figure it out, I will probably go there to order it.


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## Cat216

I have to say Sea Dwellers and Friends in Angola, IN is becoming my favorite. They have tons of fish, salt and fresh, but the best is the staff! They treat you as if you were the only customer in the store and each and every one of them has answers to all the beginners questions. I'm already wondering where I can put a second tank of different fish.


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## Murloc

For anyone in California, here are my favorite spots.

The Aquatic Warehouse - San Diego ( Kerny Mesa [hands down dopest place] )

Tri City Tropical - Vista

The Pond Source - Carlsbad

Aquarium Odyssey - Palm Desert

San Diego Aquarium Rock - Spring Valley

Pet Kingdom - San Diego ( The Owner and I do a lot of work with tranchulas )

Octopuss Garden - San Diego

Goldfish World - San Diego

Aqua SD - San Diego

Fish Haven - Escondido

Deep Sea Creations - Temecula

Exotic Tropical Fish Of The World - Moreno Valley

Fish Fantasy - Riverside 

Aquarium In Motion - Corona


The List honestly goes on and on but those are in my top 10 or so.


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## snyderguy

Blue Fish Aquarium over here in Grand Rapids, MI


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## Betta man

If I ever go to southern CA, I think I'll check some of those out. For northern CA, O street aquarium is good, aqua life aquarium, aquaworkz, (my favorite) lee's feed, and the sunrise petcenter.


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## grogan

Crew, if you have a smart phone get it out and take a video of your local shops! I would love to see what the other shops look like!


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## Murloc

Betta man said:


> If I ever go to southern CA, I think I'll check some of those out. For northern CA, O street aquarium is good, aqua life aquarium, aquaworkz, (my favorite) lee's feed, and the sunrise petcenter.


Out of my whole list, if you come down here and have to choose one, go to The Aquatic Warehouse. Some people don't like it because it is kind of like, the king of LFS in southern California, but it is still a LFS and they still only have one store so I don't know why people get all over their case haha. It is literally, a warehouse. Salt, Fresh, Ponds, everything. And they know their stuff. I have been dealing with the same people there for years. They just remodeled not too long ago as well.. and the place is even doper. 



grogan said:


> Crew, if you have a smart phone get it out and take a video of your local shops! I would love to see what the other shops look like!


I know the AW won't care if I shoot a video of their place.. Others might mind but I will for sure.


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## Sally*Koi

There's a Petco that's 10-15 minutes away from my house. Sometimes it grosses me out, though, because the filters in the tanks there are really strong, and fish get stuck to them, and then the other fish in that tank start to eat them.... I know, ew, right?


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## bullseyejoey

Paradise Aquarium
Middle Village, NY
IDK the address but its on Freshpond Rd.

The employees are excellent and they sell fish, tanks, and all other fish supplies as well as birds, gerbils, reptiles (which is where I got my pet snake). It is my favorite and I am always excited to go to the store.


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## graceful.04

Nassau County in Long Island NY, Pets Warehouse. It's a local chain (only three stores) and one of them doesn't sell fish. The one I go to in Carle Place is amazing though. When you walk in, there is an enormous koi pond and when you wander into the back, so many fish!!! Fresh and salt water. They are the healthiest fish I've ever gotten out of a pet store at a great price. Two of the employees know my name (yes, it is partially because I go there almost every day...) and they are so helpful and knowledgeable. They also have a great selection of plants and a huge amount of just about anything you need for your fish. Love it! 

Also... I'm starting up a fish store of my own!!! So far there is no storefront and I'm currently working on getting a selection of fish and fish supplies so nothing for sale yet, but the site is indeepwateronline.com you should check it out!


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## CJH0825

My favorite fish shop is a place in Lewiston Maine called Black Shark. Ron, The owner and only employee has been in business for 40+ years. He doesn't do much business during the summer, but during the winter he is so busy that he orders his fish in lots of 3000 a week. That's alot of fish! He has some beautiful show tanks in the store with some of the biggest fish I've ever seen. In August he is setting up a 1500g tank. I can't wait to see it.

Almost all of my fish have come from him, Very knowledgeable and understanding to his customers. He will talk you ear off. Alot of times I just go in his place to look and listen to him talk. I'm excited to see what kind of new fish he will be adding to his place this fall.


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## dani2spot

baltimore, md: exotic aquatics
it's an amazing store. unfortunately, it's between 1.5 and 2+ hours each way for me to get there. i haven't been in a while, but the last time i went, they had an insane selections of both fw and sw fish and inverts. all their tanks are pristine and they focus on acclimating an wild-caught specimen to aquarium life, including commercially available diets, before selling them.
i was able to muster just enough self-control, but during my last visit i was tempted to purchase a handful of fw pipefish.
such a cool place =)


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## lohachata

my favorite fishstore is my basement..nice selection of fish and i can get them for free.. i am always adding new stuff anhd they get treated like royalty...lol

it is a shame that so many of the small shops are closing down..they just cannot compete with the big stores except for the knowledge..and as i have experienced , there are an awful lot of folks that just do not want good advice.............


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## Toshogu

Out here in Los Angeles the fish stores have been droping like flies just like the hobby store industry. it's not so much that I have a favorite anymore, but one that frequent because it's close and it's not petco/petsmart


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## Aqua

I like my local PetCo because of the HUGE selection, but for cleanliness and proper knowledge I much prefer Benson's! We used to have a great family-owned fish and bird shop in my town, but the owners sold it and now it's just gone down hill. The place is just gross now! Mold on the walls, dead fish in all the tanks, an ant infestation... Where are the health inspectors!?


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## dannygreen

Bob's Tropical Fish in LA! 
234 S Atlantic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90022, United States


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## AmyBrandon

Thank you all for sharing this fish store list...


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## LizStreithorst

The chains put the best home owned fish store out of business. Poor guy moved to a better location. 6 months later a damned Pet Smart opened next door to him. 

We have just one locally owned place in town now. It's a pet store with birds, reptiles and fish. They stayed put in their cramped location where they have always been. They were there when I got in to fish back in 2001 and they're still there now. They work hard and they make a living.

They know me. They like me. They helped me big time when I had to make an emergency move. They kept my Discus for me until I could get set up tanks. They sold the ones I told them that they could sell and gave me money when the fish sold. To this day they buy Angels from me. They pay me in cash. They always give me a discount when I buy something from them. When I was overrun by multitudes of Angel fry they gave me the name of the wholesaler. 

Pet Smart and PetCo would never do that for me. Neither will they buy from me. I refuse to business with them. I have never set foot in either one. 

Even when one of them was having a $1 per gallon sale I bought 2 29's from my place. They just cost $10. more each. Spending $20. less ain't worth betraying the kindness these folks have shown me.

The name of the place is Pet Place. It's located in Hattiesburg, MS.


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## TheOldSalt

Nice! That one is in range, so I'll have to check it out someday.


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## aimeusdietger

Do all Walmart stores sell fish? And do they sell the whole range of products including tanks and other accessories? I've always found it easier to get fish from a pet store but I recently moved to Oklahoma and I haven't got an ideal pet store yet.


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## lohachata

not all walmarts sell fish and/or fish supplies..and usually those that do are not very good at providing healthy fish or employees that actually know anything about fish..try to find a local fish club..become an active member..they will gladly tell you about all of the best and worst shops to visit.


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## limey714

*local store*

Im from pittsburgh pa.and i would have to say elmers aquarium n pond suppy (47yrs.) hands down.There are 3 chain stores within a 2 block radius and they cannot compete with quality or health of fish very large selection


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## TheOldSalt

Cool! I think I heard of Elmer's once a long time ago. I love the old stores.


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