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.

[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.

[FSM]

Its the only decent LFS near me. No idea what kind of plants they have, but they ordered a Polypterus delhezi for me.

[Hilde]

I have bought plants from aquaticplantdepot.com. Ph: 813-621-421, which is located in Florida and from people at forums. When I just want to buy a few plants I go to Petsmarts. Not all of them sell plants anymore. There got a few Vals, Cabomba, and Bacopa. You just have to research plants before you buy them. I think is good start with a few plants to see what grows in your tank.

[Chibils]

Originally Posted by 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 recommend Marine Fish. Optimum is moving up on Barrett Parkway any day now, and I don't know what the facilities will be like. Marine fish has a pretty decent plant selection (not awesome, but the plants are well cared for). Creation Reef and Aquatics on 92 (creationpet.com) has some good plants and is an awesome store in general. Matt's a great guy, and at least stopping into the store is worthwhile.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by Chibils

I recommend Marine Fish. Optimum is moving up on Barrett Parkway any day now, and I don't know what the facilities will be like.

I can't wait for Optimum to move. I called them a few days ago and they said that they were moving this week. Barret Pkwy is a lot closer to me.

With Marine Fish, I would give them a call and see when they are getting new plants in before making the trip over there. The owner is a pretty cool guy and he will also special order things for you where he can. They are a bit on the pricey side though.

[Chibils]

Originally Posted by BiscuitSlayer

I can't wait for Optimum to move. I called them a few days ago and they said that they were moving this week. Barret Pkwy is a lot closer to me.

With Marine Fish, I would give them a call and see when they are getting new plants in before making the trip over there. The owner is a pretty cool guy and he will also special order things for you where he can. They are a bit on the pricey side though.

I disagree. As a member of the Atlanta Reef Club (I'm regressing to fw tanks :p), they give three times the standard discount (30% as opposed to Optimum's/Creation's/etc. 10%). So I think their prices are very fair. If you spend a lot of money ($300+ a year) at the lfs, joining the ARC just for the discount is worthwhile imo.