Awesome store - Vance's in Bucksport

DrDragun · 11-14-2008, 08:29 PM

Hey guys,

I am a native on Bangor and through my travels I found Vance's tropical fish in Bucksport. It is an excellent store and worth a little drive to get to. Usually Vance will be around the store and introduce himself to customers, very nice and knowledgeable guy.

The store is not particularly big, and the emphasis is on live stock more so than equipment. In fact the equipment section is almost nonexistant although I think Vance does a lot of custom carved tank furniture. However the live fish and plants are kept very healthy and there are a lot of things you won't find at the chain stores, plus you might be able to arrange custom orders.

However the place is an experience. Vance has recently started travelling to Hawaii and making his own handcarved Hawaiian guitars, and the entire store is thoroughly decorated with a Hawaiian beach feel. He has a big display lagoon that takes up an entire room and was formerly the home of a nurse shark though I think it's smaller fish now. There is a shallow open-topped display reminiscent of a touch tank full of shrimps and crabs and interesting critters. He also displayes his hand carved wooden guitars, tank furniture and such.

Very cool place overall (although it's pretty small) and a very honest businessman. I've been a fan for about 10 yrs now and even though I live in Mass I try to make it over there when I'm up visiting my folks.

-Colby

MaineAquatics · 09-24-2011, 05:34 PM

I've bought my entire rainbowfish collection from Vance, he's great to deal with and I've heard nothing but the best from other customers of his as well!

The shop is a bit small but it packs a punch lol, he's got more stuff crammed in there (fish selection-wise) than even the biggest box stores..

but as I said, I've bought my entire rainbowfish collection from him, why? because he's the ONLY store in the state that could get the harder to find well-colored rainbows.

Yes, you will pay LFS prices.. but he's a straight shooter.

He also is always getting in quite rare tetras.. which may not sound very exciting until you see them, I was never a tetra fan until I went to his store.

fermentedhiker · 11-10-2011, 08:22 PM

Vance has always treated me good. I only wish I could make it up there more often.

sink · 11-11-2011, 01:07 PM

Hehe, yeah for those of us in the south it's quite literally quicker to go to Boston. That said, I hope to take a road trip and check the place out sometime this season.

11-14-2008, 08:29 PM	#1
DrDragun Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: MA Posts: 1	Awesome store - Vance's in Bucksport Hey guys, I am a native on Bangor and through my travels I found Vance's tropical fish in Bucksport. It is an excellent store and worth a little drive to get to. Usually Vance will be around the store and introduce himself to customers, very nice and knowledgeable guy. The store is not particularly big, and the emphasis is on live stock more so than equipment. In fact the equipment section is almost nonexistant although I think Vance does a lot of custom carved tank furniture. However the live fish and plants are kept very healthy and there are a lot of things you won't find at the chain stores, plus you might be able to arrange custom orders. However the place is an experience. Vance has recently started travelling to Hawaii and making his own handcarved Hawaiian guitars, and the entire store is thoroughly decorated with a Hawaiian beach feel. He has a big display lagoon that takes up an entire room and was formerly the home of a nurse shark though I think it's smaller fish now. There is a shallow open-topped display reminiscent of a touch tank full of shrimps and crabs and interesting critters. He also displayes his hand carved wooden guitars, tank furniture and such. Very cool place overall (although it's pretty small) and a very honest businessman. I've been a fan for about 10 yrs now and even though I live in Mass I try to make it over there when I'm up visiting my folks. -Colby

11-10-2011, 08:22 PM	#3
fermentedhiker Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Warren, Maine Posts: 115	Vance has always treated me good. I only wish I could make it up there more often. __________________ It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much. Yogi Berra

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09-24-2011, 05:34 PM	#2
MaineAquatics Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Maine Posts: 54	I've bought my entire rainbowfish collection from Vance, he's great to deal with and I've heard nothing but the best from other customers of his as well! The shop is a bit small but it packs a punch lol, he's got more stuff crammed in there (fish selection-wise) than even the biggest box stores.. but as I said, I've bought my entire rainbowfish collection from him, why? because he's the ONLY store in the state that could get the harder to find well-colored rainbows. Yes, you will pay LFS prices.. but he's a straight shooter. He also is always getting in quite rare tetras.. which may not sound very exciting until you see them, I was never a tetra fan until I went to his store.

11-11-2011, 01:07 PM	#4
sink Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 142	Hehe, yeah for those of us in the south it's quite literally quicker to go to Boston. That said, I hope to take a road trip and check the place out sometime this season.