Cali Kid Corals

Which LFS to buy: fresh water fish, plants, Amazonia Aqua soil, etc.

Hi All,

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
Just got my tank and I'm now looking to get supplies to build a fresh water plant tank.
Will need to buy freshwater fish, plants, amazonia aqua soil, etc.

Any recommendations on a good LFS to check out before I head to bigger chain stores?

Thank you :)
 
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Hi All,

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
Just got my tank and I'm now looking to get supplies to build a fresh water plant tank.
Will need to buy freshwater fish, amazonia aqua soil, etc.

Any recommendations on a good LFS to check out before I head to bigger chain stores?

Thank you :)

Where are you located? Aqua lab Aquaria here in San Jose has some amazing planted tanks and stuff.
 
Albany Aquarium in Albany. They "quarantine" their fish which means they keep it downstairs in their little dungeon area for a week to check if there's anything obvious on them. Most of the time their fish can be healthy but I've gotten some that had parasites that caused flashing.

Aquaforest Aquarium in San Francisco. Go there for their plants, hardscape, and inspiration. Fish seem fairly healthy but I've never bought fish from them.

Ocean Aquarium in San Francisco. There are hidden gems there if you look closely. It's an experience going to that store. Lol.
 
Ocean Aquarium in San Francisco. There are hidden gems there if you look closely. It's an experience going to that store. Lol.
from what I’ve heard, most SF LFS are ‘experiences’ haha. For that reason, I’ve been making the trek to AC or Neptune when I need to.

For freshwater I think aqua lab aquaria could be worth a visit, they have some really nice aquascapes in their FW setups. And although they carry things for sw, I think fresh is their primary focus. I got some cool floating plants for a little FW jar from Aqualab.
 
Maaaan wrong forum lol. In your area, aqua forest is a great store to go to, they specialize in amano style equipment and tanks. They also have good variety of plants and some fish.
Down it the South Bay Neptune and aqua lab aquaria are great stores to visit.
Also check out SFBAAPS, they are basically the planted tank version of this club
 
@Baykes : Sorry, I previously had 2 Saltwater tanks but had to take them down. This time with Kiddos getting older, I want to start a tank again but decided with fresh water.
@Srt4eric @RedLeader @max_nano : thank you for the tips. I will try to check the stores out. I do remember Ocean Aquarium in SF: their hidden gems in those bags. That store is unique :D
 
@Baykes : Sorry, I previously had 2 Saltwater tanks but had to take them down. This time with Kiddos getting older, I want to start a tank again but decided with fresh water.
Sorry I was completely joking with the wrong forum comment, just to clear that up in case it was lost behind text. Myself and others definitely have both kinds of tanks , so totally makes sense to ask that question here. But seriously check out SFBAAPS too, it’s a great club that is fresh water centric.
 
I think I know someone is selling his 90g Fw tank with loaded plants and fish. So you want me to give you his info?


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I was always too cheap/tank too large so I went with sand over soil. Aqua Forest is pretty good for planted freshwater, and I think they have aquasoil there.
 
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