Opinions on the Aviarium in Gwinnett?

[obliquered]

Hi all,

I'm very new to keeping live plants and am looking around for a good source. The closest LFS to me is the Aviarium near Gwinnett Place Mall. I did buy a few plants from them, but they came with snails, so I thought I'd look at the local Petco, who sold me a very pretty Dracaena variegatus that subsequent Internet searching informs me will not actually grow underwater despite being labelled "Live Aquatic Plant for Fresh Water Aquariums". Sigh. (Will they root if I just stick them in a pot of dirt? I hate to waste it, it's a pretty plant.)

So my questions-

1) The Aviarium- OK despite the snails, or should I avoid it?
2) If I should avoid it, is there any other decent place to go either in the North Druid Hills area or in Gwinnett? I see a lot of mention of northwest places but not so much on this side of town, and the last time I took a long drive to go to a fish store (The Fish Store on Roswell Road) I was very disappointed.

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[Bugman]

Welcome to the forum. I grew up in Druid Hills. Moved back there for a few years before a divorce. Live in Cumming now.
Very rarely will I buy plants locally. The only place I have is the Petland in Alpharetta. Pretty good store. Most of the guys that work there are knowledgeable but not usually a very good selection. When buying a really large order I use Aquariumplants.com. Excellent plants, great help when you call and talk with them and prices are as good as any internet store. If not buying a large order your best bet is the swap and shop on the forum. Members are weekly trimming their tanks and selling the cuttings and plants. Prices can't be beat and you will quite often receive more than you bargined for. Just keep ckecking it till you see what you want.
As far as snails are concerned. You are going to get them with plants. Doesn't matter where you order or buy from.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Bugman has some good suggestions. As far as snails go, if you go with live plants you will have snails at some point.

There are some stores in Cobb Co. that are worth a look if you are in the area. Optimum Aquarium and Marine Fish are both decent. I would call ahead to see what their inventory is like though. I have a Petland in Kennesaw that I go to as well. From my understanding though, not all Petlands are created equal.

Your best bet for plants are going to be on the Swap and Shop in this forum. You can get some FANTASTIC deals from great people. 90% of my plants have come from online.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Here is a perfect example of a SNS deal that would be worth wile:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sw...d-package.html

From what I understand, wasserpest is extremely generous with his portions when he offers a plant package.

[zapus]

I did pick up a couple of SAE's at the Avarium a few years back, one of them is still going strong. I was more impressed with their fish than their plants, as I recall.