High Tide Aquatics

Good fish/coral stores in San Jose?

When I started out shopping here, I went to Neptunes first. Got a bunch of $10, $20 and up frags. Then at Clearwater I found a clam and a few other frags. Then Violet had the most fish and inverts as well as most of the corals I saw at the other two places. They didn’t offer a club discount like the other two but they did have things that the other stores didn’t have. Then I discovered a new store called Aqua Plus that I got some nice colonies and more frags from. They also carry a lot of fish.
 
I would be nervous getting anything from violet aquarium, especially if you're not into quarantine or you plan to toss anything from there in your main display.

I would take a chance however with most of the other lfs. Not intended as a vote of confidence in any off them to the level of saying it's risk free.

Violet is mainly a online fish retailer who is all about get them in and sold quickly as possible.

Though i will also be honest and say of all the stores i been too locally they by far have the largest variety in available species. (Just nothing that i would risk adding to my tank without a full quarantine routine in place)
 
MichaelB said:
I would be nervous getting anything from violet aquarium, especially if you're not into quarantine or you plan to toss anything from there in your main display.

I would take a chance however with most of the other lfs. Not intended as a vote of confidence in any off them to the level of saying it's risk free.

Violet is mainly a online fish retailer who is all about get them in and sold quickly as possible.

Though i will also be honest and say of all the stores i been too locally they by far have the largest variety in available species. (Just nothing that i would risk adding to my tank without a full quarantine routine in place)
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A lot of people say that but I've only ever had good luck with fish from there and my qt process is non-existent
 
Srt4eric said:
A lot of people say that but I've only ever had good luck with fish from there and my qt process is non-existent
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I can't speak for other peoples experience with getting fish from them, when i first started my tank in CA 3.5 years ago I bought a few corals a one dartfish that lived 2 years from there. What I say is based on my observations the multiple times I've been there.

I noticed multiple dead fish left sitting in the tanks. Some of the tanks extremely over run with algae, others very dirty, not the apperance of a tank that only went a few days without being cleaned. A few of those times i felt sorry for the fish in what apeared neglected tanks. A state in which I would never let any of my tanks get to.

There has maybe been two visits i didn't observe what i mentioned above. Where things were comparable to other stores. I don't go there weekly by any means so I won't deny the possibility that prehaps I randomly picked the worst days to pop in.

I frequently vist other lfs as well and, I have seen a dead fish on occasion. Just nothing to the levels that I witnessed multiple times at violet.

I would just be highly worried over droping something in with my already beloved fish. Without some method of quarantine or observation period. New tank no other fish I wouldn't be as concerned.

I only started to take the potential risks with adding new coral and fish seriously in the last year and a half, as I learned of other people's bad experiences. So makes me a bit more cautious and considerate of potential risks.

I don't intend it to come off as me saying it's a bad store, very nice and welcoming people that work there. Only that I would be more hesitant there than at some of the other stores. There selection as mentioned above is truly incredible. To the point half my time was spent googling fish I never heard of.
 
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Srt4eric said:
Everyone always forgets aqua lab aquaria on lincoln. I'd put them after Clearwater in that order.
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I like Aqua Lab Aquaria. Good pricing on livestock and a rewards program. The might have the best pricing if they have what you’re looking for. They also have an online store for equipment.
 
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MichaelB said:
I would be nervous getting anything from violet aquarium, especially if you're not into quarantine or you plan to toss anything from there in your main display.

I would take a chance however with most of the other lfs. Not intended as a vote of confidence in any off them to the level of saying it's risk free.

Violet is mainly a online fish retailer who is all about get them in and sold quickly as possible.

Though i will also be honest and say of all the stores i been too locally they by far have the largest variety in available species. (Just nothing that i would risk adding to my tank without a full quarantine routine in place)
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Violet Aquarium along with Aquatic Collection up on Hayward have the largest collection of fish in the Bay Area that I have seen. Any fish I purchase from any store I put through a 30+ day medicated quarantine. I have purchased most of my fish from Violet since it is closer and have had no notable issues. The only local store I would feel comfortable not quarantining is High Tide Aquatics.

Violet Aquarium prices are hard to beat. Three are particularly useful for certain fish (ie, certain wrasses, chromis, some small nano fish, etc.) which do not ship well.
 
Visited Violet for the first time today. Went in the back area as well. Very clean, fish looked healthy, I didn't recognize about half the fish they have in there. Huge selection. They have rays and eels and lobsters and all kinds of crazy stuff. They're clearly focused on their online operations vs. their storefront. It's very much a production no frills operation.

Only comment is the employee that helped me was super friendly and helpful but I suspect he didn't know very much about fish. I'd say go in knowing what you want, and get it, and leave. You'll likely get the wealth of knowledge and recommendations like you'd get from High Tide or someplace else.
 
The firefish goby I picked up from Violet Aquarium is still do well and eating dry pellets. It’s what they said they feed all the fish while they’re there. All the frags from there are still healthy as well. The only frags I’ve lost were a couple of tiny acros from mail order with AquaSD. My best experiences have been with ORA acros from oceansgarden.com and frags from tidalgardens.com
 
Interesting to hear all the good experiences on Violet Aquarium lately. I might have to stop by again sometime soon. The last time I was there around two years ago, I did not have a good experience. It was one of the first LFS I visited
 
MarcosDelgado0 said:
Interesting to hear all the good experiences on Violet Aquarium lately. I might have to stop by again sometime soon. The last time I was there around two years ago, I did not have a good experience. It was one of the first LFS I visited
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Agreed I should definitely check them out again. It does seem they have inproved. My last visit was 5 months ago. So no more recent experience with them.
 
Violet has a great selection of fish at hard to beat prices but like most/many aquarium shops does not have a full quarantine setup. From what I remember, they put incoming fish into a short medicated quarantine setup for 5-9 days and then put them into the display tanks which low copper at a low level. I have not tested salinity but I assume they run the tanks at a salinity lower than 1.025 SG. As stated I put any fish from there other any other fish shop (other than one that runs a full quarantine protocol like High Tide) through 30+ days medicated quarantine if possible. For fish that are sensitive to meds then I do tank transfer method as the alternative.
 
t0mmy108 said:
The firefish goby I picked up from Violet Aquarium is still do well and eating dry pellets. It’s what they said they feed all the fish while they’re there. All the frags from there are still healthy as well. The only frags I’ve lost were a couple of tiny acros from mail order with AquaSD. My best experiences have been with ORA acros from oceansgarden.com and frags from tidalgardens.com
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Oceansgarden is fantastic. Really great customer service and they even threw in a free coral to try. I can also attest to Violet aquariums looking much more put together on my visit last month. I spotted one dead fish that got caught between the egg crate dividers and the glass, but not anywhere like the massacre that I had seen on previous visits 4 months ago.
 
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