Fish stores Calgary

[Beanz]

Hey all, just wondering what fish stores there are around Calgary here. The only two I know of are golds and Pisces. Looking for a good place to buy fish and inverts for my new tank. I used to go to Pisces and mostly their fish were heathy but sometimes they have some unhealthy looking fish and I'm sure their filtration system is plumbed into all the tanks. Anywho just wondering what else is here. Thanks!

[Fin2you]

We were just talking about this on the local fb group page!
A bunch of us have been checking out the small stores in Calgary & our experiences are spread thru the page. I thought we could gather it in 1 spot for others? Any other shops missing?
~ Concept Aquariums 1313 44Ave NE
~ Golds Aquarium 4710 17 Ave SE
~ Reef Wonderland 1031 40 Ave NW
~ Ocean Creation 233 16ave NW
~ Wais Aquarium 222, 16Ave NE

[Beanz]

Oh wow that is for the quick reply. Didn't think anyone would be awake this early haha. Awesome, I'll have to check those places out when I'm ready for fish! What's the fb group called? I would like to join!

[Fin2you]

Got woke by a kidlet... Just chilling in bed till it is a more respectful time! Out of all the little stores Reef Wonderland is the one I won't return to. Wais should be your I have to go this morning!!!!
The group is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1563940140536238/

[Baker]

Originally Posted by Fin2you

Got woke by a kidlet... Just chilling in bed till it is a more respectful time! Out of all the little stores Reef Wonderland is the one I won't return to. Wais should be your I have to go this morning!!!!
The group is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1563940140536238/

Nothing wrong with reef wonderland. Angus is a good guy.

[Fin2you]

I guess I should elaborate on the reason why I won't return to Reef Wonderland. #1 cement parking ' blocks places so tight infront of this Mini mall, it wad a knuckle scraping experience to get my sons wheelchair to the door. Then when we finally battled into the store all the tanks were so encrusted with algae we couldn't see in them except for from the top. The store also smelt, the only way I could described it was rotten. So while the owner may be a good guy, I won't return.
The owner at Wai's on the otherhand has personally come out to help assist getting the wheelchair up to his door & helped us back to our van.

Originally Posted by Baker

Nothing wrong with reef wonderland. Angus is a good guy.

[somafish]

-Wais is good livestock,probably the best coral selection, a little pricey
-Pisces is so-so for live stock some sick fish and a large mark up on others, but the biggest selection of dry goods.
-Big Als Is going out of buisness (they just don't know it).lots of empty tanks
-Ocean creations is small but sometimes has unique fish, decent prices
-Concept has great prices on fish and dry goods, but lately when I go in there is alot of empty tanks
-Reef wonderland sometimes has nothing in the tanks, almost nothing for dry goods. In his defense it has been a while since I have been there
-Golds these guys are my favorite place. Bought a regal tang for $30, huge squamosa clam with 2 green bubble tip anemones on the same rock for $125. If they had a larger dry goods selection I would not go anywhere else
-Riverfront I think is shut down for animal neglect, and it showed in their saltwater tanks. $40 dollars for baby ocellaris clowns!!! This place smells like a dirty gym sock

[hfp75]

There's an open groupon with J&L right now.

Prices are definitely lower and more availability with this option!!!

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=117821

[iamfrontosa]

Originally Posted by somafish

-Wais is good livestock,probably the best coral selection, a little pricey
-Pisces is so-so for live stock some sick fish and a large mark up on others, but the biggest selection of dry goods.
-Big Als Is going out of buisness (they just don't know it).lots of empty tanks
-Ocean creations is small but sometimes has unique fish, decent prices
-Concept has great prices on fish and dry goods, but lately when I go in there is alot of empty tanks
-Reef wonderland sometimes has nothing in the tanks, almost nothing for dry goods. In his defense it has been a while since I have been there
-Golds these guys are my favorite place. Bought a regal tang for $30, huge squamosa clam with 2 green bubble tip anemones on the same rock for $125. If they had a larger dry goods selection I would not go anywhere else
-Riverfront I think is shut down for animal neglect, and it showed in their saltwater tanks. $40 dollars for baby ocellaris clowns!!! This place smells like a dirty gym sock

I agreed with everything Somafish said.

[mrhasan]

My experience (other's may differ):

Concept: This is where 90% of my money allocated for the hobby goes. This is my go to place for hardware and corals. Not so much for fishes.
Pieces: From my experience, almost every tang in that store is infected with ich. I only go there for inverts; they always seem to have the inverts that I look for.
Big-al: This is where I got my 1st tank but stopped going there when I came to know about other stores.
Ocean creation: My go to place for fish. Never had any issue on any of the fishes that I bough from here. Given that I am not big on quarantine, get healthy specimen is really good.
Wai's: probably my last choice for LFS if I cannot find something locally or online. Great selection of corals but hell expensive and unless you are there for buying something, the guy is not very pleasant.
Reef wonderful: Hell expensive. Great guy but in the end, I personally wouldn't pay a 50% premium just for customer service.
Gold's aquarium: Extremely good price and they QT their fishes so, like ocean creation, you will get healthy specimen. Their prices are so cheap that sometimes, it is just shocking and will make you wonder how they manage to sell things so cheap. Used to be far away from my old place but very close to my new one so I will visit them more often now that I am back in the hobby.