Best sponsor to buy fish from?
- Thread starter Dmac
- Start date
+1 Atlanta aquariums.
For fish in Atlanta area, my #1 choice is Southern Aquatics. To my knowledge, they are the only LFS that quarantines and medicates fish. and affordable prices.
Their marine fish selection used to be not so big compared to other LFS, but It was consistently growing. This is because they do freshwater too. Prior to the pandemic, their selection already solid, with maybe 40-80 varieties of saltwater fish at any given time.
To my knowledge, most LFS will pick up fish for you when they visit their wholesalers. If you ask them. That’s the way things are up in Chicago at least, where everyone does it.
Atlanta aquarium and Reef Shac would be tied for my #2. Their fish may not be as healthy. But they are affordable and have good selections!
Their marine fish selection used to be not so big compared to other LFS, but It was consistently growing. This is because they do freshwater too. Prior to the pandemic, their selection already solid, with maybe 40-80 varieties of saltwater fish at any given time.
To my knowledge, most LFS will pick up fish for you when they visit their wholesalers. If you ask them. That’s the way things are up in Chicago at least, where everyone does it.
Atlanta aquarium and Reef Shac would be tied for my #2. Their fish may not be as healthy. But they are affordable and have good selections!
I’ve had good luck at Atlanta Aquarium and Pure Reef but also at The Fish Store in Chamblee. I QT all of my fish anyway but I got ananthias from the fish store and it died right away though I don’t think it was sick, just dumb and they replaced it, full credit for a different fish which has been 100% fine from day 1 and has been in my QT for 3 weeks now. Haven’t visited the there mentioned.
Jeremey’s reef
Well-Known Member
In my opinion there is no right answer to this question as I have purchased fish and coral from all but 2 of the current sponsors that offer livestock. I have been happy with what each sponsor has to offer and with a little discipline and experience I have a decent amount of fish with all but one being from a current sponsor. With being stubborn and anxious I’ve tried various fish that I had been advised to stay away from by an employee of a sponsor on multiple occasions. Once I began to listen I have had no death or disease within my system and I feel this is all do the experience the sponsors have to offer. With all that said all ARC sponsors have great livestock to offer but I do have my favorites, #1 Pure Reef #2 Premier Aquatics #3 Classic City Aquariums. There are places with cheaper prices then my top 3 but I find that cheaper does not equal better
I have purchased fish from PremierAquatics, Pure Reef, Southern and have had positive experiences for the most part and when something happens they have all provided initial guarantees of one kind or another. Each of these LFS has always provided treated fish to me.
AA doesn't have much livestock currently except clowns
I agree with @Jeremey’s reef in that each sponsor has their own strengths. Do your research and ask questions up front before you buy. How long have they had the fish you want? Do they medicate fish proactively or for visible symptoms? What is the salinity they keep the fish in? Those types of questions will serve you better than what we think.
My suggestion to you would be to dip, inspect plugs and coral under magnification and quarantine. You can get hitchhikers anywhere, even from free frags that the very generous members of this club so generously share. Ask @aestheticlibra how much time he spends dipping and remounting and inspecting frags.
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WAY too much time. LOL. My dipping process is two hours long. Not even kidding.My suggestion to you would be to dip, inspect plugs and coral under magnification and quarantine. You can get hitchhikers anywhere, even from free frags that the very generous members of this club so generously share. Ask @aestheticlibra how much time he spends dipping and remounting and inspecting frags.
Mikemont1991
Member
Same. I had hella red flatworms on both corals I got from TFS -- luckily found them in time
I dip, pop off and re-glue all my frags onto new plugs and somehow I see baby brittle stars and stomatella snails in my tank...
You do your best to mitigate things but life usually finds a way.
I find that stores (and people) with larger display/frag tanks or systems usually have more hitchhikers.
You do your best to mitigate things but life usually finds a way.
I find that stores (and people) with larger display/frag tanks or systems usually have more hitchhikers.
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I am honest with folks that I've got stomatellas and asterinas and bristle worms currently. They can see the asterinas in my display. LOL. I've had one single flatworm that I saw and treated and haven't seen since. That was a few months ago. I've also had aptasia but I got a file fish and peppermints and they wiped it out - haven't seen any of those in months. That was before I got good at dipping and inspecting and cutting off frag plugs. So yes, pests do happen, but a lot moreso with lax dipping procedures.
I'm also going to be getting a harlequin shrimp soon to combat asterinas. Haha.
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Like me - I love the stomatellas and I use the bristleworms as indicators that I'm overfeeding. I constantly reach in my tank without gloves and have never been "stung" by a bristleworm. If I see them out that means I'm overfeeding. So they're in there - they just don't eat well
