Lfs in so cal

[bigdog0598]

Also in Simi Valley there is simi tropical fish, they are hit and miss but i've never got a bad fish from them and they always get in random rare fish and sell them for cheap, last week i was there and and they had a 3-4" mapa puffer for $50. RIDICULOUS!!!

[reef-luva]

...for corals, VIVID in Canoga Park on Vanowen, for fish, RAINBOW in Arleta on Woodman....both great stores, great stock, great prices and cool people. Check out VIVID'S website....

[jonathansruelas]

Originally Posted by reef-luva

...for corals, VIVID in Canoga Park on Vanowen, for fish, RAINBOW in Arleta on Woodman....both great stores, great stock, great prices and cool people. Check out VIVID'S website....

i agree these are the 2 stores i go to most..
there's also one in valencia called Valencia Pet

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by jonathansruelas

there's also one in valencia called Valencia Pet

Is that the one with the Zero Edge display tanks? Pretty nice display, but it turned me off of Zero Edge tanks since the overflow gurgle was so very loud.

[thebanker]

Dang. All the good stores are in LA and north of LA.

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by thebanker

Dang. All the good stores are in LA and north of LA.

Haha. Actually - opposite. All the great stores (except Vivid) are in Orange County. Amazing Aquariums and Reefs, SocalTropicalFish and other stops down south are the ones to get excited about it...seems like every time I hear of a decent store to go to it is in Fullerton or somewhere down near Anaheim... Cost of leases in Los Angeles probably have a lot to do with it...

[hail_sniper]

pet town in downey- neat small collection of sw and corals has some decent frags for reasonable pricing, they used to have less. nice to know theyre stepping it up and yes theyll work with you and order a fish if you really want it. the owner (older asian guy) knows his salt well enough. prices there are normal but not cheap. definitley my LFS plus other pet supplies.

[lifeform]

Yesterday I went to Coral Island in Orange and the customer service was great. Nice assortment of frags and mini colonies. I will visit this store again next time I am in Orange County.

[eric mac]

Originally Posted by lifeform

Yesterday I went to Coral Island in Orange and the customer service was great. Nice assortment of frags and mini colonies. I will visit this store again next time I am in Orange County.

I can agree with u on that one. I went their yesterday and pick a hand full of frags for a great deal.

[showtime]

Originally Posted by eric mac

I can agree with u on that one. I went their yesterday and pick a hand full of frags for a great deal.

I have also went there last weekend on a spurging spree, and love the selection of frags he had
I bartered with him to the point where i bought more stuff as he gave me more discounts.
I should have paid over a 100 but got all of em for $76
(p.s. did you guys see his red dragon colony)

[thebanker]

I just checked out Leng Sy's warehouse to see how it was coming along. It is going to be very cool when it's complete. I'm not allowed to post any pics yet, but there is a Martin Moe designed surge tank that is very cool, featuring a surge zone and an intertidal zone. I kid you not when I tell you, I sat and watched it for a good 45 minutes, and was still entertained. I've never seen anything like it.

[VessellKen]

http://www.capistranoreef.com/index.php

worth the drive, see Ron or Chris when you go!

Ken

[MrSandman]

I only visit 2 LFS's on a regular basis.

1. Aquatic Fantasy (Redondo Beach) - Saltwater stuff only. Good fish selection and i've found their fish to be extremely healthy. All of their fish are tagged with dates so you can see how long they have been in there for. Their fish prices are decent and slightly above average but i think its a fair trade-off for healthy fish. Their frag tank is just ok, but a little on the expensive side. Their coral tanks have alot of items but nothing unique. Mostly common stuff and on the expensive side. Their prices are pretty fixed. They have a display tank in the front of the store that i once asked if they could sell me a frag of xenia from and they refused. Thought that was pretty funny. Probably because any time they deviate from the asking price or standard protocol they need the owners permission.

2. Jim's Exotic Fish (El Segundo) - Nice store. Nice people. They sell both fresh and saltwater stuff. I go here all the time because its close to work and in the strip where i eat lunch on a regular basis. Not too many fish but their prices are pretty good. They do get some nice frags every once in a while and they are priced lower than most shops in the area. The frags that they carry are zoas, sps, acans, and some other smaller stuff. The neat thing i like about them is that sometimes they will have a very large colony of nice zoas for a decent price, however, i only want a small frag of it. There have been a few times where i'll ask them if they can break me off a piece for a lower price. If its possible to do without damaging the rest of the colony then they will do it. Probably because the people that run the shop ARE the owners. So they can make decisions on the spot and not risk losing business.

I was in there last week and they mentioned that they have plans to completely renovate their reef section by the end of this year. Looking forward to that for sure.

[hail_sniper]

just went to (pasadena tropical fish) for the first time.. WOW alot of coral selection i was pretty amazed. prices are a bit high tho. almost 3 fold what they wholesale.

Strictly Fish - has locline and plumbing parts in the back btw (got excited when i found out) but may be better to get online unless u cant wait

[hail_sniper]

dp..

[Ann Marie]

Originally Posted by MrSandman

I only visit 2 LFS's on a regular basis.

2. Jim's Exotic Fish (El Segundo) - Nice store. Nice people. They sell both fresh and saltwater stuff. I go here all the time because its close to work and in the strip where i eat lunch on a regular basis. Not too many fish but their prices are pretty good. They do get some nice frags every once in a while and they are priced lower than most shops in the area. The frags that they carry are zoas, sps, acans, and some other smaller stuff. The neat thing i like about them is that sometimes they will have a very large colony of nice zoas for a decent price, however, i only want a small frag of it. There have been a few times where i'll ask them if they can break me off a piece for a lower price. If its possible to do without damaging the rest of the colony then they will do it. Probably because the people that run the shop ARE the owners. So they can make decisions on the spot and not risk losing business.

I was in there last week and they mentioned that they have plans to completely renovate their reef section by the end of this year. Looking forward to that for sure.

They carry a lot more fresh vs salt, but when I want something specific I ask Michelle if she can get it for me. She's the daughter and she handles the marine stuff. It may take a little while but she is usually able to come up with it and I've been happy.

I find it funny that sometimes I'll want something and they'll tell me that I really don't. Instead of selling me something that I'll be sorry about in the future they just won't sell it to me. I must admit that I do know them (my son and their daughter) but I try and buy most of my items there anyway. That's how I got into fish. My son talked me into it because I love the ocean and am a big time scuba diver. I thought I'd get to see my son more often too if I had him maintain my tanks.

They won't carry some of the harder things to keep like seahorses or sharks, octopus, or jellyfish just because they don't want people that can't care for them to buy them just to kill them.

I was in there last week and saw that they had this odd mis-mash tank and asked about it. A customers home was being tented and they were holding his stock for them. I didn't ask if they were charging him to do that but I thought that was really cool.

[thebanker]

Originally Posted by VessellKen

http://www.capistranoreef.com/index.php

worth the drive, see Ron or Chris when you go!

Ken

NO WAY! Where is this located? Not much detail on the website, but it would probably be the closest store to me.

[elvis142]

hello, i decided to check this place out after work. Chris is totallyt cool along with the store. looks great. its about time a store like this makes it to the real south oc!!

Originally Posted by VessellKen

http://www.capistranoreef.com/index.php

worth the drive, see Ron or Chris when you go!

Ken

[petzerman]

Went to Coral Island on Friday had a bunch of frags. Two large frag tanks with frags. If you buy multiple frags he'll hook it up. Customer service was great and he told me that hes try to have 6 frags tanks set up. GO check him out. I believe his name is Tony. great guy!

[hipertec]

Been out of the hobby for a few years. Now looking for a good LFS in the Ontario/IE area with good healthy fishes and great prices. any suggestions?

[vamaro]

Capistrano Reef +1 - great customer service and a really nice store.

[thebanker]

Capistrano Reef +1, can't wait to go again tomorrow!

[ctmgardea]

Originally Posted by elvis142

hello, i decided to check this place out after work. Chris is totallyt cool along with the store. looks great. its about time a store like this makes it to the real south oc!!

what is the address for this store?

[Higgy2010]

Originally Posted by thebanker

Capistrano Reef +1, can't wait to go again tomorrow!

I've been there a couple of times already. The store is clean and well-organized. The stock is good, with more coming soon, I was told. Owners are knowledgeable. Thanks to them, I got rid of my red slime algae.

I'm planning to go back for a big purchase of livestock with my 20% off coupon. I have one extra coupon if anybody needs it.

[mofoglenn333]

the only lfs ive been to worth going to in the IE is mystic reef in riverside. jeremy is super cool. of course the more you spend the better prices you get which is great and how biz should be done. if anyone knows of more LFS in the IE PLEASE post it here. im in the high desert and the closest to me is aquarium world. bret there is a super chump. dont waste your time with them!