Going to the big city

[ViperRacer]

I'll be down in Vancouver mid July and I'd love some recommendations on stores to visit and stores to stay away from. Just to look around. I'm already going to J and L for sure, but I'm more interested in the freshwater side of things. Any recommendations?

Thank you.

[monocus]

try king ed

[PurpleMonkey]

For FW, try Island Pets Unlimited - their burnaby location is close to JL

[ug.mac]

Second King Ed for freshwater.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

King Ed's (both), J&L (for sw), Island Pets (Burnaby near J&L - both) and Fantasy Aquatics (both) are all worth checking out. The first three are reasonably close (within 15 minutes non-rush hour drive from each other) and Fantasy is on Kingsway & Slocan in Vancouver, just West of Renfrew.

There are others like OA and Oceanic but they are purely sw and further out. Roger's and Paul's in Surrey/Delta also carries both fw & some sw.

North American near Fantasy specializes in fancy goldfish and then there are some home-based businesses in Vancouver & Richmond if you're interested.

Anthony

[Din Gior]

I'd recommend Aquarium West for freshwater.

[ViperRacer]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I really appreciate it. I'm eventually going in to Discus, just working on getting the funds for the aquarium I want. Looking forward to the trip and seeing what's going on down there. :) I've already spoken to someone who does a lot of plecostomus, but gets some discus in and I'm going to check him out too.

[ViperRacer]

Oh, speaking of Island Pets, which location is better? Or are both equally worth checking out?

[justincgdick]

I'm visiting VanC right now and did my rounds on Saturday.

- J&L is great for salt and anything that crosses over to fresh. Pretty darn cheap prices.
- Aquariums West is pretty darn awesome for fresh. ADA products, and clean as heck.
- King Ed's is nice. It's kinda like organized chaos in there but they have a lot of product.
- Island Pets unlimited - No comment, but I visited.
- April's Aquariums - No comment, but I visited.
- Fantasy I didn't make but I heard it's good for plecos and shrimp. Apparently a bit messy though.

I'm not sure if we can give negative reviews so I opted out.

[gregzz4]

I don't know what part of our city you are wanting to venture into ...
I never went to the Surrey ( southeast ) side of Vancouver for fish, so I can't say anything about Paul's and the others there

One was mentioned I'd recommend, Aquariums West (http://www.aquariumswest.com/), but they are a bit pricey
One that was not mentioned that you may like is in North Vancouver ...
Formerly Mike's Pet Boutique is now North Vancouver Pet Boutique (http://www.northvancouverpetboutique.com/)
I got lots of really healthy plants and fish there
Mike is a long time fish guy ( 20 or more + years ) and always has lots of healthy stuff for sale ... just not the best prices on supplies
Bit of a hippie kinda guy ... you can't miss him
His right hand man, umm, Eric ?, knows lots too, and they are great to deal with

I have no ties to Mike, but I'll say I've known him for over 20 years ( he bought out his boss a long time ago )
Can't stay in business that long without doing it right ...

[NightShadeFairy]

I love J&L's, I drive an hour and a half each way to get there, and its worth every minute. There is only one LSF where I live and it's horrible. J&L's knows their stuff and is very helpful. Good prices, excellent quality livestock.


NightShadeFairy