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lfs - looking for better places (georgia)

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by blowfishRus6, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    jezzzz. i dont have much of a selection around my house but what i do have, there not worth going to.

    walmart- ha dont get me started, there fish always have ich, but they do have some decent prices on some things.

    local pet store- always have dead fish in there tanks and there fish have broke out with ich a few times. they have a decent selection of fish supplies tho.

    petsmart- probably my favorite now, have a decent selection of fish at diffrent sizes, good selection on fish supplies, a little expensive tho. still not the best tho, wish there was better.

    the little exotic pet shop- its got a few dogs and lizards, snakes, freshwater fish and the only one around with saltwater fish. he used to be my guy i went to but after going there the other day, i dont know :/ alot of his tanks were real dirty, looked like the maintinece had not been done on some for a while, some had dead fish stuck to the filter, some of the fish looked gunky, so on. he probably still has some of the best fish (really goes to show you what selection i have around here) he takes the best care of his fish i think, atleast when it comes to water conditions and what not. but he aint got the biggest selection of fresh water fish.

    what do i do???? i personally like petsmart the best right now because of the selection, the last 3-4 fish i have got was from there and they have been pretty healthy.

    but im not 100% happy with them either. i want more selection and well it seems like its highschool kids that take care of the tanks, they dont always care about takin care of the fish, just trying to get the job done ya know.

    guess im gonna have to start ordering on line (or find some more LPS) how is the shipping when ordered online?? does it shock the fish alot?? do yall order off line alot, do yall have any complications with doing it?? would it be worth to just get one or two fish at a time???

    any feedback is welcome...
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 29, 2009
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  2. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    try the fish store reviews section for online store reviews (and brick & mortar ones too)---> <a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.theexoticfish.com/viewforum.php?f=26" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewforum.php?f=26</a>

    Also, it would help knowing what your looking for species wise or water type wise (ie. freshwater, brackish, saltwater)...I know of a few places, but would need to knowwhat your looking for first.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 30, 2009
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  3. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    african cichlids
    lake malawi

    more so looking for some feedback from other people, what they think about there LPS and well some feed back about ordering online, if anybody has had in issuies or anything like that.

    ill check out the links.
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 30, 2009
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  4. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    i think the title is a little misleading tho, really i just want people to share there options on there local fish stores, not help me find better local ones.

    i apricate the help tho..
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 30, 2009
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  5. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    confused:
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 30, 2009
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  6. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    okay.......

    what are you confussed about????? im confussed by what your getting at.


    basically im asking about ordering online....

    maybe has anyone had there fish die with shiping or something....

    idk just looking for feedback.
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 30, 2009
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  7. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    as for online...I've ordered from ebay (bristlenoses, cherry & yellow shrimp, and some freshwater oddities) and received them priority mail...all came through perfectly.

    I've also ordered from saltwaterfish.com during the winter and amazingly everything arrived alive and in excellent condition (and we're talking about crabs, fish, and shrimp).

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    as for my local lfs...petsmart has clean looking tanks and for the most part healthy looking fish, petco has nasty looking tanks with dead fish everywhere, elmers aquarium used to be great- but the last few times I was there I saw quite a few dead fish that weren't being removed & several tanks being medicated.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    online for cichlids you might wanna look at:
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.cichlidstation.com/servlet/StoreFront" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cichlidstation.com/servlet/StoreFront</a>
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/</a>
    aquabid
    ebay
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 30, 2009
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  8. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    oh. and the confused part has to do with trying to find you suggestions on local fish stores in your area that are better or ONLINE places with reasonable shipping to your area (georgia)...

    I think I provided a few things that you may be looking for (although I'm sure my lfs in my area isn't helping you in your quest to find quality/healthy fish).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 30, 2009
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  9. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    thanks.

    good to hear that your petsmart has some good fish. maybe that will give me some insintive to check out a few other petsmart's that are in the area.

    the thing is tho, if petsmart is the best that most people have for there LPS, i might find look for the quality im looking for online then.

    im just a little worried about shiping fish.
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 30, 2009
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  10. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Yea, I hear ya on the worried part with shipping/receiving fish through mail order.

    But in my case...it was sooo much cheaper to do the online (we're talking saving 50-75%), so in my case the price had more to do with it than the actual quality issue within the lfs.

    I've heard very good things about jeff (tangled up in cichlids) & know a few on here have used/ordered from him.

    I can vouch for saltwaterfish.com and say the service I received was superb & the savings was even better!

    My last puchases have been through oddball pets...Stephanie is very nice & Dave seems to know his stuff! <a class="postlink" href="http://www.oddballpets.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.oddballpets.com/</a>
    There prices are fair too & they receive specimens that you just don't see at the other fish stores in my area.

    the guy I bought off ebay several times is now showing a screen name of usinverts. Great guy & extremely healthy stock! <a class="postlink" href="http://myworld.ebay.com/usinverts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://myworld.ebay.com/usinverts</a>

    My other suggestion would be to try listing what your looking for in/on your local craiglist...might suprise you in finding out theres a few home breeders in your area?
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 30, 2009
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  11. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    thanks. great info.

    at some of those prices it might be worth buying online just for the amount of fish i could get per $$$ compared to my LPS.

    idk i guess i just get fed up of going into my LPS and seeing these nasty tanks with dead fish all in them. does everybody have this problem??

    i might make my next purchase online and see how that goes. looking for some female kenyi african cichlids.
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 30, 2009
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  12. BobV

    BobV Member

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    there are lots of good and honest sellers on <a class="postlink" href="http://www.aquabid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.aquabid.com</a> you might check them out. You can read feedback from people who have bought and had fish shipped from a particular dealer. I personally have ordered from "famikert" and can personally vouch for his response, and quality of fish, I had mine shipped overnight, because I'm in Alaska, but it was worth the extra money for the service and quality of fish I recieved.
     
    BobV, Dec 30, 2009
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  13. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    thanks for the info. im gonna davile into it on my next perchise.
     
    blowfishRus6, Dec 31, 2009
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  14. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    needed and algie eater, mine jumped out. so i headed to my local petsmart. pretty much the same exact fish they had a month ago, half the tanks were empty with lots of dead fish everywhere. checked out the african cichlids, not much of a selection there, and they only had a few planco's so i left.

    i went to the local pet supply store, they have a small fish section. picked up my 6in planco there. they usally have a decent selection of planco's there and they have the biggest ones. looked at the african cichlids there and they all seemed to be males :/ but they had a better selection. but they were not all in the best shape.

    i guess they kinda put the fish on the back burner for the winter time.

    anybody ever had an issuies with getting fish shiped in the winter time (fish getting to cold) ???
     
    blowfishRus6, Jan 7, 2010
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  15. cooltow1

    cooltow1 Member

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    a good dealer will use heated pack in the winter and/or hold the shipment in very cold weather

    Rick
     
    cooltow1, Jan 7, 2010
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  16. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    yep, agree with Rick that a good experienced shipper will compare yours & his weather and use a appropriate time heat pack & a styrofoam container (insulation). I know we all hate to pay it, but during the winter months it's definately best to use overnight express.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 7, 2010
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  17. blowfishRus6

    blowfishRus6 Thread Starter New Member

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    awesome. i really cant stand the lack of quality at the LPS around here.
     
    blowfishRus6, Jan 7, 2010
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