Looking for suggestion on a fish store

[Seek828]

Hi all,

I live in Richmond BC and am thinking there aren't a whole lot of different places around that I can go to for fish.
I don't keep coral as of now and am just looking for a truthworthy store with some good selection of healthy fishes.

So far I know of the following:

Big Al's - in Richmond,
Ocean Aquatics - in Delta
J&L Aquatics - in Burnaby
King Ad - in Burnaby

Am I missing some great place out there that somehow never caught my eyes? Especially those smaller privately owned store that sometimes have good stock and nice deals?

Also, what do you guys think of the stores listed above?
Any comment which is the best to go with?

I got a lot of fish from Big Al's in the pass mainly just because it is close to me. I heard Big Al's is not bad.

Ocean Aquatics is good and the staffs there are really nice. But as of now they don't seem to me that they carry that many fishes .
I heard their new fish tanks are all good to go and maybe there will be more fish in the future?

I like J&L a lot but it is just too far to me.
Although I don't really care about the drive most of the time, I try to avoid having the fishes stay in transit for so long. Am I worrying too much?

On the other hand, I heard King Ad's stock is not as healthy?

Any idea would be great!
Thanks!

[Ripwoop]

If you don't mind the drive AA is an awesome store!! have a look. ( Aquatic Addictions) I drove a fish from kelowna to armstrong. That is about hour or so drive with no problems. just kept the water warm with the heater. :)

[ReefJunkie]

I've travelled with fish for half a day at least, just ask for a heat pack.
We are on the coast so it's always a day trip for fish stuff. (ferries) :(
J&L -- Great place, get most of my fish and inverts from here
Ocean Aquatics -- Awesome people got at least half my corals from here
King Ed -- Always check it out when we're in town for the odd good deal
I would definately say my newest favorite place for corals and fish would be Oceanic Corals, Ian is a great guy and you just tell him what you want and he'll get it in.

[Seek828]

If you don't mind the drive AA is an awesome store!! have a look. ( Aquatic Addictions) I drove a fish from kelowna to armstrong. That is about hour or so drive with no problems. just kept the water warm with the heater. :)
I see.
Aquatic Addictions is at Abbotsford right, is it?
Thanks for the suggestion!

[Seek828]

I've travelled with fish for half a day at least, just ask for a heat pack.
We are on the coast so it's always a day trip for fish stuff. (ferries) :(
J&L -- Great place, get most of my fish and inverts from here
Ocean Aquatics -- Awesome people got at least half my corals from here
King Ed -- Always check it out when we're in town for the odd good deal
I would definately say my newest favorite place for corals and fish would be Oceanic Corals, Ian is a great guy and you just tell him what you want and he'll get it in.
Right, I guess heat pack would help a lot!
Where is Oceanic Corals?
I have heard of the name but don't know where they are.
I think their website crashed earlier today and I can't find their address.

[brickwood]

I would recomend Aquatic Addictions for sure. I shop there all the time. Their coral selection is out of this world. I know quite a few guys who go to Abbotsford from Richmond. Worth the drive.

[Seek828]

I would recomend Aquatic Addictions for sure. I shop there all the time. Their coral selection is out of this world. I know quite a few guys who go to Abbotsford from Richmond. Worth the drive.
Sounds good.
I'll drive down there and check it out as soon as possible.
You mention they have great corals, how about fish?
Because I only keep fishes

[new but handy]

Phone and ask. They usually get their shipments in on thursday nights, late.
Its a bit of a drive. I would phone and ask they will tell you if they are getting a shipment in.

[Ripwoop]

Phone and ask. They usually get their shipments in on thursday nights, late.
Its a bit of a drive. I would phone and ask they will tell you if they are getting a shipment in.

for sure a good idea!! They get big shipments in for the most part but it goes fast cause of the quality and sizes. :) and yes it's in Abby.

[Seek828]

Nice.
Thanks all!
I'll go check it out!

[WuHT]

In richmond there is Kingdom aquatics, which is close to the burger king on no3.
(so if you know how to get to big als in richmond you know where to go)
There is also v/l aquatics on slocan/kingsway. Both those stores are obviously smaller than the ones you listed, but this is just a headsup.

[no_bs]

Try Rogers aquatic in delta. Prety good selection, and good prices. Also Pauls in Surrey.

[Puff]

i want to check out this aquatic addictions place!

unfortunately i live out by horseshoe bay, so its a LOOOONG drive out there.

actually...how far is it from 176th street (highway exit)? maybe ill drag the gf over there on the way home from the US next week. :) (that will go down like a fart in a spacesuit)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Best thing is to call any of these LFS beforehand to find out if they have had in a recent shipment or they may be low on stock. Most will tell you if they have the specific fish or coral you are looking for in the store.

Anthony

[DJ_drew]

Pauls Aquarium is also a great little store!
they usually have great fish, really descent prices, and paul the owner knows his stuff :)
i've got alot of things from them including most of my corals.

Drew

[bvlester]

Pauls Aquarium is still in bissiness I use to go there in the early 1990's it deffinitly had great prices back then and it was a great little store! I moved away in the mid 1990's to Alberta then off too Manitoba and now I am back and starting anouther sw tank, the one we brought with us. Just a small one 55g have to do a bit of doctoring on the tank replace the silicone then I can add water sand and salt next week end. I have a commercial grade filter on this 250 million dollor Kamloops ro tap water. I think it should be good, got to test it first.

Bill

[PufferPuffer]

http://www.fishopolis.com/VAHC/community_stores.cfm
check this out...can help

[BlueAbyss]

I picked up fish and corals on an afternoon before leaving Calgary midmorning the next day, and acclimating stuff around midnight that day (after a 13 hour drive). Some stuff was packed in a cardboard box, other stuff was packed in a styro box... everything survived, indeed some of the corals were open in the bags when I unpacked stuff. If the weather is decent (and things are well packed) you shouldn't have any problems.