LFS

Michael Gilbreath · May 20, 2019

lol I live 30miles from closest town has a little store but no saltwater, closest to me is 150mile drive and then only Petco, and a couple LFS and only one is worth anything. Can not buy online due to no overnite shipping here and most places can't find my address lol.

mattzang · May 20, 2019

i have a bunch around me, but i do live in socal (albeit inland)

most of them are pretty meh. one seems to be all in on really expensive stuff, so they're annoying because they give off a vibe of if you're not buying a gem tang we don't care. they really push if you want a fish tell us we'll get it and give it to you still in the bag from the wholesale when they go into LA. cool i guess, but why not just order from live aquaria with the 2 weeks guarantee?

another is basically a move fish in move fish out asap kind of deal. when i get a bigger tank they might be good to use for really finicky fish because they frequently get several copperbands and moorish idols in so i could at least pick one that's eating and acting well.

there is a great one about 30 min away, young kid that tries super hard and means well, but his store is kinda small and he doesn't get a ton of new stuff in. he even tries to do a LFS QT for fish, which is cool. i try to make my way over there when i can, but 30 miles in socal is pretty far at certain times..

luckylepgw · May 21, 2019

My lfs is great... It is an hour away, but it is saltwater dedicated and the owner is the only employee. Great guy, cuts me deals all the time.

Opus · May 21, 2019

Jekyl said:
Place is called Tropicorium in Romulous. Been in business over 20 years.

Is it still run by Mr. Perrin?

russell13 · May 21, 2019

I’m in Southern California and we have many shops to choose from. Also lots of people grow so there are always frags at great deals.

Goodair · May 21, 2019

Silverfish said:
I love going to local fish stores. No surprise, I’m sure many of us can’t pass one up without checking it out.
However, I do believe they are a dying breed. Between internet and local reefers I think all the bases are covered.

As long as they offer maintenance service, I think they can survive. It's definitely got to be a struggle to compete with online vendors but thats true for alot of brick and mortar stores nowadays sadly.