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Wisconsin LFS'!!!

26K views 137 replies 59 participants last post by  solBLACK 
#1 ·
The one wisconsinite holding strong here!! Maybe I should just talk to myself in this part of the forum. Imnappy2 how do you feel about the lfs's near you??
 
#2 ·
Well Imnappy2 I go to school in Milwaukee and live right downtown, the local fish stores downtown are not that great. The prices vary, the best spot for plants, information, and all round solid store is Hoffer's Tropical Pets on 76th and Good Hope Rd. But its a 20+ minute drive depending on traffic to get there. Great place though. And my home town of Eau Claire, the lfs just wasnt up to par on anything. Dont really know if there are any new ones yet.
 
#3 ·
Thats so weird!! Thats my hometown too!! And I would agree that probably is the better of the LFS's for prices, knowledge, and overall store.


Talking to myself just isnt cutting it. I just cant seem to get my gf interested in planted tanks!!
 
#4 ·
Hey goofy :). There are a few of us in Wisconsin....unfortunately for you, we are all in Madison. There is a pretty good shop here (Aquatic Specialties) that specializes in planted tanks, but otherwise, it's mostly just the same old "super"stores (with a couple of decent "mom-and-pops" as well). I went to school in EC. You're right, not much there as far as plants go. Some wacky stuff in the back of that hardware store on Clairmont though ;).

You got an album thread on the forum? Mine all start with "Uni's blank blank album".
 
#5 ·
I grew up in EC and now go to school in Milwaukee. Last year for that though.. graduate in may. BSME from MSOE. about time 5 years later. I post all my pictures and what not on yahoo pictures and just reference that. photos.yahoo.com/imnappy2 its all my pics though.. sign into yahoo to see age restricted stuff if interested.. lol. ie Harley Fest and Indy 500. But not much on the planted tank yet. Moved to indiana for the summer to work at the H2 manufacturing facility so took my tank down.. sold the 55 gallon and now am in the process of setting up a 75 gallon but have some MAJOR green water problems that for the life of me i cant seem to get rid of. Just glad to see someone from WI on here. I see you have a shrimp as your icon or whatever, you dont happen to have some shrimp besides ghost shrimp that you are interested in selling?
 
#6 ·
And that Hardware store right up on main street and clairmont? Benfranklins is what it used to be.. definately a strange place. Used to buy alcohol underage at the hole in the wall liquor store next store when i was a senior in hs... lol
 
#14 ·
Hi guys.

I just came across this forum today. I'm in Milwaukee...Franklin actually.

I hear you mention Hoffers? I've never been there; I'll have to head over and take a look at it this weekend....

I've been to the place downtown on 3rd street (Martina Luther King Drive?) quite a few times....great shark tank, and I'll probably be buying my next filter from them, but the store is not the cleanest, and the people working there asked me if a cardinal tetra was a salt water fish......good prices on hardware though.

Aquatics unlimited is my main source for information (after the internet), fish, plants, and "some" hardware". I had to call 3 times to verify they were really asking 300 bucks for a 160 dollar filter....but the knowledge of the staff is remarkable, and they truly seam to enjoy what they do. Some of their display tanks are worth the trip alone.

There’s another small place on Okalahoma between 76th and 108th...I'll probably never go in that place again. Many dead fish in the tanks...and they have the nerve to sell painted, dyed, injected, and mutated fish as a wild breed...there prices are a little high and the staff seamed like they were being forced to work there. Their Co2 display tank looks like the Co2 has been depleted for a few months, the plants were all withered and brown, and there were dead fish in the display....I think it was once a good store, but it looks like the owners just stopped caring.

The last place I can think of is a small store in a strip mall on the corner of 76th and Okalahoma. Not much of a selection and the lady working at the counter didn’t even say hello to me when I walked in. Nice looking store though, and worth a trip if your browsing on a weekend afternoon.
 
#16 ·
When I first started in the hobby that place on third st. really grabbed my attention with their cheap fish prices and the shark tank, but...... Ive seen sick things their that disgusted me to point of no return, their staff is almost totally clueless to even the basic I refuse to support a store that treats fish like that. If you like aquatics unlimited youll love Hoffers even more they are a perfect example of how things should be run, never a dead fish, much knowlege, plants in almost every tank!
 
#17 ·
Well, I took my first trip out to Hoffers today. It's an amazing place. Alligators for Christ sake! Some of the displays in the fish area looked kind of dull while others were nothing short of amazing. Not a dead fish in the store, but I did come across a few artificially colored ones...those fish should be illegal to sell....IMO. Even with the fake fish, it's still the best looking pet store in Milwaukee (if not the state) and it has the largest selection. Hardware prices are a little high. I'm looking to buy an Eheim 2026 canister filter. It's $160 online, $270 at Hoffers, and $300 at Aquatics Unlimited. Fish prices were good...I bought 10 more cherry shrimp...$6 each (5 for $25) compared to Aquatics Unlimited $9 each (4 for $30). I would have bought more, but there were not enough left to get the bulk discount. The fish department looked very understaffed. Everyone was practically running from one customer to another. I was listening to the staff s they were helping people, and even with the hectic atmosphere they still took the time to talk about the customer’s aquarium, offer advice, or just listen to people who wanted to brag about their set-up. It's a 30 minute drive for me, but definitely a place I’ll be visiting again soon.
 
#18 ·
Between the two... Hoffers & Aquatics Unlimited, Hoffers will have the better prices and better displays IMO.
Zebra Loaches as example were $9each at AU and $6each at hoffers. Both are very well ran stores, and would reccomend either for the MKE area. I know Hoffers will go out of their way to get a paticular fish or plant for you if they can, whenever I ask at Aquatics they just tell me to call on thursday to see if maybe they got some in.
 
#23 ·
kennywu said:
Hey i am also alone over here in eau claire, let me know if you want to trade some plants, i am looking for something short for the foreground of my 40 gal high light heavy planted tank
Kenny, You're about 6 years too late ;). I escaped UWEC in 2000. Looking for plants in an EC pet shop?!? Your best bet will be to head over to 1/2 moon lake.
 
#24 ·
I suppose what better place for my first post than to plug a hometown LFS. =) I'm from Madison and I worked at Aquatic Specialties for most of 2005. Great store. Now I do some part time at a new place, Living Art Aquarium on the far west side right across the street from Petsmart. I'd rate it as slightly above average for plants, about the same as Aq-Spec except for a few customers we have that grow crazy hard to find stuff and then bring in their extra cuttings when available. So thanks to them we occasionally have plants I've only previously seen in books.
 
#26 ·
unirdna said:
there were some fantastic cichlids and rasboras - really specialized stuff. But darn that 30 minute drive.
I don't know what you are complaining about :icon_roll I have to drive an hour to find anything like that. The lfs by me only carry cheep normal stuff and only about 3 varieties of plants. :sleep: really boring mostly I order online.
my 2 cents:icon_roll
Cindy

ps when I lived down there I used to drive from east to west for a pair of shoes. got my first tank at a fs on the west side (wish I could remember the name-not far from the mall)
 
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