Where are the good fish stores?

[Samw]

Where are the good reef and marine fish stores in Lower Mainland?

I know the main ones are J&L and Big Al's.
Then, there's Aquariums West in downtown. There's Fish World (I think that's the name) on 120th and 64th in Surrey. There's a small shop in Parker Place in Richmond (that never has any prices displayed).

I just started reef keeping and that's all I know that has a decent selection. Any other good ones in the Lower Mainland?

[Samw]

Oh yeah, what ever happened to AquaWorld on SE Marine? Did they relocate?

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

There's Coral Ocean (I think) on Kingsway and Boundary and Animal House in Chilliwack.

Some smaller ones are King Ed's (Burnaby),Perky's (New west) and Paul's (Surrey), but they have a pretty limited selection.

Coral in Parker Place and no prices...you know WHY there are no prices ...right ?

Don't know what happen to Aquaworld Superstore...I won't buy stuff from them anyway.

- Victor.

[Samw]

I checked out Coral Ocean several months ago. The first time I drove there, the store was closed during normal store hours. The next time I went there, they were opened but didn't have any fish or coral (or at least I don't remember seeing any).

I tried to go to the store in Parker Place yesterday during lunchtime. They were closed too. That's 2 out of 4 times that they were closed when I went there during mall hours. I will not bother going again. I guess they don't have prices on display because they're expecting you to give them an offer. Since my bargaining skills are poor, I didn't buy or offer anything during the 2 times that I successfully entered the store.

I guess the only place I haven't been to are Perky's and King Ed's. Maybe I'll check them out. Thanks for the suggestion. Animal House is too far away from me unfortunately. No one seems to know anything about Aqua World. I guess they didn't relocate afterall, but just disappeared.

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

No prices means its bargain time. Also...if you are really smart...tax free -- of course, no receipt and cash only. I don't know if you have to speak cantonese/chinese ...but I think that helps too.

Coral Ocean...its a strange one. You can phone Colin (the owner) and ask him when he is getting any stuff. Usually, they come in early evening...most stuff are gone that night. Its a good store...you just have to understand how it works.

- Victor.

[Samw]

I checked out Perky's and King Ed's today. Not much at Perky's but I was pretty impressed with King Ed's. They've expanded a lot since I last shopped at their old location 12 years ago. I bought 3 anemones today: Sebae, Long Tentacle, and a Bubble Tip. Got some great deals.

Popped them into the tank and they all seem very happy. The Bubble Tip, which was closed up at the store (apparently, it never opened up in the 2 weeks that it was in their tank), immeidately attached itself to one of my live rock and immediately expanded itself. Its definitely happy in my tank. The other 2 also stuck to some rock and look happy.

Now, I got to get me some clowns. Looking for 2 perculas and 1 maroon. Hopefully, they'll each pick an anemone host.

[DJ88]

Sam,

Don't put two different types of clowns in one tank. Especially a Maroon. A Maroon clown will kill any other clown's in HER tank. I have one and even getting her to accept a mate was near impossible. She took a mate but then six months later killed it with no warning. My female is in the sump now as she was getting so agressive the other fish in the tank were hiding all the time and she was even attacking me.

How old is your tank? You will have to be careful having more than one anemone in a tank. Do you have corals? How much light do you have on your tank? What color are they? How often do you plan on feeding them? What will you feed them?

I don't mean to sound preachy but IMO and IME Anemones are the most difficult creature to keep in a tank. They are very sensetive to poor water quality, need high lighting, need to be fed regularly. Etc..

You said that you are just getting into reef keeping. How old is your tank? How much experience do you have with creatures in your tank other than fish? How much research into the anemone's needs and requirements did you do? Did the store ask you any of these questions? Did they let you know how difficult it is to keep an anemone? If they didn't then they should have.

One anemone in a tank is a big undertaking. Three is more then most experienced reef keepers will want to have themselves. I have a feeling that the store just wanted to get rid of them and did not let you know of the needs that the animal has. Especially where you say they "gave you a deal". That is my biggest concern. If they are giving you a deal and the anemone was not opening in the store then you may have bought something that will not make it in your tank. If any of the three appears white in color it has expelled the symbiotic algae it requires to live. To keep this anemone alive will require lots and lots of feedings and work. I have a BTA I am trying to nurse back to health and it is not an easy job. My Saddleback is slowly coming back to health after a tank crash and that is with daily feedings of silversides and clams soaked in selcon.

As for each clown pairing up with an anemone it most likely won't happen. My sisters clown's want nothing to do with her anemone. Some will, some won't. Tank raised clowns seem to not accept a host as easily as wild caught. Anemones DON'T need to have a clown to survive. And vice versa.

Stores selling these creatures without asking the purchaser how expereinced they are and what the tank is they will be putting it into should NOT be able to buy and sell these animals. Anyone who does has no concern about the welfare of that animal. I don't care how nice the staff or owner is. Anemones should not be sold to anyone but the most experienced hobbyists. I don't think they should be sold at all. I won't buy anymore, and will try to deter anyone else from buying them.

I wish you the best of luck.

I made hasty anemone purchases when I started out and lost most. I won't ever buy another and would not even let my sister buy one until her tank was a year old, had enough lighting and she fuly understood the WORK involved in keeping these delicate animals. Anemones can live for decades in the wild. Even hundreds of years. In our tanks they don't live for more than a year or two.

Sorry to sound preachy but this is a personal pet peeve of mine.

[ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

I second that....

Umm...did you know that anemones sometimes eat fish (say a yellow tang or a goby) ?

Just feed it lots of food (once every two days or so) and look out for anemones on the move (i.e. get sucked in to an intake).

- Victor.

[Dale D]

Excellent advice, Darren.

If I had a dollar for every person I have talked out of buying an anemone I could retire. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

The only reason I have one in my tank is because it came in as a stowaway on some live rock.

Dale

[Troy F]

Well said Darren, Dale, Victor et all. One other thing to consider is that with daily feedings comes a terrific amount of waste which must be dealt with. If you don't have the necessary export mechanisms in your tank you are in for trouble in the long run. Having said that, I wish you the best.

Every pacific host anemone taken from the wild means that generations (and generations to the tenth power) of clowns will also be removed. Something to think about.

What an absolute shock [img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] that King Ed sold someone three anemones. I would love to have been a fly on the wall and heard the advice they gave Sam when making the sale. In my opinion, this is yet another reason to avoid this store like the plague no matter how good the "deal" is. There are much better stores to frequent with qualified staff (Dale at Animal House and Allen and company at J&L Aquatics). Hopping off soapbox now.

[ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: Troy F ]