LFS's in CHicago, IL

[Mysphit]

Regarding the King Coral shop, the chiropractor next door bought out the building and I was told that they sold off the business due to the father of the family being ill. However, other business owners in the area that knew them have said that they relocated to Mount Prospect fairly recently. Does anyone know of any LFS in Mount Prospect?

I have always had fish, and had always thought they had a decent selection for a decent price. Would like to find them if they are still around...

A word on Coral Reef, not sure how long ago they changed there tank setup, but was there last week and they had very basic common fish at the time. My local petsmart had a better FW selection, I really hope it was due to the cold, been a customer of theirs since '92.

Also, Ocean Design Aquarium on Irving and Nagle now has a members discount... I dont recall the exact deal, but thought I would pass that info along.

[Sponsors]

[guitardude9187]

Originally Posted by AxolotlFarmer

Instead of getting fish suplies and supporting the Giant Box Box stores that begin with "Pet", go here:

Alright, the LFS by me is called:
Golden Aquarium
1516 S. Halsted ST.

They sell nano tanks there, some nice supplies, nice fish, lots of goldfish, even have BEE SHRIMP. There are plants, most are in good shape. I got a bunch of blackworm there for only a dollar. If you like flourite, i saw many bags of it.

It is a nice place to go to especially if you live in Loop/SouthLoop, Bridgeport, Chinatown, Pilsen, UIC, etc. It right across from Orangeline-Halstead. There are several bus routes near, I know definately #8 and #62.

Went here today, small but i like it. Will definitely come back. They also have the Finnex 4 Gallon for $50.

[AxolotlFarmer]

Nice to hear some checked out my local fish store. They guys who work there are really nice. Too bad it is so small, I think they are doing an ok buisness, I always see people in there and buyingthings. I got a few free bumble shrimp there when i gave them a whole bag full of hornwort once. I have been debating about buying 4 gall from them or getting another 20 long. They had some sexy koi and goldfish last time i was there, some amano shrimps, huge blue prawns, they have tons of flowerhorns and silver arrowana, not my thing , but some people may be interested. They had bee shrimp a few times, but now mostly bumbles and prawns.

[guitardude9187]

axolot

what kind of shrimps are you breeding now?

[Owen Stubbs]

Went to Scott's today for the first time. Both impressive, and unimpressive, all at the same time. Wanted a HOB pre-filter. None. Wanted a brine shrimp net. None. Wanted a Kh/Gh test kit. None. Wanted Hikari crab cuisine. None. Would like to have seen some micro rasboras. None. In fact, nothing spectacular in freshwater fish at all. Curious about substrate. Only Flourish RED and Eco. Would like to have seen some other choices, and discussed comparison. Person I spoke with knew less about this stuff than I, and I have only barely entered this hobby. Tank full of those fluourescent tetras - telltale TB signs in one. Spoke to person at checkout about it. "Huh.. whatcha talking about?"

Prices well higher than anything I have seen elsewhere. Had they been loaded with stuff I simply cannot find elsewhere, I'd be driving there all the time. That was not the case. Nice selection of saltwater fish, not sure they were the healthiest I have seen, but nice selection. Freshwater not much better than what the local PetSmart has... maybe worse. Decent plants though. If I lived around the corner, I would visit more often.... just didn't see prices, selection or variety that warrants visiting anytime soon.

For those of you in the southwest burbs, found a place called Dog Patch in Naperville, on Ogden Avenue (3 blks west of Naper Blvd) that sells bio-spira should you ever need any. Nice group of folks there, albeit, not the most stocked fish joint around. Still - if they have what I need, would rather do business with sincerely nice, laid back locals than one of the local super stores.

[crazie.eddie]

Originally Posted by Owen Stubbs

Went to Scott's today for the first time. Both impressive, and unimpressive, all at the same time. Wanted a HOB pre-filter. None. Wanted a brine shrimp net. None. Wanted a Kh/Gh test kit. None. Wanted Hikari crab cuisine. None. Would like to have seen some micro rasboras. None. In fact, nothing spectacular in freshwater fish at all. Curious about substrate. Only Flourish RED and Eco. Would like to have seen some other choices, and discussed comparison. Person I spoke with knew less about this stuff than I, and I have only barely entered this hobby. Tank full of those fluourescent tetras - telltale TB signs in one. Spoke to person at checkout about it. "Huh.. whatcha talking about?"

Prices well higher than anything I have seen elsewhere. Had they been loaded with stuff I simply cannot find elsewhere, I'd be driving there all the time. That was not the case. Nice selection of saltwater fish, not sure they were the healthiest I have seen, but nice selection. Freshwater not much better than what the local PetSmart has... maybe worse. Decent plants though. If I lived around the corner, I would visit more often.... just didn't see prices, selection or variety that warrants visiting anytime soon.

For those of you in the southwest burbs, found a place called Dog Patch in Naperville, on Ogden Avenue (3 blks west of Naper Blvd) that sells bio-spira should you ever need any. Nice group of folks there, albeit, not the most stocked fish joint around. Still - if they have what I need, would rather do business with sincerely nice, laid back locals than one of the local super stores.

It's been awhile since I've been to Dog Patch. Years in fact. I may stop and visit there again. If you want a nice, big store, checkout Aquarium Adventure, by Schaumburg. It's basically Scott's Pets, but more square footage and expensive, of course. Nice place to checkout to see what's new, then go somewhere else to get it cheaper.

I never really liked stuff like Bio-spira. It's claimed to be a bottle of bacteria. But bacteria need oxygen and food. You never know how long the bottle has been sitting on the shelf. Besides, since I keep several tanks, I have my own bacteria starter. Just grab material from an established tank and I've got my bacteria starter. I'll be glad to give you some FREE bacteria starter if your ever in the area. Just bring your own container.

[klintman]

i have shopped around quite a bit in the area. i really think the fish and the advice at Old Orchard Aquarium are top notch. everyone on staff seems like genuine aquarium enthusiasts. someone commented on the staff being rude, but i have not experienced this. a bit pretentious and opinionated may be. i usually try to ask at least 3 different staff the same question. have picked up quite a bit of info this way. prices on plants and fish are high, but the fish are second to none and the plants are ok. equipment$$$...well i understand the low volume of sales compaired to mega pet stores and online means much less overhead, but they could move much more if they brought things down less then MFG suggested retail $$. i did get a protein skimmer for a reasonable price though.

Living Seas is alright for fish from my experience. the staff have very mixed experience and knowledge and some seem like this is just another job for them. having said that i have gotten good advice from a few people there. one guy was very honest when i came in to get 2 figure8 puffers. he said to wait 2 weeks and see how they were doing because a newbie staff changed the brackish water out for fresh water in a major water change 2 days prior shocking them.

[Ryzilla]

Originally Posted by klintman

i have shopped around quite a bit in the area. i really think the fish and the advice at Old Orchard Aquarium are top notch

I have lived by that store since I was 11. It was sea shell pet shop at that time. They were always rude, and I can never remember it being any different. They have a great and VERY knowledgeable staff for saltwater and they give decent advice about freshwater. When it comes to plants and freshwater chemistry they are not very versed. I consider myself at the medium knowledge level regarding fish and plant requirements and I ran circles around them in a discussion. I had them asking me questions about plants. One time they even told me not to interact with customers after a young man asked me about a glass diffuser I was looking at. I gave the young man my card so he could contact me if he wanted to ask questions about plants. then one employee there pulled me to the side and told me to never talk to any of their customers ever again in fear I was giving advice that was conflicting with their own and could potentiallydrive their bussiness away. I was like, what ever happened to hobbiest talking with each other to share information.
A buddy of mine went in there to look at some of their soft coral. He started to ask questions about one of the corals and their employee stated that f he wasnt going to buy it he wasnt going to answer any questions.
That same employee also asked me where I get my information from. I told him from online. He said almost all online sources lack credibility. I told him I chat on a plant forum and he replied that they are probably giving me the wrong information so I would buy from the online sponsors. I told him he has no clue.
Bottom line is. They take great care of their tanks. They have a great selection of fish. They know a ton about salwater. Lastley they are just plain rude. I give them a 8 out of 10. They loose a point for being rude and a point for being EXTREMELY over priced.

[musho3210]

i got offered a job at old orchard, well i was recommended since im not old enough yet. So if i do get a job im sure i can be of assistance to you and i wont be rude...... There is an asian guy who works there and he isnt rude, pretty nice and jokes around a bit.

[Gimpy8877]

TropiQuatics is my favorite store, really really good prices and the staff is friendly. The equipment prices are really good too. Seems like they are always doing maintanence on the tanks and I have not had a fish from there die on me yet. Plants are iffy, sometimes they have a decent stock, sometimes nothing.

Scott's has a big selection but I dont like the not answering the phones/having to line up at the register to get a fish. Fish are a little pricy but plants are reasonable

Old orchard had very nice and helpful staff, but very pricy. Saltwater selection is really cool.

Living Sea Has a nice selection but the staff were not too helpful also pricy on plants and fish.

Aquarium adventure is reasonable on some fish and plants, Huge selection on both. Staff is somewhat knoledgeable and you can always find someone to grab. Tanks are kept well.

Jims pet world in villa park. They don't have the best selection but their prices on fish are decent. Plant prices are decent also but they hardly ever have them. One of the few places I have found java ferns though.
Avoid

I'd avoid the petsmart on golf/roselle across from aquarium adventure. I have never seen worse tanks or fish. I walked in and walked out.

There is a pet shop in addison on lake street in the same complex as portillos i forget the name but they had awful tanks/lots of dead fish.

[Momotaro]

Gee whiz! I have to be honest. Asides from Ry, I am really, really suprised that there aren't more people active in the hobby in the Chicago area.

Wonder why that is?

[will5]

Originally Posted by Momotaro

Gee whiz! I have to be honest. Asides from Ry, I am really, really suprised that there aren't more people active in the hobby in the Chicago area.

Wonder why that is?

We do have a chicago plant group it's called Chicago Aquatic Gardeners Association (CAGA). Here is the link. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caga/

But we still don't have that many members at 103.

[thejoie]

I'm new to the freshwater scene. I did things backwards I think.. .went saltwater first

But now i have a 10 gallon planted tank that I started a few weeks ago and I'm paying more attention to the freshwater stores.

I live south of Chicago, and let me tell you- the stores around here are pretty terrible. I hate having to drive into the city so my main suppliers are Aquarium Adventures.
A new one opened up in Bolingbrook- definitely not as good as the big one of Hoffman Estates however the staff is very helpful.
I love the HE AA, the prices are a bit higher but if you're a member of the club you get 25% off... which makes it totally worth it!
I paid the $50 dollars for a lifetime membership and I have definitely benefited from that club.. the salt water stuff is RIDICULOUSLY overprices and not well taken care of but I'm a big fan of the freshwater

There's a place out by me 79th and Harlem that's called Odd Lot Pet shop. It's a small store but their tanks are always very well taken care of and they have some healthy fish. Nothing really rare or extraordinary but if you want a solid LFS for freshwater with the basic fish, that are healthy and at a decent price... I would definitely recommend going there

[crazie.eddie]

Regarding Scott's Petshop in Westchester. If you guys want a response, fax them (708-562-0005). I got fed up not getting a hold of anybody, no matter what time I called, so I tried faxing. Within an hour later, I got a call back with my response. Sometimes the response can be as quick as a few minutes, to a few hours. They will respond by fax or call back, just specify it on your fax.

Originally Posted by Momotaro

Gee whiz! I have to be honest. Asides from Ry, I am really, really surprised that there aren't more people active in the hobby in the Chicago area.

Wonder why that is?

I'm active, but lazy. LOL

I actually know allot of people in the hobby, but just don't like forums or are merely lurkers.