For those in larger cities..Question

[blackcows]

I live in Omaha, Nebraska and we have 4 stores that carry SW. Two of them are great the others are so-so. If you aren't at these stores when the shipments arrive or very soon after your chances of getting anything other than mushroom rocks, yellow tangs, or blue damsels is very small. Many times you have to buy things before they are even out of the bag if you want a really good selection. Is this common even in some of the larger cities with more stores? Can you go to a LFS most anytime and find something that you would like to put in your tank?

Mike

[keto]

thats why I order offline the nearest good lfs is a hour away from me and i hate to drive all the way there and find a yellow tang.

[blackcows]

The thing I don't like about ordering online is you don't know what you will get. I saw several frogspawns come and come at the LFS before I found one that had good color, you don't have that option ordering online. IMO I would rather let the LFS take the risk rather than me.

Mike

[Pandora]

Mike, it kinda depends on the store. Most places, I can still find a good selection mid week (I am in DC, also speaking for my time in NY/NJ). However, now that I'm not just a window shopper most times, I like to find out the exact day of new shipments, just to get first pick, because there are some rarer things that go fast. But things I really want, I preorder and they hold for me. Also nicer because by then they have had some time to acclimate in the store and you can weed out the ones that would have died from disease or stress that way.

[eng55]

Yes I also have the same problem. However I have come to be good friends with the lfs owner here in town. So if I want a specific fish he will order it for me at no cost. So far whatever he has ordered for me has been a beautiful fish. There is a bigger lfs with more selection of fish a half hour away that I go to and pick up some supplies. I have only bought fish there when I knew what I wanted and they had a good specimen there.
E

[JER-Z]

there are a few stores around here where you can find just about any fish you want, and a great coral selection....however, you pay for it...The smaller operations are usually cheaper but it often slim pickings

[sean48183]

I live in downriver mi just south of detroit and am very fortunate to have 4 saltwater lfs's within about 3 miles of each other. It's a hidden secret in the detroit area many don't know about. They all compete with each other and are very accomodating as well relatively cheap. Move around here and you'll never have a problem.

[NeilPearson]

The lfs I go to has a great selection, they write the arrival date of all the fish on the tank. They are a little more expensive but it is nice to know when the fish got in. A lot of the lifestock has been there a month or more... some things like large triggers and puffers will be there a long time.... several months.

[rockindacheeks]

some stores around me OC/LA area get shipments in everyday... being on the westcoast makes it nice...

[jmicky41]

In Chicago land we have many large high quality stores and many smaller ones. The larger ones can always be counted on for large selections, but often higher prices. If one store disappoints there is always another 20 minutes away.