Any garage sellers?

[Bob2bob Verified Admin]

I used to live in SF and I found that the best corals and fish actually came from a couple of people with garage businesses selling corals/fish from there.

Are there any in miami? Or where are the best places to buy corals and fish? Does LFS treat their fish with copper?

 

[jsker]

Let see if someone is on from Miami.

 

[Stella1979]

I'm a little way south of Miami.

There are garage sellers around. Sadly, I haven't really checked them out yet. There is one local guy that I've bought from a few times, not sure that he's a member here, but I will direct him to this thread. You can definitely find more garage sellers on Craigslist though. Hmmm, I know that there are some really great sellers down here too, but I'm pretty sure folks like @joshporksandwic don't sell out of the garage... but perhaps he could better answer your question about garage sellers than I can. I'd love to know how it goes for you, and perhaps we can share future experiences.

My preferred LFS's are Ocean View Aquariums on Bird Rd., VIP Reef in Cutler Bay on 137th Ave, Reef Top on US1 down south, Blue Seas in Ft. Lauderdale, as well as Aquarium King also in Ft. Lauderdale. Aquarium King has given me the pleasure of showing me the back room and their great qt setup. They are my preferred store for fish. There are lots of stores around, but these are where I've had good experiences. There are also one or two that I would absolutely avoid, particularly one near to Kendall and 117th Ave.

The LFS's do run copper as far as I know. At least, I'm sure they do at a particular LFS, but I'm not sure about them all. I've noticed that most keep their inverts in separate systems though, and that's a sign of copper use to me.

 

[Struggler]

I agree with @Stella1979 on Ocean View Aquariums. The staff is great, displays tanks are wonderful, and one of the cleanest lfs I have ever seen. However, I recommend going in immediately when they get a shipment. The really interesting pieces and fish are sold almost immediately.

 

[RickG]

Following. I have been trying to find new garage sellers in the Miami area. Only seller I go to now that’s from home is perfect corals by Miami Dade college Kendall. Used to go to reefgoddess. As far as best LFS strictly fish has been the best in my experience

 

[Bob2bob Verified Admin]

I'll definitely have to check out Ocean's and Perfect Corals then.

I was watching corlafish12g on youtube and he mentioned that there was a clownfish breeder by the name of Miguel Hurtado down here. Does anyone know about him and how to get in touch?

 

[Stella1979]

I agree with @Stella1979 on Ocean View Aquariums. The staff is great, displays tanks are wonderful, and one of the cleanest lfs I have ever seen. However, I recommend going in immediately when they get a shipment. The really interesting pieces and fish are sold almost immediately.

Yep, Ocean View is definitely the cleanest and friendliest in Dade, and for the same reasons, Aquarium King in Broward is worth the drive.

 

[Zeal]

Blue Seas Aquariums in Sunrise is absolutely amazing, the amount of corals they have + how clean it looks + the prices for the sizes is amazing. They specialize in coral only.

Another is Miami Finest Aquariums, great store the owner Chris is legit.

Will be checking out Aquarium King tomorrow, first time I hear of it.

Would love to visit a garage seller tho, if anyone could recommend.

 

[Eggs]

There’s a guy in Pembroke Pines that sells supposedly cheap with a nice selection. You can find his contact info on Craig’s list. I’ve seen the ad but it was a LFS owner that told me he offers good deals.

Frag Swap also next weekend in Weston.

 

[Zeal]

There’s a guy in Pembroke Pines that sells supposedly cheap with a nice selection. You can find his contact info on Craig’s list. I’ve seen the ad but it was a LFS owner that told me he offers good deals.

Frag Swap also next weekend in Weston.

dang dont know his name?

Im dragging my GF to the Frag Swap next weekend, will be my first one. Im new to the hobby

 

[Eggs]

dang dont know his name?

Im dragging my GF to the Frag Swap next weekend, will be my first one. Im new to the hobby

 

[Zeal]

I'll look into this. Gonna see how the frag swap is on Saturday if I don't find anything worthwhile I'll hit this guy up

 

[Bob2bob Verified Admin]

@Zeal were you able to check that guy out? Im getting anxious while cycling my tank

 

[SneakyTortuga]

There’s a lot of local guys who have great selections.

Jays clownfish in Coral Springs has every clown you can think of at great prices. The fish are in amazing health.

Speedreefer or piratereef are the go to guys for Sps corals. They rival wwc when it comes to coral health.

I-frag-it is the go to guy when It comes to zoas. He has any zoa you could ever want.

Ocean reef, hydra aquatics, professional fish keepers are all great stores to check out with good fish selections

 

[Zeal]

@Zeal were you able to check that guy out? Im getting anxious while cycling my tank

I didn't I went to the weston frag swap and got s couple stuff instead.

Is it better to buy from these local guys instead of the actual stores? Seems their prices are a lot better..

 

[Zeal]

There’s a lot of local guys who have great selections.

Jays clownfish in Coral Springs has every clown you can think of at great prices. The fish are in amazing health.

Speedreefer or piratereef are the go to guys for Sps corals. They rival wwc when it comes to coral health.

I-frag-it is the go to guy when It comes to zoas. He has any zoa you could ever want.

Ocean reef, hydra aquatics, professional fish keepers are all great stores to check out with good fish selections

Can I have link to these peoples pages??

 

[Farid0926]

Checked out rubios corals last night. Hes in pembroke pines. Alot of crazy nice corals

 

[Zeal]

Checked out rubios corals last night. Hes in pembroke pines. Alot of crazy nice corals

How was it? I get scared going to strangers houses. How was the prices and quality?

 

[Farid0926]

It was good. He has 1 pretty big frag rank covered in frags. Prices are good. He has mixed ricks for great prices. Frags start at 5 buck. Selection is great. I picked up 5 frags. Didn't really bother with the names. Just told him how much i had and that i wanted color and let him choose for me. Cool guy. I was kinda scared the first time i owned a reef tank but you get used to it lol.

 

[Zeal]

Hmm maybe I'll grow a pair and go..